On Feb. 11, much of the global community marked the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Technology. But in Afghanistan, few felt like celebrating. After all, that day was the 874th since girls were banned from attending secondary school studies, and the 415th since universities shut their doors to women. The urgency [...]
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DOJ reveals evidence Biden willfully retained classified information, declines to prosecute
The US Department of Justice has found evidence that President Joe Biden willfully retained classified materials pertaining to military, intelligence, and national security matters after having served as vice president under Barack Obama, but has declined to prosecute, according to a report released Thursday. Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed [...]
Taliban Accountability: International Sanctions Won't Work Unless They Bite
Last December, US authorities marked Human Rights Day and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by imposing a tranche of sanctions against human rights abusers spanning the globe, targeting perpetrators from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. In Afghanistan, two members of the Taliban government were targeted, as announced by a State Department press [...]
The Taliban's Approach to International Law Could Determine the Legal Status of Their Regime
On August 15, 2021, Taliban forces seized Kabul, bringing an end to the era of the internationally sponsored Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IRA), and reviving the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in its place. While the Taliban’s approach to issues of rights remains unchanged, their control over Afghanistan is virtually unchallenged for now, fostering inevitable [...]
Explainer: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Criminal Court
The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II). With both courts located in [...]
Shared Struggles, Shared Strength: Women Around the World Must Unite for Peace Amid Global Conflict
“It has been such a nightmare. You just feel powerless; you can’t comprehend any way to survive it … I long for the return of my calm and tranquil country — a country where children can live in peace.” “Air strikes have been indiscriminately killing people — all kinds of people: children, babies, doctors, journalists; [...]
The resumption of any kind of negotiations or diplomatic ties with the Taliban should come with principles and conditions. Such conditions should be no less than those enshrined in the fundamental principle of human rights and dignity and expected in a multi-ethnic and democratic country. Afghanistan cannot afford to settle for anything less than the [...]
Trump's Wrongful Pardons for Crimes Against International Law
“So far from it being unjust to punish him, it would be unjust if his wrongs were allowed to go unpunished.” Nuremberg Tribunal (1946) At the beginning of 2024, former President Donald J. Trump’s most conspicuously unsupportable legal claim has been his personal immunity from criminal prosecution. With this claim, Mr. Trump and his lead [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Lithuania liable on Tuesday for assisting the US with the torture of a man from Saudi Arabia at Detention Site Violet, a secret CIA prison in Lithuania, in 2005. The court found that Lithuania violated several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights against the applicant [...]
HRW annual rights report: 'transactional diplomacy' threatens global human rights system
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its 2024 World Report on Thursday detailing the state of global human rights. The report’s central theme was that “transactional diplomacy” undermined global human rights institutions and enabled autocrats to worsen violations. HRW Executive Director Tiran Hassan described “transactional diplomacy” as when “governments disregard the benefits of long-term relationships built [...]