Law

The Iran War in the Light of the Nuremberg Principles

by Alfred de Zayas,* Geneva

(3 April 2026) As international law developed over the centuries, the principle of State sovereignty and the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of other states gradually evolved – from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 through the Congress of Vienna 1814–15, the establishment of the League of Nations in 1919 and the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945 as an incipient world constitution aimed at promoting peace, development and human rights.

The war against Iran is not a “preventive war”, it’s an unprovoked war of aggression

by Alfred de Zayas,* Geneva

(6 March 2026) We are complicit in the US/Israel aggression against Iran if we accept the pretext that this was a “pre-emptive war”. This time the pretext is even weaker than in 2003 with Hussein's alleged “weapons of mass destruction”.
Switzerland–EU

With the new EU agreements, Switzerland is being relegated to the level of developing and emerging countries

by Carl Baudenbacher,* Zurich/Luxembourg

(16 January 2026) The idea of a framework agreement was originally a Swiss invention. The dispute settlement model, on the other hand, is inspired by EU’s agreements with former Soviet republics. The chronicle of a capitulation.

Assange files complaint to block Machado from Nobel

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to pro-war Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela violates Swedish law

by Joe Lauria,* Special to Consortium News

(9 January 2026) The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a criminal complaint in Sweden to block the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize and $1.18 million to Maria Corina Machado. On Wednesday [17 December] WikiLeaks said:

Right to development and national interest in the global context

International Patriotic Pact Organization – 2025 Forum United Nations, Geneva, Palais des Nations, 1 October 2025

Hans Köchler,* Austria

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(24 October 2025) The General Assembly of the United Nations, in its resolution 41/128 of 4 December 1986, defined the right to development as an “inalienable human right” in the individual and collective sense. According to Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Declaration, this implies that all peoples enjoy the “inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources.”

Statement on the question of Palestine

On the occasion of the meeting of the “Nordic Initiative for a Diplomatic Accord in Israel and Palestine”

Edinburgh, 1 September 2025

by Hans Köchler*

(12 September 2025) “The time for debate and hesitation has passed …” These were the introductory words chosen by the IPC1 formally declaring famine in Gaza.2 This entirely avoidable, man-made disaster should give us pause. How could the international community – that has been propagating the universal values of humanity in virtually thousands of solemn proclamations and declarations – let this happen, after the unspeakable horrors of the Second World War?