The Forever Young Issue
The passing of journalist Arman Soldin | An AI model that respects the UN Declaration of Human Rights | How to repair South Africa’s “amoral foreign policy” | And more...
Law Not War #3, c’est parti.
This week, we'll discuss:
Claude, the AI model that respects the UN Declaration of Human Rights
Whether or not Sudan's warring generals should be sanctioned
The new ICC registrar’s vision for the future
How to repair South Africa’s “amoral foreign policy”
The passing of journalist Arman Soldin in Ukraine
And more…
In the car, during our first trip to the frontline in April 2022, you sang at the top of your lungs over the military radio, "Forever Young. I wanna be forever young."
Daphné Rousseau, a journalist at AFP, paying tribute to her colleague Arman Soldin
Every day, every night, on all "theatres," their eyes and ears
are ours.
Sometimes, the violence they witness takes them away. And it's
revolting.
Arman Soldin died in Ukraine, under the bombs, on May 9, 2023.
Let us pay tribute to him.
Maxence
Saved from the World-Wide Web those past few days
🇫🇷 Death of journalist Arman Soldin in Ukraine: the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office opens an investigation for war crimes (Libération)
An investigation was opened on Wednesday, May 10, for war crimes, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office. Entrusted to the gendarmes of the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes (OCLCH), it will aim to determine the circumstances of the death of this young reporter.
On the role of this office, a good read from last year (in French): How French investigators track war criminals (Le Monde [Paywall])
💻 Meet Claude, the AI model that respects the UN Declaration of Human Rights (Anthropic, not sponsoring this newsletter, but soon?)
Constitutional AI embeds explicit values into language models, making them safer and more transparent. The values are derived from sources such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, best practices, and global platform guidelines. Claude, the AI model trained with Constitutional AI, improves scalability, reduces toxicity, and better handles adversarial inputs.
Key Findings:
Scalable Oversight: Constitutional AI allows for the use of AI supervision instead of human supervision, making it easier to train models to respond appropriately to adversarial inputs, while maintaining helpfulness and drastically reducing toxicity.
Transparency: This approach enables to easily specify, inspect, and understand the principles the AI system is following. It reduces the need for human reviewers to engage with disturbing or harmful content.
Modifiability: Constitutional AI allows developers to alter the model's behavior intuitively by writing principles that discourage unwanted tendencies, making it easier to adjust the model's values as needed.
🇸🇩 Biden officials are still debating whether to sanction Sudan's warring generals (Semafor)
The Biden administration is considering sanctions on Sudan's generals to pressure them into a ceasefire and prevent further civil war. However, the success of such sanctions depends on support from Middle Eastern governments, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have close ties to the generals and doubt the efficacy of sanctions.
Key Findings:
Biden's executive order: President Biden signed an order authorizing sanctions on those threatening Sudan's peace, security, and stability, as a "warning" for the generals to enact a permanent ceasefire.
Dependency on Middle Eastern support: The effectiveness of potential sanctions relies on support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have strong ties to the generals and question the sanctions' success.
⚖️Old challenges, new point of view: New Registrar’s vision for the ICC (Journalists for Justice)
Osvaldo Zavala Giler, an Ecuadorian, has been elected as the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC), surprising observers and marking the first time a non-European has held office. He succeeds Briton Peter Lewis and brings the unique experience of having served as a special assistant to three previous registrars. Zavala aims to leverage his insider knowledge to address the court's challenges more directly.
As the ICC's first openly gay principal, Zavala has expressed the need for more space, visibility, and dialogue regarding diversity and inclusion within the organization. He plans to focus on building a more diverse institution and revealed that a new diversity project will be launched soon.
In addition, Zavala will have to navigate issues related to the ICC's operations in countries with anti-LGBTIQ legislation, such as Uganda and Senegal. He emphasized the importance of ensuring employee safety and security, complying with local legislation, and managing reputational risks.
🇺🇦 An International special tribunal is the only viable path to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine (Just Security)
As Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine continues, the establishment of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression could prosecute Russia's top leaders and reinforce the global fight against impunity. Alternatives face legal and political hurdles, while the tribunal would deter aggression worldwide and contribute to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Key findings:
An international tribunal is the best option for accountability, as other alternatives face legal and political roadblocks.
Establishing a tribunal would send a strong political message against aggression and deter potential future aggressors.
Seeking justice and accountability through a tribunal depends on the political will of UN member states, which must overcome fears and hesitation.
🇿🇦 Only a return to first principles can repair South Africa’s amoral foreign policy (Mail & Guardian)
How else are we supposed to condemn the next president of the United States for invading a country like Iraq under false pretences and then leaving it in a mess when we can’t see the similarity with what Putin is doing in Ukraine? How are we supposed to speak out for oppressed peoples elsewhere when we are tacitly fine with Ukrainians being bombed into the Stone Age simply because Putin doesn’t believe Ukraine should exist?
As the ICC issues an arrest warrant for Putin, South Africa faces a dilemma: arrest him at the upcoming BRICS summit or defy international law. In this article, Songezo Zibi (leader of the new political party Rise Mzansihe) examines what he thinks is the outdated ANC's stance on foreign relations and the need for a new government.
Key takeaways:
South Africa's ANC government needs a new outlook on global dynamics, moving away from outdated "East vs. West" sentiment.
A new government should base its foreign policy on South Africa's Constitution and Bill of Rights, providing a clear moral stance.
🗎 Interesting report ahead
How are courts responding to SLAPPs?
(SLAPP = Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation)
During the #worldpressfreedomday2023 commemorations in NYC, a report that focuses on the rulings made by courts in various countries regarding SLAPPSs cases was launched. The countries covered include Mexico, South Africa, Serbia, India, Italy, Colombia, Argentina, Bulgaria, and more.
Here are the main findings, according to Paulina Gutiérrez from Article 19:
Courts recognise SLAPPs as an issue but are not always equipped to respond.
Courts are setting parameters of what public interest entails in the context of abusive litigation.
Existing rules on abuse of process, abuse of the law and baseless claims are being creatively used by defendants to guide the courts in analysing the cases as SLAPPs.
Favourable decisions regarding freedom of expression and the victims of SLAPPs happen after at least five years of litigation.
You can read the report here.
Also rescued from the World-Wide Web
Federation CEST and BIRN BiH Sign Memorandum to Boost Education on Genocide Denial (BIRN)
USAID is changing the way it tries to do good in the world (The Economist)
How to stop Putin getting away with murder in Ukraine (Politico)
Serbian president promises to "disarm" country after back-to-back mass shootings (Axios)
Katyn massacre: Poland recommends Russia’s Kaliningrad be called Królewiec (Notes from Poland)
How Brussels Is Plugging Its Loopholes On Russian Sanctions (RFE/RL)
If you’re still reading this, 👏 (and thanks). This is the end of this edition, thank you for stopping by :)
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See you next time!
Maxence
Currently listening to: Forever Young, Alphaville.
P.S.: Prefer to read in French? Lucky you: this is a bilingual publication.
This issue of Law Not War is dedicated to the memory of Arman Soldin and to the memory of all those who have given their lives to inform ours.