On May 15th, the former Gambian Minister of the Interior Ousman Sonko was convicted of crimes against humanity by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sonko is the most senior state official to be convicted in Europe based on universal jurisdiction.
The court found that between 2000 and 2016, Soko, individually and as a member of a...
The European Council announced on May 14th, 2024 its adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact is a set of new rules managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at the EU level. The Pact includes four major pillars:
Robust screening: Those not fulfilling the conditions to enter the EU will be registered and subject to identification, security, and health checks. Eurodac asylum and migration database: The...
In a judgment passed down by Mr. Justice Smith of the UK High Court on May 14, 2024, it was determined that the certain amendments introduced by the Police Act of 2022 (a set of amendments to the Criminal Order and Public Order Act 1994) were in breach of Articles Eight and Fourteen of the European Convention of Human Rights.
As...
On April 24, 2024, President Biden approved a new law providing $95.2 billion in security assistance and foreign aid to countries including Ukraine, Israel, and countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Notably, the law includes a provision named Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which allows the government to use seized Russian assets to support humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
When Russia first attacked Ukraine...
On April 30, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected Nicaragua's request to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and renew funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a preliminary ruling.
Nicaragua brought the case in March, claiming Germany violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention through its political, financial, and military support for Israel and withdrawal...
On April 8, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a landmark decision in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, finding that States have a legal duty to take action to mitigate climate change. Ruling in favor of a Swiss association of over 2,000 Swiss women, the Court found that the Swiss government violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.
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On March 25, 2024, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding a mandatory ceasefire in Gaza. Fourteen countries voted in favor of the resolution; the United States abstained from the vote.
This is the first resolution demanding a ceasefire to pass at the Council after four previous failures, including the most recent in which China and Russia vetoed a U.S. proposal last week. Previous to this resolution, the U.S. vetoed three draft resolutions concerning the Gaza conflict and abstained twice...
On March 6, 2024, South Africa submitted an urgent request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to indicate further provisional and modify existing measures of the Court's previous orders in the South Africa v. Israel case. In its request, South Africa stated it was compelled to return to the Court due to new developments in Gaza, particularly the widespread starvation caused by Israel's actions.
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On March 1, 2024, Nicaragua initiated proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging Germany violated international law by funding Israel and halting aid to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
In its official application, Nicaragua accuses Germany of failing to fulfill its obligation under the Geneva Conventions to prevent "serious violations of peremptory norms of international law" in Gaza. Nicaragua also alleges that Germany not only failed to prevent genocide from being committed...
On February 28, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges delivered the largest reparation order (see summary here) in the Court's history, awarding over 56 million dollars to the nearly 50,000 victims of Ugandan war criminal Dominic Ongwen.
Ongwen, one of the top commanders of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, was convicted in 2021 on 60...