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Spring 2011 C I T Y U NIVERSITY OF N E W Y ORK Volume 3, Issue 1 I NTERNATIONALiii L A W S O C I E T Y D IGEST International Law Society, CUNY School of Law, 65-21 Main Street, Flushing, New York, 11367, [email protected] INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Need for a Gender Focused Adam D. Dubin (3L) 1 The Need for a Gender Focused Approach to Reconstruction in Haiti Approach to Reconstruction in Haiti By Adam D. Dubin1 Eduardo Jiménez Mayo (3L) 1 Guatemala’s Failure to Ensure On January 12, 2010, an earthquake of Indigenous Women’s Right to be Free unimaginable magnitude shook Haiti, leaving from Violence Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions Ryan Campbell (3L) 2 The Business Consequences of Arctic without homes and livelihoods. Families were Climate Change destroyed, children were orphaned, and millions of Alexandra Winter (2L) 8 Prosecution Beyond Borders: The people were forced into displacement camps Incorporation of Universal Jurisdiction into Primary International Law throughout the country with little or no access to Andrew Burtless (3L) 9 Corporate Self-Regulation and Its basic services. As is the case in any post-conflict or Implications for Free Speech post-disaster setting, the vulnerable are impacted Ryan Campbell (3L) 13 Biofuel, Food, Deforestation, and the most, yet often times cared for the least. In Indonesian Palm Haiti, where rape was only criminalized in 2005, Lauren Curatolo (2L) 16 Algerian Women are more than Easily Broken Membranous Sheaths: Including women and girls have faced extraordinary sexual 2 Privatized Violence Against Women in violence on a daily basis. The threats of gang the Working Definition of Torture rapes and sexual assaults, particularly in George C. Grasso (2L) 19 The Arrest Warrants for Omal Al Bashir: displacement camps, have become standard and The Forces of Compliance in daily worries of women and girls who are left with International Law and Politics 3 Brendan Michael little or no police protection. Even after an assault, Conner (1L) 26 In Loco Moralitatis: A Critique of women and girls have no recourse within the United Nations Conventions and State judicial system due to the dysfunctional state of Custody of Minors Involved in the Sex Trade both public and private institutions, as well as the Kathryn Heffron (3L) 29 Torture in Colorado: Reflections on pervasive male-dominated culture. Fahad’s S.A.M.s a Year Later In Conversation Please see Reconstruction in Haiti on page 2 IWHR Clinic Students 14 Fact-Finding Mission to Haiti Guatemala’s Failure to Ensure Indigenous Women’s Right to be Free from Violence Under the International Covenant on Civil on Political Rights By Eduardo Jiménez Mayo The U.N.-brokered Guatemala Peace Accords of deal with a social situation characterized by intense 1996, which ended the nation’s prolonged civil war poverty and exploitation.”3 In addition, Article 4 of (1960–96)—a period in which more than 100,000 the Guatemalan Constitution guarantees the people were killed and approximately 40,000 equality of men and women, and Article 66 ensures disappeared1—includes an Agreement on the the protection of indigenous rights.4 Despite having Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the formally recognized the human rights of indigenous Agreement).2 Section II-B of the Agreement women, Guatemala remains noncompliant with its declares, “It is recognized that indigenous women international obligations to safeguard indigenous are particularly vulnerable and helpless, being women’s rights, including rights such as: to be free confronted with twofold discrimination both as from social origin, race, and gender-based violence; women and indigenous people, and also having to to be ensured the fair administration of justice; Please see Guatemala’s Indigenous Women on page 4 Page 2 CUNY ILS Digest The Business Consequences of From Reconstruction in Haiti on page 2 Arctic Climate Change By Ryan Campbell To guide reconstruction efforts, the Haitian Government has developed the Post-Disaster Needs 4 The Inuit of Kivalina, Alaska, have begun to Assessment (PDNA). While the quickness with consider their legal options in determining how they which the PDNA was developed is laudable, it fails are going to relate to other societies and to ask the questions: “Does Haiti’s reconstruction corporations who have been contributing to climate require a gender-focused approach? And, if so, change. This is because the ocean has been what should this approach look like?” In a country swallowing their homes,1 as the increasing strength such as Haiti, where women are routinely of the waves erode their coastline. While the Inuit marginalized and only minimally absorbed into any people are a broad ethnic category, “all Inuit share a economic or social prosperity, reconstruction plans common culture characterized by dependence on that treat the population as a homogeneous body subsistence harvesting in both the terrestrial and and do not tailor policies with a gender-focused marine environments, sharing of food, travel on approach will inevitably leave women out of future snow and ice, a common base of traditional development. Under the auspices of CUNY Law knowledge, and adaptation to similar Arctic School’s International Women’s Human Rights conditions.”2 The Inuit, in their varied landscapes (IWHR) Clinic, students are working to submit a and across the lines of nations,3 have all felt the report that asks the international community to sting of global warming as keenly as any other develop an approach to reconstruction that includes indigenous group. It is difficult to summarize the a specific focus on women and girls, a vulnerable plight of the Inuit in the face of climate change as population in Haiti who have suffered and continue so much of their lives has been damaged—the to suffer unimaginable sexual violence, details of damages to the Inuit in the Petition to the marginalization, and continuous human rights Inter American Commission on Human Rights violations. Seeking Relief from Violations Resulting from Global Warming Caused by Acts and Omissions of Gender and development are inextricably linked. the United States stretch for many pages.4 The Efforts to develop a country cannot be in the form claims range from decreased mobility resulting in of blanket policies implemented with the hope that the breakdown of tribal bonds to increased death women will benefit from reconstruction efforts. rates from the Inuit no longer being able to rely on Women require specific and targeted policies that traditional knowledge to predict when the ice is safe not only benefit them as recipients of the progress to walk on, both due to changing climate trends.5 but also as participants of the process, ensuring that What is simpler to evaluate, however, are some of the views of women are taken into account at each the legal avenues the Inuit have used to address this. stage of the reconstruction efforts and that they are empowered throughout the process. “ It is difficult to summarize the plight of A brief overview of the legal and societal structure of Haiti demonstrates why reconstruction policies the Inuit in the face of climate change as cannot take on a population-as-a-whole approach. so much of their lives has been In Haiti, women can legally marry at fifteen years damaged—the details of damages to the of age. A 2004 United Nations Report found that at least 19% of girls between 15 and 19 were married, Inuit in the [Petition] stretch 5 divorced, or widowed. Girls who marry at such a for many pages.” young age rarely have access to education and often find themselves in violent and repressive marriages where males dominate, and wives are forced to Please see Arctic Climate Change on page 6 remain subservient to the needs of their husbands.6 The foundation Solidarité des Femmes Haïtiennes CUNY ILS Digest Page 3 found that eight out of ten Haitian women have such as: “are women represented?” and “what are been subject to domestic violence.7 While Haitian the obstacles to women seeking justice in Haiti?” law prohibits acts of violence against women, the However, until women have a chance to be part of lack of women in the police and judiciary combined this rebuilding process, women will continue to with poor enforcement of laws by judges and suffer from a lack of access to the courts, and a legal prosecutors lead to crimes against women being system where prosecutors and judges routinely rarely punished. The lawlessness that now pervades dismiss cases of rape or hand down sentences that Haiti has only intensified crimes against women— are at best a “slap on the wrist” for men who violate gangs of men roam displacement camps seeking women. girls and women of all ages to rape and assault, knowing that impunity is almost guaranteed.8 This brief overview of the need for a gender- focused approach to development only provides a As an example of why a gender-focused approach to snapshot, at best, of the plight of women and girls in development is so important, take, for example, the Haiti and the corresponding need for a issue of productivity. Increased investment in reconstruction plan that integrates gender-focused women and girls, both through education and job policies. With the development of Haiti still in its training, is statistically correlated to raising per nascent stages, the CUNY IWHR Clinic has an capita productivity and reducing headcount poverty. opportunity to demonstrate to the international Yet, without specific programs that intentionally community why a gender-focused approach cannot seek female integration, policies will not achieve be substituted for a population-as-a-whole approach.

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