Former Prime Minister of Kosovo Acquitted

Last week, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) acquitted former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Haradinaj was also a commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the late 1990s. Although he was charged with crimes such as murder, rape, and torture, the ICTY found that these crimes, if committed, may have been targeted against individuals rather than against groups. Because the victims may have been targeted for individual reasons, the ICTY could not find that Haradinaj had targeted entire civilian groups.

Although one of Haradinaj’s co-defendants, Idriz Balaj, was also acquitted, a third co-defendant, Lahi Brahimaj, was convicted and sentenced to six years in jail for cruel treatment and torture.

Judge Alphonsus Orie stated that the court has had difficulty in obtaining testimony from a significant number of witnesses. Orie remarked that “The Chamber gained a strong impression that the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses felt unsafe.”

More on the story here.

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“Lord of War” arrested in Thailand

On March 6, infamous weapons dealer Viktor Bout was arrested in Bangkok. Bout’s role in supplying weapons to some of the world’s deadliest conflicts had earned him the nickname “Merchant of Death,” and he is believed to have inspired Nicholas Cage’s character in the film “Lord of War.”

While praising Bout’s capture, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, called on Thailand to ratify the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. According to Costa, ratifying this treaty would “make it easier to bring criminals of [Bout’s] ilk to justice, for example through mutual legal assistance and extradition.” Costa also encouraged states to ratify the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts, and Components and Ammunition, known as the UN Firearms Protocol.

According to the UNODC, nearly 1 billion guns are in circulation throughout the world, and three fourths of them are in civilian hands. Every year, 8 million guns are manufactured, along with twice the amount of ammunition that would be needed to kill the world’s entire population.

The story is available here.

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Iran Safeguards Report Circulated to IAEA Board

On March 2, 2007, the International Atomic Energy Agency (“IAEA”) provided a report about Iran’s nuclear safeguards to its Board of Governors, its 35-member policymaking arm.  The report, which details Iranian nuclear developments that have occurred since November 15, 2007, is entitled: Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and Relevant Provisions of Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) in the Islamic Republic of Iran.  While the Board will discuss its contents during a meeting in Vienna on Monday, March 3, 2007, the report’s circulation is circumscribed, to be read and discussed only within the Agency unless the Board itself decides otherwise.  

Dr. El Baradei, the Agency’s General Director and a 2005 Noble Peace Prize Winner (along with the IAEA) defines the task in Iran as “[making] sure that the Iranian nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes,” and says that “in the last four months, in particular, we have made quite good progress in clarifying the outstanding issues that had to do with Iran´s past nuclear activities, with the exception of one issue, and that is the alleged weaponization studies that supposedly Iran has conducted in the past.”  A transcript of an  interview with Dr. El Baradei in regards to this latest report is readily available.

For the full story, please click here.

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Mixed Reactions to Kosovo

Although Kosovars did not get the new flag that its majority seemingly so desperately wanted, the Kosovar parliament officially became the final state of the former Yugoslavia to gain its independence by settling for a blue flag with white stars bearing a yellow map of Kosovo. On February 17, 2008, after the failure of UN-sponsored negotiations to finally determine Kosovo’s constitutional status, Kosovo’s provisional government unilaterally declared its nation’s independence.

The Western European powers, including France, Germany and Britain, recognized Kosovo; the United States did so as well. President Bush sent a letter to independent Kosovo’s first president. All parties were careful to point out that their approval of Kosovo’s secession did not extend to automatic recognition of future separatist movements, a declaration possibly aimed at avoiding the fracture of temporarily calm Bosnia. Naturally, Russia, Serbia’s long-term ally, and several nations concerned about its influence on their own secession movements, including Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia, have withheld recognition.

For more information, click here.

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African Union Monitors “Arche de Zoe” Affair

The African Union continues to take cognizance of the “Arche de Zoe” affair two weeks after condemning it as unjustifiable, scandalous, and an abuse of humanitarian interference. The incident refers to a case in which sixteen Europeans (including nine French citizens) who claimed to be on a mission to save war orphans from Darfur could be facing stiff sentences and hard labor after attempting to airlift 103 children out of Chad. Members of the group, which is linked to a French charity called l’Arche de Zoé (Zoe’s Ark), are charged in Chad with extortion and child abduction. Amid evidence that the 103 children in question were not necessarily sick, orphaned, or even from Darfur, the failed mercy mission has grown into a diplomatic scandal that could jeopardize international plans to deploy peacekeepers in the borderlands of the troubled Sudanese region.

The full text of the press release is available here.

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European Parliament Condemns CIA Flights

The European Parliament has voted to appprove a report prepared by the Parliament’s Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for illegal activities. The report condemns flights through European airspace by the CIA for extraordinary rendition as “an illegal instrument used by the USA in the fight against terrorism.” The report also notes that “temporary secret detention facilities in European countries may have been located at US military bases” and condemns several European countries for their unwillingness to cooperate with investigations.

The Parliament’s press release is here.

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NATO Increases Assistance to Afghanistan

Several NATO member countries, including the U.S. and Denmark, have indicated they will send more troops to Afghanistan, as well as increase aid and civilian personnel to improve reconstruction and development efforts. NATO Foreign Ministers also called for increased coordination between civilian and military efforts in the country.

For more, see http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2007/01-january/e0126a.html.

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South American Summit Ends Amid Quarrels

Mercosur’s ministerial council concluded its two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro on Friday with no major policy agreements made between the 11 South American nations in attendance. The heads of state of Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela aired grievances on issues like foreign investment, the nationalization of major industries, and U.S. anti-drug policies.  Paraguay, which currently holds the Mercosur presidency, told Argentina and Uruguay they must resolve their deadlocked conflict over the construction of pulp mills along their border; the dispute is currently before the International Court of Justice.

http://www.falkland-malvinas.com/vernoticia.do?id=9687&formato=HTML

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ASEAN Reaches Agreements With China, Australia During Summit

At the 12^th ASEAN summit in Cebu, the Philippines, which concluded earlier this week, member nations agreed on a blueprint for the organization’s first charter, and further addressed issues such as counter-terrorism efforts, energy security, and the rights of migrant workers.

The summit was held concurrently with the 10th ASEAN-China summit, which produced a five-year plan for cooperative programs between China and ASEAN nations in the field of information technology.

At the Second East Asia summit, also held during this time in Cebu, Australia announced a commitment of AUD 5 million to help ASEAN member nations strengthen outbreak response teams to fight infectious diseases such as avian influenza.

http://www.aseansec.org/

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EU-US Open Skies Agreement Negotiations Collapse

Negotiation between the US and the EU aiming at liberalization of air traffic has been interrupted. The parties intended to move away from existing quotas for U.S. citizens on the corporate boards of air carriers, liberalize fare pricing schemes, and allow airlines from the US and the EU to take off and land at any airport on both sides of the Atlantic. The agreement faced Congressional opposition in the US. For more information see here.

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