Topic 1

Over the past few months, the mass movement of Syrian migrants into and across Europe has transfixed the international community. Though international law governs the decisions as to whether these Syrians are eligible for protection against refoulement (return to torture or persecution), the texts of the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the UN Convention Against Torture have nothing to say about the process through which these protection determinations happen.

On May 18, 2015, the European Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2015/778 (Decision) launching the European Union Naval Force – Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED) with the aim of disrupting the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean.[1] The operational headquarters is located in Rome.

On November 5, 2015, the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),[1] a trade and investment agreement among twelve Pacific nations, was, after a long wait, officially released to the public. The TPP is expected to have a significant impact on global trade and investment, as it brings greater economic integration to a  diverse set of countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam), who together account for almost 40% of global GDP.

Introduction

The focus of this Insight is on the criminal accountability of members of the military component that may be part of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations (military members). Unfortunately, several member states that have contributed military members (Troop Contributing Countries or TCCs) have failed to hold their members accountable for alleged criminal misconduct such as rape.

Introduction

A special thank you to Rebecca Hamilton for her editing and review of this article.

Introduction

[H]ope is an important and constitutive aspect of the human person. Those who commit the most abhorrent and egregious of acts and who inflict untold suffering upon others, nevertheless retain their fundamental humanity and carry within themselves the capacity to change . . . To deny them the experience of hope would be to deny a fundamental aspect of their humanity and, to do that, would be degrading.[1]

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has caused considerable loss of life, bodily injury, and destruction of property and infrastructure in Iraq and Syria since its emergence in 2013.[1] Indeed, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq estimates that between January and August 2014, 8,493 civilians were killed and more than 15,782 civilians were injured by ISIL and its associated groups.[2] In recent months,

On June 26, 2014, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted resolution 26/9, establishing an intergovernmental working group mandated to “elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.”[1]  Yet one day later, the HRC adopted resolution 26/22.

Facts