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The 12th Conference of the Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea (ABLOS), held under the auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), opened Tuesday in Doha. The two-day conference is being held from October 7 to 8 under the theme "Is UNCLOS Fit for Purpose in Modern Times? Achievements, Challenges and Future Pathways." The gathering brings together leading experts, academics, and representatives from international and regional marine and ocean affairs bodies to examine gaps in the current legal regime and propose future pathways of reform. In his opening remarks, His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Convention on the Law of the Sea, said that Qatar's convening of the conference underscores the strong and fruitful cooperation between the Standing Committee and ABLOS, which began in 2012 following the Committee's participation in the ABLOS working meeting and annual conference held in the Korean capital, Seoul. He noted that Qatar had previously hosted the conference in October 2017. His Excellency Dr. Al Hammadi emphasized Qatar's long-standing partnership with ABLOS, which encompasses not only regular attendance at ABLOS meetings and conferences but also substantive support in promoting the Board's scientific work. He cited, for example, that with ABLOS' approval, the Standing Committee translated the ABLOS "Guide on the Technical Aspects of the Law of the Sea (TALOS)" into Arabic. This, he said, fills a gap in Arabic-language scholarly resources and provides practitioners and researchers across the Arab world with a valuable scientific reference. He further stressed that upholding the rule of law internationally is of significant importance to the State of Qatar, particularly with regard to its vital interests such as sovereignty and sustainable development. He reiterated Doha's support for initiatives aimed at promoting respect for international law. Dr. Al Hammadi also noted that at the previous ABLOS meeting in Brazil, Qatar had the honor of proposing the main theme for this year's conference. He remarked that the challenges under discussion cannot be resolved overnight, as they require sustained effort over many years. He affirmed the commitment to push forward on reform pathways. The opening ceremony was attended by distinguished figures, including the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Judge Tomas Heidar, Director of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Rear Admiral Luigi Sinapi, and President of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) Dr. Richard Gross.

Resolution backed by 86 percent of scholars who votedIsrael rejects accusations of genocide in GazaResolution calls for Israel to cease acts deemed genocidalThe world's biggest academic association of genocide scholars has passed a resolution saying the legal criteria have been met to establish Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, its president said on Monday. Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) backed the resolution declaring Israel's "policies and actions in Gaza" had met the legal definition set out in Article II of the 1948 UN convention on genocide.Israel's Foreign Ministry called the statement disgraceful and "entirely based on Hamas' campaign of lies". Israel has in the past strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as self defence. It is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that accuses it of genocide.Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after fighters from Hamas attacked Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.Since then, Israel's military action has killed 63,000 people, damaged or destroyed most buildings in the territory and forced nearly all its residents to flee their homes at least once. A global hunger monitor relied on by the United Nations says parts of the territory are now suffering a man-made famine.The three-page resolution calls on Israel to "immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population."It also states that the Hamas attack on Israel which precipitated the war constituted international crimes."This is a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide," the association's president, Melanie O'Brien, a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia who specialises in genocide, told Reuters."There is no justification for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, not even self defence," she added.The 1948 UN Genocide Convention, adopted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, defines genocide as crimes committed "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such". It requires all countries to act to prevent and stop genocide.Since the genocide scholars' association was founded in 1994, it has passed nine resolutions recognising historic or ongoing episodes as genocides.The IAGS publishes a journal and holds regular international conferences of scholars studying genocide, and is considered the largest academic group in the field. Another group, the International Network of Genocide Scholars, also holds conferences and publishes a journal but does not issue similar resolutions.Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, welcomed the resolution's "prestigious scholarly stance", which he said "places a legal and moral obligation on the international community to take urgent action to stop the crime, protect civilians, and hold the leaders of the occupation accountable".Sergey Vasiliev, a professor of international law at the Open University in the Netherlands who is not a member of the association, told Reuters the resolution showed that "this legal assessment has become mainstream within academia, particularly in the field of genocide studies".Several international rights groups and some Israeli NGOs have already accused Israel of committing genocide. Last week hundreds of UN staff at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk wrote to ask him to explicitly describe the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.