Archive for December, 2006
December 27th, 2006 at 12:12pm
U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab announced the conclusion of negotiations with Panama’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Alejandro Ferrer. Though the agreement is still subject to more discussion regarding labor, it will eliminate ninety percent of Panama’s tariffs on industrial goods immediately, with a ten year phase-out for the remaining tariffs. The agreement also establishes a monitoring program for Panama’s free trade zones, and it will allow U.S. exporters further opportunity to take part in the multi-billion dollar expansion of the Panama Canal. The full USTR press release is here.
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December 20th, 2006 at 06:42pm
On December 20, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Convention had been co-sponsored by over 100 member states.
News on this, as well as today’s other actions of the General Assembly, is available here.
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December 20th, 2006 at 06:38pm
The UNHCR has renewed its appeal to Yemeni authorities to keep the country’s doors open to people fleeing from their own countries out of fear of persecution. The UN reports that in this year alone, tens of thousands of refugees from Ethiopia and Somalia have entered Yemen through people smuggling operations. Yemen has been receptive to such migrants in the past, but recently has begun to detain and deport non-Somalis.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20996&Cr=yemen&Cr1=
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December 20th, 2006 at 06:31pm
On Tuesday, December 19, the United Nations adopted resolutions expressing serious concern over the human rights situation in Iran, North Korea, and Belarus.
More information on the resolutions is available here.
Press coverage of the resolution on Iran is here.
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December 19th, 2006 at 06:41am
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has issued a statement expressing “deep concern” over the Russian Federation’s treatment of ethnic Georgians, which has included repeated, discrimnatory detentions and deportations. The Commission called on Russia to maintain the rule of law in dealing with minority groups.
For the full text of the statement, see here.
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December 17th, 2006 at 04:21pm
Mercosur inaugurated its new parliamentary body on Thursday in Brazil, fulfilling a plan set forth at a December 2004 presidential summit among the member-nations. The first official session of the Mercosur Parliament will be held on March 2007 in Montevideo, where it will be seated. A transitional phase, during which each member-nation will have 18 representatives elected by their national legislatures in the Parliament, will last until 2010. The goal of this phase is to draft an operational agenda toward the long-term goal of integrative legislation for Mercosur nations.
http://www.falkland-malvinas.com/vernoticia.do?id=9444&formato=HTML
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December 17th, 2006 at 06:49am
The WTO General Council agreed on December 14 to implement a provisional transparency mechanism with regard to regional trade agreements (RTA). Under the new regime, members will make both early announcements of RTA negotiations and early notifications of concluded RTAs. The WTO Secretariat will then make a factual presentation of the RTA to WTO members for their consideration consideration. To examine the mechanism in its entirety, see http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news06_e/rta_15dec06_e.htm.
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December 14th, 2006 at 06:12pm
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted its 2007 budget of € 197.2 million on December 14. This figure consitutes a 3.72% increase over the 2006 budget; the European Court of Human Rights is to receive one of the main increases in resources.
For the complete budget statement, see here.
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December 14th, 2006 at 02:40pm
On December 14, 2006, Joseph Nzabirinda appeared before Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda and pleaded guilty to one count of murder as a crime against humanity. Nzabirinda was labeled an “approving spectator” by the Prosecution and is alleged to have participated in meetings during which planned executions of Tutsis were discussed. The plea was accepted and the Chamber set January 17, 2007 as the date for sentencing. Further details are available here.
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December 14th, 2006 at 02:38pm
On November 30, 2006, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia sentenced Stanislov Galić to life imprisonment, the first time that the maximum sentence had been rendered by the Tribunal. Galić, a former Bosnian Serb Army Commander, was found to have had the intent to spread terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo. For more information, see: http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1131e-summary.htm
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