Last Friday, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) made known its concerns that the M23 rebel group is forcibly recruiting civilians into its ranks. I have posted on this blog before about the continuing impunity of Bosco Ntaganda for his crimes in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (here and here). Bosco …
This is a short follow up to my earlier post on the organisational requirement of the parties as part of the threshold test for non-international armed conflicts, and at the same time a means to mention two very interesting new articles. This time the post relates to Al-Qaida, another armed group which is reported to …
In response to my post earlier today on the organisational requirement applied to the Free Syrian Army, Barrie Sander asked two very relevant questions: (1) Did the ICRC ever release a formal press statement concerning the characterisation of the Syrian conflict as a non-international armed conflict? I’ve been trying to locate one, without much success. …
Follow-up on the organisational requirement: ICRC statements and conflict qualification Read More »
In my first contribution to this blog, I will follow up on Katharine’s post below on religion as a source of rules in the Syrian conflict. She discussed an interesting news article in the Guardian that tells how many young fighters in Syria have been motivated to join brigades associated with Al-Qaida due to the disorganisation …
On Friday, the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued a new arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda – the rebel leader nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ – for crimes committed between 1 September 2002 and the end of September 2003, when he was Chief of Military in Thomas Lubanga Dyilo’s UPC (Union des Patriotes Congolais, UPC) and its military wing FPLC (Forces …
Well-timed second arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda Read More »
In June 2012, the Institute for the Study of War published a comprehensive report into the structure and strength of Syria’s insursency. The report, Syria’s Maturing Insurgency, examines the increasing effectiveness of Syria’s armed opposition which it numbers at 40,000. The report makes particularly interesting reading when analysing the fighting in Syria in relation to whether …
In May 2012, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Africa travelled to Bamako to meet with government representatives about steps that might be taken to protect Mali’s cultural heritage. Already then the ancient city of Timbuktu was under the control of Islamic rebels who were threatening to destroy the city’s ancient heritage. Together, the government and UNESCO agreed …