As 2020 draws to a close we reflect on the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on people around the world, particularly on refugees and survivors of torture and sexual violence. It has also shown us their enormous strength and resilience. Throughout the pandemic, our initiative Lamp Lifeboat Ladder has continued to accompany refugee survivors of […]
Few threats to international peace are more urgent and compelling than the possibility of mass atrocity. When the UN Security Council becomes aware that genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity are in progress or in prospect, it has both the duty and the means to respond effectively. Doing so quickly is important.
Equitable vaccine distribution represents one of the most challenging, vexatious political issues facing UN member states in 2021. Governments that can afford large-scale purchases have already contracted the lion’s share of vaccine production for their own use. But they have left the rest of the world, where there is limited capability to manufacture and deliver vaccines, high and dry.
It is my hope that the international community will step up and work together for a fairer refugee system. International solidarity is not only needed to fight the pandemic, but it is also the right way to achieve security and a global recovery in the post pandemic era.
In their thoughtful Policy Magazine essay titled The Case for a New and Improved MagnitskyLaw, Irwin Cotler and Brandon Silver suggest ways to strengthen the Justice for Corrupt Foreign Officials Act. Some of the steps that Cotler and Silver propose are welcome, including a Canada-led effort to achieve greater international coordination of Magnitsky sanctions. We believe, however, that one of […]
