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The defense team for Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Tuesday said secrecy clauses made the trial inherently unfair, adding it struck a blow to the notion of transparent international justice. All but two of the 93 alleged victims of Lubanga taking part in the trial were allowed to do so under the cloak of anonymity and […]

I’d like to call your attention to the new White House website that has a page devoted to the foreign policy agenda. The site highlights efforts in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nuclear Weapons, Iran, Energy Security, Renewing American Diplomacy, Israel, and Bipartisanship and Openness. Although the page is not in a blog format and […]

Following my previous and optimistic post of a new era for community service, I’m now going to flip the argument.  While I straddle both U.S. and Canadian philanthropy in this financial downturn and watch as both governments “turn on the taps” and run deficit budgets for this year – I’ve become curious at how long the […]

Obama takes steps to reverse Bush climate policies is the headline from Reuters. For one thing, the new President has instructed the EPA to revisit California’s application to institute carbon dioxide limits on motor vehicles sold there. (See California Standards here.) See also this from the “Washington Post” today, including the video of Obama’s announcement […]

There is a point where numbers merge with the real and the surreal.  Its relevance and impact seem abstract and incomprehensible. One million displaced since August 2008, 5 million killed over the past years.  300,000 women and girls raped and brutalized. 17,000 UN soldiers, the UN’s largest peacekeeping mission.  And yet after all this suffering, […]

On Monday, the ICC will begin proceedings in its first trial ever – Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will stand trial for using child soldiers during the Congo's civil war. (As TRIAL notes, Lubanga's group, the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), is also accused of massacring civilians). The legal documents filed before in the case […]

Earlier this month Human Rights Watch's (HRW) released their 19th annual World Report, the report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. The 2009 HRW report highlights the extensive and investigative work which the HRW staff, and human rights activists in the field, undertook in 2008. 2008 marked the 60th […]

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." – Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD) As we embark on a new year and a new administration, I felt this quote was truly fitting for the week. Let us embark on new beginnings domestically and internationally, but let us not forget the past, both good […]

You are probably familiar with the advice given to President Obama from U.S. leaders, critics, pundits and even comics, but are you familiar with the advice he has received from other world leaders? The magazine Foreign Policy recently invited an assortment of international leaders to offer their advice to the new president. Some of the […]

New International Agency – AFP (via Yahoo) had this to say the other day:  Germany hails creation of global climate-change agency.  More than 100 countries are to be represented in Bonn next week for the founding conference of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Here’s how the new agency describes itself:  “Mandated by governments worldwide, […]

I came across this photo expose, The American Teen, which I found tremendously enthralling and wanted to share it with you. In the 22 photos photojournalist Robin Bowman, manages to not only capture the diversity of the American teen, but also the complexity of the generation. From drugs to god, pregnancy to chastity pledges, rural […]

Today has been a very busy day for foreign policy at the Obama White House. President Obama is making plans to shut the Guantanamo and CIA prisons, the new Secretary of State has arrived at the State Department, and a new Mideast envoy has been appointed. Here is a quick roundup of the day's headlines: […]