Accountability
357 Articles
Accountability in the Time of COVID-19: Syria & Iraq
The coronavirus crisis has dominated the global news coverage, but the war in Syria has not gone away. The ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia in March 2020 remains fragile,…
Afghanistan Papers, the Miniseries, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bombshell
The Washington Post describes the story as uncovering a widespread effort by U.S. officials to “conceal the truth” about the war. A close reading shows that's not the case.
U.K. Proposes to Limit Accountability for Violations by Armed Forces
The British government is considering an unprecedented and comprehensive package of measures designed to shield both individual members of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of…
Sri Lankan War Criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa May Escape Accountability Yet Again, This Time by Running for President
Recent developments in a pair of human rights cases in U.S. federal court against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister and current presidential hopeful Gotabaya (“Gota”) Rajapakse…
“Fiat Justitia”: Implications of a Canadian Military Justice Decision for International Justice
A watershed ruling by Canada's Supreme Court sheds light on compliance of military justice systems with human rights norms.
The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Conceal Abuse of Migrant Detainees
The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a half-century of precedent on citizens’ rights to know what their government is doing, by making it more difficult for the public to probe…
Is Justice the Antidote to Sexual Violence in Conflict? Why Amal Clooney is Only Half Right
While many survivors of sexual violence do want accountability, it isn’t always their first priority, particularly when boiled down to prosecutions and disconnected from their…
EXCLUSIVE: FBI’s War Crimes Unit on the Chopping Block
The FBI's International Human Rights Unit may be dissolved, according to US officials. Here's why that's a bad idea, writes Beth Van Schaack.
Bringing ISIS to Justice: Running Out of Time?
The international community and key actors in Syria and Iraq need to develop a coherent plan to bring ISIS members to account for war crimes, not just counterterrorism crimes,…
What to Make of the Pentagon’s Internal Civilian Casualties Review, and What Comes Next
Breaking analysis of a new Department of Defense report on civilian casualties in the CENTCOM and AFRICOM areas of operation from 2015-2017: the key takeaways, major gaps, and…
Accountability Fatigue: A Human Rights Law Problem for Armed Forces?
Brigadier-General (ret.) Ken Watkin in conversation with General (ret.) David Petraeus' remarks about human rights law and military policies.
What Happened in North Carolina: The State’s Role in U.S. Post-9/11 Rendition and Torture
The North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT) released its 83-page final report this week on the state’s role in U.S. post-9/11 rendition and torture. Drawing…