Posts filed under 'Middle East'
March 2nd, 2008 at 01:01pm
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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February 29th, 2008 at 01:27pm
The European Court of Human Rights, in Mansuroglu v. Turkey, recently ruled that Turkey had violated Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights during a 1996 anti-terrorism operation conducted against the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK). The incident, during which the applicants’ son was killed and the applicant was “inhumanely treated,” violated the Convention’s right to life and prohibition against inhumane treatment. While the Court accepted that Turkey had a general right to conduct the operation, it was not convinced that the operation had been planned so as to minimize the risk to human life. The Court emphasized the lack of an effective investigation, noting that the Turkish government neglected to examine the weapon that was used in the shooting and did not interview the police officers involved in the incident.
For more information, please click here.
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December 27th, 2007 at 01:12pm
On December 21, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Larry D. Johnson and Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor signed the Headquarters Agreement for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. According to the agreement, the court that will judge recent assassinations in Lebanon, including that of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, will be based in The Hague.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accepted recommendations from the selection panel on judges for the Tribunal. The Tribunal will consist of one international pre-trial judge, three judges to serve in the trial chamber (one Lebanese and two international), five judges to serve in the appeals chamber (two Lebanese and three international), and two alternate judges (one Lebanese and one international).
More on the story is available here.
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December 17th, 2007 at 12:07pm
The BBC reported today that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has pardoned the female rape victim in the “Qatif girl” case. In November, the woman and was sentenced to 200 lashes for the crime of being alone with a male who was not a relative. The woman and her companion were abducted while sitting in a car together and were both gang raped multiple times by seven other men. The rapists were subsequently given prison sentences of up to 9 years.
King Abdullah often issues pardons during Eid al-Adha, which will take place at the end of this week. Human rights groups had been calling on him to change the sentence, but in the aftermath of the pardon some religious conservatives have denounced the king’s decision.
It is not known whether the sentence of the woman’s companion was also lifted.
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November 13th, 2007 at 11:03pm
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his plan to appoint Daniel Bellemare, former Canadian Deputy Attorney-General, as the next head of the independent commission tasked with investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Mr. Ban sent a letter to the Security Council on November 13, detailing his intention to appoint Mr. Bellemare Commissioner of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC).
The IIIC was set up in April 2005, after Mr. Hariri was assassinated in a massive car bombing in Beirut in Feburary of that year. The commision is also investigating at least 17 other cases in Lebanon.
Secretary-General Ban has moved to establish a special tribunal of an “international character” to try the suspected perpetrators of Mr. Hariri’s assassination and subsequent killings in Lebanon.
The full story is available here.
The October 2005 “Mehlis Report” concluded that members of the Syrian and Lebanese governments were involved in Hariri’s assassination. The December 2005 follow-up is available here.
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November 6th, 2007 at 10:04pm
The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries will report to the General Assembly on November 7 that a number of private security firms operating in conflict zones, particularly Afghanistan and Iraq, are engaging in new forms of mercenary activity. The Group’s report characterizes the personnel employed by such companies as a new form of mercenaries, similar to “irregular combatants.”
The report also warns that States employing such private companies could be liable for human rights violations committed by them, especially if governments are directing the companies or have authorized them to exercise elements of governmental authority. The report further discourages States from granting immunity to such companies and their personnel.
The full story on the report is available here.
More on the Working Group can be found here.
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April 19th, 2007 at 05:41pm
The UN Security Council, in raising concerns about the possible trade in illegal arms across the Syrian/Lebanese border, invited UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send an independent mission to evaluate the supervision of the border. The alleged illegal arms movements would violate Resolution 1701, which ended last year’s 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. To ensure compliance with the resolution, the independent mission would work closely with the Lebanese Government, which the Council has recognized and encouraged in their stated determination to prevent any illegal arms trade in the region.
For more information, see here.
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March 20th, 2007 at 12:56pm
Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has condemned the hanging of Taha Yasin Ramadan, a former Vice President to Saddam Hussein. A short press release, issued today, can be found here.
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March 8th, 2007 at 08:52am
At the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Security Forces launched a major operation on March 6th. The operation will focus on assisting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in improving its ability to begin reconstruction and economic development in the area, as well as improving security conditions.
For more information, see here.
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March 5th, 2007 at 09:29pm
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, praised Arab states this week for welcoming Iraqi refugees. He also expressed his concern over rising intolerance, racism, and xenophobia and the effect this could have on Muslim refugees. Guterres announced that UNHCR will hold an international conference on the humanitarian needs of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons from April 17-18 in Geneva.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21753&Cr=iraq&Cr1=
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