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Articles by Patrick Butchard
The obligation to prevent genocide
Genocide is a crime under international law, according to the United Nations General Assembly. The 1948 Genocide Convention, which has 153 parties requires party states to punish those responsible for genocide. The convention also requires states to prevent genocide from occurring. While it does not set out how they must do this, judgments on cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have clarified some details of the obligation. What are a state’s obligations in international law?
Financial assistance to Ukraine bill 2024-25
The Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill was presented in the House of Commons on 6 November 2024 (Bill 48 of Session 2024–25). The purpose of the bill is to allow the UK Government to provide loans and other financial assistance to the Government of Ukraine specifically arising out of the G7 agreement in June 2024 to extend $50 billion (roughly £38.6 billion) of loans to Ukraine that will be repaid using the profits from sanctioned Russian assets. The .
Refugees and the UK's international aid response
As of mid-2023, there were an estimated , mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. In recent years, most refugees and asylum seekers have come from only a few countries. Just under 40% are under the age of 18. This briefing sets out who refugees are, the risks they might face, and related UK aid and diplomatic activity. What is a refugee and what are their rights?
Conflict in Ukraine: A Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression
This briefing updates and supersedes research from the Common’s Library Debate Pack relating to the proposed Special Tribunal (5 May 2023), and updates developments originally covered in the Commons Library Briefing Paper Ukraine crisis: Recognition, military action, and international law (24 March 2022).
UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership
The UK intends to send some people who would otherwise claim asylum in the UK to Rwanda to seek asylum there. Nobody has yet been sent to Rwanda because of legal challenges. The Supreme Court held in November 2023 that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful. The Government has decided to continue with the policy; it has signed a new treaty with Rwanda and will shortly propose fast-track legislation, both designed to render the relocation arrangements lawful.
UN high-level meetings in 2023
UN high-level meetings on health in 2023 In September 2023, the UN General Assembly will convene three high-level meetings on health, focused on: Ending Tuberculosis Delivering universal health coverage Strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, and responses The UK Government has confirmed it will attend all three events. This section summarises UK commitments on these issues, and global progress to date.
Srebrenica Memorial Week
The genocide in Srebrenica In July 1995, during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb forces took over the town of Srebrenica, killing over 8,000 people. This was after blocking supplies and the reinforcement of UN peacekeeping forces that had been guarding the town. Bosnian Serb forces forcibly separated Muslim men and boys from their families. They were taken to various locations where they were later executed, with most of the genocide occurring between 13 and 17 of July.
UK Government recognition of the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel
UK Government position: Non recognition In October 2014, the House of Commons voted in favour of the following: That this House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution. This vote was not binding on the Government. The UK Government has not recognised this statehood, and abstained in the UN General Assembly vote that granted Palestine non-member observer status at the UN.
International Regulation of Space
This briefing provides an overview of the international legal framework that applies to outer space. With an ever-increasing use of space for both military and commercial purposes, the need to take stock of the existing rules and identify the gaps in regulation is higher than ever before. The main legal issues for space law today include: The definition and delimitation of space, including the question of where space begins in law.
Belarus/EU migrant crisis
Since July 2021 thousands of migrants, primarily from conflict-affected states such as Iraq and Syria, have attempted to cross the Belarusian border into its EU neighbours Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. All three countries have declared states of emergency at their borders and deployed the military. Border crossings with Belarus have been closed and fences have been erected to prevent illegal crossings.
Is turning back migrants at sea compatible with international law?
The number of migrants crossing the English Channel has increased in 2021, with the BBC reporting that 12,600 people have made the journey so far this year. Recent news reports have confirmed that UK Border Force are being trained to use certain “turn around” tactics to intercept and return migrants crossing the Channel. The Government has said that any plans will be “safe and legal”, but France and other interested parties have suggested such tactics could violate international law.
E-petitions relating to Israel and Palestine
Recognition of the “State of Palestine” Recognition is the act of one state formally or informally recognising an entity as a state. Recognition can also refer to the recognition of a government or representatives of a state as the legitimate or lawful representative of that state and its peoples. At the United Nations, the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations lists the states that have recognised the State of Palestine.
The militarisation of space
Space has been used for military purposes for decades, albeit limited to the deployment of non-offensive military systems such as communications, navigation, imaging and surveillance satellites. Several countries, including the UK have developed a comprehensive space-based military architecture to facilitate military activities on the ground. However, space is becoming an increasingly contested environment.
Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill 2019-2021: Lords amendments
The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 4 November as Bill 147. The Bill was unamended in the House of Commons. Commons consideration of Lords amendments (Bill 189) is scheduled for 21 April 2021. The purpose of the Bill is to protect service personnel and veterans from legal action relating to overseas operations.
First British Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court: Challenges ahead
The third Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first UK national to take the role. But Karim Khan QC faces challenges as the Court addresses an independent review, tense political relationships with some states, and significant decisions on the jurisdiction of the Court. Who is Karim Khan QC? On 12 February 2021, the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of State Parties elected British barrister Karim Khan as the new Prosecutor for the Court.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: governance and dispute settlement
Governance of the Agreement The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes provisions on governance (in Part One of the Agreement) and dispute settlement (in Part Six). Overall the TCA has seven Parts. These contain separate titles, sometimes divided into chapters. Part Two also contains separate headings covering different titles and chapters.
Recent Developments at the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court was established by the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998 and entered into force in 2002. It is the world’s first permanent international court dedicated to prosecuting individuals for the most serious crimes of international concern. It is a court of last resort – complementing, but not replacing, the criminal courts of states.
UK war crimes in Iraq: The ICC Prosecutor’s report
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Prosecutor recently closed her preliminary enquiry into allegations that UK soldiers committed international crimes in Iraq. This means a full investigation will not take place. The Final Report found the UK’s ongoing internal investigations to be genuine. But what did the report say about whether serious crimes may have been committed? And what was said about the Overseas Operations Bill currently before Parliament? What did the Prosecutor decide?
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