The promotion of international justice and accountability is a pillar of international law and the world order that we know today. The advances made in the second half of the 20th century are significant, with the Nuremberg Trials and Tokyo War Crime Trials paving the way to the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda …

Background The environment and inflicting damage on the environment as a means or method of warfare is not new. Manipulating environmental conditions, such as instigating floods or using chemicals to harm the environment has existed throughout the decades. Indeed, deliberately inflicting harm on the environment can have considerable consequences in wartime especially on the civilian population and has been the …

In the aftermath of World War II, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established in 1949. The alliance was formed as part of an effort by the United States and its European allies to dissuade any expansion of the then-Soviet Union (USSR) and to lessen the likelihood of conflict on the continent by supporting deeper political unity among its countries. It has …

South Africa has requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take an interim measure aimed at stopping Israel from committing acts defined as “potential genocide”. The primary action requested is for the court to call for a halt to combat operations. Initially, South Africa’s plea was not met with nearly as much urgency and attention as it is now. …

On January 1st, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, and Muse Bihi Abdi, the leader of Somaliland, surprised the international community with an announcement. During a joint press conference in Addis Ababa, they disclosed that landlocked Ethiopia would lease a naval port and a 20km stretch of the Red Sea coastline in Somaliland. In return, Somaliland would receive shares in Ethiopian …

Background The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an organisation which aims to achieve unity and cooperation amongst petroleum exporting countries, particularly in regards to their exporting policies. The organisation thus operates to achieve a certain stability in the market. In order to join, a state has to have a substantial net export of crude petroleum. An advantage of …

Public diplomacy refers to any of the different government-sponsored operations aimed at directly connecting with foreign publics. Public diplomacy encompasses all official efforts to persuade certain segments of foreign opinion to support or tolerate a government’s strategic goals. In our contemporary world, when economies all around are working together, embassies conduct more than simply diplomatic duties. Embassies not only assist with …

After years of threatening predictions of a comeback of the far-right, we are now witnessing its rise to power. Arguably, Italy, with its previously understated new PM Giorgia Meloni, paved the way to what seems to be a now-inevitable shift in politics. Interestingly, countries that were not initially on the radar have been swiped by a wave of extreme nationalism. …

Background  Holding states responsible for failures to take adequate or sufficient action in order to limit the effects of climate change is an increasing litigation trend perceivable in multiple jurisdictions including the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and France. The most successful manifestation of this trend is arguably the Urgenda case, in which a Dutch Court ordered the Dutch government to cut …

Following election day on the 20th of December in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country has witnessed a wave of protest and uprising as a response to the election outcome, adding to the instability and insecurity present in the country. Due to a faulty organisation surrounding polling stations, only a provisional result can currently be established, one …