In The News

Ruth Eglash July 14, 2018
Israel’s hardline policy on entrance for refugees has drawn ire from the international community. As fighting in Syria draws closer to the Israeli border, Syrian refugees – an estimated 11,000 – plead for safe haven. A recent article for the Washington Post observes, “forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russian airstrikes, are in the midst of a final push to recapture territory...
Patrick Wintour July 13, 2018
Efforts to facilitate a broad ceasefire in southwest Syria broke down at the end of June, prompting the Syrian military to initiate a fresh round of air raids in the Daraa province – an area inside the de-escalation zone agreed on by the US president, the Russian president and the Jordanian government. The Syrian government claims to control of more than half of the province. The increase in...
Yanghee Lee and Georgia Drake July 11, 2018
Local and international organizations have reported serious violations and abuses in Myanmar for decades, and sexual violence cases overwhelmingly feature members of Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw. Yanghee Lee and Georgia Drake report for the Guardian: “Myanmar has faced civil war since shortly after independence in 1948, and there are countless instances of its peoples facing serious...
Daniel Flitton July 5, 2018
Disasters bring the international community together. Rescue, medical and engineering specialists gather at the scene to offer expert opinions and plan search-and-rescue operations as viewers watch, wait and send donations: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2010 Chilean mine, the 2014 Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 to name just a few. The rescue of a group of boys and their soccer coach from a...
Kenneth R. Rosen June 29, 2018
The increasing number of localized armed groups worldwide poses a challenge for humanitarian workers. The groups, characterized as “looser, with less top-down control,” are generally informed on international humanitarian law, writes Kenneth Rosen. Humanitarian workers struggle to communicate with non-state fighters, and this adds to the challenges of treating wounded soldiers and civilians....
Andrew C. McCarthy June 25, 2018
The US government struggles to control a border in crisis as hundreds of families seek asylum. The rule of law is only as good as enforcement backed by adequate resources. Writing for National Review, Andrew McCarthy argues the crisis is a security rather than legal challenge, and he maintains that new laws will not resolve the immediate problem. He urges barriers to stop the flow of immigrants...
Angus McDowall June 18, 2018
The civil war in Yemen has raged for three years, and the country has struggled with internal divisions since North Yemen and South Yemen united in 1990. Extremists as well as neighboring powers, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have taken advantage of the divisions. The 2011 Arab Spring protests led to more divisions and the president stepped down. The deputy president took over in 2012,...