In its oral decision handed down at 9am this morning (Hague time), Trial Chamber II dismissed Katanga’s challenge to the admissibility of his case before the ICC. There’s a few points of general interest: As a strictly legal matter, the judges could have side-stepped deciding this case on the merits In the oral decision, Judge […]
Montgomery vs. Galbraith
June 12, 2009 by 1 Comment
The Balkans is not my area of expertise, but the issue of territorial gains from genocidal policies is going to come up in the future of Darfur as it is today in Bosnia, which it why it seems relevant to highlight this recent interaction between former US diplomats in the Balkans, William Montgomery and Peter […]
“Cross cultural exchange” – the informal way
June 10, 2009 by 1 Comment
Picture for a moment, a non-English speaking Muslim tourist in – name your location – Sydney, Amsterdam, New York. What are the chances she would be taken, literally, by the hand, by a group of uni students who knew absolutely nothing about her, and invited into their activities for the afternoon as if she were […]
Darfuris in Cairo
June 9, 2009 by 1 Comment
I did several interviews with Darfuri refugees here in Cairo today. Each person requested anonymity, and I understand why. Not only are they still scared for family and friends remaining in Darfur, but life for them here is not easy either. I’ll leave that issue there for now, but suffice to say, making it out […]
Serendipity on the streets of Cairo
June 7, 2009 by 1 Comment
Tonight I’m set to have my first interview with one of the African heads at the Arab League. I was told to meet him at the Egyptian Diplomatic Club – but no address was given. No one where am staying seemed to have any idea, I couldn’t reach my contact person, and google offered me […]
Decision on who should judge Katanga
June 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment
For those who followed the ICC hearing on the challenge to admissibility of the case against Germain Katanga last week, you’ll want to tune back into the court this Friday 12 June. Trial Chamber II will be handing down their decision in a public session at 9am Hague time.
Lawyer of the Day Prize goes to . . .
June 1, 2009 by Leave a Comment
. . . Carine Bapita, legal representative for victims at the ICC. Why? Her statements in the admissibility hearing in Katanga today shows she has the Defense strategy all mapped out (so much so, Defense lawyer David Hooper himself acknowledged it). I don’t have the transcript yet, but to paraphrase Bapita: The admissibility challenge is […]
Darfuri women: Nowhere to turn
May 31, 2009 by Leave a Comment
A report released today by Physicians for Human Rights and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative documents “the scope and long-term impact of rape and other sexual violence experienced by women who fled attacks on their villages in Darfur and are now refugees in neighboring Chad.” The report is based on 88 in-depth interviews with women at […]
Why is our capacity to learn so limited?
May 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
I’ve spent the morning going over the 1999 Report of the UN Secretary General on the Fall of Srebrenica. I found it depressing when I first read it years ago, but re-reading it now in the context of writing my chapter on the passage of UN Res. 1706 (a.k.a. the “invites the consent” resolution) is […]
Abu Garda vs. Omar Al Bashir
May 28, 2009 by 3 Comments
Below I’ve (belatedly) written up some of the notes I took while attending Abu Garda’s first appearance before the ICC last week: May 18, 2009 There are two men. They are both Sudanese. They both have leadership positions. And they are both charged with serious crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). But that is […]
