Sassan Modarress Sabzevary; Seyed Mohammad G. Seyed Fatemi
Abstract
Environmental displacement might come in variety of forms (forced or voluntary; permanent or temporary; and internal or international). Not only is it impossible, but also irrelevant, to categorize displaced persons based on their motives, and separate environmental factors from economic incentives. ...
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Environmental displacement might come in variety of forms (forced or voluntary; permanent or temporary; and internal or international). Not only is it impossible, but also irrelevant, to categorize displaced persons based on their motives, and separate environmental factors from economic incentives. So, the protection of environmentally displaced persons should be based on their needs and vulnerabilities, rather than their incentives and displacement driving factors. There exists currently no comprehensive internationally-binding instrument to deal with environmental displacement. Some, have suggested, for this purpose, the extension of 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. Others have advocated drafting a new convention. We argue that a new convention will not succeed to collect the necessary will and support in the current political arena, where States, more often than not, try to limit their established obligations towards migrants and refugees. On the other hand, any effort to extend the 1951 Convention might endanger the whole refugee protection regime. We suggest that promotion of States obligations to respect and protect human rights in urgent situations, with due consideration of responsibility to protect (R2P) developments, could fill-in the protection gap as currently exists vis-a-vis the environmentally displaced populations.
Hossein Sharifi Tarzkohi; Sasan Modares Sabzevari
Abstract
Out of many heinous crimes done under Saddam Hussein, few had such
disturbing and long-lasting human effects as the use of chemical weapons (CW).
In order to serve the interests of justice, such serious crimes of international
concern should not go unpunished. Based on the treaty and customary laws
applicable ...
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Out of many heinous crimes done under Saddam Hussein, few had such
disturbing and long-lasting human effects as the use of chemical weapons (CW).
In order to serve the interests of justice, such serious crimes of international
concern should not go unpunished. Based on the treaty and customary laws
applicable in the 1980s, the use of chemical weapons was prohibited under
international law. Such prohibition in itself (without explicit criminalization)
could be a basis for criminal responsibility of the individuals involved. So, if
there were competent international tribunals existing to address such crimes, the
tribunals would have no problems in terms of legality. But currently, no
international tribunals exist with any link to the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. The
issue of enforcing international law by domestic courts is thus brought into
attention. The article concludes that Iranian courts should have jurisdiction over
such incidents. In order for the Iranian judicial forums to get involved in an
effective manner, it is suggested that legislation is necessary to get into some
coordination with international law.
