International and Foreign
2,949 Articles
Russian Treaty Violations: A Blast from the Past or an Omen for the Future
On July 28, the New York Times ran a story with the headline “U.S. Says Russia Tested Cruise Missile, Violating Treaty.” Surprisingly, this story about an arms control…
Status of Int’l Human Rights Law in Domestic Surveillance: What the HRW/ACLU report reveals about officials’ views
This morning, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU released a joint report on the chilling effects of domestic surveillance. The report examines, in particular, the impact of surveillance…
How to Prosecute the Perpetrators of the Malaysian Jet Downing
The Dutch government has opened a criminal investigation of the downing of Malaysia flight 17, and President Obama has pledged that the U.S. will assist the Dutch to bring those…
European Court of Human Rights rules against Poland in CIA “black site” case
The European Court of Human Rights has handed down its much-awaited judgments in the cases of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri v. Poland and Abu Zubaydah v. Poland. The cases were brought…
Major New United Nations Report Rebukes Five Eyes’ Attempts to Weaken Digital Privacy Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a significant report last week analyzing the meaning of the human right to privacy in relation…
In Advance of Activating The Crime of Aggression
I had the pleasure of participating in an Interactive Panel Discussion on the crime of aggression at the United Nations yesterday on the occasion of International Justice Day (so…
U.K. Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014: Sticking Plaster or Solution?
Earlier this week, I summarized the British Government’s “fast-track” surveillance legislation proposals: the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill. A mere four days…
Letter to the Editor: Elliott Abrams Responds to Sarah Knuckey’s Post on UN Casualty Estimates in Gaza
Prof. Knuckey makes some good points about casualty estimates. Knuckey and I would agree that data is hard to come by in the middle of a war and often even after it is over. For…
The Wrong Reasons to Doubt UN Civilian Casualty Estimates in Gaza
The United Nations’ preliminary estimate that 77 per cent of the 214 individuals killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza are civilians is “almost certainly false,” according to…
UK Government Proposes Creation of its own Privacy and Civil Liberties (Oversight) Board
The U.K. government announced this week its intention to replace the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation with a new Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board. The…
Hearing Begins in New Surveillance Litigation against UK Security Services
The claim brought by Liberty, the British civil liberties’ organisation, against Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Security Intelligence Services and the…
Former Chief of British Secret Intelligence: Stop Viewing the ISIS Threat Through 9/11 Eyes
On Monday, former chief of British Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Richard Dearlove gave an insightful and provocative lecture entitled, “Terrorism and National Security: Proportion…