Treaties
274 Articles
The US Cannot Withdraw from the WHO Without First Paying Its Dues
President Donald Trump must choose between freezing US contributions to the World Health Organization and following through on his threat of withdrawal. He cannot do both.
The US Goes to Bat for Lebanon’s “Butcher of Khiam”
American intervention in Lebanon's trial of Amer Fakhoury undermines the rule of law and disregards obligations under the Convention against Torture.
Turkey Opened the Door to the European Court of Human Rights for Syrian Victims
With Turkey's occupation of parts of northern Syria, a new venue may now be available to victims: the European Court of Human Rights.
The Trump Administration’s Indefensible Legal Defense of Its Asylum Ban
"The Trump administration has finally made public its legal justification for its decision to halt asylum processing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is embarrassingly bad.…
Extend New START — The World Can’t Afford a U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Race Too
The chances of successfully negotiating a new, complex deal including China were already slim before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, in the midst of what clearly will be an extended…
NATO Recognizes Space as an “Operational Domain”: One Small Step Toward a Rules-Based International Order in Outer Space
(Editor’s Note: The absence of a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework for military operations in outer space represents a troubling deficiency in the understanding of…
Military Space Operations and International Law
(Editor’s Note: The absence of a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework for military operations in outer space represents a troubling deficiency in the understanding of…
Saudi Crackdown on Dissent Violates Kingdom’s International Legal Obligations
The prosecution of Salman Alodah, a reform-minded Saudi scholar, is particularly emblematic of Saudi Arabia's worrisome pattern of suppressing dissent.
Taking Stock at 40: The UN Convention Against the Taking of Hostages
A product of its time, the Convention emphasized preventing future terrorist attacks by punishing perpetrators. But now, several decades later, it’s clear that stopping hostage…
Female Genital Mutilation and the Treaty Power: What Congress Can Do
Since 1996, the act of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been a federal crime. Federal circuit courts have characterized FGM as “a barbaric practice unbecoming of a civilized…
Abandoning Open Skies: Trump Would Be Squandering More of Our Security Inheritance
Rumors have been swirling about President Donald Trump deciding to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty. Congress, our allies and the public have been kept in…
Can Turkey be Expelled from NATO? It’s Legally Possible, Whether or Not Politically Prudent
Overall, the absence of a suspension and expulsion mechanism in the North Atlantic Treaty does not prevent the North Atlantic Council from suspending or terminating the membership…