Topic 1

Introduction

On January 14, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocity Prevention Act of 2018. The United States initially signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide at its unveiling in 1948, but did not take the mandated step (Article V) of established the federal crime of genocide until the Proxmire Act in 1988.

As chemical-intensive industries have grown, environmental contamination and human health degradation from chemical pollutants have heavily intensified, prompting global environmental concern.[1] In particular, plastic waste has emerged as one of the most problematic aspects of the rising wave of global chemical pollution.

Introduction

On December 13, 2018, parties to the conflict in Yemen came together in Stockholm, Sweden, and agreed to a series of undertakings that raised hopes for a peaceful settlement of the conflict that began in 2015 and has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and allegations that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and human rights abuses were committed by all sides.[1]

Introduction 

On February 27, 2019, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Jam v. International Finance Corp.,[1] a case of critical importance for international organizations. The question presented in Jam was whether U.S. law affords international organizations absolute immunity from suit in the United States, or whether international organizations instead are entitled to only the more limited or "restrictive" immunity that applies to foreign sovereigns under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

In Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965,[1] the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its Advisory Opinion on the two questions posed in the UN General Assembly's request.[2] First, had Mauritius' decolonization been completed when it gained independence in 1968, after  the excision of the Chagos Archipelago?

In October 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization in charge of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing regulations,[1] announced that it would issue guidelines on virtual asset by June 2019.[2] A virtual asset is a digital representation of value that can be traded, transferred, or used for payment or investment purposes, which does not have the status of legal tender in any jurisdiction.