Tag: Russia

The new nuclear threat: Belarus

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July 5, Anthony Colangelo, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow and Professor of Law at the Dedman School of Law, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed examining the international law implications of Belarus using nuclear weapons supplied by Russia. Published in The Hill under the heading The new nuclear threat: Belarus: https://tinyurl.com/4b9hfdn6 ​

 

On Sunday, Belarus issued a statement that it would use nuclear weapons if its “sovereignty and independence” were threatened. But would such a use violate international law?

The question breaks down into a few sub-questions, the first of which is how Belarus, Russia’s ally in the region, obtained nuclear weapons in the first place. The answer, of course, is that they came from Russia. From there, one must ask whether the stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus and the training of Belarusian soldiers in the use and operation of such weapons is a violation of international law.

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Loophole Allows Safe Haven for War Crimes Violators on U.S. Soil

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April 28, Chris Jenks, SMU Dallas Dedman Law School professor and expert on military justice, for a commentary about a loophole in the U.S. War Crimes Act that would allow war criminals safe haven on American soil. Published in Inside Sources under the heading Loophole Allows Safe Haven for War Crimes Violators on U.S. Soil:  https://bit.ly/3F3i5q3 

Earlier this month President Biden ratcheted up the rhetoric and called for a “wartime trial” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president’s comments followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemning “atrocities by Kremlin forces in Bucha and across Ukraine” and stressing that the United States was “pursuing accountability using every tool available.”

All this tough talk is a façade — a superficial exterior masking the hollowness within. In terms of Blinken’s analogy, the U.S. war crimes tool box is empty, and willfully so. That’s because for more than 70 years, the United States has doggedly refused to meet its obligation under the 1949 Geneva Conventions to enact legislation to hold accountable those who commit serious law of war violations.

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Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe is a loss of hope for human rights

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March 23, Jeffrey Kahn, law professor at SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a commentary explaining why Russia exiting the Council of Europe is a blow to human rights initiatives in the region. Published in the Dallas Morning News with the heading: Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe is a loss of hope for human rights: https://bit.ly/3L5rMGn or https://perma.cc/T4S3-LEV2 

The last light that kindled hope for Russia to be included within Europe burned out last week. Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe. This decision, coinciding with the council’s decision to terminate Russian membership with an eye toward expulsion, is much graver than widely understood.

This is no mere diplomatic rift. It is the snuffing out of hope not only for millions of Russians, but for hundreds of millions of Europeans whose countries remain members of an organization that emerged from the embers of Europe’s last horrible conflagration.

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Could Russia legally use nuclear weapons in response to a U.S. intervention in Ukraine?

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Jan. 26,  Anthony Colangelo, Professor of Law at the SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a piece outlining the consequences of using nuclear weapons should Russia decide to do so during aggression against Ukraine. Published in Foreign Policy News under the heading Could Russia legally use nuclear weapons in response to a U.S. intervention in Ukraine?: https://bit.ly/32KnQKu

There is an ominous new development in the potential Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the U.S. response. According to the New York Times, “nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.”

This is in keeping with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to expand Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and commitments that NATO will not enlarge. Some of Putin’s aides suggested last week that should he fail to achieve these objectives, he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt in Europe and the United States, including the placement of nuclear weapons near the United States coast close enough to reach the capital.

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