On this day in 1994, Jean Kambanda became the Prime Minister of Rwanda. During the 100-day campaign, he incited genocide on the radio by announcing, "Genocide is justified in the fight against the enemy." He became the first head of state to plead guilty to genocide since the adoption of the Genocide Convention and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). His sentence was upheld on appeal on October 19, 2000. He currently is in prison in Bamako Central Prison, Mali. In memory of those known and unknown who died . . . More

The Obama Administration yesterday released its Nuclear Posture Review Report (NPR), which establishes "U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities, and force posture for the next five years to ten years." The 2010 NPR becomes the third official high-level review and the first one to be entirely declassified. The NPR's key objectives emphasize prevention, no new nuclear weapons, no new nuclear testing, and strategic options for deterrence. For the first time, prevention is given top priority. One of the key elements of prevention, identified in the Review, is the strengthening of international law and its institutions to ensure nuclear security worldwide. The Review calls for bolstering the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the centerpiece of the nuclear nonproliferation regime; pursuing ratification and early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); seeking negotiations on a verifiable Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT); and creating new frameworks for treaty enforcement and international nuclear energy cooperation. The NPR states the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must be given additional financial resources and stronger verification authority to deter and detect safeguards violations. The release of the NPR occurred two days before the signing of a new U.S.-Russia arms reduction treaty and six days before President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. on April 12-13, 2010, during which 43 heads of state will address the clandestine proliferation of nuclear material and nuclear material trafficking. More

The Tilburg Law Review Journal of International and European Law is now accepting submissions for its Student Essay Competition. The theme is "The EU and International Law after the Lisbon Treaty: Challenges and Opportunities." Essays should not exceed 5,000 words, excluding footnotes. Only currently enrolled students are eligible to participate. Ph.D. and J.S.D./S.J.D. students are not eligible. The winning essay will be published in the Journal. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2010. More

The Tilburg Law Review Journal of International and European Law is now accepting submissions on international and European law. Submissions that address both international and transnational dimensions of a legal issues are especially encouraged, as are those that place legal studies in a societal context. Book reviews are also welcome. The next issue, Volume 15 Issue 1, will be published in the summer of 2010. The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2010. More