International Legal News - 17 March 2025
- Ned Vucijak
- Mar 17
- 5 min read
The following media round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world for the period of 10 March to 16 March 2025. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates from the International Criminal Court, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, European Union and other sources. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
15 March 2025
UN chief affirms solidarity with Bangladesh amid political transition
On a visit to Bangladesh, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the pivotal moment the country is facing as it navigates a period of significant transition and reform. “I am particularly pleased to be in Bangladesh at this important moment in your national journey,” Mr. Guterres said, acknowledging the leadership of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and the hopes of the Bangladeshi people for greater democracy, justice and prosperity.
Bangladesh has been undergoing a period of transition following the resignation and departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August after weeks of student-led protests. More than 300 people, including many children, were reportedly killed and over 20,000 injured in a brutal crackdown by security forces. Ms. Hasina had been in power since January 2009, having previously served as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001.
14 March 2025
ECtHR rules Ukraine failed to prevent or investigate violence during Maidan protests
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ukraine violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to prevent and investigate violence during the Odesa’s pro-European Maidan protests in 2014.
In late April 2014, Ukrainian authorities obtained intelligence showing signs of possible incitement to violence and mass riots at the “For a United Ukraine” rally in Odesa on May 2, 2014. However, on the rally day, limited police forces were deployed to the city center and the stadium. Video footage from the protest showed inaction by the police when pro-Russian activists and Maidan supporters were firing numerous shots, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at each other. Despite numerous calls to the fire brigade, the fire service was not deployed to the scene until later in the evening when a fire broke out in the Trade Union Building, claiming 42 lives.
Between June 2017 and October 2018, 28 people filed applications to the ECHR, claiming that the state had failed to protect their lives and those of their relatives and that there had been no effective domestic investigation into the matter. The applicants argued that Ukraine had violated Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention.
The ECtHR held that Ukrainian authorities violated the applicants’ right to life when they failed to do everything that could reasonably be expected of them to prevent the violence, to stop the violence after its outbreak, to ensure the timely rescue of people trapped by fire, and to conduct an effective investigation into the events.
13 March 2025
Activists call for Ukraine’s Culture Ministry to do more to protect works of art
Ukrainian museum workers and cultural activists have petitioned the country’s Culture Ministry to evacuate museum collections from regions bordering Russia and near the frontline, as tensions further escalate following the Trump administration's demands that Kyiv accede to Moscow.
“As of today, less than 10% of the state museum fund of Ukraine has been evacuated, but more than three million objects remain in endangered areas,” stated an open letter addressed to Mykola Tochytskyi, the Minister of Culture. The letter, which has 150 signatories so far, according to a subsequent post this week, highlights the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions as being especially at risk due to “the enemy's offensive, massive bombardment, and the prospect of a cessation of hostilities with the definition of a demarcation zone that is currently unclear”, and “could lead to the loss of Ukraine's cultural heritage”.
12 March 2025
UN called to investigate possible affiliation of Special Envoy to Myanmar with China companies
Justice for Myanmar (JFM) released a statement calling on the United Nations to investigate possible conflicts of interest with its Special Envoy to Myanmar due to her possible links with Chinese state-owned entities. The Special Envoy, Julie Bishop, served as the Australian minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013-2018 and was appointed to her position as UN special envoy in April of 2024. Bishop also heads the global business consultancy firm, Julie Bishop and Partners.
11 March 2025
Crimea: Russia must release Ukrainian political prisoners and respect human rights, says Committee of Ministers
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has urged the Russian authorities to immediately restore application of the Ukrainian law in Crimea, to cease all administrative practices found by the ECHR to be in breach of the European Human Rights Convention and to release all Ukrainian political prisoners whose human rights were restricted by these practices in Crimea, as well as to free all illegally detained Ukrainian soldiers, ethnic Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and journalists.
The Committee of Ministers stated this in its first decision on the Ukraine v. Russia inter-state case concerning Crimea, adopted at its latest quarterly meeting to supervise the implementation of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg last week.
11 March 2025
Philippines sends ex-President Duterte to ICC over “war on drugs” killings
Rodrigo Duterte has become the first Asian former leader to appear before the International Criminal Court, where he stands accused of committing crimes against humanity during his notorious “war on drugs” which is estimated to have killed as many as 30,000 people.
The ex-President of the Philippines, who was in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in Manila on an ICC warrant early last week, put on a government-chartered jet hours later, and arrived in The Hague the following day.
His arrest came amid a breakdown in relations between his family and the Marcos family, who had previously joined forces to run the Philippines. The current President, Ferdinand Marcos, and the vice-president, Sara Duterte – who is Rodrigo’s daughter – are at loggerheads, with the latter facing an impeachment trial over charges including an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.
The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, has hailed Duterte’s arrest as a key moment for victims and international justice as a whole. “Many say that international law is not as strong as we want, and I agree with that. But as I also repeatedly emphasise, international law is not as weak as some may think,” Khan said. “When we come together … when we build partnerships, the rule of law can prevail.”