The West no longer has credibility when it criticizes Russia, China or any other state for human rights abuses or breaches of international law due to its feeble response to Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Palestinians tend to the wounded after an Israeli strike hit a building next to Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 10, 2024.
AP Photo/Adel Hana
The International Court of Justice has heard arguments from each side of an extraordinary genocide case. What was said, and what happens now?
Judges take their seats prior to the hearing of Israel’s defense at the International Court of Justice on Jan. 12, 2024.
Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images
While the International Court of Justice lacks enforcement powers, it can issue orders that could heighten international pressure on Israel to curtail some of its offensive in Gaza.
South Africa’s legal team inside The Hague. They are joined by justice minister Raymond Lamola, left, and ambassador Vusi Madonsela.
Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images
Today, hearings will begin in the International Court of Justice, where South Africa is accusing Israel of genocide in Palestine. How will the proceedings work, and what does it mean for the war?
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu via Getty Images
There is precedent showing the ICJ may grant provisional measures within a month or two of the hearing, preventing Israel from causing further harm in Gaza.
A memorial is left inside a bomb shelter near the Supernova music festival, where eyewitnesses reported Hamas members gang-raping and killing women.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Sexual violence can be used as a weapon of war. Hamas’ use of sexual violence was likely meant to show its power over Israeli women and girls and to humiliate Israeli men and Israel’s military.
A woman prays in front of skulls at a memorial in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, marking the genocide that happened under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.
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While the Genocide Convention has helped raise awareness and prevent ethnic violence from escalating, it has not stopped many accusations of genocides, including violence in Darfur and in Ukraine.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for a photo at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November 2023 in San Francisco.
(AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Global human rights is an area where Chinese officials are willing to engage with the international community and could provide a window of opportunity towards further progress in the future.
Despite demands for an urgent ‘reservation’ and ‘national interest test’ over new WHO regulations, New Zealand’s sovereignty is not at risk from international agreements or treaties.
Plastic litters a beach in Manila, Philippines.
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A central question remains unresolved in the draft treaty: Is plastic pollution basically a waste management problem, or can it be solved only with a cap on production?
The UN secretary-general said neither side is justified in its actions against civilians. But holding them accountable for war crimes is extremely difficult.
Israel’s warning to civilians in Gaza of impending attacks must be ‘effective’ under international law, meaning it must not only reach people but allow them sufficient time to evacuate safely.
Warring parties are duty-bound to minimize civilian casualties.
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Ukraine is seeking compensation from Russia in the case, but the International Court of Justice needs to agree to hear it first.
Karim Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, speaks at a Parliament Hill news conference during his first official visit to Canada in May 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
The war crimes probe signals a new path for Canada that prioritizes international law and corrects past policy failures, while validating the experiences of Ukrainians.
A military convoy on the way to Port Sudan on Aug. 30, 2023.
Photo by AFP via Getty Images
The international community has also failed to protect civilians in Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Myanmar and Ethiopia, a genocide expert writes.