The Red Velvet Lawyer

Passionate Voices  Seeking an End to the Suffering Last week, I attended a somewhat chaotic event that showcases the intractability of the conflicts that exist in the Arab Gulf region. The event focused on the Yemeni war.  While some of the speakers briefly mentioned international parties, including the US, in their remarks, the focus remained on the interests of Yemenis.  Speakers also mentioned the intervention of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran in the conflict  Their focus may have changed if  Qatar University had hosted the event, just a few days later, after the drone attacks on the Saudi Arabian petroleum facilities on September 14, 2019. The information about the event appears below.  My summary appears after that information.  In summarizing the comments of the speakers and attendees, I suffer from several disabilities.  First, I must rely on the translators because I do not speak Arabic. Second, I have not done any in...

First Inter-State Communications Ever to be Submitted to a United Nations Treaty Body On August 29, 2019, The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued the following press release : Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination closes ninety-ninth session, adopts decisions on inter-State communications by Qatar against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 29 August 2019  * * * The Committee had continued to deal with inter-State communications submitted by Qatar on 8 March 2018 against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the inter-State communication submitted on 23 April 2018 by the State of Palestine against Israel. Those were the first inter-State communications ever to be submitted to a United Nations treaty body, stressed Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye. The Committee had decided that it had jurisdiction on the communications submitted by Qatar and had declared them adm...

High-Quality Scholarship  about Qatar In May 2019, Nova Science Publishers published Qatar: Political, Economic, and Social Issues (Haitham M. Alkhateeb ed.).  The book covers political, economic, and social issues as the name suggests. Chapters 2 to 6 feature my analysis of the Qatari response to the blockade by four neighboring countries - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. The book is available from Amazon in hard copy and from libraries in digital format. The Table of Contents, set out below, shows its broad coverage. Preface Chapter 1. Qatar's Nation Brand: Facing the Regional Challenges (Nawaf Al-Tamimi, PhD, and Azzam Amin, PhD, Journalism Program, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar, and others) Chapter 2. Bustards, Bullies, Billions, and the Blockade: Applying Dispute Resolution Theory to the First Nine Months of the Siege of Qatar (Paula Marie Young, College of Law, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar) Chapter 3. Po...

Iran's Islamic Revolution at 40 Regional Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges By Dr. Kamal Kharazi Last night, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies .  I have attended prior programs offered by the Centre and found them intellectually stimulating.  They always offer points of view I have seldom heard in the West. I have blogged about them in a series of posts beginning here .  The invited guest, Dr. Kamal Kharazi , Chair of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of Iran, gave a lecture followed by a brief question and answer period at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.  The moderator introduced Dr. Kharazi as an "insider" to the Iranian Revolution .  That revolution celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019.  He spoke in English from prepare remarks. Before I start, I want to note that I am working from my notes and apologize in advance if my summary contains any errors or misstatements.  I am h...

Call for Papers Dear colleagues, Qatar University Press has asked me to move forward with a proposed book that addresses the legal consequences and solutions arising from the blockade imposed on Qatar by its neighboring countries.   The working title of the book is: “The Arab Gulf Conflict: Legal Consequences and Solutions.” It is my pleasure to invite you to contribute a chapter to the book.  Please email me at pyoung@qu.edu.qa for background information about the blockade. Topics I expect to discuss in the book include: A Dispute Resolution Analysis of the Causes of the Dispute. Arab Conflict Resolution Strategies. 2103 and 2014 Riyadh Agreements. Thirteen Demands and Six Principles. Do Gulf Countries have the Unilateral Legal Right to Impose Sanctions on Qatar? Legal Concepts of National Sovereignty Laws Governing Military Conflict. Laws Governing Efforts to Force a Change in a Country’s Leadership. Qatar’s Air T...

Political Stability or a New Wave of Change? On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 6...

Where is the Middle East Heading? On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 6: The Media During Times of Crisis Session 7: Where is th...