What's Next for Afghans Fleeing the Taliban?
This document was updated on September 9 to reflect that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service has resumed operations internationally from Kabul airport and some domestic flights are operating. The media reported that on September 9, a…
Q&A: Swiss Trial for Liberia Atrocities: Universal Jurisdiction Paves Path for Justice
Who is Alieu Kosiah and what are the charges against him? Why is Kosiah's trial taking place in Switzerland? What international crimes were committed in Liberia during its civil wars? Shouldn't crimes committed in Liberia during the…
Q&A: Conflict in Ethiopia and International Law
On November 4, 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared on state television and acknowledged that he ordered the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) to commence operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in response…
Libya: Q&A on an International Commission of Inquiry
Human Rights Watch has documented a steady deterioration in the human rights and humanitarian situation in Libya since the beginning of 2019. Insufficient domestic and international efforts to ensure a measure of accountability for past and ongoing…
Afghanistan and the International Criminal Court
On November 20, 2017, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, requested permission from the court's judges to authorize an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity…
Q&A: Recent Events and Deaths at the Irreecha Festival in Ethiopia
The following questions and answers are critical to understanding recent events in Ethiopia. Responses are written by Felix Horne, senior Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch. The Human Rights Watch analysis of the situation is…
Q&A: The Trans-Pacific Partnership
What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership? What are the main human rights issues relating to the TPP? What are the primary labor rights issues? Will the TPP require countries with poor labor rights records to reform? What are the…
Why do People Risk Their Lives to Cross the Mediterranean?
The European Union (EU) is facing unprecedented numbers of refugees and migrants arriving by boat. In 2014, 220,000 people arrived, almost double the combined total of 121,000 from 2011 through 2013. During just the first six…
ICC: Libya's Bids to Try Gaddafi, Sanussi
(Brussels) – The ICC is considering challenges to the court's jurisdiction to try ICC suspects Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's former ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and Abdullah Sanussi, the Gaddafi-era intelligence chief. Libya says it is…
Libya: Q&A on the ICC and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
The International Criminal Court (ICC) judges granted arrest warrants on June 27, 2011, for Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and former intelligence chief Abdullah Sanussi in an investigation authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution…
Libya: Q&A on the Arrest and Surrender of the Three International Criminal Court Suspects
What is the source of the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction in Libya? Has the court issued any arrest warrants related to the ICC prosecutor's current investigation? How did the judges make the determination to issue arrest warrants…
Libya: Q & A on the Arrest Warrants for Gaddafi, Cohorts
The International Criminal Court (ICC), by issuing an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi, signaled that the law can reach even those long thought to be immune to accountability. The ICC judges granted warrants on June 27, 2011, for Gaddafi, the Libyan…
Q & A on Laws of War Issues in Libya
The following Questions and Answers (Q & A) address aspects of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) governing the armed conflict between the government of Libya and the international coalition, and between Libya and Libyan opposition…
ICC: Prosecutor to Open an Investigation in Libya
Q&A on Libya and the International Criminal Court
On March 3, 2011, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced he would open an investigation into the situation in Libya. This follows the referral on February 26, 2011 by the United Nations (UN) Security Council-by a vote of 15-0-…
Q&A: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Trial of Radovan Karadzic
Who is Radovan Karadzic? What are the charges against him? It's been more than 14 years since his initial indictment. Why is his trial important? Why hasn't Karadzic's co-accused, Ratko Mladic, been arrested? Doesn't Karadzic claim that he was…
Q & A: Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's Trial
1. Where do the proceedings in the Milosevic trial stand? Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was indicted under three separate indictments for crimes committed in Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial started on…
Q & A on Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Process
Afghanistan began the process of choosing its next government. Over the next few weeks, Afghans across the country will take part in meetings and elections culminating in mid-June with the convening of a consultative body known as the loya jirga.
Legal Issues Arising from the War in Afghanistan and Related Anti-Terrorism Efforts
The horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that claimed the lives of thousands of civilians constituted criminal acts under both United States and international law. In particular, as acts of murder committed…
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
Universal Jurisdiction