Self-Determination

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Britain’s Legal Responsibility for Applying the Balfour Declaration in Palestine and for Its Tenure There

January 7, 2026

Is Britain legally accountable for holding Palestine between the world wars? Does its implementation there of the Balfour Declaration open it, presently, to claim for reparation, under the law of state responsibility? Three distinct positions are seen. For scholars like James Crawford and Malcolm Shaw, the issue of reparation does not arise, for they consider that what Britain did in Palestine was authorized by the League of Nations. More recently, however, Ralph Wilde argues that the implementation of the Balfour Declaration was unlawful, hence that Britain does have a case to answer for reparation. A petition filed with the UK Government in September 2025 similarly finds reparation in order, but on a broader claim of illegality on Britain’s part.

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The Corporate Identity of UNSC Resolution 2803: Trump’s Gaza Plan as a Business Strategy on New Cities Construction

December 5, 2025

Building on the excellent post by Michelle Burgis-Kasthala on UNSC Resolution 2803 and President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, annexed to this “deeply problematic Resolution”, we would like to explore here the background and context of the physical reconstruction proposals for Gaza contained in this Plan. Burgis-Kasthala rightly mentions that these plans…

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UNSC Resolution 2803

November 28, 2025

On 17 November, the UNSC by 13 votes passed an historic and deeply problematic Resolution relating to the future governance of Gaza. While China and Russia had expressed doubts and Russia had circulated an alternative draft in the run up to the vote, a flurry of US lobbying of non-member regional allies persuaded these two…

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The Security Council and the Western Sahara: Between Self-Determination and Implicit Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty

November 4, 2025

On 31 October 2025, the Security Council voted in favour of Resolution 2797 extending the mandate of the long-standing UN mission to Western Sahara, but this time referenced Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Proposal - which envisions the territory as self-governing under Moroccan sovereignty - as a basis for negotiations and the final status of Western Sahara. Although the…

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How Not to Trade with Occupying Powers: Western Sahara and the Amendment to the EU-Moroccan Association Agreements

October 16, 2025

On October 3 2025, the EU and Morocco concluded an amendment ('the amendment') to the EU-Mediterranean Agreement (‘the association agreement’). With the approval of the Council it is already being applied provisionally pending entry into force. Its purpose is to enable the continued granting of tariff preferences to products originating in occupied Western Sahara. This…

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