Between 2006 and 2024, over 1,200 journalists were killed, with UNESCO reporting that 85% of these cases remain unresolved. Journalism, once hailed as a pillar of democracy, has now become a perilous profession. This culture of impunity reflects systemic failures at the national and international levels to protect journalists and hold perpetrators accountable. The result […]
Tag: international law
Echoes of the Earth: A Battle for Sacred Lands
The coast of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, near the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, is a picture of calm. Clouds rest on the horizon, and gentle waves turn the sand into a reflection of the blue sky. But this serenity faces a threat—one driven by the demands of a warming climate and an economy rooted in fossil […]
Drone Warfare is Eroding the Right to Life
Technology has made war feel as remote as a video game: armed drones hover above like silent arbiters of life and death, striking targets with the press of a button. These “precision” machines, initially confined to distant battlefields, are now used in routine counter-terrorism operations and even domestic policing. But who really pays the price […]
South Africa Takes on Israel: A New Front in the Gaza Conflict
In a landmark move on December 29th of 2023, South Africa initiated legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention due to Israel’s actions in Gaza. This unprecedented case raises not only complex legal questions but also shines a spotlight on ongoing humanitarian crises and […]
Women Can be Anything! Even Suicide Bombers.
She was sixteen years old when she killed three people. Passing through an Israeli checkpoint in Southern Lebanon on April 9, 1985, Sana’a Mehaidli was determined to become a martyr of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. She triggered her explosive-laden Peugeot, killing herself and two nearby Israeli soldiers. She went down in history as the […]
Dissatisfaction and Disappointment at UNGA78
“Compromise has become a dirty word. Our world needs statesmanship, not gamesmanship and gridlock . . . It is time for a global compromise. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise. Leaders have a social responsibility to compromise in building the common future of peace and prosperity for our common good.” With […]
Japan and South Korea Seek Reconciliation Amidst North Korean Missile Threats
Following a North Korean missile launch on the 14th of April, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have agreed to increase the frequency of missile defense exercises and discussed resuming joint training. While the U.S. has maintained its presence in East Asia as well as its good relationships with both Japan and South Korea, this […]
Piecing Back a Shattered Peace in Europe: An Interview with Darren C. Zook
Professor Darren C. Zook teaches in Political Studies and Global Studies at UC Berkeley. His research interests include human rights, comparative Asian politics, international law, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. BPR sat down with him, dressed in one of his signature floral-patterned shirts, to discuss the Russo-Ukrainian War’s impact on international law […]
Where Will Universal Jurisdiction Go from Here?
In mid-January, Germany drew headlines when a Koblenz court found Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan guilty of torture, murder, and sexual violence. A few months before the conviction of Raslan, a French court determined that legal action against a member of Syrian state security, Abdulhamid C., could not proceed. A common theme unites the two cases: […]
Que Sarin, Sarin
Accusations of war crimes far predate the international law that defines those crimes; the first recorded international trial for war crimes occurred in 1474, while formal international law on the subject was only promulgated in the 1890s. Of course, once the concept of a war crime emerged, the exploitation of war crime accusations for political […]