JEAIL > Volume 7(1); 2014 > Notes & Comments
Research Paper
Published online: May 30, 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2014.7.1.06

The Geneva II Peace Talks and the Syrian Conflict: Neglected Legal Elements

Medwis Al-Rashidi
Kuwait University School of Law, Kuwait
P.O. Box 869, Ardiyah, Kuwait
Corresponding Author: profmedwis@hotmail.com

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The Syrian conflict consists of political and legal components that can be managed under the UN Charter by both political and legal measures. As a result of Russian and Chinese vetoes, the UN Security Council has failed to resolve the conflict by forcible measures, although the Council was able to convene the Geneva II peace talks between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition on January 24, 2014. The legal aspect of this conflict has been referred to in numerous reports from UN bodies that have emphasized that war crimes have been committed by the Syrian government. Thus, we believe that the UNSC has an obligation to submit this case to a court with appropriate international jurisdiction for its legal resolution. This legal solution should be part of a compromise that satisfies Russia and China pursuant to a Security Council resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter that accompanies the peace talks.

Keywords : Syrian Conflict, UN Security Council, Geneva II peace talks, Geneva Convention, Crimes against Humanity, HRC, IICISAR, Rome Statute

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