Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons)
@niaolainf.bsky.social
Regents Law Professor, Minnesota Law + Professor QUB Law School (Belfast)+ Director MN HRC. ICJ. RIA. FBA. Former UN SR Counter-Terrorism & Human Rights (2017-23). Member of the UN Commission of Inquiry (Syria); Irish, Gaeilgeoir, Mom, Loves Yoga & Hiking.
“Mass funeral held in Gaza for victims of 2023 Israeli strike”. I reflect on the lasting grief, trauma and loss these funerals represent. And why ultimately this targeting was accepted by the US and other states providing the weapons to facilitate it. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Mass funeral held in Gaza for victims of 2023 Israeli strike
Remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, recovered from rubble more than two years after residential block was destroyed
theguardian.com
“The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion today addressing when the Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.13(b) and (c) may be implicated for a lawyer representing the government …” Timing is auspicious. www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...
Formal Opinion 524: Government lawyers’ obligations when knowing of a public official’s intended or ongoing violation of law
CHICAGO, July 22, 2026 — The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion today addressing when the Model Rules of Professional Condu...
americanbar.org
“United Nations experts have previously warned that conditions in Hol and Roj camps may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, while Amnesty International has documented allegations of gender-based violence and abuse against female detainees.” www.middleeasteye.net/news/fear-pa...
'Fear, panic and exhaustion': Women in Syria's Roj camp report worsening abuse
Detainees in Kurdish-controlled camp housing families of suspected Islamic State fighters say they have been subjected to nightly raids and mistreatment
middleeasteye.net
Glad to share this interview on the significance of listing both Israel and the Russian Federation by the UNSG for conflict related sexual violence. www.micromega.net/la-violenza-...
La violenza sessuale nei conflitti armati
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin spiega il significato dell’inserimento di Russia e Israele nel rapporto annuale dell'ONU sulla violenza sessuale nei conflitti armati.
micromega.net
Aoláin noted that women and children are often caught in a “cascade effect”—sanctioned by association. A shout out to the extraordinary Prof Gavin Sullivan whose work is detailed in this excellent piece. www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...
Life on the List | Caitlin L. Chandler
Late one night in May 2016, Naif al-Qaysi was riding shotgun in an old Landcruiser as it barreled down an empty highway through the desert connecting
nybooks.com
War for the spectacle and content. www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-...
Katy Perry Slams White House for Using “Firework” in Military Strikes Video: “I Am Deeply Appalled”
"My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare," the singer wrote in a post on X Saturday.
hollywoodreporter.com
@niaolainf.bsky.social was quoted by @techpolicypress.bsky.social about the Pall Mall Process (PMP) and whether it contributes to the normalization of spyware. z.umn.edu/bfsh
“ This article concerns the general intent involved in the underlying act of “killing members of the group” under article 2(a) of the Genocide Convention.” www.justsecurity.org/148735/genoc...
Genocide and Intent to Kill Revisited
An expert examines the implications of the ICJ's caselaw for the genocide case that Gambia brought against Myanmar.
justsecurity.org
“History will not record who won today. It will record … how Syrians gathered again under the parliament’s dome. The parliaments that come after us will follow our steps. If we are weak, they will be weak. If we are strong, they will be strong.” foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/17/s...
Syria’s Weak Parliament Still Matters
The country’s newly opened assembly is by no means democratic, but it can still be more than a rubber stamp.
foreignpolicy.com
Just totally unacceptable that countries of origin--including many, wealthy Western countries--continue to refuse to repatriate their nationals detained or displaced during the conflicts in Syria. www.ohchr.org/en/statement...
UN Syria Commission concludes latest visit to Syria
Commissioners Monia Ammar and Fionnuala Nì Aolain of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic concluded their latest visit to the Syrian Arab Republic, where the...
ohchr.org
given what we're hearing from rubio & others, everyone should be prepared for them to ramp up attacks on civil society, anything seen as left or coded as opposition, certainly in run-up to mid-terms. this is part of the context in which blanche, weaponizer of DoJ, must be rejected.
Counter-terrorism repurposed (again) … www.crisisgroup.org/cmt/united-s...
The Trump Administration’s “Wars on Terror” – Old and New | International Crisis Group
The Trump White House is repurposing the potent framing of “terrorism” to go after a new set of enemies – drug cartels, migrants and domestic political opponents. Its words and deeds pose serious risk...
crisisgroup.org
Latest: The military judge in the long running Sept. 11 case has canceled the August session at Guantánamo Bay. The next pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 28, meaning four men who are accused of conspiring in the attacks won’t be going to court before the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
“But the woman, Sarah, has not spoken publicly until now. Sarah, a lawyer originally from Malaysia who has worked for the ICC since 2017, said she never wanted to be in this position and described feeling “humiliated.”” So incredibly brave, articulate and true. www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/e...
Exclusive: Lawyer goes public with sexual misconduct claims against ICC chief prosecutor. He denies the allegations | CNN
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under intense scrutiny as member countries prepare to vote this month on whether to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan following an investigation into allegat...
cnn.com
““We’d never seen anything like it before. NSO’s attacks were remarkable. They exploited vulnerabilities in Android … and iOS systems.” forbiddenstories.org/codename-mor...
Codename “Morgan”: A look back at Morocco’s acquisition of Pegasus, involving Israel and the United Arab Emirates
From product demonstrations at a secret villa in Rabat to training sessions at NSO’s Herzliya headquarters, Forbidden Stories and its partners retrace the early stages of Morocco’s use of Pegasus.
forbiddenstories.org
"A former intelligence agent turned whistleblower has detailed how 🇲🇦Morocco’s s domestic intelligence agency used #Pegasus to spy on a journalist, contradicting Morocco’s public claims to have never used the #spyware." www.occrp.org/en/project/t...
Moroccan Government Used Powerful Israeli Pegasus Spyware, Former Intelligence Officer Says
Morocco’s government has long denied using the Israeli spyware Pegasus to surveil its citizens. Now, a former Moroccan intelligence officer provides new evidence that the government did employ the sof...
occrp.org
this U.N. special rapporteur is using their position to attack trans rights. It’s an abuse of the position, an anti-rights agenda, and it’s condemnable. boo.
How One Woman Is Using the UN to Attack Trans Rights Worldwide
It’s no coincidence that the Supreme Court’s decision allowing trans sports bans echoes the work of Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
thenation.com
“[COI] called on countries to repatriate their nationals from Roj and Aq Burhan camps and release those held arbitrarily. It also pressed Damascus to clarify the fate of roughly 3,500 Syrians, including children, reportedly transferred to Iraq”. news.un.org/en/story/202...
UN Syria inquiry presses for answers on missing detainees after wide-ranging visit
UN investigators have urged Syria’s Government to trace thousands of missing detainees and hold perpetrators to account after a week-long visit that took in bomb attacks in Damascus, prison visits in ...
news.un.org
End of mission findings from my mission to Syria @UnitedNations news.un.org/en/story/202...
UN Syria inquiry presses for answers on missing detainees after wide-ranging visit
UN investigators have urged Syria’s Government to trace thousands of missing detainees and hold perpetrators to account after a week-long visit that took in bomb attacks in Damascus, prison visits in ...
news.un.org
In light of developments at the NATO 2026 summit, our collection of analysis by leading experts. Collection: U.S., Greenland, and NATO justsecurity.org/128953/colle...
Collection: U.S., Greenland, and NATO
Experts examine the legal, political, and security dimensions of U.S. policy towards Greenland.
justsecurity.org
Leaving Damascus yesterday morning particularly saddened by the terrorists acts and violence that sought to disrupt President Macron’s visit. As @COISyria listened last week we know that Syrians want peace, justice, prosperity and accountability. sana.sy/en/syria/232...
Un recours a été déposé pour obtenir le rapatriement de deux fillettes orphelines détenues dans le camp-prison #Roj, en Syrie. Leur mère est décédée le 18 avril, faute de soins. Me Marie Dosé évoque le «grand état de vulnérabilité» des deux mineures. www.lorientlejour.com/article/1540...
Recours pour rapatrier de Syrie deux fillettes
Un recours a été déposé à Paris pour obtenir le rapatriement en France de deux fillettes retenues dans un camp du nord-est syrien abritant des proches de jihadistes présumés, a-t-on appris vendredi...
lorientlejour.com
“My Office documented 15 drone strikes on El Obeid and surrounding areas between 6 and 28 June, which killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41. The actual number of civilian casualties is likely higher.” www.ohchr.org/en/statement...
High Commissioner Türk calls for strong action at the highest level to prevent atrocity crimes in Sudan
Mr President, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,The signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in the capital of the strategi...
ohchr.org
Absolutely outrageous… Espionage Against the European Parliament Member of Committee Investigating Spyware Hacked with Pegasus @citizenlab.ca citizenlab.ca/research/mem...
Espionage Against the European Parliament: Member of Committee Investigating Spyware Hacked with Pegasus - The Citizen Lab
We found that former Member of the European Parliament Stelios Kouloglou was hacked with Pegasus spyware while serving on the PEGA committee, which investigated Pegasus and other spyware abuses in Eur...
citizenlab.ca
The Supreme Court just effectively gutted two key laws for suing tech over human rights abuses, says Tech Justice Law's Madeline Batt. The result in Doe v. Cisco leaves companies and executives "less constrained by liability fears"—and victims with fewer pathways to redress.
Supreme Court Decimates Key Remedies for Tech Complicity in Human Rights Abuse
Following the ruling in Doe v. Cisco, victims are left searching for new pathways to redress, writes Tech Justice Law legal fellow Madeline Batt.
techpolicy.press
