International Law in Brief

On March 30, 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber upheld the conviction and sentencing of Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda was convicted on July 8, 2019, of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions carried out in 2002-03 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (covered in ILIB). He was then sentence to 30 years' imprisonment, the longest sentence term to be imposed by the ICC (also covered in ILIB). The Appeals Chamber rejected all of Ntaganda's arguments, including that his right to a fair trial had been violated, that the Trial Chamber "exceeded the...

On March 25, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions upon two Burmese military holding companies, Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC), both of which control significant portions of the country’s economy, including trading, natural resources, alcohol, cigarettes, and consumer goods. The goal of these sanctions is to target the economic resources, or the “financial lifeline” that fuels the Burma military regime. The OFAC reiterates that the sanctions are not directed...

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution declaring the European Union an “LBTIQ Freedom Zone,” and strongly denounced any form of violence or discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender. The resolution emphasizes the significance of equal treatment and non-discrimination as a fundamental right central to the EU Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and restates that LGBTIQ rights are human rights. It condemns resolutions adopted across Poland and Hungary that cut directly against this core principle, seeking to diminish...

In a statement on Myanmar released on March 10, 2021, by the President of the Security Council, the Council  emphasized the necessity for the release of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other members of the Government who were detained, as well as all citizens who were detained arbitrarily. It also have condemned the violence against peaceful protesters, as well as women and children. The Council called for the military to exercise “utmost restraint” and stated that it will be monitoring the situation accordingly. Along with its “deep concern[s]” about...