Daniel Appelman

The United States Walks Away from its Human Rights Review What Washington’s exit from its UN human rights review means for accountability at home and abroad.

The U.S. has withdrawn from its own UN Universal Periodic Review—an accountability process it once championed.

My new Substack piece on The Just Planet examines what the U.S. withdrawal means for the UPR, for civil society, and for the rule of law.
Read danielappelman.substack.com/p/the-united...

A Game-Changer in Climate Law: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Climate Advisory Opinion Explained The IACtHR’s Advisory Opinion joins a growing chorus of legal developments that are reshaping the contours of environmental governance and human rights protection.  The opinion represents a landmark m...

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights did something remarkable: it declared that protecting the climate is a human rights obligation. My new post explains why this is important.
open.substack.com/pub/danielap...

A Turning Point for Climate Action: The International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on States’ Obligations Climate change is an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.  This article breaks down the ICJ’s groundbreaking findings, legal ...

The world's highest court issued an historic ruling: climate inaction = a breach of international law. This opinion will be influential in advancing climate accountability.

Full breakdown here 👉 open.substack.com/pub/danielap...

#ClimateJustice #ICJ #ClimateAction #InternationalLaw

Opinion | When Is It Genocide?

When Is It Genocide? I highly recommend this interview with Philippe Sands discussing genocide in the context of the war in Gaza. Also see my recent post about why we need an international crimes against humanity treaty. tinyurl.com/4dkesr4y

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/o...

CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: WHY WE NEED A STANDALONE TREATY Mass murder, torture, and forced displacement demand more than outrage—they demand law. This post explores why crimes against humanity need their own treaty, recent breakthroughs at the UN, and how ad...

Yesterday, I posted an article I wrote on why we need an international treaty addressing Crimes Against Humanity.

📘 Read the full post and subscribe to my blog, The Just Planet.
danielappelman.substack.com/p/crimes-aga...

#HumanRights #CrimesAgainstHumanity #ICJ #AtrocityCrimes #RuleOfLaw

Sudan, The "Forgotten" War Introduction

Sudan is in the midst of the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, with tens of millions of Sudanese displaced, famine widespread and a civil war that shows no signs of ending. I posted a backgrounder here:
danielappelman.substack.com/p/sudan-the-...

#Sudan #humanrights @aba-crsj.bsky.social

🏛️How Things Work: The Legal Edition - Immigration Registration
Join Valencia Herrera and Adonia Simpson as they discuss immigration registration and its implications. Watch the full episode HERE ➡️ ow.ly/SfS950VlL6F #LegalEducation #ImmigrationLaw

Proud to be a member of the ABA that is standing up unequivocally for the rule of law.

We support the right of people to advance their interests in courts of law when they have been wronged. We reject the notion that the U.S. government can punish lawyers and law firms who represent certain clients or punish judges who rule certain ways. We cannot accept government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice in this manner. We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession. We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not. Words and actions matter. And the intimidating words and actions we have heard and seen must end. They are designed to cow our country’s judges, our country’s courts and our legal profession. There are clear choices facing our profession. We can choose to remain silent and allow these acts to continue or we can stand for the rule of law and the values we hold dear. We call upon the entire profession, including lawyers in private practice from Main Street to Wall Street, as well as those in corporations and who serve in elected positions, to speak out against intimidation.

More than 50 bar organizations stand together with the American Bar Association to defend the rule of law and reject efforts to undermine the courts and the legal profession. Read the full statement: www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

The Just Planet | Daniel Appelman | Substack Human rights, justice and the rule of law. Click to read The Just Planet, by Daniel Appelman, a Substack publication. Launched 13 days ago.

For the new year, I began a blog covering human rights, democracy and the environment. Check it out here.
danielappelman.substack.com