Post-Conflict Azerbaijan and Development for Peace

The recent military confrontation including Armenia and Azerbaijan, which raged unabated for six weeks, has caused casualties, damages, and displacement of the local population. The fighting pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes for safety, of which some remain displaced and will not be able to return to their homes in the long term. The hostilities have brought damage to livelihoods, houses, and public infrastructure. Moreover, many areas have been left with mines and other unexploded ordnances, bringing significant risks for the civilian population. Despite the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 10 November 2020, the humanitarian situation remains of concern. The President of Azerbaijan paid more attention to the rebuilding and reconstruction of Karabakh rather than to continue endless discussions on the status of Karabakh. Ilham Aliyev said that, during the second Karabakh war, Armenia committed war crimes. We are facing a great challenge and a great task related to the demining and reconstruction of liberated territories.

Origins of Bosnian humor and its role during the siege of Sarajevo

This article presents an ethnographic study of Bosnian humour during the siege of Sarajevo. The siege of Sarajevo, which followed the collapse of Yugoslavia, lasted four years. Despite the atrocities and war crimes committed against the residents of Sarajevo during this period, they are known for the spirit they demonstrated, and humour was a crucial element of this spirit. On the basis of two-month fieldwork in Sarajevo, I demonstrate how Bosnians employed humour to comment on this traumatic event, made sense of it, and coped with the experience. Although humour under extreme conditions is mainly viewed as a coping mechanism, by exploring the origins of Bosnian humour and stereotypes about Bosnians, I demonstrate that a notable humorous response to the traumatic events of the 1990s was more than a coping mechanism or just a response to this particular war. As I argue, a humorous attitude toward life in Bosnia belongs to people’s identity; it has developed historically as a response to the sufferings of a peripheral group in the region and, as a result, has become a cultural artifact belonging to Bosnians’ ethnic consciousness. In their attempt to preserve a sense of normalcy and restore dignity during the siege, Sarajevans continued to engage in their traditional humour, as doing otherwise would mean they had lost control over who they were.

International Aspects of the Protection of Victims' Rights in the Conditions of Armed Conflict in Ukraine

Using a comparative methodology based on documentary, the objective of the research was to analyze the international aspects involved in the defense of the rights of the victims of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The priority of using military force to resolve questionable issues, national contradictions of an ethical, religious, political, territorial, economic, etc. nature that are in dispute, remains one of the essential characteristics of today's realities. Everything allows us to conclude that in almost all regions where there are armed conflicts, laws are violated and prohibited means and methods of warfare are used, related to the violation of the principles of distinction, of proportionality admitted in the process of artillery rocket attacks and air attacks of rockets and bombs, recruitment, training, financing and/or use of mercenaries in military activities, destruction of human settlements, executions in the form of intentional killings for reasons of hatred or political, ideological, racial, national, religious enmity, torture, among other inhumane behaviors and appalling atrocities, which by their nature and degree of brutality cannot go unpunished and constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Human rights violations by war crimes: Theory and practice

This paper provides a comprehensive study of theoretical and practical issues of violation of human rights by war crimes, protection of legitimate interests of individuals in national and international law as a result of such violation. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive analysis of theoretical and applied issues related to the protection of violated rights and legitimate interests of individuals in public international law as a result of the commission of war crimes, and the formulation of scientifically sound proposals for improving the current legislation of Ukraine and the practice of its application in this area. The paper analyses the current scientific opinions and legislation on the regulation of illegal acts and liability for damage caused to victims as a result of violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms by war crimes. Furthermore, the existing forms, methods, and means of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of such persons in Ukraine and in the international arena were determined. The paper also provides a comprehensive study of the existing concept, legal nature and main features of war crimes and their legal regulation in Ukrainian legislation. Legislative amendments to the regulations governing this issue are proposed and the study justifies the position regarding the existence of an exclusively judicial procedure for resolving issues of human rights violations by war crimes, the result of which should be the adoption of a court decision. As a result of the study, the current scientific statements and achievements are clearly identified, as well as those that have emerged due to the constant development of public relations and substantial changes in international relations of various states, which causes armed conflicts and war crimes. One of the achievements of the scientific study is the proof of the importance of the problem of violated human rights in modern society and the extreme need for its research. After all, modern legislation requires substantial changes and improvement of the existing provisions with the subsequent possibility of their practical application

INTERNATIONAL CRIMES AND OBLIGATIONS ERGA OMNES IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

In the article an attempt has been made to analyze the peculiarities of the application of the categories of “international crimes” and “obligations erga omnes” in the context of environmental protection by the means of international law. The interrelation between these categories is investigated and their connection is demonstrated analyzing the work of the International Law Commission of the United Nations on the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. The tendency towards the formation in international law of a new type of obligations erga omnes aimed at environmental protection is analyzed. It is emphasized that environmental protection can be carried out both in the context of enforcement of obligations erga omnes and international responsibility of states, and in the context of prosecuting individuals for committing international war crimes against the environment. It is worth noting that at the moment the mentioned protection is fragmented and does not cover all elements of the environment. For example, the provisions of the Rome Statute about war crimes against environment relate to international armed conflicts and protect the natural environment only. At the same time the harm to the environment in armed conflicts not of an international character can be equally widespread, long-term and severe. In this regard, special attention is paid to the concept of “environment” as an object of protection under international law. Its complex nature manifested through a significant number of components, including natural resources and artificial elements, as well as the interaction between them, is shown. Thus, it seems necessary to develop such an international legal regulation that could ensure environmental protection, which would cover all elements of the environment and take into account their peculiarities

In the Shadow of the Holocaust

In the midst of the Second World War, the Allies acknowledged Germany's ongoing programme of extermination. In the Shadow of the Holocaust examines the struggle to attain post-war justice and prosecution. Focusing on Poland's engagement with the United Nations War Crimes Commission, it analyses the different ways that the Polish Government in Exile (based in London from 1940) agitated for an Allied response to German atrocities. Michael Fleming shows that jurists associated with the Government in Exile made significant contributions to legal debates on war crimes and, along with others, paid attention to German crimes against Jews. By exploring the relationship between the UNWCC and the Polish War Crimes Office under the authority of the Polish Government in Exile and later, from the summer of 1945, the Polish Government in Warsaw, Fleming provides a new lens through which to examine the early stages of the Cold War.