Few provisions in African international law have attracted as much critical attention, or as blunt a nickname, as Article 46A bis of the Malabo Protocol. This post takes that nickname seriously. It asks whether the label “impunity clause” is legally earned, politically inevitable, or simply unavoidable given the way African states have approached the ICC. Drawing on the contrast with Article 27 of the Rome Statute and the 2019 Al-Bashir Appeals Chamber judgment, it argues that Africa’s recent trajectory, from Malabo’s immunity clause to the Sahel’s exit from the ICC, is less about rejecting accountability than about a deeply contested struggle over who gets to define it.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Treaties
Brainwashing the Uighurs: Violations of the CAT
The Uighurs
It is estimated that just under one million people have been placed into what the Chinese Government have termed ‘re-education centres’, in order to ostensibly combat extremist views and religious-based terrorism. The Xinjiang Government and educational institutional websites state that these centres are scholastic facilities designed to ‘…wash clean the brains of people who have become bewitched by the extreme religious ideologies of the three forces.’ According to several ‘leaked’ documents by the Chinese Authorities, it is estimated that around 15,000 people were sent to these camps within just one week in 2017, showing the sheer scale of the attack on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese Government. These documents were also said to include a memo which have strict instructions from the highest security official at the time, explaining that the camps are to be run as ‘high security prisons with strict discipline, punishments and no escapes’. Having said this, it is unclear how much weight we can attribute to these ‘leaked documents’ as the Chinese Government are staying extremely silent on the matter and denying any human rights breaches within these camps.
Continue readingJustice for the Rohingya and Minority Groups in Myanmar
Since August 2017, the plight of the Rohingya people has re-captured the attention of the international community. The United Nations and other parties have been slow to label the ongoing situation in the Rakhine region genocide. However, recent statements by UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide indicate a significant change in international rhetoric. The current crisis was a result of the alleged attacks by a rag tag group known as the ARSA which occurred in August 2017. The military responded to these attacks which resulted in thousands fleeing. The disproportionate response by the military and various mobs have continued to perpetuate genocide and crimes against humanity resulting in a humanitarian emergency. Continue reading
Corporate Liability under the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime
Author: Regina Paulose
From October 6-7, 2014, the Working Group of Government Experts on Technical Assistance will meet in Vienna, Austria for its 7th session of the Conference of Parties for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (CATOC). The provisional agenda includes a discussion of the “liability of legal persons” which is commonly referred to as corporations. Continue reading
Cultural Property Protections in International Criminal Law
Written by: Regina Paulose
“Wars, confrontations and conflicts in general, between two or more opposing factions, have always represented a serious threat to the integrity of the cultural heritage located in their territories. Unfortunately, this threat most often materializes in the form of the destruction of significant amounts of cultural property (movable and immovable): monuments, religious sites, museums, libraries, archives, etc. Humanity is thus deprived of a shared and irreplaceable cultural heritage.”[1] Continue reading
A Contrario ICL 