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Ariela Blätter
Director of Policy and Programs
Phone: 202-546-3950 x 108
Contact Ariela
Ariela Blätter is the Policy Director for Citizens for Global Solutions. Previously she worked at Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) as the Senior Director for International Programs. During her seven year tenure at AIUSA she also served as Deputy Managing Director for Government Relations and as the Director of the Conflict Prevention and Response Center. Ariela comes from an extensive advocacy and law background - she is an international human rights lawyer that has served as a lobbyist at the State, Congressional and at the international level. Most notably, she served as a permanent representative to the UN on the establishment of the International Criminal Court, overseeing a team of NGO's lobbyists and policy staff. Ariela has served on the U.S. Genocide Prevention Task Force, chaired by former Secretaries Madeline Albright and William S. Cohen. She is currently an adjunct faculty at American University’s School of International Service in Washington D.C.
Recent Blog Posts
CGS has joined a cross-regional group of civil society organizations urging the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to call an urgent special session to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt.
On January 25, a popular uprising demanding an end to the 30-year rule of authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak, began in Egypt. In recent days, Egyptian authorities have responded to ongoing protests with targeted assault on peaceful demonstrators, civil society activists and journalists, leading to hundreds injured and arrested. According to the UN, 300 may have died already. Citing the mounting casualties, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay described Mubarak's leadership as, "a system that has deprived people of fundamental rights, and has committed a range of serious abuses, including widespread acts of torture."
Here is a quick rundown of what key states are saying about the crime of aggression at the United Nations Assembly of State Parties on the International Criminal Court in New York:
Germany: Did not waver in its support for the crime of aggression. “For Germany [during Kampala] it was particularly important that the agreement on the crime of aggression was reached by consensus. This is a strong message of unity of the international community in combating this most serious crime [...] Germany will ratify all amendments adopted by the Review conference as soon as possible."
It seems like only yesterday that I was in Kampala watching representatives from nations around the world leading the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the path to becoming the first permanent court to try individuals for the crime of aggression. But that was back in July, and a lot has happened in the last five months.
Today I am in New York tracking the conversations at the United Nations at the ninth Assembly of State Parties for the International Criminal Court to see whether States such as Japan, United States , U.K. and France will use these proceedings to try to roll back the decision on the crime of aggression.