|
|
Michael Byers, By Paul Koring
Michael Byers, who holds the Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics at UBC, argues Canada's catch-and-release approach to countering piracy off Somalia is at odds with other Western navies and flouts Ottawa's obligations under international law.
"It's ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't arrest and prosecute pirates," he said. "Canada has a legal obligation under the United Nations and international law to bring pirates to justice."
Like most experts interviewed by the Globe and Mail, he said the international community must deal with the heart of the problem, which is the failed and anarchic state of Somalia.
1 May 2009
|
|
|
Michael Byers, By Bob Weber
The day before politicians from all Arctic nations were scheduled to meet in Norway, the world's Inuit released a declaration saying they have a right to join any talks that affect the future of their frozen homeland, participation that they say has so far been denied.
Michael Byers, a Liu Institute professor and Arctic expert, says Inuit continue to be excluded from crucial meetings even though they have observer status on the Arctic Council.
"What we see with this declaration is an organized attempt to insert themselves back into the discussion," he said. "It's a political case. It's a moral case."
28 April 2009
|
|
|
Michael Byers, By Joanne Chianello
The precedent-setting case against Momin Khawaja proves that the Canadian legal system can deal with terrorists without further aggressive anti-terror-ism laws.
"Instead of having secret prisons and courts making use of secret evidence, here we have a trial in open court where the perpetrator is sentenced to a minimum sentence of 10 years hard time," said Michael Byers, a professor at the Liu University for Global Issues, University of British Columbia.
"It's a balanced, reasonable, yet weighty outcome, one that shows that our legal system, with all of its checks and balances, can deal responsibly and effectively with terrorism.
13 March 2009
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at UBC, argues it's "time for both Canada and the United States to stop the shenanigans -- and negotiate a comprehensive agreement on shipping in the North."
5 March 2009
|
|
|
Michael Byers, By Randy Boswell
Michael Byers, a UBC expert in polar politics, says Canada needs to at least consider a moratorium on Arctic Ocean fisheries to protect and foster a potentially lucrative new resource in the region's warming waters.
"Serious attention does need to be directed to the issue, and certain guiding principles applied, including the precautionary principle and a principle of first access for indigenous peoples," he said.
15 February 2009
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The Canadian government was right to block the sale of MacDonald Dettwiler's space division to Alliant Techsystems of Minnesota. But the way the deed was done has created the need for some additional, urgent work by federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice.
23 April 2008
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Nation needs to cast off neo-conservatism and lead on human rights and the environment.
1 January 2008
|
|
|
Michael Byers
In a Toronto Star op-ed, UBC Canada Research Chair Michael Byers calls Prime Minister Stephen Harper "a small man" for "playing games [with the environment] while the planet burns."
"At [a recent] Commonwealth summit, Harper scuppered an initiative that would have seen developed countries take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Byers writes. "He insisted that binding commitments must be adopted by every country or none at all."
3 December 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
In an Op Ed in the Toronto Star, UBC’s Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics, writes: “The world's most respected human rights organization has just accused this country of complicity in torture. Canadians should hang their heads in shame.
“Yesterday, the London-based international secretariat of Amnesty International released a 38-page report into detainee transfers conducted by Canada and other members of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. . . .
“. . . According to Amnesty International, transferred detainees remain ‘at substantial risk of torture and other ill-treatment.’”
14 November 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
I'd like to introduce you to just a few remarkable Canadians, as exemplars of what this country is -- and could be.
26 September 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
An interview with Michael Byers on his new manifesto for Canada’s role in the world, 'Intent for a Nation: What is Canada For?'
14 September 2007
|
|
Michael Byers
Chapter 7: A True North Strong and Free.
10 September 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Capitalist predation, writes Naomi Klein, exacerbates the poverty, death and destruction arising from economic collapse, wars and natural disasters.
8 September 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Whether we like it or not, Arctic policy has become foreign
policy. At the same time, the success of much of that
foreign policy will depend on our ability to co-operate with
the people who have long called the Arctic their home
20 August 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has prudently decided to refurbish an old wharf on northern Baffin Island for use by the navy and Coast Guard. More precautionary action such as this is needed to protect Canadian and U.S. interests in the Northwest Passage, an area replete with uncertainty and risk.
11 August 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
In a Globe and Mail op-ed, UBC’s Michael Byers examined support for the Afghanistan mission among NATO countries. “Travelling through Europe this month,” he wrote, “I've been struck by how national debates in different NATO countries take place in isolation from each other.”
Many Germans, for instance, assume Canadians support the mission, just as many Canadians assume the 3,000 German soldiers aren’t going anywhere soon. In fact, 54 per cent of Germans think their soldiers should be withdrawn.
Concludes Byers: “From country to country, support for the NATO mission is wearing thin. The roughly 15 million Canadians who want our soldiers brought home are part of a multinational majority. When we speak up, we are not alone.”
18 July 2007
|
|
Michael Byers
Playing against George Grant’s seminal Lament for a Nation, Intent for a Nation is Michael Byers's informed and opinionated overview of where Canada stands in the world and what aggressive and progressive social, environmental, and governmental policies are needed to carry the country forward in an ever more competitive and volatile world.
11 July 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Despite much recent gloom and doom, Canada is a prosperous, proud and even powerful country that can chart a path apart from the U.S.
16 June 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Michael Byers analyzes the proliferation security initiative, announced in May 2003
5 June 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Terrorism, War and International Law
14 May 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Political and military leadership has been playing fast and loose with torture, says Michael Byers
29 April 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
This week, we honour the soldiers who, through their sacrifices at Vimy Ridge, secured Canada's place as an independent nation. And it is this legacy, of sovereignty and international influence, which compels us to consider how World War I began.
9 April 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
"Where has all the ice gone?" Joe Immaroitok asked. It was 24 October last year, and he was staring at Foxe Basin. A shallow expanse of ocean the size of England, the basin usually freezes over by early October, enabling the Inuit to travel across to
22 March 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
In 2004, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment reported that the average extent of sea-ice cover in summer had declined by 15-20 per cent over the previous 30 years. The remaining ice was 10-15 per cent thinner overall and 40 per cent thinner in the m
22 March 2007
|
|
|
Michael Byers
"Where has all the ice gone?" Joe Immaroitok asked me on Tuesday. "It never used to be like this."
The 43 year-old member of the hamlet council of Igloolik, Nunavut, was staring at Foxe Basin. A shallow expanse of ocean the size of Lake Superior,
27 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Pierre Berton called the Northwest Passage the ”Arctic Grail.“ From Martin Frobisher in 1576 to John Franklin in 1845, European explorers searched for a navigable route around the northern rim of North America to Asia. Their efforts were stymied by the thick ice which choked the straits and channels between the Arctic islands, even in summer.
16 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
North Korea's announcement this week that it has carried out a nuclear test has shocked the world, arousing universal condemnation. It has also exposed the frailty of international diplomacy in the face of intransigence. Could this be the start of a
14 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
European countries may feel comfortable sharing their autonomy, but North America is another story, Michael Byers writes
7 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The coolly reasoned case made by a leading expert in international law.
6 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Professor Michael Byers spoke in Ottawa as part of the Breakfast on the Hill Lecture Series sponsored by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences on October 5th. Professor Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics
5 October 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Hegemonic powers have always shaped international law to their advantage. Today, with the United States at the height of its military powers, some Americans argue for a loosening of restrictions on the use of force...
28 September 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
This article considers the relationship between geopolitical change and the evolving international rules on military force
28 September 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Thirty-two young Canadians killed, more than 100 seriously injured.
Canada's counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan has become a costly enterprise. Rather than consider the deployment of more troops and more armour, it's time for a hard-nosed as
14 September 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
‘I entirely understand the desire, and indeed need, for Israel to defend itself properly,’ Tony Blair said on 14 July. ‘As a sovereign nation, Israel has every right to defend itself,’ George W. Bush said on 16 July. By the ti
17 August 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Edward Greenspan has taken Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to task for suggesting that some of Israel's actions in Lebanon could give rise to individual criminal responsibility. With all respect, she was right, w
5 August 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
IDF dances within accepted rules of engagement, says Michael Byers
16 July 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Michael Byers, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, used [George] Grant's thesis [from Lament for a Nation], as his starting point, and argued that despite free tra
11 July 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Forty years ago, scholar George Grant predicted economics would cause Canada to merge culturally with the U.S. Does Stephen Harper's pro-American regime prove he was right? Michael Byers says no.
8 July 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The IRA taught the British an all-important lesson: If you are fighting to defend your way of life, you must not give up your way of life, writes Michael Byers
9 June 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
On Kyoto and Afghanistan, he backed Bush. What if the US attacks Iran?
5 June 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The absolute ban on torture, a cornerstone of the international human rights edifice, is under attack.
1 May 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
As Ottawa prepares to renew NORAD agreement, a bi-national panel suggests nothing less than the complete integration of Canada's military, security and foreign policy into the decision-making and operating systems of the U.S., writes Michael Byers.
28 April 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
22 April 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Legal Opinion
10 April 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
9 April 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The pressure's on to map an underwater area larger than Alberta. At stake is nothing less than sovereignty in the True North, says Michael Byers.
6 April 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
For four years, Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan have violated international law by transferring suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters into the custody of the United States.
22 March 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Stephen Harper plans to defend Arctic sovereignty with new icebreakers, underwater sensors, a deepwater port at Iqaluit and Arctic-trained paratroopers. While doing so, he should also look up.
3 March 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Our top politicians may have violated international law. Why is that not an election issue?
17 January 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Ottawa must act quickly to assert sovereignty in Arctic says Michael Byers
7 January 2006
|
|
|
Michael Byers
Concessions needed to achieve a meagre compromise deprived the Montreal conference of all but the most modest results says Michael Byers.
13 December 2005
|
|
Michael Byers
In this unique and highly readable book, written for the intelligent layperson, one of the world’s leading experts in international law uses historical case studies to examine the basis on which war is waged and how the global legal environment shapes current events.
28 November 2005
|
|
|
Michael Byers
UBC professor of international law Michael Byers, author of the new book War Law, was invited to deliver the F.C. Cronkite Lecture in the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon on November 14.
15 November 2005
|
|
|
Michael Byers
The Bush administration is stoking Iran’s fears of intervention, while warning the world against steps President Ahmadinejad takes because of these fears.
5 November 2005
|
|
|
Michael Byers
It has been revealed that negotiations are under way to place a substantial part of the Canadian armed forces – land and sea forces as well as air – under the operational control of a permanent, integrated, US-led command structure
25 April 2002
|
