Court of First Instance on Sanctions Against Liberia

On Wednesday, January 31, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities delivered its judgment in the case Minin v. Commission. The applicant, whose assets were frozen, sought annulment of European legislation implementing the Security Council’s sanctions against Liberia. Since the applicant did not sufficiently support his claim, the action was dismissed. The full text of the judgment is here.

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ECtHR on Elections in Turkey

On January 30, the European Court of Human Rights held 5-2 that Turkey had not violated two citizens’ right to free elections. The applicants’ political party had obtained approximately 46% of the votes in local elections, but had not satisfied the 10% national threshold necessary for the applicants to be seated in the national parliament. As a result, the seats were filled by candidates from parties that had received a much smaller percentage of the local vote. Before the Court, the applicants alleged that the Turkish law imposing the 10% limit violated article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. For more information about the case, Yumak and Sadak v. Turkey, see 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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Charles Taylor Trial Postponed

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has announced that the trial for the former president of Liberia Charles Taylor has been postponed from April 2 to June 4, 2007 at the request of the Taylor Defense. Justice Teresa Doherty ruled on the postponement and several other matters at the Taylor Status Conference on January 26 at the trial venue in The Hague. Taylor is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for the recruitment of child soldiers and the killing, mutilation, and sexual violence of thousands of victims during the civil war in Sierra Leone from 1996 through 2002. See here for further details.

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ICC Finds Sufficient Evidence to try Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

On January 29th, Presiding Judge Claude Jorda announced the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I to refer the charges against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for a trial before an ICC Trial Chamber. The Chamber found sufficient evidence for all three charges brought against Dyilo by the Prosecutor. These charges include criminal responsibility as co-perpetrator for the enlistment and conscription of children under the age of fifteen years into military training for the FPLC and, subsequently, frontline combat in Ituri (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The Chamber found sufficient evidence to support the reasonable belief that Thomas Lubanga Dyilo assumed an essential general coordinating role in the implementation of these crimes. For more details, see here.

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UN Refugee Agency Expresses Concern for Palestinians in Iraq

The UNHCR reports that Palestinians in Iraq have been the targets of increasing violence since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. There have been reports of threats, kidnappings, torture, and murder. Hundreds of Palestinians have fled to the Syrian border, but Syria has refused to accept them, leaving them stranded. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is urging neighboring countries and the international community to help the refugees.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21348&Cr=palestin&Cr1=

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UN Reports Human Rights Violations in Central African Republic

A joint UN mission reported egregious violations of human rights in the Central African Republic, including summary executions and ethnic violence. Civilians are being targeted in the ongoing conflict between Government Security Forces and the armed opposition. Thousands have fled their homes to escape the violence.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21359&Cr=central&Cr1=african

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New ECtHR President Calls for Implementation of Reforms

President Jean-Paul Costa voiced his concern over Russia’s failure to ratify Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which would simplify procedures for dealing with meritless or repetitive cases. The protocol cannot be implemented until all signatories to the Convention ratify it, and Russia remains the lone holdout. Costa argued that this protocol is necessary to increase productivity and reduce the Court’s backlog of some 90,000 pending cases.

For more information, see here.

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ICC To Announce Decision on Charges Against Dyilo

In the case of Prosecutor v. Mr. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC will hold a public hearing on January 29 to announce its decision on the charges against Mr. Dyilo. The prosecutor has brought charges against Mr. Dyilo for his “individual criminal responsibility” in committing three war crimes, including the enlistment and conscription of children under the age of fifteen. The Pre-Trial Chamber has several options in response to the charges: confirm the charges, refuse confirmation, adjourn the hearing until more evidence is presented, or adjourn the hearing until the charge is amended.

http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/218.html

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UN Human Rights Expert Calls on Singapore not to Execute Nigerian

UN Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council Philip Alston is calling on Singapore to stop tomorrow’s execution of a Nigerian for heroin trafficking. Alston charges that Singapore violated the international standard of imposing the death penalty only upon clear and convincing evidence, instead requiring the defendant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not know he was carrying heroin. Alston further stated that Singapore’s mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking does not meet international human rights standards.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21334&Cr=singapore&Cr1=

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