INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS (LSJ 320/Pol S 368)
University of Washington, Autumn 2025
**Lecture outlines**
**Start-of-quarter AI policy compliance statement, due Fri. Oct. 3**
**Study guide for the midterm exam**
Instructor: Professor Jamie Mayerfeld, jasonm@uw.edu
Lectures: TTh 11:30-12:50, Kane 220
Office: Gowen 35
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00-4:00, and by appointment.
TAs: Hassan Aziz, Kayla Morton, Mark Perry, Chan Yoon
Course Overview: This course examines the rules and institutions that have been created domestically and internationally with the aim of protecting everyone’s human rights. In the first half of the course, we explore the idea of human rights, consider constitutional protections of human rights, and study the main elements of international human rights law. In the second half of the course, we learn about women’s human rights, the law of war, international criminal justice, and human rights implications of the climate crisis. Case studies include U.S. deportation practices, the Russia-Ukraine War, the October 7 attacks, and the war in Gaza.
Resources: This course can count towards the Political Science Major, the Law, Societies and Justice Major, and the Human Rights Minor. The UW Center for Human Rights promotes human rights through teaching, scholarship, and community partnerships.
Community Engagement (optional): Students who sign up for this optional program work a few hours each week with a local human rights organization, thereby acquiring direct practical experience with the issues discussed in class. Choosing the community engagement option is one way to satisfy the experiential learning requirement of the Human Rights Minor. You can access the Community Engagement & Leadership Education website at http://cele.uw.edu/.
Readings: Students are required to keep up with a full, though not unreasonable, schedule of readings. Reading assignments are keyed to lecture sessions, in which informed classroom discussion will play an integral role. (In other words, I expect you to be able to answer questions about the readings when called on to do so in lecture.)
Texts: There are two texts for this course: Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, on sale at the University Book Store (4326 University Wy NE), and a Course Packet on sale at Professional Copy & Print (4200 University Wy NE). Part One of the Course Packet is on sale now, while Part Two will become available later in the term.
Quiz Sections: Quiz sections are a central part of the class. They allow you to explore and debate class material in greater depth, and to resolve any misunderstandings. Students are expected to attend quiz sections regularly and to contribute informed comments to class discussion.
Research Paper: This assignment asks you to examine a human rights topic. Detailed instructions appear below. Papers are due by electronic submission on Monday, November 17. You research paper will be preceded by a preliminary “head start” assignment, due on Monday, November 3.
Exams: There will be two exams (Tue. Oct. 28 and Wed. Dec. 10) to test your knowledge and understanding of course material. Test questions will be drawn both from lectures and readings.
Office Hours: You are all encouraged to visit me during my office hours, Tuesdays between 2:00 and 4:00 and by appointment. My office is located in Gowen 35.
GRADING:
Midterm Exam 30% Tue. Oct. 28.
Head Start on Research Paper 5% Due Mon. Nov. 3
Research Paper 20% Due Mon. Nov. 17
Final Exam 30% Wed. Dec. 10, 4:30-6:20
Participation 15%
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism of any kind are offenses against academic integrity and are subject to disciplinary action by the University. Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work and presenting it as your own (by not attributing it to its true source). If you are uncertain what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me or your TA. The Political Science/JSIS/LSJ/CHID Writing Center also offers guidance on plagiarism.
All use of generative AI tools (including but not limited to ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek) is prohibited. QuillBot is also prohibited. There are limited exceptions to this policy, as follows. You may use simple spell check or grammar-check, or Grammarly for simple grammar checks but not for extensive rewriting. (However, I discourage use of Grammarly altogether.) Sometimes Google and other search engines will provide an AI-generated text even though you did not request one. Try to avoid this, but I realize it will sometimes be difficult. (I recommend adding “-ai” when entering your search terms.)
At the start of the course, no later than October 3, you will submit a document stating that you will abide by the course policy on generative AI tools. At the end of the course, you will submit another document stating that you have abided by this policy. Submitting both documents is necessary to earn credit in this class. Both documents must be truthful. If I catch students violating the course policy, I will refer them to the UW Office of Community Standards & Student Conduct. For more discussion of course policy on generative AI tools, please visit this page.
Students with Disabilities Provisions: If you wish to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS), 011 Mary Gates Hall, uwdrs@uw.edu, or 543-8924. If you have a letter from DRS indicating that you have a disability that requires special accommodations, please present the letter to me.
Religious Accommodations. Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, can be seen here. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.
Maintaining a Respectful Learning Environment: This course will lead into discussion of controversial social and political topics. Discussion should be open to a wide range of perspectives, and everyone should feel comfortable about participating. We will facilitate learning if we engage discussion with respect and empathy for one another. Contradictory views are encouraged, and can contribute to learning as long as everyone remains open to new information and willing to learn from people with different perspectives and life experiences. Please avoid inflammatory, derogatory and insulting words and personal attacks. Such conduct inhibits learning and prevents the free exchange of ideas. No one, not even your instructor and TAs, is perfect. We all make mistakes and have the potential to learn from our mistakes.
Other Course Norms:
To ensure a respectful and productive learning experience, students will observe the following norms.
- We ask you not to use social media to comment negatively on individuals in this class. If you have concerns or complaints, please communicate them to us.
- Making audio or video recordings of lecture or quiz section is not permitted without my permission. There is an exception for approved DRS accommodations when presented to me.
- Laptops and other electronic devices are permitted only for taking notes. Any electronic activities not related to lecture or quiz section are prohibited. This includes playing computer games, using social media, messaging, and Internet surfing or shopping.
RESEARCH PAPER
Papers are due on Monday, November 17, to be submitted electronically via Canvas no later than 11:59 pm. They should be 5-8 double-spaced pages in length, not including your works cited section. State your name and your TA’s name at the top of the first page. Give your paper a title, and number your pages.
In this paper you are asked to examine a major contemporary human rights problem in a particular country. Your main goals are (1) to describe the problem, (2) identify the human rights being violated, and (3) suggest thoughtful recommendations for addressing the problem. In this way, your paper will combine description, legal analysis, and policy recommendations. Note that policy recommendations will often be connected to a discussion of the causes of the problem.
The overall purpose of this exercise is to use a human rights perspective for understanding and seeking to remedy a severe social injustice. You are expected to fashion a coherent narrative, and to identify the most significant overall findings of your investigation. Those findings should be stated in the introduction of your essay, and reviewed in the conclusion.
The following instructions are intended to help you complete the necessary research for your paper. Once you have compiled the needed information, you still need to analyze and organize what you have learned in the form of a clear, cogent, and persuasive discussion meeting the objectives outlined above.
1. You first want to choose a topic and learn about it. For information, please consult one or more of the following sources. (You can ignore the requests for financial donations.)
- Human Rights Watch hrw.org. This page leads by various channels to HRW’s voluminous research. Look for the in-depth reports, available as PDFs, that you can use for your research. (In other words, don’t rely on the brief online summaries.)
- Amnesty International https://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/. This page organizes information by country. Navigate your way to in-depth reports, available as PDFs, that you can use as the basis of your research. (As before, don’t rely on brief online summaries.)
- American Civil Liberties Union https://www.aclu.org/issues/human-rights. Limited to the U.S. Choose a topic under the Issues tab. Click on “Reports” in the search box. Browse the links to find relevant reports.
2. Continue learning about your topic. Look for substantial reports from reputable human rights organizations, academic journal articles, or in-depth news articles on your topic. Here are some resources to help you with your research (assembled with help from Emily Keller, the UW Political Science and Public Policy Librarian).
- For scholarly sources, your best first starting point is UW Libraries Search, the main search tool on the Libraries home page. It will help you identify journal articles, books, and ebooks, and other materials that you can access through the UW Libraries. You can use filters on the side column of your search results to narrow materials down by format, year, location, etc.
- Visit the UW Library’s Human Rights Research Guide a curated site with links to key tools for research in human rights.
- Visit the UW Library’s FAQfor other commonly asked questions about using UW Libraries. There is also a 24/7 chat reference service, featuring real humans, who are ready to help night and day.
- Google Scholar (google.com) and Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) are other ways to find sources. Here is a page that instructs you how to link Google Scholar with the UW Library. https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/googlescholar
- Annual world reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch may be helpful.
Your sources should include at least one or two substantial sources, by which I mean a substantial report (say, 15 pages or more) from a well-respected human rights organization and/or an academic journal article, scholarly book chapter, or book. Feel free to use more than two such sources.
3. You are also asked to identify the specific human rights that are being violated. Be alert to all the relevant human rights, and think about how violations of one human right can undermine others. I advise starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In many or most cases, the UDHR will help you begin to identify and conceptualize the human rights in question. But not always, and in that case, you should note the ways in which the UDHR ignores the relevant rights.
You also want to see whether the rights are enshrined in the national constitution and international human rights law. Read the national constitution, and discuss what protections it does or does not promise for the rights in question. You will find most constitutions on www.constituteproject.org. Click on “Constitutions” to see countries listed alphabetically.
Identify relevant UN human rights treaties, and describe how the rights are defined in those treaties. Our assigned text, Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, is an excellent resource, and easily sufficient for most topics. You can also consult the “Core International Human Rights Instruments” listed here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CoreInstruments.aspx. In rare cases, you may want to consult this longer catalogue: https://www.ohchr.org/en/search?query=&f%5B0%5D=event_type_taxonomy_term_name%3AInstruments. Here is the portal to the UN page on international human rights law: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/index.htm.
In some cases, the human rights violations you are studying may take the form of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, or may be linked to the crime of aggression. In that case, make sure to refer to Articles 5-8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, included in Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents and easily accessed online.
Optional: If the country you are studying is located in Europe, Africa, or the Americas, you might also like to consult the relevant regional human rights treaty – the European Convention on Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, or the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. All these treaties are found in Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents. How does the regional human rights treaty address (or fail to address) the issue in question? Remember that this is optional.
Important: Although we want you to identify the international human rights law provisions relevant to your topic, you should (in most cases) convey this information briefly and efficiently in your paper. This important information should (in most cases) take up relatively little text.
Note: Some of you may choose to write about abuses committed by insurgent groups or rebel armies. Though such organizations do not ratify international treaties, human rights law may still be relevant to evaluating their conduct. You should refer to the Universal Declaration and any treaties that seem relevant. Moreover, insurgent organizations, like states, are governed by the law of armed conflict. You may therefore want to consult Articles 6-8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
4. Finally, you want to develop policy recommendations for the problem. Depending on the nature of the problem, your recommendations may be addressed to governments (or insurgent groups), social groups, national citizens, international actors, and/or human rights organizations. To develop your recommendations, think through the nature and causes of the problem, the responsible parties, and the kinds of actions, reforms, and transformations needed to provide an effective and durable remedy. Try to be thoughtful, practical, critical, and constructive. Show that you have thought carefully about the problem, and have cogent advice to offer the relevant parties. This is your chance to bring your learning and wisdom to bear in a helpful manner.
You must document sources for all specific information provided in your essay. You may use either footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references that refer to a bibliography on the back page. Use a standard format (e.g., Chicago or MLA) and be consistent. (My general recommendation is the Chicago notes style, but you may use another standard format if you prefer.) Your citation should include enough information to identify the source clearly. Subsequent citations to the same report should be abbreviated. Examples:
- Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Like I’m Drowning”: Children and Families Sent to Harm by the US ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program, January 2021, 81.
- HRW, “Like I’m Drowning,”
- International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), art. 3.
- CERD, art. 9.
Helpful information on citation practices is provided by the POLS/LSJ/JSIS Writing Center and the UW Library.
HEAD START ASSIGNMENT
Previous to completing your research paper, you will submit a “head start” assignment, due on Canvas no later than 11:59 pm on Monday, November 3.
Your head-start document must not exceed one page, double-spaced. It will include the following three elements:
- A paragraph containing a brief description of the human rights problem, described in your own words.
- A paragraph identifying the specific human rights that are being violated. Draw on the UDHR, the national constitution, and relevant human rights treaties.
- At least one substantial source for your research paper. This can be a substantial report (say, 15 pages or more) from a well-respected human rights organization, an academic journal article, a scholarly book chapter, or a book.
For more guidance, please consult the preceding instructions for your research paper.
CALENDAR OF READING ASSIGNMENTS
(latter part still under construction)
(subject to revision)
Most readings for Part One of the course are found in Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents or the Course Packet Part One (or both). Some readings are available only as Internet links. Sometimes I provide Internet links to readings that are also found in the Blackstone’s collection and/or Course Packet. Most readings for Part Two of the course are available only as Internet links or electronic readings. A few of the (mostly longer) readings are also available in the Course Packet Part Two. These readings are marked with an asterisk (*).
Introduction
Thursday, September 25: Introduction
Human Rights: Background and Central Documents
Note: The first set of readings are due by your first quiz section, Friday, September 26.
Friday, September 26:
*Jamie Mayerfeld, The Promise of Human Rights (2016), pp. 19-25.
*U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776).
*Frederick Douglass, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852) (excerpt)
How should we understand the concept of human rights? What does the U.S. Declaration of Independence have to say about human rights? How does the declaration tie human rights to a theory of legitimate government and to a theory of just revolution? Why, for Frederick Douglass, are American celebrations of the Declaration of Independence a source of bitterness? Are his reflections still relevant today? How should we read the U.S. Declaration in light of Douglass’s reflections.
Tuesday, September 30:
*U.S. Constitution. Read as closely as you like, but pay most attention to provisions relating to rights, including Article I, Sections 9 and 10; Article III, Sections 2 and 3; Article IV, Section 4; Article VI; Amendments 1 through 10 (the “Bill of Rights”), 13 through 15 (the “Civil War Amendments”), and 19 (granting women the right to vote).
United Nations Charter (1945), Preamble, Articles 1, 2, 10, 12-14, 16, 55-56, 60-62, 65-66, 68, 73, 75-78. In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 2-7.
Look for provisions that uphold rights in the U.S. Constitution. Notice how the Constitution has changed over time. What historical provisions negated or betrayed human rights? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. Constitution as a possible guarantee of democracy and individual rights? How does the UN Charter provide support for human rights? Does it also undermine human rights?
Thursday, October 2:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 10-13.
*Susan Waltz, “Reclaiming and rebuilding the history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (2002)
What rights are asserted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? What are the grounding principles or unifying themes of the UDHR? How do the rights asserted in the Declaration relate to each other? What the similarities and differences between the UDHR and the rights provisions in the US Constitution? Does the UDHR assert too many rights? Too few? Does it express narrowly Western or genuinely universal values? How open and inclusive was the drafting process of the UDHR?
**Friday, October 3. Your Start-of-Quarter AI Policy Compliance Statement is due today.**
The Idea of Universal Human Rights
Tuesday, October 7:
*Maurice Cranston, “Human Rights, Real and Supposed” (1967)
*Jamie Mayerfeld, The Promise of Human Rights (2016), pp. 32-39.
Should human rights include economic, social and cultural rights?
Thursday, October 9:
*American Anthropological Association, “Statement on Human Rights” (1947)
*Jamie Mayerfeld, The Promise of Human Rights (2016), pp. 25-29. Optional: 29-32, 39-46.
OPTIONAL: *Makau Mutua, “Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights” (2001) (excerpt)
OPTIONAL: *Shadi Mokhtari, “The Reverse Savages, Victims, Saviours metaphor of human rights" (2025) (excerpt)
OPTIONAL: *China's Charter 08 (2008) (excerpt)
Are human rights universal, or culturally specific? Do they, or can they, become a vehicle for Western imperialism? Should the definition of human rights vary across different societies?
Customary International Law
Tuesday, October 14
*Statute of the International Court of Justice (1945), Art. 38
*Mark Janis, Introduction to International Law, 3rd ed. (1999), excerpts on customary international law and customary international law
*Filartiga v. Peña-Irala, 630 F. 2d 876, US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 1980 (excerpt)
What are the sources of international law? What is customary international law? What qualifies a norm for the status of customary international law, and who decides? Why do we need customary international law? What is the power, and what are the limits, of international human rights law?
Judge Kaufman faced two questions in Filartiga: whether he should hear the case at all, and whether the alleged torture by the defendant was a violation of international law. Our primary interest is the second question pertaining to international law. How did Judge Kaufman answer the international law question? How is his opinion about torture an illustration of customary international law reasoning?
Treaty Law and the UN Human Rights Treaties
Thursday, October 16
SKIM: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (1965), Preamble and Articles 1 through 7. In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 25-28.
*Gay J. McDougall, “Toward a Meaningful International Regime: The Domestic Relevance of International Efforts to Eliminate All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (1997) (excerpt)
How does treaty law differ from customary international law? What are the stages in which treaty law is formed? What is the legal significance of the CERD? How does the CERD go beyond the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Is it more demanding than the U.S. Constitution, and if so, how? Do you think the United States is in compliance with the CERD? Why or why not?
Tuesday, October 21.
Human Rights Violations by the U.S. Government
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Preamble and Articles 1-27. In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 33-39
David J. Bier, “50+ Venezuelans Imprisoned in El Salvador Came to US Legally, Never Violated Immigration Law” (2025)
Samantha Schmidt, Helena Carpio, María Luisa Paúl, Silvia Foster-Frau, Teo Armus, and Aaron Steckelberg, “Welcome to hell’: Inside the megaprison where the U.S. deported migrants," Washington Post, July 31, 2025. As a PDF.
Tom Joscelyn and Ryan Goodman, “Three Ways Abrego Garcia’s Rights Violated — Two of Which the Government Admits” (2025)
Karoun Demirjian and Chris Cameron, “What to Know About Abrego Garcia and His Second Detention," New York Times, August 25, 2025. As a PDF
Charlie Savage and Helene Cooper, “Boat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs Is Said to Have Turned Before U.S. Attacked It," New York Times, September 10, 2025. As a PDF
Human Rights Watch, “US: Maritime Strikes Amount to Extrajudicial Killings” (2025)
What is the story of the men deported from the United States to CECOT prison in El Salvador? What is the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? What is the story of recent U.S. military strikes on boats leaving Venezuela? How should we evaluate these actions from the standpoint of human rights and domestic and international law? What do they reveal about the United States’ legal and political system?
Thursday, October 23. **Guest lecture by Angelina Godoy, UW Professor of Law, Societies & Justice and International Studies and Director of the UW Center for Human Rights.**
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006), Preamble and Articles 1-7 (8-25, if you have time). In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 218-19 (219-25, if you have time).
UW Center for Human Rights, Gross Human Rights Violations in Washington State: Enforced Disappearance and Refoulement (2025)
What is “enforced disappearance,” and what is “refoulement”? What are the grounds for saying that these practices are occurring in Washington state? Are the federal government’s actions in compliance with domestic and international law? How are Washington state officials complicit in these practices?
**Tuesday, October 28: MIDTERM EXAM**
Women’s Human Rights
Thursday, October 30. **Guest lecture by Sunila Kale, UW Professor of International Studies **
*Manvir Singh, “How Dowries are Fuelling a Femicide Epidemic” The New Yorker, June 12, 2023. As a PDF.
Why does violence against women persist in India and elsewhere? What were the factors that led to the murder of Neeti? Should we think of violence against women as a human rights problem, and if so, how? Does a human rights frame limit our understanding of violence against women?
**Monday, November 3. Your head start assignment is due today.**
The Law of War and International Criminal Justice
Tuesday, November 4:
*Stuart Streichler, “The Law of War,” in Presidential Accountability in Wartime (2023) (excerpt)
*International Law Documents on the Law of War:
*Martens Clause (1899)
*International Court of Justice, Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (1996), paragraph 78
*1907 Hague Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, Articles 22-28
*1949 Geneva Conventions, Common Article 3
*1949 Geneva Contentions, Grave Breaches Provisions
*1977 Geneva Protocol I, Articles 48-51
What connection, if any, is there between the ancient tradition of the law of war and the more recent tradition of human rights law? What are the core principles of the law of war? Why should states heed restraints on the conduct of war?
Thursday, November 6:
“The ICC at a Glance” (2021)
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998), Preamble and Articles 1-17. (Read other articles depending on your interest.) In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 155-65.
What is the mission and structure of the International Criminal Court (ICC)? What crimes is the ICC authorized to punish?
Tuesday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day – no class.
Violations of International Humanitarian Law Today
Thursday, November 13:
Marci Shore, “Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution,” November 21, 2023. As a PDF.
Jan Smolenski and Jan Dutkiewicz, “The American Pundits Who Can’t Resist ‘Westsplaining’ Ukraine,” The New Republic, March 4, 2022. As a PDF.
Human Rights Watch, “Six Months of Russian War Crimes and Devastation in Ukraine” (12-minute video), August 22, 2022. Warning: This video contains disturbing images. For more Human Rights Watch videos and reports on the Russia-Ukraine War, please visit this site.
Lorenzo Tondo, “Electric cables, hammers and guns: Ukrainians tell of Russian torture,” The Guardian, October 23, 2023. As a PDF.
Alex Horton and Serhii Korolchuk, “Russian drones hunt civilians in streets of southern Ukrainian city,” Washington Post, October 31, 2024. As a PDF.
Council of Europe, “Ukraine and the Council of Europe sign Agreement on establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” June 25, 2025
Council of Europe, “Frequently Asked Questions - Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” 2025
Optional: Statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, June 24, 2025
Optional: Kate McInnes, “The Strongman’s Clause: Article 23(5), the Rules-Based International Order, and the Ukraine Tribunal’s Troubling Precedent,” Opinio Juris, September 1, 2025
Mark Landler, “Arrest Warrant From Criminal Court Pierces Putin’s Aura of Impunity,” New York Times, March 17, 2023. As a PDF.
Amanda Taub, “The I.C.C. Arrest Warrants for Russian Officers Will Echo Beyond Russia,” New York Times, March 8, 2024. As a PDF.
Anatoly Kurmanaev and Marc Santora, “I.C.C. Issues Arrest Warrants for 2 Senior Russian Security Officials,” New York Times, June 25, 2024. As a PDF.
Haroon Siddique, “Russia has committed flagrant human rights abuses in Ukraine since 2014, rules ECHR,” The Guardian, July 9, 2025
Optional: European Court of Human Rights, Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, July 9, 2025, legal summary
Optional: Marko Milanovic, “The European Court’s Merits Judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia: As Good as It Gets (Almost),” EJIL:Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law, July 10, 2025
What is the historical background to Russia’s invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022? What human rights violations and IHL violations have been committed by Russia and Russian officials. What efforts have been made to hold Russia and Russian officials accountable for these violations? How do you evaluate these efforts?
**Monday, November 17. Your research papers are due today.**
Tuesday, November 18:
*Mark Tessler, Preface to A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (1994) (excerpt)
Patrick Kingsley, Aaron Boxerman, Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman and Marco Hernandez, “The Day Hamas Came,” New York Times, December 22, 2023. As a PDF.
Suzy Hansen, “Crimes of the Century: How Israel, with the help of the U.S., broke not only Gaza but the foundations of humanitarian law,” New York Magazine, June 16, 2025. As a PDF.
Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem and Harry Davies, “‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets,” The Guardian, April 3, 2024
Hannah Ellis-Petersen, “No plans to allow any aid into Gaza, says Israeli minister,” The Guardian, April 16, 2025
Daniel Estrin and Hadeel Al-Shalchi, “Israel stops the delivery of aid to Gaza until Hamas accepts U.S. ceasefire extension,” NPR, March 2, 2025
Andrew Ross, “The Israel-Gaza War Always Had an Unacknowledged Third Front,” New York Times, October 15, 2025. As a PDF.
Patrick Kingsley, Fatima AbdulKarim, and Natan Odenheimer, “With Arson and Land Grabs, Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank Hit Record High,” New York Times, August 14, 2025. As a PDF.
Asem Al Jerjawi, “I am living my own Nakba,” Al Jazeera, December 22, 2024
Lujayn, “Gaza’s Beloved Deserves To Live,” New Lines Magazine, August 18, 2025
How should we think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? What human rights violations and IHL violations did Hamas commit on October 7, 2023, and afterwards? What human rights violations and IHL violations did Israel commit after October 7, 2023?
Thursday, November 20:
*Anand Gopal, “America’s War on Syrian Civilians,” The New Yorker, December 21, 2020
Jonathan Sumption, “A question of intent: On Israel and Gaza,” The New Statesman, July 16, 2025
Human Rights Watch, “Palestine: ICC Warrants Revive Hope for Long-Delayed Justice,” November 21, 2024
International Criminal Court, “Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant,” November 21, 2024
International Criminal Court, “Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issues warrant of arrest for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif),” November 21, 2024
Does the law of war create too many loopholes for states wielding advanced military technology? Continued discussion of human rights violations and IHL violations in the war in Gaza. Can officials responsible for war crimes and human rights atrocities be held accountable?
Tuesday, November 25.
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). In Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, pp. 7-9.
*Daniel Chirot and Clark McCauley, Why Not Kill Them All? The Logic and Prevention of Mass Political Murder (2006), ch. 1
Bret Stephens, “No, Israel Is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza,” New York Times, July 22, 2025. As a PDF.
Melanie O’Brien, “Is Genocide Happening in Gaza?” August 4, 2025
Did Hamas commit genocide on October 7? Has Israel committed genocide in Gaza? Historically, what are recurrent causes of genocide and mass murder, and do they shed light on the situation in Israel-Palestine?
Thursday, November 27 is Thanksgiving Day – no class.
The Climate Crisis and Human Rights.
Tuesday, December 2:
Jonathan Watts, “We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN,” The Guardian, October 8, 2018
Renee Cho, “Why Climate Change is an Environmental Justice Issue,” State of the Planet, September 22, 2020
Sonja Klinsky, “Climate change is a justice issue – these 6 charts show why,” The Conversation, November 3, 2021
Fiona Harvey, “World's richest 1% cause double CO2 emissions of poorest 50%, says Oxfam,” The Guardian, September 20, 2020
Benjamin Franta, “What Big Oil knew about climate change, in its own words,” The Conversation, October 28, 2021
*Henry Shue, “Basic Rights and Climate Change,” in Shue, Basic Rights, 40th Anniversary Edition (2020)
What is the climate crisis, and how bad is it? How is the climate crisis a problem of justice? How is it a human rights issue, according to Henry Shue?
Thursday, December 4:
*International Court of Justice, Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, Advisory Opinion, July 23, 2025 (excerpts)
Manleen Dugal, “ICJ Advisory Opinion: The World’s Top Court Has Spoken Unequivocally on States’ Climate Change Obligations,” Earth.org, July 25, 2025
In its advisory opinion of July 23, 2025, what did the International Court of Justice conclude about the obligations of states with respect to the climate crisis? What is the significance of this ruling?
**Final Exam on Wednesday, December 10, 4:30-6:20.**
**Thursday, December 11: Your End-of-Quarter AI Policy Compliance Statement is due today.**