Harvard ILJ

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon encouraged the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring nations (namely, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and South Africa) to take “urgent measures to contain the present crisis created by the upsurge of fighting in eastern DRC” at a UN-backed summit hosted by the African Union on November 7. [...]

On November 4th and 5th, the Ministers of Economy and senior officials from seven Central Asian countries met for a conference hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all had representatives in [...]

A World Trade Organization report published on November 5 has confirmed that growth in world merchandise trade slipped in 2007 to 6% from 8.5% in 2006.  One of the primary causes of the slowdown is the reduction of import demand in the United States, Europe and Japan. Realignments in exchange rates and fluctuations in commodity [...]

On 4th November 2008, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo expressed concern over the situation in the Kivus area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He further reiterated that his Office is closely monitoring the reports on the attacks on civilian populations in the area. Armed conflict between the Laurent Nkunda [...]

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the violence in the North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The intensity of the conflict between Government forces (FARDC) and a militia group known as the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), led by former general Laurent Nkunda, has [...]

In late September, three speedboats, manned by Somali pirates hijacked a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks, ammunition, and other military supplies off the coast of Somalia. More than a month later, negotiations for the hostages and ship have not reached a conclusion. Unfortunately, the capture of the Ukrainian ship is not an isolated event. [...]

Imprisoned Chinese dissident Hu Jia was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on October 23, 2008, in a move some hope will lead to his release. Hu Jia, whose work has focused on bringing awareness to issues like AIDS, the environment, and the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was arrested in late 2007 [...]

The British Virgin Islands, Guernsey and Jersey signed sixteen new bilateral tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with various OECD countries. Since 2000 the OECD has been working with financial centers across the globe to sign TIEAs in order to increase the transparency and accountability of cross-border transactions. Recently, TIEAs have taken on increased importance due [...]

Violence has broken out in Congo as forces loyal to former Congolese General Laurent Nkunda launch attacks on government troops. These rebel forces are believed to be preparing a strike on the city of Goma. Only ten months ago, rebel groups met in Goma to sign a peace agreement. As a result of the rising [...]

On October 24 President Bush signed NATO accession protocols for Albania and Croatia, bringing the two nations one step closer to joining the organization. Senate ratification of the protocols and the presidential signature follows the extension of an official invitation to the two nations at NATO’s summit in Romania last April. All 26 NATO members [...]

A new agreement between Peru and the United States will forgive $25 million of Peru’s foreign debt in return for a commitment to pay for nature conservation.  Under the agreement, Peru can redirect its debt payments from the United States to local funds set up to administer conservation grants to protect tropical rainforests in the [...]

Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba, the African Union Commissioner for Economic Affairs, announced on October 29 that the African Union (AU) is organizing a conference with the African Development Bank in Tunis next month. Various AU ministers of finance and central bank governors will meet to discuss the impact of the global crisis on Africa and come up [...]