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Project 2100—Is the International Legal Order Fit for Purpose?

November 29, 2022

It is in the darkest moments that we must ask the hardest questions and peer through the gloom in an attempt to see the light. The events to the east of us raise stark questions—about the current world order; about the place and effectiveness of the United Nations; about what the U.S. long-term assessment of global trends has called “a more contested world”. We have become used to talking about the international legal system, about the rules-based international order.  But we are increasingly confronted with the sense that what we have is only an international order; a rules-based international system—the implicit acknowledgement being that we cannot rely on what we have known, and tried so hard to develop, maintain and advance over the past 75 or so years.

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On Binaries, Blind Spots, and Shades of Gray: The UN Report on LGBTQ+ Persons in Armed Conflict

November 28, 2022

“I'd prefer it if you shoot me in the head.” These were the words of a young gay man in Syria in 2015 who knew his fate was to be thrown from the roof of a high-rise building after being convicted by ISIS for sodomy. The persecution, targeting and rape of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans,…

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The Debate on the Debate on Xinjiang at the Human Rights Council: Three Framings

November 18, 2022

For all the nice talk about human rights and accountability, on 6 October 2022, a majority of States at the Human Rights Council (HRC) voted against even debating – let alone investigating – the findings of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the situation in the Xinjiang, China. On…

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The Protection of the Atmosphere and the ‘Regressive’ Development of International Law

November 1, 2022

In a few weeks, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27) will be convening in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. States will negotiate higher ambitions on mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance, in an attempt to curtail the apocalyptic consequences of climate change. In this context, the identification of relevant principles of international law is necessary and will provide timely…

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The Echo of Quiet Voices. Liechtenstein’s Veto Initiative and the American Six Principles

October 10, 2022

On 8 September 2022, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced her government's intention to support efforts to reform the UN Security Council. The issue of exercising the right of veto on one's own behalf thus gained unprecedented momentum. Of “laugh tests” and “get-out-of-jail-free cards” The trigger was the…

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