The absent global leadership and starkly uncoordinated cross-border responses have exacerbated th... more The absent global leadership and starkly uncoordinated cross-border responses have exacerbated the spread of the coronavirus. On a positive note, countries are progressively joining forces to address immediate humanitarian appeals. They are engaging with diverse partners and experimenting on novel funding approaches through various forums, including the Coronavirus Global Response and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. These partnerships are bringing light to the spirit of solidarity. We want to highlight its existence and expression in our mundane encounters and its significance to international law. In spite of COVID-19 leaving no country or individual unaffected, we have witnessed a move towards populism in the reaction of many countries, which is "The Other Problematic Outbreak." Travel restrictions were imposed without scientific evidence. Competition is rising for essential medical equipment and basic food supplies. Alas, suspension of support and assigning blame to multilateral institutions, most prominently the WHO, during the pandemic are doing nothing but delaying the global response. These actions have run counter to international solidarity and cooperation, which we argue are the foundational principles of the international legal order that concern our everyday life. Why solidarity and what is it about? Solidarity is indispensable for saving us from this pandemic. At a time when the vast majority of the world's population have been overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty exacerbated by misinformation, distrust, and conspiracy theories, we need to "look for the helpers" and amplify and celebrate voices and acts of kindness and compassion. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes describes solidarity as a form of help that some actors provide to others in the fulfillment of a goal or to recover from a critical situation (Solidarity: A Structural Principle of International Law, 94). Solidarity in our everyday life during this crisis is: residents in Montreal creating mutual aid groups to support frontline healthcare workers and the elderly and the people with disabilities; American and Chinese scientists and doctors meeting virtually and sharing the best practices for treating patients; or powerful words to call out the racialization of diseases and standing up for those who are experiencing discrimination. Solidarity also presents itself in "a shared value system at the level of a given community." (Solidarity, 94-95) Geographic proximity, together with shared traditions and a sense of community belonging, increases chances of similar perceptions for threats and creating a common value forum (Solidarity, 195). This focus on shared values becomes more significant given that populist rhetoric often tries to find a scapegoat to vilify. Often, such scapegoat tends to be one with foreign customs and appearance. A vivid example of this geographic proximity versus heterogeneity, is the common practice of wearing face masks (also seen as a collective responsibility) against disease transmission in many Asian countries, to which the West was holding a very contrasting view until recently. As Christos Lynteris nicely puts it, "In the West, the image of Asian people with masks is sometimes wielded, deliberately or not, as a signifier of otherness. But in East Asia, the act of wearing a mask is a gesture that communicates solidarity during an epidemic-a time when a community is vulnerable to being divided by fear, between the healthy and the sick." As a result of the absence of a shared and multifaceted understanding towards mask-wearing, many Asians living in the West have for quite a while been afraid of going outside with masks because of their racialized and stigmatized implications that could cause public shaming and hateful attacks.
This article attempts to situate the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Sri Lanka in relation to ... more This article attempts to situate the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Sri Lanka in relation to varying approaches to mechanisms for searching for the missing. In particular, the article examines the possible tensions between a humanitarian and an accountability-based mandate and supports the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross that these two approaches can in fact be complementary in nature. It goes on to contend that the OMP's mandate is primarily humanitarian rather than exclusively humanitarian, and analyzes how this distinction may impact possible criminal prosecutions. It emphasizes the importance of preserving the humanitarian character of the OMP with the objective of ensuring that the victims' rights are at the centre of transitional justice processes.
The absent global leadership and starkly uncoordinated cross-border responses have exacerbated th... more The absent global leadership and starkly uncoordinated cross-border responses have exacerbated the spread of the coronavirus. On a positive note, countries are progressively joining forces to address immediate humanitarian appeals. They are engaging with diverse partners and experimenting on novel funding approaches through various forums, including the Coronavirus Global Response and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. These partnerships are bringing light to the spirit of solidarity. We want to highlight its existence and expression in our mundane encounters and its significance to international law. In spite of COVID-19 leaving no country or individual unaffected, we have witnessed a move towards populism in the reaction of many countries, which is "The Other Problematic Outbreak." Travel restrictions were imposed without scientific evidence. Competition is rising for essential medical equipment and basic food supplies. Alas, suspension of support and assigning blame to multilateral institutions, most prominently the WHO, during the pandemic are doing nothing but delaying the global response. These actions have run counter to international solidarity and cooperation, which we argue are the foundational principles of the international legal order that concern our everyday life. Why solidarity and what is it about? Solidarity is indispensable for saving us from this pandemic. At a time when the vast majority of the world's population have been overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty exacerbated by misinformation, distrust, and conspiracy theories, we need to "look for the helpers" and amplify and celebrate voices and acts of kindness and compassion. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes describes solidarity as a form of help that some actors provide to others in the fulfillment of a goal or to recover from a critical situation (Solidarity: A Structural Principle of International Law, 94). Solidarity in our everyday life during this crisis is: residents in Montreal creating mutual aid groups to support frontline healthcare workers and the elderly and the people with disabilities; American and Chinese scientists and doctors meeting virtually and sharing the best practices for treating patients; or powerful words to call out the racialization of diseases and standing up for those who are experiencing discrimination. Solidarity also presents itself in "a shared value system at the level of a given community." (Solidarity, 94-95) Geographic proximity, together with shared traditions and a sense of community belonging, increases chances of similar perceptions for threats and creating a common value forum (Solidarity, 195). This focus on shared values becomes more significant given that populist rhetoric often tries to find a scapegoat to vilify. Often, such scapegoat tends to be one with foreign customs and appearance. A vivid example of this geographic proximity versus heterogeneity, is the common practice of wearing face masks (also seen as a collective responsibility) against disease transmission in many Asian countries, to which the West was holding a very contrasting view until recently. As Christos Lynteris nicely puts it, "In the West, the image of Asian people with masks is sometimes wielded, deliberately or not, as a signifier of otherness. But in East Asia, the act of wearing a mask is a gesture that communicates solidarity during an epidemic-a time when a community is vulnerable to being divided by fear, between the healthy and the sick." As a result of the absence of a shared and multifaceted understanding towards mask-wearing, many Asians living in the West have for quite a while been afraid of going outside with masks because of their racialized and stigmatized implications that could cause public shaming and hateful attacks.
This article attempts to situate the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Sri Lanka in relation to ... more This article attempts to situate the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Sri Lanka in relation to varying approaches to mechanisms for searching for the missing. In particular, the article examines the possible tensions between a humanitarian and an accountability-based mandate and supports the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross that these two approaches can in fact be complementary in nature. It goes on to contend that the OMP's mandate is primarily humanitarian rather than exclusively humanitarian, and analyzes how this distinction may impact possible criminal prosecutions. It emphasizes the importance of preserving the humanitarian character of the OMP with the objective of ensuring that the victims' rights are at the centre of transitional justice processes.
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