Newsletter - August 2015
Dear friends,
Welcome to our August newsletter. In this newsletter we will focus on the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding the events in Gaza during the summer of 2014. The report covers several IHL-related issues and reaches severe conclusions with regard to the conduct of Israel and the Palestinians. In the current newsletter we include references to different opinions relating to the report and its conclusions.
For us at ALMA, there appears to be a significant resemblance to the situation approximately six years ago, following operation "Cast Lead" and the publication of the "Goldstone Report". ALMA was founded during that period, and due to the realization of its founders that there is a need to promote the knowledge, understanding and discussion of IHL among the general public. Since then, we've worked to fulfill that goal and we will continue to do so with great dedication in the years to come.
As always, you are welcome to keep in touch via our facebook page and twitter. In order to join our mailing list please send your name and email address to info@alma-ihl.org. If you wish to support ALMA, please visit our donations page.
Sincerely,
Ido Rosenzweig
ALMA Chairman.
Local News & IHL Events
1) ALMA and the INSS invite you to a Joint Event on International Criminal Proceedings- The Next War Zone. The event will be held on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, 16:00 at The Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv. (The event will be held in Hebrew)
2) Call for Applications for the academic year 2015-2016, The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions invites researchers to submit research proposals for Visiting Scholar Fellowships - Cyber Regulatory Research.
The U.N Report on the 2014 Gaza Conflict- Articles and Opinions
1) The Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict.
2) The 2014 Gaza Conflict Factual and Legal Aspects (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel).
3) Amnesty International report: 'Black Friday': Carnage in Rafah during 2014 Israel/Gaza conflict.
4) Ido Rosenzweig, What’s behind "Protective Edge" Investigations (Times of israel).
5) Tom Gal, The report of the UN Commission of Inquiry and the Human Rights Council's item 7 (Audio - Kol Israel- To listen please go to the link and choose "English" under the Recorded Programs menu. The broadcast begins at 04:00.).
6) Ido Rosenzweig, "Protective Edge", investigations, war crimes, UNRWA , human shields and urban warfare (Video - Israel National News- Channel 7).
7) Kevin Jon Heller, The Gaza Report’s Treatment of Warnings: A Response to Blank (Opinio Juris).
8) Pnina Sharvit Baruch & Keren Aviram, Disregarding Reality, Yet Again: The Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry Report (INSS).
9) Laurie Blank, The UN Gaza Report: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (Lawfare).
10) Eliav Lieblich, Reflections on the Israeli Report on the Gaza Conflict (Just Security).
11) Tal Mimran & Amichai Cohen, The review committee established by the Council of the UN Human Rights following operation Protective Edge has released its final report. (The Israel Democracy Institute) (Hebrew).
The ICC Mavi Marmara Investigation
1) Kevin Jon Heller, The Pre-Trial Chamber’s Dangerous Comoros Review Decision, (Opinion Juris).
2) Alex Whiting, Mavi Marmara Case Update: Prosecutor Files Notice of Appeal (Just Security)
3) Kevin Jon Heller, The Most Distressing Paragraph in the Comoros Review Decision, (Opinio Juris).
New IHL Aricles & Media
1) Ido Rosenweig, Promoting respect for IHL by NGOs: The case of ALMA- Association for the Promotion of IHL (International Review of the Red Cross).
2) Gregory H. Fox, Guest Post: The Law of Occupation in the New DOD Law of War Manual (Opinio Juris).
3) Jennifer Daskal, Germany’s Highest-Ranking Prosecutor on the Legality of Drone Strikes – and Much More (Just Security).
4) Nathalie Weizmann, Questions That Should be Asked About Seal Team 6 and the Laws of War (Just Security).
5) Rotem Giladi & Steven R. Ratner, The Role of the ICRC in the Enforcement of the Geneva Conventions (SSRN).
6) David S. Goddard, Applying the European Convention on Human Rights to the Use of Physical Force: Al-Saadoon (ILS).
7) Ian Henderson, Jordan den Dulk and Angeline Lewis, Emerging Technology and Perfidy in Armed Conflict (SSRN).
8) Marcos D. Kotlik, Towards Equality of Belligerents: Why Are Armed Groups Bound by IHL? (SSRN).
9) Gary Brown, Cyber Conflict in DOD’s Law of War Manual (Just Security).
10) Kyle Jahner, IHL Question: Does International Humanitarian Law prohibit the use of hollow point bullets? (USAtoday).
11) Marko Milanovic, European Court Decides that Israel Is Not Occupying Gaza, (Ejiltalk).
@ALMA_IHL Selected Tweets
1) #IHLarticle by .@athasweden: "Humanitarians Under Attack: Tensions, Disparities, and Legal Gaps in Protection" #IHL