By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – On Monday U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration announced that U.S. military and civilian personnel had completed the destruction of the Syrian regime’s declared chemical weapons stockpile. In a statement President Obama said that the neutralization of these chemical agents “advances our collective goal to ensure that the Assad regime cannot use its chemical arsenal against the Syrian people and sends a clear message that the use of these abhorrent weapons has consequences and will not be tolerated by the international community.”

On Monday morning, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called the captain of the Cape Ray, the ship chosen to oversee the neutralization of chemical weapons in international waters, , to congratulate him and the crew for eliminating the stockpile. President Obama thanked Denmark, Norway, Italy, Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom for key contributions to the mission. He also noted Russia’s and China’s assistance.

“While the international community’s work to completely eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program is not yet finished, the secretary believes this is a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when diplomacy is backed by a willingness to use military force,” said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.

The effort was conducted with the support of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as the United Nations. While the Obama Administration acknowledgment the milestone of destroying Syria’s declared stockpile it acknowledgement that the Syrian regime was likely less than forthcoming in declaring the exact extent of its chemical weapons stockpile. “In record time, even amid a civil war, we removed and have now destroyed the most dangerous chemicals in the regime’s declared stockpiles,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “But much more work must be done.”

Kerry said there are still “discrepancies and omissions related to Syria’s chemical weapons declaration.” Secretary Kerry expressed concerns over the continued use of chlorine gas against Syrian civilians by the regime forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Kerry also reaffirmed the United States’ support of moderate rebels.

“The United States,” Kerry said, “will continue to provide political, financial, and other support to the moderate opposition because we are committed to help those who seek the right of all Syrians to choose a future of peace and oppose the violent extremists who exploit the chaos and ruin that Assad has brought to Syria.”

The announcement comes almost a year after more than 1,4000 people were killed by sarin gas attacks On August 21 2013 in the  Ghouta suburbs of the Markaz Rif Dimashq district outside of Damascus, which were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin.

For more information please see:

For More Information Please See:

Foreign Policy – Syria’s Most Lethal Chemical Weapons Destroyed With Little Fanfare – 18 August 2014

The New York Times – Syria’s Chemical Arsenal Fully Destroyed, U.S. says – 18 August 2014

The Washington Post – Declared Syrian Chemical Weapon Stockpile Now Completely Destroyed –18 August 2014

The White House – Statement by the President on the Completion by the M/V Cape Ray of the Destruction of Syria’s Declared Chemical Weapons – 18 August 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Managing Editor

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The battle between militants belonging to the Islamic State of Syria and Levant (ISIS) and the Iraqi national government forces and Kurdish regional  peshmerga forces has taken a toll on Iraq’s critical infrastructure including the nation’s oil reserves and industry infrastructure, power plans and, most recently, the countries massive hydraulic power system.

Earlier this month ISIS forces seized control of the Mosul Dam, once known as the “Saddam Dam,” which is a key component of Iraq’s massive hydroelectric power and Irrigation system spanning the Tigris and Euphrates watershed. The 3.2-kilometer-long Mosul Dam is the largest dam in Iraq and the fourth largest in the Middle East. The Hydroelectric dam is located along the Tigris River and holds back as much as 12.5 million cubic meters of water. If the dam were to be breached it would create a wall of water tens of feet tall that would cause massive flooding in Mosul, threatening its 1.7 million residents, and would cause massive flooding in communities as far downstream as Baghdad.

On Monday Kurdish peshmerga fighters, backed by US warplanes conducting strategic airstrikes against ISIS strongholds, pressed a counter-offensive against ISISS forces retaking the Mosul Dam alongside Iraqi government forces. US aircraft are carrying out strikes in support of the forces battling ISIS militants, who have declared a caliphate areas under their control in both Iraq and Syria. “The planes are striking and the peshmerga are advancing,” a Kurdish fighter said on Monday near the shores of the Mosul dam.

While critics argued that aiding Iraqi forces in retaking the Mosul dam and other infrastructure may constitute mission creep beyond US forces initial mission in Iraq Administration officials have argued that the Mosul Dam is critical to Iraqi national security as well as the security of US interests in the region citing evidence that ISIS forces was not performing necessary maintenance on the dam as well as fears that the group was planning to destroy the dam, potentially endangering millions of Iraqi residents.

ISIS has a history of using water infrastructure as a weapon of war.  Earlier year, its fighters opened the gates on the Falluja Dam in central Iraq after seizing it in an effort to stop the military from advancing. The water from the dam flooded a several villages. “ISIS has already used other smaller dams to gain control of territory, to pressure Sunnis to support them and to punish the Shiites,” said Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum.

The recapture of Mosul dam marks the biggest victory in the Iraqi governments struggle to take back assets seized by ISIS since the organization launched a massive offensive in Northern Iraq in June.

For more information please see:

CBS News – Emboldened by U.S. strikes, Iraq goes on offense – 19 August 2014

CNN International – U.S. airstrikes critical in Mosul Dam capture – 18 August 2014

The Guardian – Iraqi and Kurdish forces recapture Mosul dam from ISIS – 18 August 2014

The New York Times – Troops in Iraq Rout Sunni Militants From a Key Dam – 18 August – 2014

July 30, 2014

With the recent, rapid changes on the ground in Iraq and subsequent calls from the United States for a new power-sharing arrangement to govern the country, PILPG recently hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic, “Power-Sharing in Iraq: Impossible or Inevitable?”  The roundtable brought together experts to discuss whether, and under what circumstances, a power-sharing arrangement might be achieved in Iraq. Participants also discussed the potential geo-strategic and security implications that a power-sharing arrangement in Iraq would have.

The roundtable generated a number of key findings that the international community may consider when assessing the likelihood and implications of power sharing in Iraq.  The report, Power-Sharing in Iraq: Impossible or Inevitable?, sets forth the key findings that emerged from the roundtable.

The full text of the report can be viewed here.
About the Public International Law & Policy Group

The Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) is a global, pro bono law firm providing legal assistance to governments involved in conflicts.  To facilitate use of this legal assistance, PILPG also provides policy formulation advice and training on matters related to conflict resolution.  PILPG was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

PILPG’s primary practice areas are Peace Negotiations, Post-Conflict Constitutions, and War Crimes Prosecution.  To provide pro bono legal advice and policy formulation expertise, PILPG relies almost exclusively on volunteer assistance from more than sixty former international lawyers, diplomats, and foreign relations experts, as well as pro bono assistance from major international law firms.  Annually, PILPG is able to provide over $20 million worth of pro bono international legal services.

In July 1999, the United Nations granted official Non-Governmental Organization status to PILPG.

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Paul Williams – President
Michael Scharf – Managing Director
James Hooper – Managing Director

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