Cambodia now becomes the third country to nominate the bellicose Trump for the Peace Prize after Israel and Pakistan. Islamabad’s nomination followed Trump’s supposed involvement in the ceasefire deal with India that ended several days of mutual missile strikes in May. The problem is that India denies that the US or any other foreign power had a hand in its decision to accept a truce. (Hindustan Times)

The Thai-Cambodia truce, agreed to at July 29 talks in Malaysia, was jointly mediated by the US and China. So Xi Jinping deserves as much credit as Trump—whose main role was threatening to withhold trade deals from the two countries as long as the fighting continued.

Fighting erupted along the Thai-Cambodian border on July 24, ultimately killing at least 40 people, and displacing over 250,000. Both sides typically said the other took the first shot. Things quickly escalated as Bangkok sent F-16 fighter jets to launch air-strikes on Cambodian territory, and Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, warned: “If the situation escalates it could develop into war.” Cambodia accused Thailand of violating international law by using cluster munitions for attacks on its territory, while Bangkok accused Cambodia of an “inhumane attack” on a hospital in Surin province. (TNH, AP)

Thailand and Cambodia have had an almost century-long dispute over Preah Vihear, an 11th century Hindu temple, which sits along the nations’ shared border. The temple has triggered numerous border skirmishes over the years, the latest occurring when a Cambodian soldier was killed on the border in May. The new fighting followed Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra being suspended after a leaked phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen was deemed a national security threat. (Jurist)

Hun Manet is the son of current Cambodian senate president (and longtime strongman) Hun Sen, and we suspect that this perverse Nobel nomination actually emerges from the elder Hun. Under Hun Sen’s leadership, Cambodia has long been under China’s effective suzerainty, and repression has been unleashed against peasants protesting land-grabs by Chinese agbiz interests. Xi is well-assured of the stability of this relationship, and does not need buttering up. Trump, in contrast, needs to have his ego appeased to keep textiles and other export goods produced in Cambodia’s sweatshops flowing to the US without prohibitive tariffs. That’s why it’s called a Great Game.

The game is a dangerous one for the general world political climate and propaganda environment, however. Giving the Nobel Prize to Obama in 2009 was Orwellian enough. But that pales before the perversity of giving it to Trump. And indeed, Trump craves the Nobel prize precisely because Obama got it. So Cambodia is not merely appeasing Trump’s ego, but (whether intentionally or not) lubricating his dictatorial ambitions and the racist backlash that has been the motor of his entire political project.

We submit that if the Nobel committee wishes to weigh a Peace Prize in regard to this conflict, it should consider the citizen anti-war activists who have been mobilizing on either side of the border in repudiation of their own governments, under the hashtag #PeaceForCambodiaAndThailand.

Image of the contested Preah Vihear archeological site via Wikipedia

The court held that Russia “used violence against detainees” and that “people were tortured and ill-treated and subjected to inhuman conditions of detention.” The ECHR also stated that there is “evidence of a widespread and systemic use of sexual violence by armed separatists and Russian troops,” with “rapes being committed at gunpoint” and accompanied by “acts of torture.” The judges firmly stated that the “use of rape as a weapon of war…is an act of extreme atrocity that amounts to torture.”

Furthermore, the ECHR ruled that the Russian Federation is liable for an “administrative practice of forced labour,” emphasizing that there were “reports of detainees being forced to engage in demining work, which is dangerous labour and therefore proscribed by international humanitarian law.” The court went on to denounce Russia’s commission of “abductions, kidnappings, arrests, and detention” as well as its unlawful displacement of civilians. The ECHR also found Russia responsible for various aircraft attacks and the downing of MH17, the latter causing the deaths of all 298 people on board.

In 2014, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea as well as sending troops to back separatists in the Donbas region following the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. Russia was the only nation to recognize the annexation, and the majority of countries condemned it as a contravention of international law. Since then, Ukraine has seen crimes against humanity, forced displacements of its people, and incessant drone attacks.

Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022, but the ECHR still retains jurisdiction over any violations of the European Convention on Human Rights that occurred before September 16, 2022. While this decision notably marks the first instance that an international tribunal has held Russia accountable for the human rights abuses committed in Ukraine, Moscow has already indicated that it intends to ignore the ruling. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated, “We consider [the decisions] null and void.”

From JURIST, July 9. Used with permission. Some internal links added.

Note: In a case challenging Russian annexation of Crimea brought by Ukraine, the ECHR found in February that Russia violated the right to a fair trial and due process by imposing Russian law on the territory.

See our last report on war crimes accusations against Russia.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The experts, part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures, expressed concern that the credibility of the international legal system is at risk due to inaction over ongoing violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. They warned that failure to act could set back the multilateral system by decades and called for decisive, principled and concerted action.

The UN experts also highlighted the disproportionate impact of the ongoing conflict on vulnerable populations, particularly women and children. They stressed that ensuring accountability for violations is essential to safeguarding fundamental human rights and preserving international peace and security. The experts concluded:

We call on all nations to join us in our solemn commitment to an international order based on the rule of law. Only through coordinated, collective action can we hope to end this cycle of impunity and safeguard the rights and lives of those affected.

On Jan. 31, delegates from nine nations (including South Africa, Malaysia, Colombia, Bolivia and Cuba) formed the Hague Group, responding to the failure of the broader international community to halt Israel’s military actions and crimes against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Drawing on a series of binding and advisory rulings, the group’s declaration especially cited the Advisory Opinion of July 2024, issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The opinion asserted the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and called for a total and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.

International human rights groups have documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law, from indiscriminate air-strikes that hit civilian shelters and hospitals, to targeted demolitions and forced evictions in both Gaza and the West Bank. International legal actions have mounted, including an International Criminal Court investigation and South Africa’s application to the ICJ, accusing under the Genocide Convention. Israeli authorities have refused to cooperate with UN inquiries or investigate alleged war crimes.

From JURIST, April 8. Used with permission.

Notes: Having just visited Hungary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week met with Donald Trump at the White House, where the two discussed their plan to “transfer” the population of the Gaza Strip. (NYT) These meetings took place in defiance of an ICC warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest on war crimes charges. (NYT)

Nicaragua last week withdrew its application to intervene in the proceedings of South Africa v Israel at the ICJ, without citing any reason for its decision. (Jurist) But just days earlier, the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua released a landmark report naming 54 Nicaraguan officials allegedly responsible for grave human rights violations. The violations occurred as part of a systematic campaign of repression orchestrated by President Daniel Ortega’s government. (Jurist)

See our last report on genocide accusations against Israel.

Photo: Hague Group

During detention, bin Amin and bin Lep provided information against an individual accused of committing an attack in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002. The two men provided the information in exchange for their transfer to a third-party nation where they will serve their sentences. Malaysia agreed to accept both detainees.

On Dec. 17, the DoD also announced the release of Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu. Kenyan authorities detained Bajabu in February 2007 following the November 2002 attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel and a civilian airliner owned by an Israel-based company in Mombasa. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay and US custody in March 2007.

DoD officials accused Bajabu of working on behalf of al-Qaeda in East Africa. However, no charges were filed against him. In December 2021, a Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined that his continued detention “was no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States.” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved Bajabu’s transfer to Kenya in November 2024.

In 2011, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13567, mandating a periodic review of the individuals detained in Guantanamo Bay. The review is conducted by a PRB, which determines if the detainee’s continued confinement “is necessary to protect against a significant threat to the security of the United States.” With the transfer of the three men, 27 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay. Fifteen of those detainees are eligible for transfer, and three are eligible for a PRB.

A recent report from the UN Human Rights Council described the conditions at Guantanamo Bay as “worrying” and called for its immediate closure. President Joe Biden announced his intent to close Guantanamo Bay in February 2021. Since then, the Biden administration has announced no further plans on closing the detention facility.

From JURIST, Dec. 18. Used with permission.

Note: In the 22 years the detention center has been operating, a total of 780 prisoners have been held there.

See our last report on the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing and the 2007 Mombassa attacks.

Photo: Pixabay via Jurist

Map via IDSA

See our last reports on human rights abuses associated with Thailand’s southern insurgency.

Map: Wikipedia

The case began in 2017 when Ukraine charged that Russia failed to prevent and suppress terrorism financing, in particular to two entities that refer to themselves as the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic,” both of which are under de factocontrol of Russia. Ukraine alleged Russian-backed groups committed a variety of terrorist attacks, including the 2014 shoot-down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, and the bombing of civilian areas. Ukraine also complained about political and cultural repression by Russia, especially the forced disappearances of Crimean Tartars, and suppression of Tartar institutions and language.

The ICJ declared that Russia violated its obligations under Article 9, but did not consider it “necessary or appropriate to grant any of the other forms of relief requested by Ukraine.” The court found that Russia had failed “to take measures to investigate facts contained in information received from Ukraine regarding persons who have allegedly committed an offense set forth in Article 2 of the [ICSFT] and violated its obligation under Article 9.” Article 2 of the ICSFT states that any person who helps fund the offenses listed in the ICSFT, including terrorism, violates the convention. The court also found that Russia “by the way in which it implemented its educational system in Crimea in 2014 violated its obligations under Article 2 of [ICERD].” Article 2 of ICERD requires states to create policies and systems to remove racial discrimination.

On Feb. 2, the ICJ ruled that it has jurisdiction to determine aspects of a second case brought by Ukraine against Russia in 2022, concerning alleged breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

From Jurist, Jan. 31; Jurist, Feb. 3. Used with permission.

Note: The International Criminal Court has opened a separate investigation into war crimes claims against Russia. Several nations, including the US, have filed “declarations of intervention” in support of Ukriane’s genocide case against Russia. Ukraine also has a case challenging the legality of Russia’s Crimea annexation pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In 2022, a Dutch court found three Russian-backed Donbas separatist leaders guilty in the downing of Flight MH17.

Photo: ICJ

Photo via Free Malaysia Today

From The New Humanitarian, April 22

See our last report on the Rohingya genocide.

Photo: Hasnoor Hussain/TNH

Authorities summoned at least 20 activists last week, ahead of the first planned #Lawan demonstration. This included youth activist Sarah Irdina, who was arrested July 29 under the draconian Sedition Act for tweeting about the protest. She has been released but may still face charges. (Global Voices, France24, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat)

Photo: Misi:Solidariti via Twitter