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Ben Saul

Ben Saul

Ben Saul is Challis Chair of International Law at the University of Sydney.

An unidentified boy on Wednesday in a section of the Al Roj camp in Syria housing Australian family members of suspected Islamic State militants.

Bring these Australian children home, PM. They did not make their own beds

Preventing the return of women and children trapped in Syria will not make Australia safer.

  • Fionnuala Ni Aolain and Ben Saul

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A protester with a bloodied mouth after being arrested.

NSW anti-protest laws were rushed through to keep the peace. They’ve failed

NSW is now one of the most draconian anti-protest jurisdictions in the democratic world, with anti-protest rules that violate international law.

  • Ben Saul
It is not the first time that Nicolás Maduro has faced a Donald Trump-supported effort to oust him from power.

Australia should not lie in bed with a shameless dictator like Trump

The US president should be met with strength, not with “fear, fawning and appeasement”.

  • Ben Saul
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is weighing up whether Australia will join France by recognising Palestine.

Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel’s crimes

A Palestinian state cannot cure the historical injustices of Israel’s foundation, but it is a vital step towards remedying the past.

  • Ben Saul
US President Donald Trump and Gazans returning to the ruins of their home – the one from which he wants to remove them.

Nations such as Australia must push back against Trump’s illegal Gaza scheme

Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians, if it were without their consent, would constitute a war crime.

  • Ben Saul

Israel and Iran are following the rules of the jungle, not the rule of law

Countries such as Australia should unilaterally impose sanctions on the leaders of both countries to compel them to recommit to law and peace.

  • Ben Saul
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A man displays blood-stained British, Polish, and Australian passports

The Albanese government is finally awakening to the bleak nature of Israel’s fighting

In appointing a special adviser to review the investigation of seven aid workers, Australia is telegraphing its lack of confidence in the Israeli military justice system.

  • Ben Saul

A war crime is still a war crime, even in retaliation

That Israel has resorted to a starvation siege in Gaza must ring alarm bells about its commitment to other rules protecting civilians.

  • Ben Saul
Medal specialists divided about value of Afghan veteran’s Victoria Cross.

Roberts-Smith belongs in the War Memorial, but as a villain not a hero

Our memorials should be unafraid to tell Australians the unvarnished truth: that one of our greatest war heroes is also one of our greatest war criminals.

  • Ben Saul
The government says it will be a matter for the parliament to decide the mechanics of how the Voice will operate.

The Voice is not revolutionary or threatening. Only its opponents say it is

The sheer modesty of the Voice suggests just how antiquated the Coalition’s position is on Indigenous rights. It also suggests how far there is to travel towards full reconciliation.

  • Ben Saul