International Courts

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has "deprioritized" investigation of CIA torture in Afghanistan. But Julian Elderfield, a former attorney in the OTP, says the stated reasons for…

"When the votes are cast in the General Assembly this week, women’s rights advocates around the world will be watching States closely."

After mass nonviolent protests, look out for arrests of opponents, prison releases of Islamists, and actions by a key paramilitary unit.

Such a convention could help dispel a culture of impunity by reaffirming the gravity of such atrocities and filling gaps left by the Rome Statute.

Such a law would strengthen the prospect of the US one day seriously considering ratification of a proposed treaty.

A politically expedient "fix" would sideline citizens, including those who fought to open the system via the European Court of Human Rights.

Such a legal framework could be transformative for so many who have been left out or on the margins of existing mechanisms, including women.

At times the baton was dropped; at other times, drafters successfully overcame the hurdles in the process, as with the ICC Statute.

Implications for future investigations and more...

It tells other governments that they may not obtain retroactive impunity for their crimes by withdrawing from the ICC treaty.

The answer is to fully enact international criminal law at the national level and to provide for its maximum reach.

It is a matter of historical curiosity, and it's time for the UN to reunite genocide with its genus by concluding a parallel treaty.