On November 29, 2012, the U.N. General Assembly voted on Palestine’s bid to elevate its status within the U.N. The resolution was to elevate Palestine’s status from a non-member observer entity to a non-member observer state, which is the same category as Vatican City. The vote was not a close one. The 193-member body voted … Read more
On October 2nd, Ukrainian lawmakers passed a law that would imprison a person for up to five years for positively representing homosexuality. Human rights groups condemned the law as Soviet era oppression, which considered homosexuality a crime. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke out against the law, stating that the legislation was clearly … Read more
The Syrian crisis is a hot topic in the U.S. Presidential election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has criticized President Barack Obama’s policies in Syria and suggested that the United States should take a tougher stance on ensuring rebels receive the assistance they need. So far, the Obama administration has limited its assistance to “non-lethal support,” … Read more
There are several forces that deserve credit for the recently reported worldwide decline in pirate attacks – including international naval patrols, industry best practices, and the monsoon season – but no single force has done more to repel pirates that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP). With no successful pirate attacks on PCASP-protected vessels … Read more
A United Nations peacekeeper serving in Sudan’s besieged Darfur region was killed, and another injured, in an attack on Sunday. The Bangladeshi peacekeeper, who was a member of Bangladesh’s Formed Police Unit, was fatally shot when an unidentified gang surrounded and fired at the staff in Nyala, the state capital of South Darfur, at the … Read more
This summer, the United Nations launched a website with important implications for the future of international environmental law. InforMEA, the United Nations Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements brings together information relating to 17 multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) from 12 Secretariats hosted by three UN organizations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It … Read more
This month, the once vague idea that businesses have duties toward human rights became explicit. The United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework, a document the UN itself called “unprecedented.” It is more than that: it’s game-changing. The vote of the … Read more
The Denver Journal of International Law & Policy is one of the oldest international law journals in the United States and is ranked internationally. It is managed and edited by students at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
