UN human rights experts on Feb. 4 decried Russia's conviction of nine International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, calling the ruling a "flagrant violation of international law."

After a trial held in absentia, the Moscow City Court on Dec. 12 sentenced Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight ICC judges under the Russian Criminal Code for "unlawfully prosecuting Russian citizens in The Hague," and subsequently placed them on an international wanted list. Prosecutor Khan received a 15‑year prison term, with the others receiving sentences of between three and 15 years.

A last-minute "permanent ceasefire" may mean that northeast Syria is back from the brink of Arab-Kurdish ethnic war. But ceasefires have repeatedly broken down since fighting resumed earlier this year, with Damascus demanding disbandment of the Rojava autonomous zone, and the integration of its institutions—including its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—into the central government. While the new pact sets a more "gradual" pace for this integration, the Kurdish aspiration to regional autonomy and the central government's insistence on centralization may prove a long-term obstacle to peace. In Episode 315 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg weighs the odds for avoiding a conflict that holds the potential for escalation to genocide, with the connivance of the Great Powers that so recently backed the SDF to fight ISIS.

When US President Donald Trump first proposed establishing a so-called "Board of Peace" to oversee governance of the Gaza Strip for a transitional period back in September, the idea was quickly likened to a form of colonial takeover. The UN nonetheless adopted a Security Council resolution in November giving its blessing to the board's creation—a vote some member states may now regret. The board was officially inaugurated in a Jan. 22 ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump was attending the World Economic Forum. But Gaza seems almost incidental to its true mission, which appears to be creating a global strongmen's club—led by Trump, potentially for life—to rival, if not replace, the UN itself.

The Libyan Attorney General's Office on Jan. 16 announced the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 21 bodies. A prosecutor in Benghazi charged an individual identified by the initials "MFH" with human trafficking in connection with the discovery.

Burma on Jan. 16 began its defense before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the ground-breaking genocide case brought by the Gambia, rejecting all allegations of genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement Jan. 9 strongly condemning Russian missile and drone attacks in Ukraine following Moscow’s firing of its medium-range nuclear-capable "Oreshnik" ballistic missile.

At an air base in Bamako, Mali's military ruler Gen. Assimi Goita presided over a ceremony Dec. 21 marking the launch of a unified force for three Sahel states to fight the rising tide of jihadist insurgency across their borders. The move comes after the three countries—Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all now ruled by military juntas—collectively withdrew from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to form their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Burkina Faso's ruler, Gen. Daouda Traoré, was named to head the force, which will maintain a command base in Niamey, Niger's capital.

Following through on threats made last month, President Donald Trump announced Dec. 25 that he had ordered air-strikes against Islamic State targets in Nigeria, ostensibly in retaliation for the group's targeting of Christian communities.