Monthly Archives: December 2014
UPDATE: What to know about Palestine joining the International Criminal Court
By David Bosco Yesterday brought major news related to international justice: in the wake of a Security Council rebuff, Palestine has reportedly signed the Rome Statute, potentially giving the International Criminal Court (ICC) broad jurisdiction over its territory. Palestinian leaders … Continue reading
Some Unanswered Questions from the Posner-Roth Debate
By Martin Edwards [Crossposted from Permanent Observer] A recent exchange between Eric Posner and Kenneth Roth in the New York Times on the effectiveness of international human rights treaties underscores a desperate need for more theory and more evidence about … Continue reading
Cuba’s road to the World Bank
By David Bosco Scott Morris at the Center for Global Development wonders if the rapprochement between Washington and Havana will finally usher Cuba back into the World Bank: Cuba withdrew its membership from the World Bank in 1960…establishing membership will … Continue reading
International Politics in 2015: Ten Predictions
By Oliver Stuenkel 1. Russia and the West: Towards long-term estrangement Attempts to improve ties between Russia and the West will be hampered by the fact that the current state of affairs is not the product of short-term animosities or … Continue reading
The slow demise of the UN’s Darfur peacekeeping mission
By David Bosco Evidence is mounting that the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur is in its last phase. The government of Omar al-Bashir has said that it wants a quick “exit strategy” for the force, which comprises almost 20,000 soldiers … Continue reading
Ban wants quick end to UN’s Ebola mission
By David Bosco In mid-September, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon created the organization’s first-ever emergency public health mission, the UN Mission for Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER), headed by veteran UN official Anthony Banbury. Not only was UNMEER’s mission unprecedented, it … Continue reading
Capitol Hill versus Turtle Bay
By Martin Edwards [Crossposted from Permanent Observer] Congress has always been fond of writing legislation that restricts how international organizations can operate. In last year’s continuing resolution, there were prohibitions on US spending on the new UN headquarters renovations, as … Continue reading
World Bank scolded on human rights
By David Bosco A few days ago, a group of United Nations human rights experts released a quite unusual letter that sharply criticized the World Bank for its treatment of human rights. More than two dozen UN special rapporteurs and … Continue reading
The UN and the challenges of protecting civilians in South Sudan
By David Bosco For months now, United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan have been sheltering tens of thousands of displaced persons on its bases. As lawyer and UN veteran Ralph Mamiya explains in this piece, it’s an almost unprecedented situation … Continue reading
Prosecuting the Taliban
By David Bosco The horrendous Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar–which appears to have taken the lives of more than one hundred children–raises the question of whether any form of international accountability is available for Taliban crimes. Pakistan is … Continue reading
Points of Order 