Topic 1

Introduction

On September 16, 2014, in Hassan v. United Kingdom,[1] the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) interpreted how international human rights law (IHRL) should coexist with international humanitarian law (IHL) in a way that appears to give primacy to certain elements of human rights law.

At the time of publication of this Insight, Palestine is neither a signatory nor a state party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty.  Nonetheless, on January 16, 2015, the ICC Prosecutor opened a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine.

On September 20, 2014, the government of Iraq informed the UN Security Council (SC) that it had requested the United States to lead international efforts to strike Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) sites. The strikes would end the constant threat posed by ISIL to Iraq, protect Iraq’s citizens, and ultimately enable Iraq to regain control of its borders.[1] The U.S. asserted that this request extended to ISIL sites in Syria.[2]

Participants of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign from November 25 to December 10, 2014 had a newly enforceable instrument with which to galvanize action against violence against women (VAW) and domestic violence (DV).

On July 13, 2010 and September 14, 2010, respectively, the French National Assembly and Senate passed a law banning the wearing of “clothing designed to conceal the face” in public areas.

“We need to act decisively to change humanity's relationship with our planet,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Nairobi on June 27, 2014 at the closing session of the first historic meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).[1]

Introduction

Media attention to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict has focused on a significant number of hacking and malware attacks by private actors, described in this Insight as cyber operations.  As an example, the pro-Russian hacker group CyberBerkut has assumed responsibility for cyber operations against NATO, the vote counting system for Ukrainian elections, and a mobile device within the U.S. vice-president’s delegation during a visit to Ukraine.[1]

When conflict broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) opened its doors to tens of thousands of displaced persons fleeing ethnic and political violence, a situation unprecedented in terms of its scale: in more than a decade of protection mandates, peacekeepers have never provided protection to so many civilians in so direct a manner.[1] Today, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) under UN protection has passed the 100,000 mark.

Ebola as an Unprecedented Threat to Peace and Security