Quite a bit of what I'm doing is considered 'sensitive' and so cannot be splashed on the web a la blog. Another large bit of my work observations would simply be 'insensitive' to write about here. For details of my daily crazy (including the red light street view from my desk) , inquire via email.
Anywho, I'm at the Peace Palace Library today, soaking up as much human rights law as I can get my hands on. I may have shifted my attention down a few notches on the Geneva Conventions from 'just don't neglect or make them run away' to 'don't beat, rape, and torture', but what I'm doing is essentially my thesis all over again. That is, I'm studying human rights law in the U.S. as it relates to us generally ignoring the treaties we pushed to create, eventually signed, and currently use as a reason to invade. So essentially, I read about torture for hours, which is inexplicably not fun (right?). Generally trying to crack the crazy codes of legal jargon is fun for me and super beneficial in the long run, but I could have picked a happier topic...like tax evasion ;-/.
But really, the major project I have now is very interesting: I'm following the Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Shell case set to commence in NYC in April. I'm taking a look back into the history of this case as it relates to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a famous environmental activist in Ogoniland, Nigeria, and the overall struggle of the Ogoni people. There are a number of legal layers to peel away at here, and it's been a huge challenge for me to try to make sense of most of it. The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATS) and the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) are the statutes being called here and they're insanely confusing. Apart from the thesis research, I'm really not used to moving so slowly with reading, analyzing, and contextually applying theories, but man, this is taking me forever! I have a draft due tomorrow and I'm handing in the most ridiculous hodgepodge of legal diarrhea, and kinda feel sorry for the people who have to read it. I'll work on throwing in some more pretty pictures tonight in the effort towards readability. *sigh
Another legal mess I'm tracking is the Guantanamo nonsense. Really interesting stuff there. Mostly looking at it from the angle of arbitrary and prolonged detention of the Uyghurs still being detained after being found innocent several years ago. This is interesting to me particularly because there are a number of issues concerning my fave Geneva Conventions and non-refoulement. I've started reading some stuff on the side about Rumsfeld, Haynes, and the other czars of Gitmo which takes a look at the ve
ry dry, legal rationale for why this is a litigation sink hole for the U.S.
ry dry, legal rationale for why this is a litigation sink hole for the U.S. I'll take a second to plug Phillipe Sands' Torture Team. ...Very good.
Well, enough about that for now. I should get back to research. Check out the new project's official webpage and keep an eye out for my hypothetical Southern Cameroons article.
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