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Luke Moffett

@lukemoffett.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.1K following 140 posts

Prof of Human Rights and #IHL researching on redress, civilian harm, OSINT and AI, working on rewilding the north coast

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Political science 61%

Sociology 17%

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Mar 31

Our new podcast series on Civilian Harm and Redress is now out with a first episode with @niaolainf.bsky.social @maethompson.bsky.social @mglattimer.bsky.social @ceasefirecentre.bsky.social
lawpod.org/podcast/civi...

Civilian Harm in Conflict - The United Kingdom

Civilian Harm in Conflict, Ep. 1: Mae Thompson, Ceasefire advocacy officer, hosts this podcast series, part of the AHRC-funded 'Reparations during Armed Conflict' project.

lawpod.org

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 2d

At least 24 killed as paraglider drops bombs at Myanmar Buddhist festival it comes as the junta is running low on aircraft but is increasingly heavily bombarding civilians aligned with rebel groups #warcrimes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Myanmar: At least 24 killed as paraglider bombs Buddhist festival

Locals told the BBC the destruction from the motorised paraglider made it hard to identify victims.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Luke Moffett

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 4d

Robot personhood/rights is conceptually bogus and legally puts more power/rights in the hands of those that develop and deploy robots/AI systems

firstmonday.org/ojs/index.ph...

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 7d

As Lemkin knew, genocide hides in plain sight. “Genocide is so easy to commit because people don’t want to believe it until after it happens.”

Raphael Lemkin Coined the Word Genocide. What Would He Say Today? | ⁦‪@TheTyee‬⁩ thetyee.ca/Culture/2025...

Raphael Lemkin Coined the Word Genocide. What Would He Say Today? | The Tyee

The haunting story of the refugee driven to name and prevent the greatest crimes of all.

thetyee.ca

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Reposted by Luke Moffett, Ben Clift

Climate Policy @climate-policy.bsky.social · 10d

🚨 NEW ISSUE: Issue 8 is out now, with the latest on #climatefinance, agro-pastoral #adaptation, the gap between #mitigation targets and #climatepolicy, the IMF's #climatepolicy approach, & more 💡

📣 Insights from @benclift.bsky.social @aliceclimate.bsky.social @lukemoffett.bsky.social & more ⬇️

Climate Policy, Volume 25, Issue 8 (2025)

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · 11d

In case you missed it, our latest REPAIR lecture on 'Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity' by Prof. @lukemoffett.bsky.social is now available online, open access.

➡️Watch it here:
www.reparationsresearch.eu/lectures/see...

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity — REPAIR

Reparations in international law are intended to remedy wrongful acts, and state practice in many countries sees them being used to remedy a wide range of historical and contemporary harm. Despite mos...

www.reparationsresearch.eu

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 20d

This post by @profmarkovic.bsky.social on @ejiltalk.bsky.social provides an excellent analysis of the legal standards applicable to the crime of genocide, and an important perspective on when it does and doesn’t apply - all media should read it!

Proving Genocide

This week, a UN commission of inquiry found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. NGOs and various other bodies have of course made that finding before. Proving genocide, in Gaza or elsewhere, invariably turns on proving the specific intent of the perpetrators. In this post, I do not want to get into the Gaza […]

www.ejiltalk.org

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 21d

Ireland commits to co-operate with new Troubles legacy body to deal with the past in Northern Ireland, but without consultation with victims can it succeed?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Troubles: Ireland commits to co-operate with reformed UK legacy body

A new framework seeks to heal a rift between the UK and Irish governments created by the Legacy Act.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 21d

AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it | Jonny Geller

Basic principles need to be enshrined to protect the sacred craft of storytelling from this automated onslaught, says literary agent Jonny Geller

www.theguardian.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 22d

Thanks Boyd!

Reposted by Luke Moffett

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 24d

Long-established laws of war are being ‘blatantly disregarded’, top UN official says

Several governments ignore human rights, which are the ‘medicine to heal a fractured world’

www.irishtimes.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 27d

Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in #Gaza and proportionality
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality

BBC Verify asked experts, in the UK and elsewhere, if Israel’s actions in Gaza have been proportionate.

www.bbc.com

Reposted by Luke Moffett

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 27d

🤬 The FPV drone barely manages to hit the Russian Molniya drone, but in the end it captures a war crime by Putin's soldiers, a strike on a civilian vehicle and the deliberate killing of civilians in the Kramatorsk area of the Donetsk region.

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Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Marc Lynch, Jonathan M. Gilligan , and 5 more Jonathan Portes, Marc Lynch, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Simon Wren‐Lewis, Luke Moffett, Mauro Gatti, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Tom Chevalier

Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · Sep 9

IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”

The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich

Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · Sep 8

Last week I told @npr.org that there’s a word for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict: murder.

None of the Trump administration’s weak justifications for the lethal strike in the Caribbean have dissuaded me from applying that label here.

www.npr.org/2025/09/05/n...

International Crisis Group adviser on legality of U.S. strike on Venezuelan boat

President Trump ordered a strike on what he says was a Venezuelan vessel carrying drugs, killing 11 people. NPR asks Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group if it violated laws.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 5

Mark Nevitt, former naval line officer and JAG writes:

"Applying a new label to an old problem does not transform the problem itself – nor does it grant the U.S. president or the U.S. military expanded legal authority to kill civilians."

www.justsecurity.org/119985/label...

Labels, Not Law, to Justify Lethal Force: Venezuela Boat Strike

A new label does not transform a problem or grant the U.S. president or the U.S. military expanded legal authority to kill civilians.

www.justsecurity.org

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 5

Northern Ireland’s courts may deliver long-awaited answers — and perhaps accountability — for survivors and bereaved families of the conflict from 1969 to 1998, write @dooleydooley.bsky.social and @suchitauppal.bsky.social:

www.justsecurity.org/120044/septe...

September Could Finally Bring Answers for Northern Ireland Families

Northern Ireland’s courts may deliver long-awaited answers for survivors and bereaved families of the conflict from 1969 to 1998.

www.justsecurity.org

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Reposted by Marc Lynch, Luke Moffett

Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · Sep 4

“Gaza’s famine is man-made. And those who are making it happen are doing their best to conceal their crime. The Israeli government is reading from the same playbook as many architects of calamity from the past 100 years.” - must read, by Alex de Waal 👇 observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Those who cover up famine in Gaza use a familiar playbook

The Israeli government is using the same method as many architects of calamity from the past 100 years

observer.co.uk

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Reposted by Luke Moffett, Andrew Novak

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 4

Israeli military database indicates only a quarter of Gaza detainees are fighters

Elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, medical workers and children among 6,000 Palestinians held Only one in four detainees from Gaza are identified as fighters by Israel’s military intelligence, classified data indicates, with civilians making up the vast majority of Palestinians held without charge or trial in abusive prisons. Those jailed for long periods without charge or trial include medical workers, teachers, civil servants, media workers, writers, sick and disabled people and children. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Sep 3

Experts tell BBC Verify US ‘drug boat’ strike may have broken international law www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c2...

BBC Verify Live: Was fatal US strike on Venezuelan 'drug boat' legal?

Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · Sep 2

See the event page here: www.reparationsresearch.eu/lectures/see...

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity — REPAIR

www.reparationsresearch.eu

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · Sep 2

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity - Register to attend our next hybrid lecture by Prof. @lukemoffett.bsky.social about #reparations in an age where progress on redressing the past is witnessing a rollback.

📅 16 September, 1pm CET
📍 UvA Anthropology C5.00 & online
➡️ More info & registration:

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Sep 1

The deadly toll on journalists in the #Gaza war with at least 189 journalists killed

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

The deadly toll on journalists in the Gaza war

With foreign media barred, Palestinians have reported alone, facing the ‘most deliberate effort to kill and silence’ them ever

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Luke Moffett

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · Aug 30

Millions in EU funds have gone to Israeli defence industry, investigation finds

Money has continued to flow to military tech firms since siege of Gaza in 2023

www.irishtimes.com

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Reposted by Marina Jirotka, David Burrows, Luke Moffett , and 3 more Marina Jirotka, David Burrows, Luke Moffett, Mark Priestley, Mark Rice, David Farrier

Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · Aug 29

This should be headline news - the implications are horrifying …

Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds

Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · Aug 26

The double tap strike on Gaza hospital that killed multiple journalists was targeting… a Hamas camera, says the IDF.

Not a terrorist. Not a fighter. A fucking camera.

The world has lost its way if those responsible aren’t punished for this absurd atrocity. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Strike on Gaza hospital that killed journalists was targeting a Hamas camera, Israeli army says

None of the five journalists were among the six Hamas targets killed, an Israeli security official said

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · Aug 26

Opnion: Why are there so many butterflies this season? The reason may be darker than you think

Butterfly sightings are up 83% this year, but that follows a steep decline as the habitats that are vital for Ireland’s insects are deteriorating or simply unavailable

www.irishtimes.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Aug 22

Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in #Gaza war - closer to the genocide in Srebrenica of 92% than the war in Ukraine (10%) www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war

Figures from classified IDF database listed 8,900 named fighters as dead or probably dead in May, as overall death toll reached 53,000

www.theguardian.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Aug 22

At least 18 killed and dozens injured in separate Colombia attacks, including a drone attack against a police helicopter that killed 12 people outside Medellin www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reposted by Luke Moffett

Michela Wrong @michelawrong.bsky.social · Aug 20

The slaughter of villagers goes on in eastern Congo, despite the peace process. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

DR Congo: M23 Mass Killings Near Virunga National Park

The Rwandan-controlled M23 armed group summarily executed over 140 civilians, in at least 14 villages and farming areas in July 2025 near Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

www.hrw.org

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Reposted by Luke Moffett

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · Aug 19

❗️⚠️ Unexploded cluster munitions from Russian missiles are scattered all over Kremenchuk.

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