Archive for February, 2009
February 26th, 2009 at 06:09am
President Obama traveled to Canada for his first international trip and met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss clean energy initiatives and the current economic crisis.
In Ottawa, Mr. Obama reaffirmed his administration’s concern for global climate change and voiced support for an international system of carbon emission caps and carbon credits trading. Canada is the United States’ largest energy supplier and the two nations have the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. The U.S. president also provided assurances that the new stimulus package’s controversial “Buy American” provision would be implemented in a manner that does not violate WTO or NAFTA obligations.
Additionally, Obama praised Canadian assistance to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, but did not request additional troops.
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February 25th, 2009 at 10:33am
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan on March 4th, marking the first time the ICC has taken such action against a current state leader. While a panel of judges agreed to the issuance of an arrest warrant in January, the date was only recently announced so there would be enough time to alert diplomats, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers in the Sudan region who may be attacked.
Luis, Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, requested an arrest warrant for President Bashir in July 2008, claiming “sufficient evidence to charge him with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”. President Bashir has denied these charges.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 12:52pm
Russia and Georgia agreed this past week to improve communications between the two nations, as well as with separatists and international monitors, in an effort to prevent future conflicts from escalating. The United States hailed it as a success but nonetheless cited the need for continued progress in other areas of the negotiations, especially humanitarian matters.
The contested territory between the two nations, still a flashpoint in the aftermath of the August 2008 conflict, has been the subject of ongoing negotiations hosted by the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the United Nations. During the negotiations, the parties agreed to weekly meetings between regional stakeholders, wider access for international monitors, and an emergency hotline for direct, rapid communications.
The United States commended the agreement and reiterated its commitment to constant, vigilant monitoring of the situation on the border between Russia and Georgia. Also, despite condemning Russian intent to remain in the contested regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the United States nevertheless pledged to continue working to further U.S.-Russian relations in other areas.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 10:24am
On Thursday, Belgium initiated proceedings at the International Court of Justice against Senegal over the state’s refusal to prosecute Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad. Habré was the leader of Chad from 1982-1990 and his government was notorious for massacring various ethnic groups and ordering the torture and murder of political opponents. He was deposed in 1990 and went into exile in Senegal.
Belgium alleges that since that time Senegal has denied a number of requests to prosecute Habré. A complaint was filed in Senegal in 2000, which led to Habré being placed under house arrest after being indicted for “crimes against humanity, acts of torture, and barbarity.” However, he has not been criminally prosecuted; Senegalese officials claim that it is a lack of funds that has prevented a trial from moving forward. A similar complaint was raised against Habré in Belgian courts in 2001. Belgium issued an international arrest warrant in 2005, but Senegal has taken no action on that warrant.
After repeated attempts at negotiation and arbitration over the last several years, Belgium brought its case to the ICJ, citing a violation of the UN Convention against Torture. Belgium requested that the Court require Senegal to bring criminal proceedings against Habré, or to extradite him to Belgium. Additionally, Belgian officials asked the ICJ to take provisional measures to ensure that Habré remains under police supervision. Senegalese President Wade has made public comments stating that if the money could not be found for Habré’s trial, he would be released from house arrest.
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February 21st, 2009 at 10:24am
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) partially granted the prosecution’s motion to amend the indictment against Radovan Karadžic on February 16.
The amended indictment charges Karadžic, former President of the self-proclaimed Republika Srpska, with two counts of genocide for atrocities committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 war. He is expected to enter a plea to the new charges on February 20.
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February 21st, 2009 at 07:59am
During her tour in Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out about North Korea’s recent threats against South Korea. She urged North Korea to continue nuclear talks and to refrain “from any and all provocative actions that could harm the six party talks and aggravate tensions in the region.”
Some analysts believe that North Korea’s recent actions are an attempt to capture the attention of the new Obama administration and to improve its future bargaining position. However, Clinton warned that, “North Korea is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with the Republic of Korea.” She also stated that the most pressing issue right now is to secure an end to North Korea’s nuclear program. Clinton stressed that if Pyongyang were to end its program, the U.S. is ready to offer diplomatic relations, aid, and a peace treaty.
In contrast, during a local press conference, Clinton praised South Korea, declaring that the country’s “achievement of democracy and prosperity stands in stark contrast to the tyranny and poverty across the border to the North.” She also commended South Korea for its calm restraint in light of the current situation.
In addition, Clinton announced her choice of Stephen Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador, as her new special envoy for nuclear talks with North Korea.
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February 19th, 2009 at 01:41pm
The first trial of a Khmer Rouge leader commenced on Tuesday. Kaing Guek Eav, 66, known as Duch, was a commandant of Security Prison 21, where he was allegedly involved in sending 14,000 Cambodians to their death. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes and faces Cambodia’s maximum of life imprisonment. The case, the first of what human rights activists hope will be at least three trials, will be decided by a UN-backed hybrid tribunal consisting of both Cambodian and foreign judges and prosecutors. Meanwhile, four additional Khmer Rouge leaders await their trial, which will likely not proceed until next year.
Human rights activists have expressed concern that the Cambodian government has mixed interests and wants to shield the former Khmer Rouge leaders in its own ranks. The Khmer Rouge, regime, led by Pol Pot, lasted from 1975 to 1979 and is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people.
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February 19th, 2009 at 10:49am
In January 2009, the Second Circuit issued a landmark human rights decision, holding that customary international law (CIL) provides a cause of action under the Alien Tort Statute for a case alleging involuntary medical testing on humans.
The court in Abdullahi v. Pfizer, following the Supreme Court’s lead in Sosa v. Alvaraez-Machain, compared the disputed norm with the limited set of 18th century customary international norms over which the ATS was intended to provide jurisdiction. The court held that in order to sustain a CIL causes of action, the norm must be (1) universal and obligatory in nature, (2) of definite content, and (3) of mutual concern. The majority rejected the District Court’s approach, which examined the norm to see if it were self-executing in the United States.
The Second Circuit found evidence of the specificity and obligatory nature of the norm involved in this case by examining the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Nuremberg Code, the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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To read the opinion, click here.
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February 16th, 2009 at 08:56pm
In the wake of steadily increasing aggression on the part of pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden, law enforcement mechanisms for preventing piracy are falling short. Eugene Kontorovich, a scholar of international law at Northwestern Law School claims that new tools are needed to combat piracy in the waterways off Somalia that carry about one-third of the world’s seaborne trade.
The international community has recently tried to fill this security deficit. A new U.N. Security Council resolution, strongly backed by the United States, authorizes military attacks on suspected pirates in the area in and around the Aden Gulf. The authorization includes attacks on land bases, even when those bases are in Somali territory. Additionally, the U.K. and Kenya have agreed that the British Royal Navy will submit all pirates it captures during operations around Somalia to trial in domestic courts in Mombasa.
Kontorovich claims that these measures are responses to a larger inability of international criminal law to address the problem of piracy. As international law favors trials over direct engagement, Kontorovich argues that the international community will, and should, turn away from judicial remedies to control piracy. He believes that granting pirates the full spectrum of rights due criminal defendants unfairly ties the hands of the world community. Yet, he also argues that the credibility of international criminal law is at stake. Kontrovich believes that that if international criminal law fails to effectively combat piracy, it will not bode well for its ability to prevent or punish graver war crimes.
For further information, please click here.
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February 16th, 2009 at 11:19am
On February 11, 2008, the Ukrainian arms freighter ‘Faina’ returned to the Kenyan Port of Mombasa with twenty sailors. The ship had been captured by Somali Pirates in the Gulf of Aden region more than four months ago, and was released after a ransom of $3.2 Million was para-dropped onto the ship by its owner. The capture of the ship was of particular concern to the international community because it was carrying arms including T-72 tanks, grenade launchers, antiaircraft guns, and substantial ammunition. For more information on this story click here.
Pirates have attacked more than 130 merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden region in 2008. In an unrelated event five suspected Somali pirates have been extradited to Netherlands for the failed attempt to hijack the Dutch Cargo Freighter ‘Samanyulo’ on 2nd January 2009. They will be prosecuted before the Dutch criminal courts and could face up to nine years of imprisonment if found to be guilty with the group leaders punishment extending up to 12 years. For more information on this story click here.
In another piracy-related event in the Gulf of Aden, the US Navy arrested seven suspected pirates on February 11, 2009, who were attempting to hijack the tanker ‘Polaris’. The seven suspects were taken aboard the USS Vella Gulf, which has been patrolling the area since January 2009 in responnse to the heightened piracy threat in the region. The US Navy intends to hand over the suspects to Kenya, which is setting up a new court system to try foreign pirates. For more information please click here.
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