universal jurisdiction

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collective self-defense, coronavirus, Dictatorship, Europe, History, human rights, International Law, Iraq, Kuwait, NATO, nuclear war, Rule of Law, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, Totalitarian regimes, U.N. Charter, U.N. General Assembly, U.N. General Assembly, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Nations, use of force, Vladimir Putin February 7, 2022

European and international security after the Ukraine Crisis

We may be in the gravest military crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962… How will it all end? It could all end in…

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Barack Obama, China, France, human rights, International Law, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Torture Convention, united arab emirates, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes July 10, 2012

Next steps in Syria: End UNSMIS observer mission, and send Kofi Annan home. Also, begin prosecutions of war criminals, and prepare for possible military action—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #60 (July 10)

Latest News and Opinion Editorial, “Annan’s failure” (Kofi Annan’s return to Damascus Sunday evening adds insult to injury after his admission over the weekend that…

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Barack Obama, China, Crimes Against Humanity, Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, Dictatorship, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Iran, NATO, Russia, State Department, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes March 15, 2012

Beyond Despair: Obama’s Debacle in Syria—Update #12 (March 16)

[developing] It is easier now to understand how the European Powers and the United States looked the other way as Hitler executed all his opponents…

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Afghanistan, Argentina, Baltasar Garzón, Barack Obama, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, Germany, Hamid Karzai, History, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, State Department, Taliban, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, United States July 1, 2011

Update: Torture, The STL in Lebanon, and Obama’s “Way Forward” in Afghanistan

Today we introduce a new feature in The Trenchant Observer, an occasional column commenting on some of the more important events of the previous weeks…

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Argentina, Baltasar Garzón, Chile, CIA, corruption, Crimes Against Humanity, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, Latin America, NATO, South America, Spain, State Department, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S Foreign Relations, United States April 13, 2010

Garzon’s Accusers are Accused: Abuse of Judicial Power in Garzón Case is Stain on Spanish Judiciary

Judge Luciano Varela and the President of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, Juan Saavedra, have themselves been accused in a private criminal complaint…

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Argentina, Chile, History, human rights, International Law, Latin America, South America, Spain April 11, 2010

In Spain, Judge Baltazar Garzón, Champion of Human Rights, is Prosecuted

The great champion of international human rights and of the exercise of universal jurisdiction in human rights cases, Judge Baltazar Garzón, has been criminally charged by a judge’s order, in a private criminal action (querella) brought by right-wing groups, for alleged abuse of power and violation of an amnesty by investigating matters related the the civil war in Spain.

In an editorial on March 8, 2010, the New York Times condemned this action, saying,

Mr. Garzón should be allowed to resume that work at the earliest possible date. Spain needs an honest accounting of its troubled past, not prosecution of those who have the courage to demand it.