Shamima Begum, a young woman who left the UK as a schoolgirl to join ISIS in Syria, has recently lost an appeal to regain her British citizenship. This decision, leaving her effectively stateless and in a Syrian detention camp, has sparked renewed debate. In this interview, JURIST speaks with Professor Ben Saul, a UN expert [...]
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UN Human Rights Council calls for aviation fuel embargo against Myanmar
The UN Human Rights Council adopted resolutions Thursday to call on UN member states to refrain from supplying jet fuel to the Myanmar military. The council also extended the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and Myanmar and the independent international fact-finding mission on Iran. All members from [...]
Hundreds of rights groups urge Biden administration to protect Haiti migrants
Nearly 500 rights groups signed a letter on Wednesday urging the Biden administration to protect Haitian migrants from the rampant gang violence and corruption within the island nation. The groups requested a moratorium on deportations to Haiti and the extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Haitian Bridge Alliance wrote the [...]
Recently, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC or Red Cross) has been accused of facilitating payments to accused terrorists captured and held by Israel in the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict. The ICRC denies this claim. The ICRC has a blemished record, disturbingly far from its professed humanitarian mandate. A journalistic investigation conducted by ProPublica [...]
UN agency reports forced labor generates US$236B illegal profits per year
The UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) stated in a report on Tuesday that forced labor in the private economy generates annual illegal profits of US$236 billion per year. This has risen by US$64 billion since 2014. Forced labor is a criminal offense and violation of fundamental human rights. It is defined in the Forced Labor [...]
In the Halls of Brazil's Senate: Unpacking the Legacy of the US Constitution
To date, America’s greatest contribution to the world has been its Constitution. The importance of this document far surpasses such other cultural achievements as the Moon landing, the telephone, GPS, rubber vulcanization, and Henry Ford’s mass production lines. It is more important, even, than Gone With the Wind, and the hamburger — even though this [...]
ICC orders Uganda commander to pay $56 million in reparations to war crime victims
The International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), to pay $56 million in reparations Wednesday to several thousand victims of crimes against humanity. Ongwen was charged with committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005 as a commander [...]
UK woman who joined ISIS loses appeal over revocation of citizenship
Former ISIS affiliate Shamima Begum on Friday lost her appeal regarding the British government’s 2019 decision to strip her of British citizenship. Begum left the UK aged 15 to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State. The ruling from the Court of Appeal was unanimous, and as such, Begum must remain in Syria. The [...]
UN report calls for UK to take 'urgent action' to combat violence against women and girls
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, published a statement on Wednesday calling for the UK government to take “urgent action” to end all forms of violence against women and girls. The UK government invited Alsalem to visit the country after labeling violence against women and girls a “national threat” [...]
Under international law, forced marriage has emerged as its own form of gendered violence, distinct from sex-related crimes — a phenomenon explored in depth in a report released last month by the Global Accountability Network (GAN), a collective of international criminal prosecutors and practitioners who supervise and work with law students on specific atrocity projects. [...]