On September 1, 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (the Council) held a “Special Session on the human rights situation in Iraq in light of abuses committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups” after receiving a request for a special session from the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the Council. According to a press release, the Council also adopted a resolution requesting that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “urgently dispatch a mission to Iraq to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law” by these...
International Law in Brief
International Law in Brief (ILIB) is a forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
On August 29, 2014, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a renewed commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests. According to a news article, at the initiation of Kazakhstan, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/35 in December 2009, declaring August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The resolution “calls for increasing awareness and education ‘about the effects of nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.’” Accordingly...
On August 29, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights congratulated the Mexican Supreme Court for the adoption of a Protocol (Spanish only) involving sexual orientation and gender identity. According to a press release, the Protocol is “aimed at aiding judges in deciding cases related to sexual orientation and gender identity in conformity with human rights and internationally recognized and binding human rights standards.” Although not binding, “the Protocol identifies some common stereotypes and misconceptions about LGBTI persons, which usually hinder their right to access to...
On August 11, 2014, the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) granted Moinina Fofana Conditional Early Release, to be implemented after he has served six more months in prison. According to the press release, during his six remaining months in prison, the RSCSL Registrar and the Rwandan Prison Authorities “will certify that he understands the nature and seriousness of the crimes for which he was convicted, that he understands that what may be a legitimate cause does not justify the use of illegal means, and that he acknowledges his own responsibility and the leadership role he...
On August 26, 2014 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2172, which extends the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until August 31, 2015. According to a news article, the Security Council “strongly called on all parties concerned to respect the cessation of hostilities, to prevent any violation of the Blue Line and to respect it in its entirety and to cooperate fully with the UN and the peacekeeping force.” UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force, “which was first established in 1978, [and] is tasked with ensuring that the area between the so-called Blue Line...
On August 22, 2014, an independent panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against Argentina in response to complaints brought by the United States, the European Union, and Japan regarding “certain measures imposed by Argentina on the importation of goods.” According to a news article, “[t]he panel of three independent arbitrators found that Argentina's licensing rules violated WTO agreements, and urged the government of President Cristina Fernandez to bring them in line with international trade rules.” Argentina now has sixty days to submit an appeal of the panel’s decision to...
On August 18, 2014, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published a report titled “Human Rights of Migrants and Other Persons in the Context of Human Mobility in Mexico.” The report’s purpose is to “assess the human rights situation of the international and domestic migrants in the context of human mobility in Mexico and to make recommendations to ensure that the migration and immigration policies, laws and practices in the United Mexican States . . . comport with the international human rights obligations it has undertaken to protect migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, victims...
On August 15, 2014, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2170, “[e]xpressing its gravest concern that territory in parts of Iraq and Syria is under the control of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al Nusrah Front (ANF).” Acting under Chapter VII, the Security Council “[d]eplores and condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist acts of ISIL and its violent extremist ideology, and its continued gross, systematic and widespread abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law.” According to a news article, the “[o]ngoing turmoil in northern Iraq...
On August 12, 2014, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs launched its publication, “Mental Health Matters: the Social Inclusion of Youth with Mental Health Conditions.” According to a news article, the report was “launched to coincide with International Youth Day which this year shines a spotlight on the importance of mental health.” Noting that “one-fifth of the young people around the world experience a mental health condition,” the report seeks “to draw on available research to raise awareness of youth mental-health conditions among relevant stakeholders and to start a...
On August 8, 2014, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) held its tenth regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya on “The role of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the settlement of disputes relating to the law of the sea in Eastern and Southern Africa.” According to the press release, the aim of the conference was to “to familiarize the participants with the mechanism for dispute settlement established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and with the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.” The workshops serve as “part of the Tribunal’s...