Don't let yourself fascinated by war (criminals)
Law Not War #1, we’re on.
Law Not War is a weekly roundup of international justice and human rights insights .
In this week’s edition, we'll discuss:
American war criminals? What major media outlets omitted in their Benjamin Ferencz obituaries
Russian war on Ukraine: morality vs practicality / an explainer / and a mention of the Geneva Conventions
A path to accountability in Burundi?
Sudan: what you need to know if you don’t know anything yet
NATO, EU, and the art of war or something like that
When ECHR delivers its decisions using intersectionality theory
Hello everyone, welcome to Law Not War, your weekly dose of international justice and human rights insights!
Allow me to start this newsletter by honoring Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving member of the team of prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials who passed away this month and from whom the title Law Not War is very much inspired. I shivered when I heard him pronouncing those three words. I still do. (Give it a try. It’s at 1:41 on the Asymmetrical Haircut podcast dedicated to Ben Ferencz)
Thank you for everything, Ben Ferencz.
Ferencz and the potential US war criminals
During the war, Ferencz served in the U.S. Army and then conducted investigations into the conditions at Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau concentration camps. He dedicated the remainder of his life to promoting the establishment of an international criminal court and ensuring accountability for war criminals.
Including, potentially, top members of the George W. Bush administration, including Bush himself. Nevertheless, according to The Intercept, this information was missing in obituaries from major outlets, “including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, and the Associated Press”. (read more here)
Saved from the World-Wide Web those past few days
🤔 What Ukraine wants from Russia may be 'moral,' but is it 'practical'? (RFE/RL)
Owen Matthews, a British journalist, historian, and Russia watcher, argues that while Ukraine has a moral right to reclaim its pre-2014 borders, it is not a practical outcome due to the fact that the population of Crimea does not wish to be part of Ukraine again. He suggests that Ukraine should instead focus on its sovereignty and respect the concerns of Russian speakers in Ukraine, as Putin used their plight to launch the war. Matthews also acknowledges that a direct military confrontation with Russia must be avoided and that ultimately might makes right.
🇺🇦 👧👦Explainer: What we know about Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children (The Kyiv Independent)
In a groundbreaking decision in March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly in charge of Ukrainian children's deportations to Russia.
Here are some takeaways from the explainer:
The unlawful transfer of Ukrainian minors to Russia began in 2014, with one of the largest programs of children relocation being launched by the late Russian Presidential Council member Elizaveta Glinka.
Russian troops follow five scenarios to abduct and deport Ukrainian children, including killing parents, taking children directly from families, or separating them from their parents in filtration camps in Russia.
Deported Ukrainian children are placed in hotels, summer camps, recreation centers, and shelters in Russia, where they are subjected to re-education to integrate them into Russian life and culture.
As of April 21, 2023, 19,393 children have been unlawfully deported to Russia, while only 361 children have been brought back to Ukraine. The actual number of deported children might be higher than the recorded data.
🌍⚖️Putin at the ICC? In fact, any country could/should prosecute him (OpinioJuris)
The article highlights that the grave breaches regime is universally accepted by all states, and that all states have a legal obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed such grave breaches, regardless of their nationality. It also mentions new legislation in the US and other countries which allow for prosecutions for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, even when there is no connection to the country apart from the presence of the alleged perpetrator.
🇸🇩 Sudan: what you need to know if you don’t know anything yet (Crisis Group)
In Sudan, cities across the country are experiencing pitched battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict is a result of the power struggle between General Abdelfattah al-Burhan and Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo, which has been exacerbated by distrust between the two sides and intense recruitment competition. This article is kind of a good explainer.
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🇧🇮 Burundi: will the former prime minister face justice for his alleged human rights violations?
Two articles to talk about what is happening right now in Burundi. First, Iwacu's explanation [transparency note: I worked with this very good newspaper in the past]. In short, for Iwacu, the Bunyoni affair is a struggle between President Evariste Ndayishimiye and former Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni. The Ministry of Communication missed an opportunity by not communicating about this arrest, and this caused a lot of rumours. The National Human Rights Commission (CNIDH) was able to announce that Bunyoni was doing okay and that the process was following its normal course, without further details. This case is the test for President Ndayishimiye, who has to face two currents: those who want the survival of the circle of generals and who are hostile to a public trial, and those who support the President.
For its part, Amnesty International asks that the opportunity be seized for Alain Guillaume Bunyoni to answer in court for human rights violations for which he is allegedly responsible.
⚠️Very long read and interesting read in French ⬇️
The new rules of military art are not written in Ukraine, a conversation with Louis Gautier
Louis Gautier, Director of the Major Strategic Challenges Chair at Paris 1, discusses the effects of the war in Ukraine on European defence. He underlines the importance of NATO in the collective defense of Europeans and highlights the pitfalls to avoid in order not to be fascinated by war. It describes how the Europeans, through their defense credits, constitute the second military power in the world and risk being at the forefront of maintaining a front line against Russia. Finally, Gautier stresses that Europeans must develop and share strategic and security priorities to be able to face the challenges of tomorrow.
Here’s a quote from the interview with Le Grand Continent (link):
Among all the traps that war sets for those who seek to understand its origins in its historical occurrences and recurrence, the first that must be avoided is to allow oneself to be fascinated by it.
🔥 Interesting project ahead
Intersectionality : reimagining the European Court of Human Rights case law from a different perspective
The volume "Intersectional Rewrites: European Court of Human Rights Judgments Reimagined" aims to reimagine 15 recent judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights using intersectionality theory, emphasizing the complex nature of discrimination experienced by those with intersecting identities.
Also: the project is looking for authors.
Also saved from the world-wide web
Polish TV station investigated over Holocaust scholar’s claim Poles did little to help Jews in WW2 (Notes from Poland)
Liberty, Equality, Police Brutality (Foreign Policy)
Are Russian mercenaries bad for the Central African Republic? (Responsible Statecraft)
UN rebukes Washington over reports it eavesdropped on secretary general (The Guardian)
Kaczyński announces assassination investigation over Smolensk crash and wants Putin to face ICC (Notes from Poland)
‘Don’t grant EU funds to Hungary’, MEPs tell Commission (euractiv)
Ukrainian justice sanctions “incitement to genocide” (justiceinfo.net)
If you’re still reading this, 👏 (and thanks). Nevertheless: I did not mention anything about the (rather important) matters below, so if you want me to find the best insights so far on those topics, let me know.
This is the end of this edition. Thank you for reading! I welcome any candid feedback, so don’t hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn or on Twitter.
Finally, if you liked reading those lines, you can share them with like-minded folks. It would help and encourage me a lot 💪
See you next time!
Maxence
Currently listening to: Si tu m’aimes encore, Nino Ferrer
P.-S: Prefer to read in French? Lucky you: this is a bilingual publication.