I just spoke with Marco Werman at Public Radio International about why I hope the International Criminal Court will take a look at Australia’s offshore detention facilities and it’s inhumane policies toward asylum seekers. Listen here and read the associated story by Carol Hills.
Is the Australian government enabling crimes against humanity in its offshore detention centers?
March 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Tinkering Won’t Save the Immigration and Refugee Executive Order
March 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
In a recent post I pointed out the serious flaws in the Trump administration’s claim that the seven countries identified in its Executive Order on immigration were selected on the basis of the Obama administration’s analysis. The different context for the Obama administration’s identification of the seven countries rendered those countries a fairly arbitrary choice for […]
Australia’s Refugee Policy a Crime Against Humanity
March 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week, a veritable who’s who of human rights lawyers, coordinated through Stanford Law School’s human rights clinic, lodged a 108-page brief with the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging her to investigate alleged crimes committed by Australian officials and the Australian government’s private contractors. Among an ICC docket stacked with African warlords and […]
Why Trump’s Selection of Seven Countries is Not the Same as Obama’s
March 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
On Friday, President Trump’s Executive Order barred individuals from seven, predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. The legal and moral flaws in the order have already been thoroughly articulated. Likewise, the roughshod manner in which the order was pushed through became clear as chaos ensued at major airports, and lawyers successfully challenged the executive action in […]
Jesner v. Arab Bank
January 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Rebecca J. Hamilton, Jesner v. Arab Bank (International Decisions), 112 (4) Am. J. Int’l L. 720 (2018). The exclusion of transnational human rights litigation from U.S. federal courts is, for most practical purposes, now complete. On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 5–4 ruling in Jesner v. Arab Bank, deciding that foreign […]
Declaring Genocide
April 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It was such a pleasure to speak with one of my favorite radio shows, On The Media from WNYC, about the consequences of Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent declaration of genocide in relation to ISIS. You can listen to the segment here.
The G-Word Paradox
March 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
On March 17, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the Islamic State was responsible for genocide against groups including Yazidis, Christians, and Shiites. The statement came following pressure from Congress and after the House of Representatives issued a unanimousresolution earlier in the week drawing the same conclusion. “[The Islamic State] kills Christians because they are […]
When Should the ICC Call It Quits?
July 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The close of 2014 continued to bring bleak news for civilians in Darfur. As fighting in Sudan’s beleaguered western region increased, the UN looked to reduce its peacekeeping presence there. And this on the heels of the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, telling the Council that in the absence of any commitment from them to enforce the Darfur […]
Sudan President Flees South Africa
July 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I spoke with Al Jazeera America about Sudanese President Omar al Bashir’s narrow escape from justice during his visit to South Africa. You can watch the interview here.
Global Advocacy: How useful are #hashtags and “likes”?
I spoke with Amy Costello at Tiny Spark podcasts about global advocacy movements and the challenges of mobilizing the goodwill of volunteers in a way that translates into real change for the people they are advocating on behalf of. You can listen to the podcast here. And more generally I’d encourage folks to check out […]