South Sudan Leader Travels to Israel

The President of newly independent South Sudan has traveled to Israel and had warm words for the Jewish state, describing it as a steadfast ally of South Sudan's aspirations of independence and offering a model for how to survive as a young nation with hostile neighbors.

The alliance makes some sense -- Sudan and Israel are not friends, and South Sudan and Sudan obviously aren't either. In any event, hopefully this is the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

Quick Eats Roundup

The law school threw a dinner party downtown for us 2Ls, to celebrate us reaching the midway (if you know Hyde Park, you'll laugh at the pun) of our law school career. The dinner felt rushed though: arrive, 10 minutes later seated and eating, courses come out rapid fire, speech by Professor Masur, buses arrive, we go home. It was impressive.

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The bullet-proof tailor of Bogota. This is really, really cool. Involves a reporter getting shot in the gut.

Egyptian journalist union punishes two members for contacts with Israel. One of the writers is "editor in chief of the state-run weekly Democratiya, or Democracy", the title of which I find unbelievably ironic.

Anti-Semitic acts soared in France last year.

Radical rabbi blames gays for natural disasters, warns against eliminating DADT. For the record, Israel has let gays and lesbians serve openly for over 25 years (and it's still kicking!).

Appeals court reverses trial court decision which had thrown out genocide charges against Sudanese President Bashir; Kevin Jon Heller defends the reversal against critics.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) wants it all ways: the joy of controlling the legislative agenda, and the joy of attacking mythical "liberal extremists" for controlling the legislative agenda.

Justice Department issues a recruitment call for mentally retarded lawyers. Sarah Palin is presumably thrilled.

Turkish PM: Muslims Can't Commit Genocide

In the course of arguing (surprise) that Israel's operation in Gaza (estimated number of deaths: circa 2,000) constituted graver war crimes that the Darfur genocide (estimated number of deaths: 200-300,000 as of 2008), Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated "It is not possible for those who belong to the Muslim faith to carry out genocide."

I suppose definitional impossibility is the strongest argument I've heard buttressing Turkey's childish and appalling refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. But it hardly bodes well for a country that is supposedly critical as an "arbiter" between Israel and its neighbors.

AU Dissenters

Kevin Jon Heller has a good post complicating the earlier picture of AU nations deciding en masse to ignore their ICC treaty obligations vis-a-vis Sudan. Botswana has already said it will not go along with the motion, and reports indicate that the AU motion itself was hotly contested inside the organization. Dapo Akande argues that the AU's maneuvering have come within the context of the Rome Treaty and ICC procedure, which should be seen as proof that the continent is not rejecting the institution wholesale.

Eh. I'm pleased by the lack of unanimity and Botswana's defection. But the fact that the AU is able to work within legal confines rather than rejecting them outright doesn't tell us that much. Again, international law is an area with particular fluidity that enables it to be cited and deployed in favor of virtually any practical position a state might take. The actual way international legal disputes play out, then, is primarily a function of political power -- and the same reports which "complicate" the AU's resolution also indicate that the move came due to heavy pressure by Libya, one of the most powerful states in the union.

Of Law and War

Noting that no less than 30 African nations have officially repudiated their treaty obligations under the ICC in order to protect genocidaire Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Chicago international law expert Eric Posner writes:

It is increasingly clear that the ICC, like every utopian international institution that preceded it, will not accomplish its mission—to bring international justice to places like Sudan where a genocide is taking place. It is rapidly being downgraded to a development institution, one that can provide legal and judicial capacity to states that request its help in battles with insurgencies, such as Uganda and the Central African Republic.

However, Posner notes, the full fury of international law has been raining down upon Israel. Posner's advice to Israel is simple: the law doesn't matter, it's the politics. Change your behavior, do better diplomacy, or take vacations elsewhere.

I think this goes hand-in-hand with my observations about the heavily political nature of the international legal regime. Because the very norms themselves are being crafted in the midst of salient political conflicts, it is unsurprising that these norms will systematically be bent to advance the interest of locally powerful actors, i.e., those most in the position to influence the development of the law. The international legal regime is less a tool of law than it is a tool of lawfare. It is an open question whether any legal system can "escape" from political influences, but it is beyond dispute that the international legal system (for reasons any good realist could explain) is hopelessly entangled with them. It is fair to say, indeed, that there is no international law outside of international politics.

Voluntary Appearance

A Darfuri rebel commander, indicted by the ICC for war crimes, has shown up voluntarily in The Hague to face prosecution.

Bahr Idriss Abu Garda spoke only briefly during his short court appearance at The Hague, to thank the court.

Garda surrendered himself to the court voluntarily.

His spokesman said earlier he was not guilty and that he had come to The Hague to show an unwavering commitment to justice.

"We know how innocent he is. After the court, he will be freed. He will return to Darfur to continue his struggle," said Tadjadine Bechirniam, communications director for Garda.
[...]
"There should be no immunity for anyone. We show our commitment to justice, to support justice for people in Darfur and Sudan," Bechirniam said in explaining why Garda is voluntarily appearing before the court. Garda believes in the court's independence, his spokesman said.

This is a daring move, and one obviously meant to highlight the distinction between the rebel groups (willing to face responsibility and the rule of law), and the Sudanese government (defiant and flouting its legal obligations). Of course, if Garda is convicted all PR gains might be lost.

Meanwhile, from the vantage point of the ICC this is a rarity isn't it? Most (not all, of course) of the time when someone is summoned before an American criminal court, they voluntarily appear. The ICC, by contrast, is normally ignored, and its targets tend to adopt a "catch me if you can" posture. One defendant (acting out of political calculations) won't change that, but it is a development worth noting.

More from Kevin Jon Heller (who, among other things, highlights the hypocrisy of some of the local African states in this little drama).

Making Dreams Reality

Iran: Wants to wipe Israel off the map.

Hamas: Genocide of the Jews is in its charter.

Sudan: Actually committing genocide, right now!

Solidarity mission of Iran and Hamas to Sudan: Utterly unsurprising.

Hold the Parade

The ICC has officially issued an arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, the first time a sitting state leader has been indicted for war crimes.

People are celebrating. But perhaps they shouldn't. International law expert Kevin Jon Heller argues that, by refusing to specifically indict al-Bashir for the crime of genocide, the ICC has effectively absolved him of the allegation:

As I have pointed out before, Article 58 of the Rome Statute required the PTC to issue the arrest warrant if there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Bashir was responsible for genocide. Not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Not clear and convincing evidence. Not even more probable than not. Just “reasonable grounds.” That is an extremely low standard of proof — and the PTC is saying that Moreno-Ocampo failed to meet it. That’s a very strong, and very shocking, conclusion. I disagree with those scholars who believe that Moreno-Ocampo would be unable to prove genocide at trial, such as Alex de Waal, but I readily admit that it’s a debatable point. I find it very difficult to believe, however, that the evidence of genocide — the murder of the male members of the tribes, the sexual violence and slow-death conditions in the IDP camps, etc. — doesn’t even establish reasonable grounds to believe that genocide occurred.

Normally, refusing to indict does not signal anything about culpability, but that's because indictments normally are discretionary. If Prof. Heller is correct that the indictment for genocide is not supposed to be discretionary so long as there are "reasonable grounds to believe" al-Bashir is liable for genocide, then the ICC is effectively absolving him of all fault. That's a disturbing thought.

Obviously, I'm glad that the ICC has finally taken some action (though I am skeptical that even this will go anywhere). But it is a baby step, and the people of Darfur need and deserve more than that.

Great Leader

The "Group of 77", comprised of 130 (it has expanded from it's original membership) "non-aligned", mostly developing countries in the United Nations, has selected it's chair for the upcoming year. The winner? Sudan.

Since it was the African countries' turn to pick the chair of the organization, and since the selection of Sudan was supported by China, the outcome--however outrageous--is hardly surprising. Strong support from the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference helped ensured Khartoum's diplomatic victory. The selection of the National Islamic Front regime as chair is no mere symbolic exercise, though the symbolism of the choice is intensely dispiriting. For it comes at a time when the head of the regime faces a likely arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court---for crimes against humanity and for genocide in Darfur.

And I thought my cynicism couldn't go deeper.

Salvation is Here

The WaPo reports that the UN has approved a large, 26,000 person peacekeeping force to be deployed to Darfur. As Kevin Drum notes, there are still barriers to getting the troops where they need to go: member nations may be reluctant to supply forces, and Sudan might not let them into the country (I, personally, could care less what they think, but the UN tends to be "sensitive" to such objections). But I have to admit, I thought that there would never be any progress on this issue that didn't come in the form of unilateral US or EU intervention. Now I know that, given time and patient diplomacy, we can form an international response team that will arrive only two years too late to actually have a meaningful impact on the genocide. Truly, this is a shining moment in the history of international governance.

Negative Gain Round-Up

I actually have made negative progress on my finals this week. The four pages I've written are washed out by the five page paper I only just today was informed/remembered I had. Net: negative one page. Speaking of finals and failing, I also played in the IM floor hockey championship game today. I had two goals, but we lost 5-3. Still, it was an excellent season (we had to win a razorthin 2-1 upset to even make the finals), and we'll be back next term.

So instead of real posts, you get a round-up:

The NYT has a cool story about adopted Chinese orphans getting their Bat Mitzvot. I like anything that binds Judaism into multiculturalism--we're not all (or even mostly) White, y'know (for example, That Black Lesbian Jew)!

A BBC Poll is out, measuring various countries' assessments of whether other countries are mostly positive or negative influences on the world. Israel beats Iran for last place, both as an average and in terms of most countries ranking it last. Israel had net positives only from the US, India, Kenya, and Nigeria. Incidentally, Germany's split on Israel was 10% positive, 77% negative--only Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon had lower net negatives for the Jewish state.

Belle Waring has a stellar post on female sexuality from a feminist lens.

A post by Jill at Feministe explores her personal experience being targeted on law school posting forums. Some pretty sleazy stuff happens on those threads. Dave Hoffman makes an interesting contribution to the discussion.

Peggy McGuinness blogs on the State Department's release of the 2006 Human Rights report. It's a bit tough to condemn Egypt for torture when we're sending our terror suspects over to Cairo so they can be tortured on our behalf.

Ezra Klein excerpts from an intriguing interview with GOP Presidential Candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR).

Watch the surge work!

The Washington Post has a series of stories up on the Darfur situation. They aren't good news. The refugee camp situation along the Chadian border is worsening, and gunmen have kidnapped and killed two peacekeepers. Meanwhile, Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir wrote Bush a letter, and Bush apparently wrote back (no judgment on my part without knowing the content of his response).

A Southern blogger not-so-gently corrects Newt Gingrich for blaming the victims of Katrina.