On March 16, 2023, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine released a report that found Russian forces in Ukraine violated international humanitarian law and conducted “indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks” against civilians. The report described Ukrainian civilians as living in “a climate of unbearable uncertainty and fear” and called for further investigation and accountability. The commission identified several violations of...
International Law in Brief
International Law in Brief (ILIB) is a forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
On March 14, 2023, Australia, the US, and UK concluded a deal that will extend nuclear powered submarines to the Australian Navy, a key part of the AUKUS security agreement between the three countries. The AUKUS deal requires the Australian government to dispose of nuclear waste containing radioactive materials produced by the submarines. While Australia has facilities to store low through intermediate-level waste, no facilities exist to store high-level waste...
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court alleges that he is responsible for war crimes committed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, including the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The Russian commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC.
On March 10, 2023, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron Friday came to an agreement on a multi-million pound package of measures to prevent migration across the Channel at the end of the 36th Franco-British Summit. According to the UK government, “The unparalleled multi-year agreement delivers on the PM’s priority to stop small boats and builds on joint measures taken with France in 2022 which increased patrols by 40%.” In the statement, Sunak underscores how the agreement seeks to intercept...
On March 10, 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations following talks in China. In a joint statement, both countries communicated their desire to “resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy.” The agreement comes following tensions in the relationship between these two nations. Specifically, the 2016 Saudi Arabian execution of a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric met backlash as critics believed it was a means of reducing Shiite influence within Saudi Arabia, a majority...
On March 1, 2023, Indian Minister of State Jitendra Singh encouraged G20 member states to commit to strict anti-corruption strategies leading up to the G20 New Delhi Summit on September 9-10, 2023. Singh believes the G20 are capable of addressing the “complex social, political and economic challenge” of corruption. In his statement, given to delegates representing the world’s twenty largest economies, Singh underscored the adverse financial effects of corruption in India. He recalled how Indian public sector banks lost approximately $272 billion due to fraud. Singh pointed to the systemic...
On February 27, 2023, UN experts supported Armenia’s commitment to combat mercenaries and private security companies. The statement came during a visit by UN experts investigating Armenia’s legal frameworks following the ratification of the International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries during the visit. During the visit, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahe Gevorgyan stated that mercenarism has a regional character and pointed to Azerbaijan’s use of mercenaries during the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020. He further welcomed UN efforts to...
On February 28, 2023, a group of 60 civil and human rights organizations led by Human Rights Watch (HRW) pushed the United Nations to oppose Ethiopia’s request to end the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE). This body was established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021 and is tasked with investigating human rights abuses related to the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. The ICHREE holds the responsibility to investigate and record human rights breaches in order to ensure victims of severe international crimes can receive justice. The...
On February 27, 2023, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen announced in a statement from Windsor Castle that they had come to an agreement for a new Windsor Framework which seeks to end the long-running conflict between the UK and EU following the UK’s exit from the EU over trade across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member. According to Sunak, the agreement “safeguards sovereignty for the people of Ireland….The only EU law that...
On February 21, 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called upon Israel to halt its plans to reform the legal and judicial systems due to concerns about possible human rights violations. Just a week earlier, protestors had gathered outside of Israel’s unicameral legislature to protest the reforms proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyu’s government in December 2022. In particular, Türk condemned the proposal of limiting the Israeli...