International and Foreign
3,169 Articles
The Needle in the Haystack: Finding the Women, Peace and Security Norms in the Gaza Conflict
Operation Protective Edge and the costs of war in the latest round of the Israel-Palestine conflict have dominated all our newspaper headlines in the past month. Images of harm…
Who does the New York Times think is a combatant in Gaza?
There is a strange quality to today’s story by the New York Times on the civilian casualty rate in Gaza (“Civilian or Not? New Fight in Tallying the Dead from the Gaza Conflict”).…
Guest Post: Has Hamas Overplayed Its Lawfare Strategy?
In the current Gaza conflict, the adversaries are employing very different strategies to achieve their operational objectives. Israel is executing a robust military strategy. By…
A Primer on the Laws of War that Apply to the Gaza Conflict
We were about to produce a primer on the law of war framework that governs the ongoing hostilities in Gaza. However, Human Rights Watch has just posted what we think is an excellent…
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…