Tag Archives: Israel

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

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

To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Mark Kersten

A growing consensus of international and Israeli human rights organizations, editorial boards, Israeli Holocaust historians and former Attorney Generals, as well as figures like Romeo Dallaire, have all come to the same conclusion: What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. But it is clear there remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Darfur, Gaza, Genocide, Holocaust, Holodomor, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Rwandan Genocide, Sudan, Yazidi Genocide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sifting through speculation: What we do and don’t know about Canada’s Structural Investigation into the Israel-Hamas War

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Mark Kersten

In the wake of the recent revelation that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had opened a structural investigation into international crimes committed during the Israeli-Hamas conflict in early 2024, many have projected their gravest fears, and greatest hopes, on what an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, RCMP Structural Investigation, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes, West Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Courts in Conversation: The International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and their mutual and respective roles in Addressing International Crimes

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following essay examines the relationship between the ICJ and the ICC, at a time when both courts have increasingly found themselves seized of the same situations of mass atrocity crimes, including in Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Afghanistan. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Burma/Myanmar, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Myanmar, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Rohingya, Russia, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

There must be consequences: Accountability for war crimes can help stop attacks on hospitals

Posted on July 2, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The doctors assumed that a well-marked hospital would be safe, especially since the warring parties in the region were informed of its existence and its life-saving operations. But they were wrong, and the attacks came in waves. When it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Humanitarian Law, Iran, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Russia, Sudan, Ukraine, War crimes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Who commits international crimes? A typology of perpetrators

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Mark Kersten

This post is Alette Smeulers‘ introduction to JiC’s symposium on her book, Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?. Smeulers is a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her research takes an inter- and multidisciplinary approach, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alette Smeulers, International Criminal Justice, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, War crimes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“It is time for the further concrete action that has been promised”: an Open Letter to Prime Minister Carney to take decisive action to end genocide in Gaza

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following is an open letter to Canadian PM Mark Carney, written (in both English and French) by 412 Canadian legal, human rights, social justice, international relations, diplomatic, civil society, faith and labour leaders from across the country. The letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Sanctions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rodrigo Duterte’s “Drug War” Lands Him in The Hague: Some Initial Thoughts

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The brazen and brash former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has been surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he faces charges of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed during his so-called “drug war”. A warrant for Duterte was issued under … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump’s Gaza “Plan” would mean committing every core international crime

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Mark Kersten

It is hard to keep track of the number of international crimes being proposed in Washington as a response to the destruction of Gaza. There are solid arguments to be made that President Donald Trump’s “plan” for the United States to “own” … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime of Aggression, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, United States, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment