There are many hurdles to a successful prosecution of individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But trying to seek justice is not a futile exercise.
Sudanese protesting against the conflict in Darfur.
Marwan Ali/EPA-EFE
Iraq has asked the US to start withdrawing troops. If it doesn’t, that’s a breach of international law.
The Myanmar military’s years-long campaign against the Rohingya Muslims left hundreds of villages a smoldering pile of debris. Warpait village, Rakhine State, Oct.14, 2016.
Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images
The International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to protect its Rohingya minority and preserve any evidence relevant to the genocide charges against it. But compliance is not guaranteed.
Smoke form Australia’s bushfires could be seen from space. But who should be held to account for the problem?
NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY
Eric Kerr, National University of Singapore and Malini Sur, Western Sydney University
When a bushfire burns is one country, smoke drift means it can become the world’s problem. But the law lacks the teeth to hold those responsible to account.
Mourners carry the coffins of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and eight others during a funeral procession in Karbala, Iraq on Jan. 4, 2020.
MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images
The US and other countries set up the modern system of international law after World War II. Does the US killing of an Iranian general violate those laws? What about Iran’s attack on US bases in Iraq?
U.S. President Donald Trump was flanked by military officers as he responded to the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Iran’s missile strikes on Iraqi bases in response to the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani have raised tensions between the U.S. and Iran. But war seems unlikely at this point.
Almost 4 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, which has taken noteworthy steps to integrate them into the country in the past five years. Will Turkey now try to force those refugees back to Syria?
El Salvador’s new president is the latest Salvadoran leader to order a police crackdown on street gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18.
Reuters/Jose Cabezas
Trump officials plan to send asylum seekers from the US to El Salvador while their claims are processed. That would expose these vulnerable people to grave dangers, says a political violence expert.
Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Sept. 24, 2019.
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
There is a strong framework of international laws and conventions that defend free speech, but Uganda continues to limit freedom of expression especially when the people criticise their president.
Was the International Space Station the scene of space’s first crime?
NASA
NASA is reportedly investigating the first alleged crime in space. But criminal jurisdiction aboard the International Space Station is much more straightforward than it would be for space tourists.
Seized: the Stena Impero in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Hasan Shirvania/EPA
A decision-making process that relies on intuitive feelings rather than careful deliberation invites a host of biases that make bad decisions and disproportional consequences far more likely.