Category Archives: United Nations

We need to talk about the “International Stabilization Force”: Canada and others say they’ll support a military intervention to ‘enforce peace’ and protect civilians in Gaza

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Mark Kersten

As the first stage of the peace plan for Gaza takes shape amidst reported breaches of the fragile agreement between Hamas and Israel, a critical question remains: will military forces be used to secure Gaza? While Canada announced its recognition … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Canada, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace Negotiations, Peace Processes, Peacebuilding, Responsibiltiy to Protect (R2P), United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lifting Immunity, Resolving Impunity? The Case for an Immunity Exception in a Future Crimes Against Humanity Convention

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Mayya Chaykina join JiC for this post on the issue of immunities in the proposed Crimes Against Humanity Convention. Mayya is a master’s student in law at Sciences Po Paris. Her work focuses on international criminal law, mass atrocity prevention, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Guest Posts, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Canada and allies recognize Palestine: what does it mean, what does it change, and will real action to end atrocities and annexation follow?

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Amidst the atrocities, annexation efforts, and ignored warnings to stop both, it became impossible to defend the status quo. So, on 21 September 2025, Canada joined 150 other states – including erstwhile Israeli allies, France and the UK – that … Continue reading →

Posted in Apartheid, Canada, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Inversion of Pariah Status:  How Washington is undermining the UN General Assembly as a sanctuary for peace to thwart the ICC

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Victor Peskin joins JiC for this guest post on the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. Victor is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics & Global Studies at Arizona State University and a Senior Research Fellow at the UC … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Sanctions, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

An Important Past: Since Hitler, Heads of State have No Immunity 

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Mark Kersten

The following guest post was written by Dan Plesch, Professor of Diplomacy and Strategy at SOAS University of London and a Door Tenant at the Chambers of Stephen Kay KC at 9 Bedford Row. His books include, ‘Human Rights After … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, Guest Posts, Historical Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Justice, United Nations | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ukraine’s allies can and should find a way to seize repurpose Russian assets to fund reparations

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Mark Kersten

Pass through Toronto Pearson airport and you might spot a tired looking plane on the tarmac. No, it’s not another delayed Air Canada flight. The aircraft is the Russian-registered Volga-Dnepr, seized by Canadian authorities in February 2022. That plane is now likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Asset Seizure, Canada, Russia, Sanctions, Transnational Criminal Law, Transnational Organized Crime, Ukraine, United Nations | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A Nexus for Justice: Investigating the Intersection of International Crimes and Transnational Organized Crimes

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Mark Kersten

The following are remarks that I gave on 22 September 2020 to the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya, which was established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June of this year. The talk focused on the need to investigate … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, European Union (EU), Human Trafficking, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Transnational Organized Crime, United Nations | 3 Comments

Afghans Don’t Know the ICC, but its Hope to Deliver Justice Depends on Making Sure They Do

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Mark Kersten

Ehsan Qaane joins JiC for this post on the role and importance of proactive outreach by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Afghanistan, where the Court is likely to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity,. Ehsan is … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Guest Posts, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Outreach, United Nations, United States | Tagged | 1 Comment

Transitional Justice Battlegrounds: Another Bad Week in Burundi

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Mark Kersten

Astrid Jamar joins JiC for this guest-post on recent developments regarding transitional and international criminal justice in Burundi. Astrid is a Research Assistant in Political Settlements Research Programmes at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law. Transitional justice has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Burundi, Guest Posts, Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Justice, Transitional Justice, United Nations | 6 Comments

That Time the Bush Administration (Probably) Kiboshed Iraq’s ICC Membership

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Mark Kersten

In recent weeks, the internet has featured hundreds of articles exclaiming the need to investigate atrocities perpetrated in Iraq. Many continue to insist that UK officials who are responsible for alleged war crimes during the British and American occupation of … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic State, United Kingdom, United Nations, United States | 5 Comments