Ukraine’s religious sites have been repeatedly targeted by Russia over the course of the war.

Photo via Wikipedia

The Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño, confirmed that she will testify before the Australian court as amicus curiae, an intervenor with a strong interest in the matter. Puentes Riaño will advise the court on the applicable international law on assessing climate impact before authorizing development projects.

Puentes Riaño is to intervene in light of last year’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, in which the ICJ found that assessing the risk of significant harm, and exercising due diligence to avoid activities that cause significant damage to another state’s environment, constitute a customary legal obligation on states. Australia voted in the UN General Assembly to support a resolution endorsing the ICJ’s opinion on May 21.

“Advising States to help advance decisions based on international law and participating in priority legal cases aligns precisely with my mandate, as it was established by the Human Rights Council,” Puentes Riaño said in a statement.

The Australian Conservation Foundation initiated the judicial review in October. It asserts that the country’s Environmental Minister Murray Watt unlawfully approved extension of the North West Shelf (NWS) project’s operating life. The advocacy group argues that Watt wrongfully neglected the climate impact on the Dampier Archipelago, and approved the project without ascertaining the scale of the pollution.

In a parallel proceeding, Friends of Australian Rock Art asserted that Watt’s approval failed to consider the ongoing and irreversible damage to the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.

When approving the project’s extension for another 45 years in September 2025, Watt stated that he had imposed 48 strict conditions to mitigate the impact on the Murujuga rock art. One of the conditions requires that the operation site reduce 60% of its current gas emissions by 2030.

The NWS project is one of the largest LNG operation sites in the country, contributing $1.3 million USD to the Australian economy in 2024. According to a report prepared by the Australian Conservation Foundation that year, the operation site’s lifetime emissions would be 13 times more than the country’s annual emissions from all sources.

From JURIST, May 31. Used with permission.

Photo: UNESCO

HRW analyzed around 8,000 cases involving property seizures filed between March 2024 and January 2026 in 25 courts in occupied areas, with court records showing “consistent disregard of evidence of ownership and efforts by owners to assert their rights.” The seizure of property has affected millions of displaced Ukrainians or those who refuse to re-register their properties under Russian law, as they are stripped of shelter, income, or the means to sustain their lives. The rights group claims that this process undermines the prospect of refugees and internally displaced people returning home in “safety and dignity.”

HRW associate Ukraine director Yulia Gorbunova stated: “Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes in areas under Russian occupation due to the ongoing war. Now they also face the unlawful seizure of their property as Russia blatantly disregards its obligations as an occupying power.”

In October 2022, Russian authorities introduced “an unlawful and opaque administrative process” in occupied areas, through which Ukrainian owners are required to re-register their property under Russian law by January 2028. Ukrainian property owners are also required to obtain Russian citizenship to participate in this process. The deadline, however, was later brought forward to July 2026, with Russian authorities claiming residents had already had “more than enough time” to re-register their property. The authorities designate the private property that is not re-registered as “ownerless,” after which courts transfer it to municipal ownership.

Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia unilaterally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts (regions), imposing their own administrative and legal systems. This annexation has been rejected as unlawful under international law. Russian authorities have also “methodically made passportization a tool of administrative control by linking all essential services to accepting Russian citizenship,” including phone communication, as SIM cards from local operators now require Russian identification.

According to Maksym Beznosiuk, a strategic policy specialist: “Moscow’s ultimate objective is to force pro-Russian allegiance and erase any traces of Ukrainian identity. Ukrainians who resist these efforts are receiving administrative removal orders and forced expulsions.”

Article 51 of Customary International Humanitarian Law, which applies universally to all warring parties, prohibits an occupying power from confiscating private property without justification of military necessity. Regulation 46 of the Hague Convention (1907), to which Russia is a party, provides a similar prohibition.

From JURIST, May 28. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Map: PCL

Presiding Judge Kimberly Prost, in ICC’s Trial Chamber X, delivered the Reparations Order in the presence of Al Hassan and his defense team. Prost stated that the estimated number of victims amounted to 65,202. The Chamber ruled that “collective community-based reparations” were “appropriate to address the…type of harm suffered by the victims.” Prost outlined that this mode of reparations would “reach large numbers of victims in a less resource-intensive manner.” Al Hassan will “bear financial liability” for the reparations.

The Chamber emphasized the impact of Al Hassan’s crimes on girls and women in particular. Prost stated: “Women and girls suffered particular moral and material harm… This should be reflected in the planning, design, and implementation of all socio-economic rehabilitation projects and initiatives.”

In outlining costs, the Chamber ordered an estimated total of €4 million towards socio-economic and educational support programs, €1.2 million towards collective community-based psychological rehabilitation measures, €1.5 million for a limited individualized component, and €550,000 towards symbolic and satisfaction measures. The total liability for the harm caused to victims amounted to €7,250,000.

Al Hassan was convicted in June 2024 for crimes against humanity, including “torture, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” and the war crimes of “torture, outrages upon personal dignity, mutilation, cruel treatment and passing sentences without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court.” The ICC sentenced Al Hassan to 10 years of imprisonment on November 2024.

Crimes against humanity are prohibited under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and are considered by the ICC as “among the most serious of crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.” War crimes are prohibited under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

From JURIST, April 30. Used with permission.

Note: Al Hassan is among 13 ICC convictions. Another militant, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, pleaded guilty to cultural crimes in the destruction of Sufi shrines in Timbuktu.

Photo: WikiMedia Commons

In a statement run by Mehr and quoted in The New Arab, the local Jewish community condemned the bombing. “We, the Jews of Iran, condemn the brutal attacks carried out by the American-Zionist enemy against our dear homeland and the Rafi-Nia synagogue,” the statement said, adding that the Jewish community stands “alongside the people and the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” prepared to defend the country “until our last breath.”

A representative of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Middle East Eye that the IDF “regrets the collateral damage to the synagogue and emphasizes that the strike was targeted at a senior military target within the regime’s armed forces, not at any place of worship.” The representative identified the target as a neraby “emergency headquarters” of Iran’s joint military command, and added that a review would be launched.

Iran has the third-largest Jewish population in the Middle East after Israel and Turkey, with a 2016 census placing the number of Jews at just over 9,000. However, some members of the community believe the real number is higher. The community maintains some 30 synagogues, as well as schools and kosher facilities, mostly in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Judaism is one of Iran’s legally recognized “minority religions,” alongside Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism and Christianity, with each represented in parliament.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) 3,600 Iranians have been killed since US-Israeli bombardment began in late February, including at least 1,665 civilians.

Screenshot via JTA

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“The organized, forced displacement of Palestinians in the refugee camps has removed nearly the entire Palestinian population from these areas,” the report stated, noting that residents of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps have been denied the right to return nearly a year after the operations commenced.

The refugee camps in the West Bank were established following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homes. Those who fled or were expelled from areas that became part of the State of Israel were housed in UN-administered camps in neighboring territories, including the West Bank and Gaza. Originally intended as temporary solutions in the absence of a mutually acceptable solution to the Israel-Palestine land disputes, the camps have persisted for over 75 years, and have become densely populated residential areas.

Israeli forces used heavy weaponry to empty the camps, giving residents abrupt orders to leave during active military operations earlier this year, HRW reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintained that the operations targeted “terrorists” and were mandated by security imperatives. In an October response to Human Rights Watch, the military stated:

The operation was based on the understanding that terrorists exploit the terrain and the densely built environment of the camps, which restricts the IDF’s freedom of action. And that Hamas plants explosive devices in houses, civilian infrastructure, and along traffic routes in order to detonate them, thus endangering the lives of security forces and local residents.

According to HRW, the Israeli military’s response left a number of gaps:

The Israeli military did not explain why the displacement of the entire population of all three camps was necessary to achieve its aims, nor whether alternatives had been considered. Rather, it stated that the “IDF has had to operate for an extended period of time, as required by operational needs and the circumstances on the ground.” The response did not answer Human Rights Watch’s questions about whether Israeli authorities had attempted to provide food, shelter, and access to medical services for the civilian population it had displaced, as required under international humanitarian law.

International humanitarian law prohibits forcible displacement of civilians in occupied territories except in specific, limited circumstances with safeguards. Human Rights Watch found Israeli forces failed to meet these requirements, including providing safe evacuation routes or humanitarian assistance to displaced residents.

The organization called for investigations by the International Criminal Court and state authorities under universal jurisdiction, and recommended targeted sanctions against Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and military commanders.

The matter may add to the cases already under investigation by the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders in November 2024 on charges stemming from the broader conflict.

From JURIST, Nov. 20. Used with permission.

See our report on Operation “Iron Wall,” and the genocide accusations against Israel.

Photo: Wikipedia

Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a state party may withdraw by submitting written notification to the UN Secretary-General. Withdrawal becomes effective one year after receipt of the notification, and until then the withdrawing state remains bound by the statute. The announcement did not specify when the formal notice would be delivered.

The ICC, based in the Hague, was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. African governments have frequently criticized the court, noting that its investigations have disproportionately focused on African leaders and conflicts. Multiple African governments in 2017 announced a “strategy of collective withdrawal” from the ICC, with South Africa, Gambia and Burundi leading the way. However, the prior two later reversed course, with only Burundi following through on withdrawal.

The withdrawal marks another step in the three Sahel nations’ broader realignment. In recent months they have suspended cooperation with regional bodies, and expelled French troops while deepening ties with Russia.

The decision by the three nations comes amid an ongoing security crisis in the Sahel region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are waging brutal insurgencies, carrying out attacks against civilians as well as security forces. Human rights groups have accused state security forces of committing extrajudicial killings and other serious abuses in counter-terrorism operations.

From JURIST, Sept. 23. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Image: Wikipedia

The report stated that 17 monks, community activists and human rights defenders have been improperly arrested, convicted and sentenced for exercising their rights to freedom of religion or belief, expression, association, peaceful assembly or participation in cultural life. Some detainees were reportedly tortured or mistreated during pretrial detention.

The cases stem from a series of arrests and violent raids on sites linked to the Tro Nom Sek Temple in Vinh Long province. The Buddhist temple has resisted pressure to join the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, which has resulted in partial demolition of temple structures, disruption of Khmer language classes, and forcible defrocking of monks, as well as the targeting of human rights defenders documenting these events.

Urging compliance with international human rights standards, experts called on Vietnam to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples, religious minorities and human rights defenders. They pressed officials to end reliance on vague security provisions against these groups and ensure access to legal counsel, family visits and adequate medical care for detainees.

The Khmer Krom, an indigenous group in the Mekong Delta, have long reported discrimination, restrictions on religious practice, and limits on cultural and linguistic rights, with defenders facing intimidation, arbitrary detention and disproportionate sentencing. Similar concerns were raised with the government in 2021 and 2022.

From JURIST, Aug. 25. Used with permission.

Image: Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization-UNPO

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