Most Australian media choose not to report a major recent UN inquiry on Israel/Palestine. Former Oz Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti is a member. The Oz govt opposes the inquiry & shields Israel from criticism. Here's what the inquiry found (no surprises here): • The violent occupation of Palestine is illegal, and should be referred to the International Court of Justice
• The settlements in Palestine are illegal & war crimes, & aim to alter demography, permanently annex territory, & deny Palestinians the right to self-determination

[election thread] Some partisan pro-Israel media have unfairly accused some independent and Labor candidates of being "anti-Israel" or even anti-semitic, for legitimate criticism of Israeli policies. Here are questions serious journalists should ask candidates: 1/ Do you believe Israel & Palestine should respect international law, including the law of war, international criminal law, and human rights law?

My op-ed in the South China Morning Post: How Russia learned from the West’s actions in Iraq, Kosovo, Guantanamo Bay & Palestine - “Legal solidarity with Ukraine is certainly right but it raises troubling questions about Western double standards" scmp.com/comment/opinio… “The West weaponises international law in pursuit of its own political ends, as a cudgel against its adversaries, but ignores it when it gets in the way of itself or its friends. Western selectivity signals that international law is not law at all, just a smokescreen for power.”

*MEDIA ADVISORY - Ukraine/Russia: There is confusion about the international law issues, but they are strait forward: 1/ Ukraine has been “invaded” by Russia since 2014, overtly in occupied Crimea & covertly in Donbas. Russia is now expanding its illegal armed attack & aggression 2/ Ukraine has a right of self-defence against Russia, including to request other states to collectively directly defend it. Other states can also supply weapons and other military assistance, and impose sanctions, subject to human rights concerns for Russian civilians

1/ Australia has declared that Israel is above the law. The Prime Minister said "no country is perfect" in response to allegations of apartheid, as if apartheid is no more than a parking fine. He then crowed that Australia will remain Israel's best friend
theguardian.com/australia-news… 2/ At the very least, a responsible government would acknowledge that these are credible, legally reasoned allegations by one of the world's foremost human rights groups, backing the views of Human Rights Watch and many lawyers, and pledge to carefully consider them

(thread) My legal views on Christian Porter: 1) it is normal that the same conduct of a person may be subject to different legal processes for different purposes - criminal, civil, employment, disciplinary, human rights, ombudsperson, coronial etc 2) The standards of proof may differ between processes for different purposes. Non-criminal processes may not depend on the existence of any criminal process, let alone a conviction on evidence beyond reasonable doubt, or the views of police