#9 -ˏˋ⚖️🙅♀️💣ˎˊ- Expanding the boundaries of home
The weekly roundup keeping you on the cutting edge of international justice and human rights issues, or something like that.
Dear all,
Without further ado, this week in Law Not War:
The potential dissolution of the Russian Federation
A post-mortem examination of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
The life and legacy of Victoria Amelina, a champion of human rights and a voice of resilience
The impacts and implications of generative AI on our fundamental rights
And more…
I hope you’ll enjoy reading this issue.
Maxence
Saved from the World-Wide Web over the past few days
🇷🇺 The point of no return
These last few days, I’ve often been asked about my take on Wagner’s whatever-that-was moment in Russia. It’s still quite hard to say - however, I now recommend this article. In short, it suggests the “rebellion” signals a potential collapse of the Russian Federation. Here's a condensed summary:
The rebellion indicates that the Russian state has lost its monopoly on violence, implying a loss of monopoly on power.
The lack of response from regular Russian troops and security forces to the rebellion suggests a failing governance system in Russia.
With the state's inability to maintain order, the responsibility for safety now falls on individuals and corporations, leading to the rise of private military companies.
➡ Read more on New Eastern Europe.
🇲🇱 MINUSMA, a post mortem
A three-part series on Bram Posthumus's blog (disclaimer: we’ve met a longgggggg time ago*) provides a post-mortem of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Here's a summary:
MINUSMA was established with the aim of protecting civilians and assisting the Malian state in extending its authority throughout the country. However, the mission was fraught with contradictions from the start.
The mission's mandate shifted over time due to the deteriorating security situation in Mali. Despite its original mandate, MINUSMA was not equipped to combat the armed groups terrorizing the population. Instead, this responsibility fell to the Malian Army and the French anti-terrorism force, Barkhane.
The departure of MINUSMA, as voted by the UN Security Council, will lead to significant job losses and economic impacts. However, the larger issue is the need for a fundamental rethinking of the UN mission model, which often fails to address the realities on the ground.
Extract :
At its most fundamental level, then, this is about the yawning disconnect between what missions like MINUSMA are supposed to be doing on the ground and what the air-conditioned policy makers say they should be doing. It’s like organising a workshop about the correct use of fire extinguishers – and tweeting about it – while studiously ignoring the fact that the meeting place has already been doused with gasoline and there’s someone on the way carrying matches. Carayol quotes the French researcher Thierry Vircoulon, who puts it well: “UN missions no longer solve conflicts and bring peace. They stabilise conflicts.” And thus help make them go on forever.
➡ Read more on Bram Posthumus's blog.
*2012/2013 - I think Bram was then leaving Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and I was starting at RNW Media. A great memory of a changing world, if you ask me.
🇪🇺 Expanding the boundaries of home: a story for us all
The strike on Kramatorsk in Ukraine last week eventually took the life of Ukrainian writer and war crimes investigator Victoria Amelina.
I went through a bit of her work, some of which is absolutely magnificent.
It’s difficult to summarize the piece I selected, so I’ll just leave an extract here. For a bit of context, during this point in her story, Victoria Amelina is travelling back from abroad to Ukraine via Prague - right after the Russian invasion started:
Yet the Czech border officer glanced at our passports and then looked at us. She was more interested in the expressions on our faces than in our passport details: maybe she was new at the job and hadn’t yet seen people whose country was being bombarded by the Russian Federation. I think she was looking at us with compassion. Then she just stamped our passports without asking any questions. And I realized that she knew; the whole world was looking at us. I started crying and couldn't stop, and when my son asked why I was crying, I replied to him:
"Because we are home."
"But this is not Ukraine," he argued.
"This is Europe," I answered, as if this word "Europe" should explain everything to my child.
We were falling, and our fellow Europeans were ready to catch us. The limits of home may have just expanded, I thought.
May you rest in peace, Victoria Amelina.
🔥 What you need to know about generative AI and human rights
If you’ve been following the developments of generative AI these last few months, you might want to skip this part.
If you haven’t, this is a good opportunity to catch up:
Generative AI is more than just a tool for creating art or images. It's a double-edged sword, capable of impressive feats and concerning drawbacks. It can generate text or images based on human prompts, but it can also mirror and propagate biases, leading to the production of racist language or sexist imagery.
Think of these AI systems as parrots with a tech upgrade. They can mimic what they're fed, but they lack the ability to truly understand it.
This can lead to the replication of harmful biases and even the creation of false information. Imagine asking for a fact and getting a tall tale in return.
Despite some fears, these systems are not on the verge of becoming "superintelligent". They're sophisticated, yes, but they're not about to take over the world.
The real concern lies in the tangible harm AI is already causing. Issues like worker surveillance and mislabeling innocent individuals are just the tip of the iceberg.
➡ Read more on Access Now’s website.
Also rescued from the World-Wide Web
L’avenir en pointillé de Wagner en Afrique (Le Monde, subscribers only)
Journalism on trial in Africa: fortitude and fake news (ISS)
Who Is Liable if AI Violates Your Human Rights? (Impakter)
[Podcast] L’enfant du convoi numéro 20 (Transfert)
The Global Expression Report 2023 (Article 19)
If you’re still reading this, 👏 (and thanks). This is the end of this edition, thank you for stopping by :)
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Maxence
Currently listening to: Wind of Change, Scorpions
P.S.: Prefer to read in French? You’re in luck: this is a bilingual publication.