Self-Determination This Week

As we take up the issue of Self-Determination this week, you will be interested to know that real issues relating to self-determination are unfolding on the world stage. First, the Kurdish people of Iraq are voting in a plebiscite today on whether the issue of independence and secession, which the Iraqi Prime Minister has threatened to respond to with force. The U.S. State Department, and the Iranian and Turkish Governments, have both announced their opposition to the movement.

At the same time, the people of the Catalonia region in Spain are planning a referendum there, which the Spanish government has vowed to block.

Do either situations satisfy the conditions necessary for external self-determination and a right to secession and independence? Would either region satisfy the Monte-Video principles for statehood if they did secede? Do you think that either should be granted independence? If one and not the other, on what basis?

United Nations General Assembly

 The United Nations General Assembly convenes this week, with speeches by heads of state and foreign ministers. The New York Times has a couple of articles on the history and role of the UN, and what people are watching for in this year's session of the General Assembly. There is considerable anticipation of what President Trump will say, both in his speech to the General Assembly, and in the margins. He had a brief meeting on Monday regarding UN reform, which is reported on here.

International Events This Week

There was no shortage of headlines implicating international law this week, most of them unfortunately bad. From humanitarian disaster in Myanmar, caused by the government violence against the Muslim minority called Rohingya, to a continuing humanitarian disaster in South Sudan due to internal armed conflict; to mounting tension in Spain due to the Catalonian bid for self-determination and independence. One of the worst ongoing humanitarian disasters is in Yemen, caused by both an internal armed conflict within Yemen, and the conflict between factions within Yemen and a coalition lead by Saudia Arabia, and supported by the U.S.

UN Security Council Meets on North Korea

As you all will know, North Korea tested a nuclear weapon over the weekend, claiming it was a thermonuclear device. The US Ambassador to the UN today urged a tough response to North Korea's actions, even as claims emerged that North Korea is preparing for yet further missile launches.

President Trump suggested in a Tweet that the U.S. might terminate all trade with countries that continue to trade with North Korea, which would potentially mean breaking off all trade with China. Meanwhile Secretary of Defense Mattis made a statement in which he said that the U.S. was prepared to launch a "massive military response" in the event that North Korea threatened the U.S. or its allies. Would either of these actions be lawful under international law? Why or why not?