Madame la Secrétaire générale?

The problem is not a lack of capable women. The problem is a lack of determination, political will and vision.

So concludes a San Francisco Chronicle commentary urging that a woman be appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations at the end of Ban Ki-moon's 1st term in January 2012. (credit for (c) Francesco Federico photo of U.N. plaza)
Only 3 words are devoted to the possibility that Ban, formerly a diplomat in South Korea, might be reappointed. The rest of the full-page essay sets out reasons why "It's time for a Madame Secretary," to quote the title as it appeared in the print edition. (As Stephanie's post above explains, the issue's arisen before.)
The authors -- Dr. Michael E. Brown, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, and Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudrant, Associate Vice Presidentof the Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program, U.S. Institute of Peace -- then suggest several "brilliant female leaders" whom they deem to possess the requisite "policy expertise, political experience and gravitas."
And their nominees are:
► U.N. Under-Secretary Michelle Bachelet (prior posts), who now serves as the 1st head of UN Women, having completed service as President of Chile, the 1st woman so to lead her country. (More UN Women news in the post below.)
► Helen Clark (prior posts), Administrator of the U.N. Development Programme (1st woman to lead that agency) and former Prime Minister of New Zealand (1st woman to win that office following an election).
► Radhika Coomaraswamy (prior posts), U.N. Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and former chair of the Sri Lanka Human rights Commission.
► Graça Machel (prior posts), who has served as a U.N. expert on child soldiers, is a women's and children's rights advocate, and who was Minister of Education and Culture in Mozambique.
► Margot Wallström (prior posts), U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and formerly holder of ministerial posts both in her native Sweden and in European institutions.
An impressive list.
Glaring omission: absence of any mention of the 3 women who've served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Other nominations welcome.

Climate consensus-building

(My thanks to IntLawGrrls for the opportunity to contribute this guest post)

Sustained cooperation on climate change is within political reach, this I believe.
International treaties are seldom accomplished inside a day. At its core, the Cancun Agreements adopted during the recent 2-week conference in that Mexican city (prior IntLawGrrls post) set forth these objectives:
► Greenhouse gas mitigation by all countries;
► An Adaptation Framework;
► A Technology Transfer Mechanism to facilitate environmentally sound technology- and capacity-building;
► A new U.N. Green Climate Fund;
► Measurable, reportable, and verifiable inspections for the United States, China, and other major emitting countries;
► Scientific review after five years; and
► Forestry consensus to fund countries to avert deforestation.
There could not have been a greater contrast between Cancun and Copenhagen, the 2009 conference on which IntLawGrrls posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
In the frozen northern city creativity abounded -- gaining the spotlight. Civil society spelled out "350" holding blazing torches in the snow.
In the southern city, demonstrations were displaced by armed forces, keeping the most recent U.N. climate change conference – known by its acronym COP 16 – a high-end diplomatic affair. Surreal resorts along Cancun's Maya Riviera hosted subdued forums patching back together trust in multilateral climate cooperation. Countries are "now walking in the right direction, but they need to start running," Tim Gore of Oxfam International noted.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called upon the international community to "think big, connecting the dots between poverty, energy, food, water, environmental pressure and climate change."
The floods in Pakistan and fires in Russia are the latest bells tolling an alarming wake-up call. It brings to mind these famous words, written by the poet John Donne in 1624:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

The spoken and unspoken calls of children, women, and men – of terrestrial and marine life are coalescing. Time will not gain patience – we must channel the urgency into collective action to address climate change. "You have been negotiating all my life. You cannot tell us that you need more time," Christina Ora of the Solomon Islands, challenged a collection of 193 countries. (credit for photo of Ora speaking during COP 15)
I have participated in these negotiations since 1991, helping to draft the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. The goal is still elusive, but this 1992 Convention has 194 parties, who meet annually.
All eyes are on Durban, South Africa, where COP 17 will be held from November 28 to December 9, 2011. (image credit) There we may yet weave together international consensus for a post-2012 framework to mitigate, adapt, innovate, and fund a meaningful transnational climate response.

As Gandhi noted, we must be the change that we wish to see in the world.

Imagine if 2010 hadn't been the Year of Biodiversity

"Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is Our Life" That is the slogan of the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, which draws to a close in just over a week. When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the opening of the Year of Biodiversity, he cautioned:

A failure to protect the world's natural resources is a wake-up call for people everywhere.

The U.N. General Assembly certainly ushered the International Year .of Biodiversity out with a bang-- voting on December 21 to establish the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
This new Intergovernmental Platform will be modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and is intended to be a mechanism for integrating scientific knowledge about biodiversity into policy-making.
The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was established just in time for the International Year of Forests which begins in January 2011, and the International Decade of Biodiversity, also beginning in January 2011. Let us hope it has more success in galvanizing global action targeted at stemming our losses of biodiversity than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has had in getting global agreement on actions to stem carbon emissions.
Establishment of the Intergovernmental Platform was a bright spots in a year otherwise riddled with bad news for biodiversity.
Biodiversity loss is rapid and ongoing. Over the last 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems faster and more extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history. We are losing tropical forests, wetlands, coral reefs and grasslands at a rapid clip. Species extinctions are orders of magnitude over expected rates. The causes are clear:
►over-exploitation
►habitat loss
►invasive species
►climate change
Unfortunately, these drivers of biodiversity loss show no signs of abating. As a result, we are losing species at rates three orders of magnitude greater than would otherwise be expected.
The IUCN Red List (prior IntLawGrrls posts here, here, and here) reported that 1/5 of vertebrate species, ranging from 13% of birds to 41% of amphibians, are threatened with extinction. A similar report by the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens suggests that one-fifth of plants are similarly threatened. This is terrifying! As the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment documented, biodiversity is the foundation on which human life depends.

In 2002, the Convention of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Strategic Plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Strategic Plan set what's come to be known as the 2010 Biodiversity Target -- a commitment by the 191 parties to the Convention to

achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth.

This biodiversity target was subsequently endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit Meeting, and was incorporated into the Millennium Development Goals. These developments marked an official international recognition that biodiversity loss is closely associated with environmental degradation, poverty and ill-health. This prompted the General Assembly to declare 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.
Unfortunately, the Convention of the Parties acknowledged earlier this year that it had failed to meet the 2010 Target for halting the losses of biodiversity. The European Union similarly missed its targets. The Global Biodiversity Outlook reports deforestation continues at an alarming rate, coral reefs show major declines, and abundance has plummeted for many species. This is not to say there have been no successes.
At the Cancun meeting earlier this month, delegates were cheered that Brazil announced it had reduced tropical rainforest destruction and CO2 emissions to record low levels, and that some species, mostly charismatic macrofauna, have shown signs of recovery. As the IUCN Red List reminds us, the news is not all grim. For the first time, scientists have documented that conservation can really make a difference in stemming biodiversity loss. There is still hope. But, the time for action is now!

No(bel)-shows

Later today the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Chinese writer and political dissident Liu Xiaobo (near left).
It will be the 1st time with "no one present to accept the award since 1936."
Liu Xiabo can't attend.
He's in jail in China.
His wife, Liu Xia (far left), can't attend.
China's put her under house arrest.
Many of their friends and family can't attend.
China won't let them leave the country.
At least 18 countries besides China won't attend.
They've acceded to China's call for a boycott.
United Nations leaders Ban Ki-moon and Navi Pillay won't attend. Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, says she's got another engagement on this Human Rights Day. That claim's drawn much criticism, and yesterday, she did demand the prizewinner's release from custody.
China has not let up resistance ever since the prize was announced a few months back. Yesterday, it went so far as to block websites to prevent its people from seeing the ceremony.
In short, the Nobel committee's succeeded in shining a light on how far China is from being an open society -- and how far some leaders will go to try to obscure that fact.
Their efforts no doubt will prove fruitless.
As events of the last weeks show, information will out.
Based on the moving poem published in yesterday's New York Times, the voice of the prizewinner (available in book form soon), is one to reckon with. A sample:

hovering within death
a hovering in drowning
Countless nights behind iron-barred windows
and the graves beneath starlight
have exposed my nightmares

Besides a lie
I own nothing

Michelle Bachelet named Under-Secretary-General for new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was named today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to head the newly-established UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women. The UN press release about the announcement is here.
The new entity, which was established by a unanimous General Assembly vote on July 2 and is due to become operational in January 2011, merges four existing UN offices into one (see prior IntLawGrrls post here): UNIFEM, INSTRAW, DAW and OSAGI.
The UN Women website has some great intro information for those wishing to learn more about this new entity and the work it will be undertaking:

• FAQs about UN Women
• Facts and Figures on such areas as poverty and the economy; power and decision-making; media; armed conflict; health; and much more.

ECCC Update

We've blogged before on the remarkable denouement of the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) (below right) wherein the defendant all but changed his plea in the final moments of the trial, eviscerating the careful defense that had been constructed for him by his brilliant Co-Defense Counsel, François Roux, and driving a final wedge between his foreign and Cambodian co-counsel (left). The latter, Kar Savuth, had himself also surprised everyone in attendance with an impassioned closing argument on behalf of his client; he attacked the prosecutor's case on both substantive and jurisdictional grounds, and asked for an acquittal on all counts in the Closing Order.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, it was announced Friday that Duch has officially asked to withdraw Roux as his Co-Defense Counsel. Defendants are allowed to change their counsel only under "exceptional circumstances."
The Defense Support Section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia issued an administrative decision allowing for the withdrawal on the grounds that:

1. There is no reason to doubt that Mr Kaing’s loss of confidence is genuine;
2. There is no reason to believe that the Request is aimed at obstructing the proceedings;
3. The withdrawal of Maitre Roux at this stage will not unduly delay the proceedings;
4. The loss of confidence amounts to exceptional circumstances.

Savuth will represent Duch at the reading of the verdict on the 26th of this month. Roux, meanwhile, has taken the position as chief defense counsel for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

In other news from the ECCC, Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon recently announced that he would appoint a U.N. Special Expert on the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to monitor the tribunal and endeavor to prevent political interference. The scuttle is that the position will be taken up by Clint Williamson (left), former U.S. Ambassador for War Crimes Issues, starting very soon.

A Grim World Oceans Day

Today is the Second Annual Commemoration of the United Nations' World Oceans Day, first proclaimed by the General Assembly in ¶ 171 of Resolution 63/111 (2008). (Prior IntLawGrrls posts.)
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Our oceans: opportunities and challenges."
Unfortunately, right now the challenges are pretty overwhelming.
In last year's World Oceans Day speech, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged that

human activities are taking a terrible toll on the world’s oceans and seas.

And, that was before Deepwater Horizon pumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf, killing an unknown number of fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and birds. (Prior IntLawGrrls posts available here.) The toxic dispersants being sprayed by the ton are taking an additional heavy toll. All told, the Gulf ecosystem has been devastated in ways that were unimaginable a few short months ago.
As we struggle to respond to the acute crisis of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, it is easy to lose sight of the profound impact that Global Warming is having on the world's oceans. Polar ice caps are melting, coral is dying, fish stocks have collapsed, and ocean acidification may be eroding the base of the ocean food chain.
Secretary-General Ban's 2010 World Oceans Day message is as timely as it is troubling:

The diversity of life in the oceans is under ever-increasing strain. Over-exploitation of marine living resources, climate change, and pollution from hazardous materials and activities all pose a grave threat to the marine environment.

UPDATE: A few hours ago, Jane Lubchenco, Administratof of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that deep sea plumes of oil are spreading across the Gulf. A very bad World Oceans Day just got much worse.

Day One in Kampala

(Another in IntLawGrrls' series of Kampala Conference posts)

KAMPALA, Uganda – The Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court opened here yesterday. Bill Pace, Convenor of the non-governmental Coalition for an ICC, noted that the event was likely the largest gathering of international criminal law experts ever held.

Several of the speeches in the opening high-level plenary referenced how important it is that the ICC address sexual and gender-based violence.

For example, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognized the significant contributions the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, along with the Special Court for Sierra Leone, have made in prosecuting rape and other sexual violence crimes and he urged the ICC to deal with sexual violence crimes as a priority.

In the afternoon, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice launched its newest publication, Advancing Gender Justice: A Call to Action. The Call to Action focuses, in part, on how the ICC can better achieve gender-sensitive justice. Its recommendations include:

► A serious and significant increase in state and voluntary contributions to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims, including to Trust Fund’s donor appeal for victims of sexual violence launched in 2009;

► Development by the ICC’s judges of gender-inclusive, victim-centered guidelines on reparations for victims before the Court, authorized in Article 75 of the Rome Statute;

► Stronger and more consistent jurisprudence from the ad hoc tribunals, special courts and the ICC on forced marriage, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization and sexual mutilation;

► The ICC should ensure that its mechanisms support the exercise of the right of victims to apply to the Court for formal recognition and subsequent participation in the legal proceedings; and

► When countries implement the Rome Statute into domestic law, they should do so in a manner that is fully inclusive of the gender provisions of the Rome Statute.

This Call to Action was issued following one consultation in 2008 in Kampala with 155 women’s rights and peace activists, primarily from conflict situations under investigation by the ICC, and another at the April 2010 Internattional Gender Justice Dialogue (prior IntLawGrrls posts here and here). In addition, Women's Initiatives undertook ongoing consultation with women through its extensive country-based programming. The group has a delegation in Kampala of 30 women's human rights and peace activists from three of the four ICC situation countries.

The conversation on gender issues will likely continue throughout the Review Conference, especially as a result of the Women’s Court event, which Women's Initiatives has organized for today, and of the stocktaking exercises, set for later this week, which will focus on the impact of the Rome Statute system on victims and affected communities, peace and justice, complementarity and cooperation.

Soccer diplomacy meets ICC

(Another in IntLawGrrls' series of Kampala Conference posts)

With World Cup fever abubble here in my California home (I've got USA in the family pool, my husband's keen on Argentina, and my son's gaga for Ghana), could not let pass this news from the site of the International Criminal Court Review Conference.
In a Sunday prelude to the 2-week conference that began yesterday, the United Nations played a friendly against Uganda Dignity at a stadium in Kampala.
Above, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, center, makes a play for a ball controlled by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, left. (credit for photo by Stephen Wandera, courtesy of Uganda's Daily Monitor) The 2 arrived for a "six-minute cameo" toward the end of the charity contest, dubbed the "War Victims Day Football Game" and sponsored by the Uganda Victims Foundation and the Africa Youth Initiative Network aided by the NGO No Peace Without Justice.
The U.N. side lost one-nil. Scoring the lone and winning goal was a "Darfur war victim, Abdallah Lasanusi."
The photo's smiles-all-around exemplifies this month's theme of diplomacy, globalization, and soccer -- er, football -- popularized in books like this and this.

Ahoy, there! New tribunal?

Keep reading that ad hoc criminal tribunals are destined for Davey Jones' locker.
Apparently no one's given the United Nations that memo.
Not only did that intergovernmental organization establish the Special Tribunal for Lebanon a while back (prior posts), but also yesterday the U.N. Security Council unanimously resolved to consider an international piracy tribunal.
The latest in a 2-years-on series of resolutions on "The situation in Somalia," Resolution 1918 (2010) 1st recited a litany of concerns about attacks by pirates off the coast of that horn-of-Africa nation. (See Beth Van Schaack's post today, above, as well as IntLawGrrls' prior posts). Then it alluded to problems in bringing offenders to account, even as it noted that there've been some prosecutions in some national courts. (Justice systems specifically mentioned were Kenya (right) (photo credit) and the Seychelles. A few pirates also have found themselves haled before national courts in the United States and elsewhere.)
After urging more concerted efforts by all countries, the Security Council, in ¶ 4 of Resolution 1918, requested U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

to present to the Security Council within 3 months a report on possible options to further the aim of prosecuting and imprisoning persons responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia ...

Options explicitly contemplated:

► "creating special domestic chambers possibly with international components"

► "a regional tribunal or an international tribunal and corresponding imprisonment arrangements"

In preparing its report, Ban's staff is to consider the work of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, as well as "the existing practice in establishing international and mixed tribunals ..."

Time will tell if yet another tribunal weighs anchor.

...and counting...

(Occasional sobering thoughts.) The U.N. Security Council has begun debate on whether to renew the mandate of UNAMA, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; it's set to expire this Tuesday.
Debate started with the presentation of the latest report of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon respecting Afghanistan. The presenter, Alain Le Roy (below left), Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Council:

'Concrete steps must be taken by the international community to allow Afghans to be in charge of, and lead, processes while providing the capacity-building and support required for Afghan institutions to take on this role, including in civilian areas.
'At the same time, the Afghan Government must concretely demonstrate that it can deliver on the accountability required for a real transition process to be sustainable.'

No doubt hindering efforts is the Dutch decision to pull out of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan. That withdrawal has the United States thinking about looking for help outside NATO, according to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Michèle A. Flournoy (below right).

A story just published in Newsweek, moreover, contends that the idea of Afghanistan taking over is a pipe dream -- that $6 billion that's gone to training Afghan police to take over for coalition forces was money not well-spent.

In Washington, meanwhile, "thousands" protested U.S. intervention yesterday, not only in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq. The 7th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was Friday.

With those developments in mind, we revisit the casualty count since our last "...and counting..." post 6 weeks ago:

► The U.S. Department of Defense reports that coalition military casualties in Afghanistan stand at 1,024 Americans, 275 Britons, and 393 other coalition servicemembers. That's an increase of 34, 17, and 2 casualties, respectively, in the last 6 weeks. The total coalition casualty count in the Afghanistan conflict is 1,692 service women and men.

► Respecting the conflict in Iraq, Iraq Body Count reports that between 95,724 and 104,427 Iraqi women, children, and men have died in the conflict in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, representing an increase of between 409 and 430 deaths in the last 6 weeks. According to the U.S. Defense Department, 4,385 American servicemembers have been killed in Iraq, representing 9 servicemember deaths in the last 6 weeks. (As posted, U.S. troops are the only foreign forces remaining in Iraq.)

...and counting...

(Occasional sobering thoughts.) It's been nearly 11 weeks since our last "...and counting..." post reported on President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Deployment done, this Presidents' Day brings news of NATO's "biggest Afghan offensive yet" against Taliban forces, a description echoed in Canada, Britain, and the United States.
Days before the operation dubbed "Mushtarak," or "Together," began, London's Independent reported:

The offensive is expected to see heavy casualties on both sides, with civilian casualties "inevitable".

The truth of the prediction was evident in early headlines from the field of a battle that combat leaders say may last 30 days: "NATO says its rockets killed 12 Afghan civilians," and "Two Allied Deaths in Marjah Highlight Risks."

Though those numbers doubtless are not yet included in official records, it seems appropriate to revisit the casualty count since our last post:
► According to ¶ 19 of the January 4, 2010, Report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Security Council, entitled "The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security,"

UNAMA recorded 784 conflict-related civilian casualties between August and October 2009, up 12 per cent from the same period in 2008. Anti-Government elements remain responsible for the largest proportion of civilian casualties (78 per cent of the total), of whom 54 per cent were victims of suicide and improvised explosive device attacks. The increased reliance of anti-Government elements on improvised explosive device attacks has demonstrated an apparent disregard for the loss of civilian life. However, it is encouraging to see that certain positive steps have continued to be taken by the Government and its international military partners to reduce the impact of military operations on the civilian population.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense reports that coalition military casualties in Afghanistan stand at 990 Americans, 258 Britons, and 391 other coalition servicemembers. That's an increase of 61, 22, and 24 casualties, respectively, in the last 11 weeks. The total coalition casualty count in the Afghanistan conflict is 1,639 service women and men.
► Respecting the conflict in Iraq, Iraq Body Count reports that between 95,315 and 103,997 Iraqi women, children, and men have died in the conflict in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, representing an increase of between 983 and 1,065 deaths in the last 11 weeks. According to the U.S. Defense Department, 4,376 American servicemembers have been killed in Iraq, representing 9 servicemember deaths in the last 11 weeks. (As posted, U.S. troops are the only foreign forces remaining in Iraq.)

On February 8

On this day in ...
... 1957, Patricia O'Brien (near right) was born. Following law studies in Ireland and Canada, she was admitted to the practice in Ireland and British Columbia, and taught at the University of British Columbia. Her career in international, human rights, and European Union law included service as Legal Adviser to the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland beginning in 2003. In 2008, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (above, far right) appointed O'Brien Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel. She is the 1st woman to hold the post.

(Prior February 8 posts are here and here.)

...and counting...

(Occasional sobering thoughts.) In last night's speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, President Barack Obama (below left) confirmed that he is deploying an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, to bring the total complement of U.S. service women and men there to 100,000. (photo credit) (Transcript and video of the President's speech available here.) Though he said he would begin drawing down that force in 18 months, he set no timetable for full U.S. withdrawal from the region -- a deliberate word choice, given Obama's clear statement that the conflict extends to Pakistan as well as to Afghanistan.
Other new deployments to Afghanistan are likely soon to be announced in other countries, given the following immediate-reaction statement from Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and current Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization:

This is not a U.S. mission alone. There are 43 countries on the ground under NATO command and I am confident that other allies and partners will also make a substantial increase in their contributions.

It thus seems time to readjust IntLawGrrls' longstanding "...and counting..." feature.

Afghanistan now will receive primary focus, a shift illustrated in today's introduction of the photo of an Afghan funeral above right (credit), which replaces the Iraqi photo we long have used. And though counts on Pakistan are not readily available, news from that theater of combat will be included as appropriate. In the absence of any Afghanistan-related site like Iraq Body Count, available civilian casualty figures from UNAMA, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, will be provided.

And so, here's the casualty count since our post 5 weeks ago:

► According to ¶ 54 of the September 22, 2009, Report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Security Council, entitled "The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security," UNAMA

recorded 1,500 civilian casualties between January and August, with August being the deadliest month since the beginning of 2009. These figures reflect an increasing trend in insecurity over recent months and in elections-related violence. Almost three times as many civilian deaths (68 per cent) were attributed to anti-Government elements activities than to pro-Government forces (23 per cent). As detailed in the UNAMA mid-year bulletin on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, the most deadly tactics used and which accounted for the largest number of
civilian casualties in the conflict to date were attributable to planted improvised explosive devices, and suicide attacks carried out by anti-Government elements accounted for 39.5 per cent of fatalities. Air strikes by pro-Government forces accounted for 20 per cent of fatalities.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense reports that coalition military casualties in Afghanistan stand at 929 Americans, 236 Britons, and 367 other coalition servicemembers. That's an increase of 43, 14, and 6 casualties, respectively, in the last 5 weeks. The total coalition casualty count in the Afghanistan conflict is 1,532 service women and men.

► Respecting the conflict in Iraq, Iraq Body Count reports that between 94,332 and 102,932 Iraqi women, children, and men have died in the conflict in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, representing an increase of between 760 and 836 deaths in the last 5 weeks. According to the U.S. Defense Department, 4,367 American servicemembers have been killed in Iraq, representing 16 servicemember deaths in the last 5 weeks. (As posted, U.S. troops are the only foreign forces remaining in Iraq.)

How to End Violence?

So much of what we international lawyers do is aimed at preventing, ending, or responding to violence. Wouldn't it be lovely to make that aspect of our jobs obsolete?
Unfortunately, as illustrated by IntLawGrrls' numerous writings on the subject (including Naomi's post earlier today), violence—by states, by groups, by individuals—endures as a pervasive plague in almost every society. International legal organizations, states, and the lawyers who assist them try to prevent or constrain state violence through norms on aggression and the use of force, the conduct of war or armed conflict, human rights violations, or international crimes. But many civilians also experience violence perpetrated by non-state actors (insurgent groups, paramilitary units, terrorists, and family members). Often, they are targeted, at least in part, because of their gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, or other status.

Gender-Based Violence
This week marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November; prior post). Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (on whom we’ve posted here), issued a statement outlining plans for her mandate. Manjoo called for “timely and focused attention” on three themes:

►reparations to women for wrongs committed in contexts of peace, conflict, post-conflict and transitional justice settings;
►prevention strategies including those which promote women’s empowerment and engagement in challenging patriarchal interpretations of norms, values and rights; and
►multiple, intersecting and aggravated forms of discrimination affecting women and leading to increased levels of violence and limitation or denial of their human rights.

Roles of Men
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued parallel statements to mark the day as well. Interestingly, one of his statements focused on the roles of men in ending violence against women. The statement recognizes that men and boys must also be engaged, committed, and involved in efforts to end gender-based violence. Secretary-General Ban announced the launching of a network of male leaders charged with taking proactive steps, in collaboration with existing women’s organizations, to address gender-based violence. The new network is part of the “UNiTE to End Violence Against Women” initiative he launched in 2008.

As I launch this Network, I call on men and boys everywhere to join us. Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act. Advocate. Unite to change the practices and attitudes that incite, perpetrate and condone this violence. Violence against women and girls will not be eradicated until all of us – men and boys – refuse to tolerate it….

According to a UN Press release,

he cited positive actions that men are already taking, such as judges whose decisions have paved the way for fighting abuse in the workplace, networks of men who counsel male perpetrators of violence, and national leaders who have publicly committed to leading the movement of men to break the silence.

Such efforts must begin early and locally in homes, schools, religious and community institutions. Educators and community activists must work with young people to build cross-gender and cross-cultural understanding, respect, and non-violent approaches to problem-solving. National governments must prevent the economic, social, and cultural rights violations that intersect with the causes and consequences of violence. And, at the international level, political and military leaders, diplomats, and multinational business leaders also must show that they, too, can learn such lessons. They can do so by promoting and adhering to laws against aggression, the threat or use of weapons of mass destruction, targeting of civilian populations, and the reckless trade in small arms.

(Photo: Leymah Glowee, Liberian peacebuilding activist and a subject of the documentary film, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," about women peace activists. Photo Credit: Robin Holland.)

U.N. set to create new women's entity

The General Assembly of the United Nations voted Monday in favor of a draft resolution consolidating all U.N. agencies and divisions addressing women's issues into a single entity.
Called for is the amalgamation of the following:
► the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI);
► the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW);
► the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); and
► the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).
The move was partly driven by the lack of a centralized voice for gender issues in the U.N. labyrinth. As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated:

'U.N. gender architecture lacks a recognized driver. It is fragmented. It is inadequately funded, and insufficiently focused on country-driven demands.'

To remedy such fragmentation and underfunding, the entity is expected to have a budget of approximately $ 1 billion and its own Under Secretary-General, who will report directly to the Secretary-General.

Tasks for the entity are much less clear. The draft resolution only states that the consolidation will "take into account the existing mandates" of the agencies to be merged.

Last-minute opposition to the resolution by member states such as Cuba, Egypt, Iran and Sudan allegedly resulted in the absence of a specific mandate for the composite entity -- an absence that led Oxfam to label such opposition "deplorable." Secretary-General Ban needs quickly to draft a mission statement, organizational chart, funding plan, and executive board proposal for General Assembly approval.

The consolidation initiative first had been proposed amid discussions about U.N. reform, which began during the tenure of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Advocacy around this week's resolution was led by a group called Gender Equity Architecture Reform. GEAR now is pressing for the timely appointment of an under secretary-general for the entity as well as full funding.

On August 6

On this day in ...

... 2008, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Patricia O’Brien Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel. O'Brien (left) is the 1st woman U.N. history to hold this position. During the previous 5 years she'd been serving as Legal Adviser to the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, giving counsel on legal issues arising in Irish foreign policy, in particular public international law, human rights law and European Union law. Before that she'd been a Senior Legal Adviser to the Irish Attorney General and Legal Counsellor at the Irish Permanent Representation to the European Union, in Brussels. Born in 1957, O'Brien earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Trinity College in Dublin and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa in Canada. She'd practiced law in Ireland and Canada, and also held academic positions at the University of British Columbia. (photo credit)
... 1962, the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica became an independent state and adopted its own Constitution. The onetime British colony remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

(Prior August 6 posts are here and here.)

"Nyet"

Remember Georgia?

Russia does.

The dispute in the former Soviet Socialist Republic now known as the Republic of Georgia has disappeared from the global news page that today tells of election protests in Iran and an anti-sanctions rally in North Korea. Yet the dispute about which IntLawGrrls guest/alumna Mary Ellen O'Connell has posted -- a dispute fueled by the desire of the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to break away from Georgia and ally with welcoming neighbor Russia -- remains.
And so yesterday Russia wielded its veto clout as 1 of the 5 permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to say nyet to a 16-year-old peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia.

Because the "Council failed ... to extend the presence of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia," a U.N. press release stated, "Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will instruct his Special Representative to take all measures required to cease UNOMIG’s operations, effective 16 June, and consult with his advisors on the immediate next steps ...."

As for another P-5 member: U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo (below right), Alternate Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, decried the veto with these words:

'It is the civilian population that suffers by facing a tenuous security environment without an international presence in Abkhazia, Georgia.'

On June 13

On this day in ...
… 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in his opinion for the Court:

In the absence of other effective measures, the following procedures to safeguard the Fifth Amendment privilege must be observed: the person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him.

This section of the opinion has evolved into what's known as the Miranda warnings. developed to protect the individual's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination." (credit for photo of law enforcement file on petitioner Ernesto Miranda)
… 1944 (65 years ago today), U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (below left) was born in Korea. The 8th Secretary-General, Ban succeeded Kofi Annan on January 1, 2007. (photo credit) Ban's official priorities are development, climate change, human rights, U.N. reform, ending the Darfur conflict, attaining peace in the Middle East, ending nuclear proliferation and increasing disarmament. He has specifically addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemning recent violence in the Gaza Strip. As we've posted, he has called for an end to violence against women.

(Prior June 13 posts are here and here.)

On May 29

On this day in ...
... 1990, Canada's House of Commons (right) passed Bill C-43, new abortion legislation, by a vote of 140 to 131. (photo credit) The bill, which continued the criminal proscription of abortion but allowed exceptions from that prohibition " as long as a doctor believes the physical or mental health of the woman is endangered," was sent to Canada's Senate for debate. There it would fail by a tie vote in 1991.
... 1999 (10 years ago today), Olusegun Obasanjo (left) was sworn in as President of Nigeria following his election, bringing an end to 15 "years of adventurism and brigandage under military rule," as The Nation put it. (photo credit) The 8-year tenure of Obasanjo, who himself had been a military ruler of Nigeria from 1976 to 1979, was marred by charges of corruption and repression. Last December Obasanjo was appointed the U.N. Special Envoy on the Great Lakes Region, tasked to aid "dialogue between the leaders of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda," by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

(Prior May 29 posts are here and here.)