International Law Prof Blog

Somalia Deserves as Much Support as Iraq or Afghanistan

The United Nations envoy for Somalia called on international partners to help advance peace, stability and national reconciliation in the Horn of Africa nation, noting that it will take a level of support not unlike that given to other nations that were suffering from tremendous strife.  “We have all seen how the international community has rallied behind the Governments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Somalia is no exception; it requires similar massive interventions,” said Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia.

Addressing a meeting in Madrid of the International Contact Group for Somalia, Mr. Mahiga stressed that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the international community must work closely together if Somalia is to emerge from the present crisis.  The country – which has not had a functioning central government since 1991 and has been torn apart by decades of conflict and factional strife, more recently with al-Shabaab Islamic militants – is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis in which 3.2 million people, more than 40 per cent of the population, is in need of aid.

Mr. Mahiga noted that this week's meeting comes at a crucial time, with less than a year left before the end of the transitional period that ends next August. Several tasks remain to be completed such as continuing initiatives on reconciliation, building civilian and security institutions and the completion of the constitution-making process.  The two pressing and interlinked challenges facing the TFG right now, he said, are political and security.

“Tasks leading to the completion of the transitional period can only be achieved if a secure and stable environment is established. Likewise, we will not achieve minimum stability in the country unless we make substantive progress on the political front.”  The envoy said he looked forward to a speedy appointment of a new prime minister, following the resignation last week of Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, as well as to a more united and cohesive TFG.

A mini-summit on Somalia held at UN Headquarters last week also called on the TFG to end its differences and deliver basic services. In addition, it urged the international community to do much more to support efforts to bring peace to the faction-torn country, including by providing increased financial support for the African Union Mission in Somalia and the development of the Somali security forces.  The International Contact Group for Somalia brings together more than 35 nations and organizations to consider concrete measures to support the struggling nation.

(Adapted from a UN Press Release)

UN Experts Call on Israel and Palestinians to Abide by Rule of Law in Gaza Conflict Probes

A United Nations monitoring committee is concerned that Israel may not have investigated all allegations of serious humanitarian violations during its deadly conflict in Gaza 21 months ago and said there is no indication that Hamas seriously investigated alleged abuses on its part.

But the committee – appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to assess domestic, legal or other proceedings by Israel and the Palestinians over allegations raised in the report of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission into the Gaza conflict, known as the Goldstone Report – noted that the Palestinian Authority, in control of the occupied West Bank, was prepared from the very start to cooperate with it.

The Goldstone report stated that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of serious human rights violations and breaches of humanitarian law during Operation Cast Lead, which Israel said it launched to counter missile attacks from Gaza. More than 1,400 Gazans were killed and 5,000 others injured, while homes, schools, hospitals and marketplaces were reduced to rubble.

“The committee views its report as a call to both sides to strictly abide by the rule of law,” Chairman Christian Tomuschat said today in presenting its findings to the Council. “The committee hopes and trusts that both sides will heed the findings of the report of the committee in their pending and forthcoming dealings with the offences that were committed during the Gaza conflict.”

The committee noted that Israel had “indeed taken steps to address some of the many complaints made,” he added, regretting its refusal to admit committee members to speak with its own investigators, but citing such positive measures as new procedures for the protection of civilians in urban warfare and the establishment of a doctrine on munitions containing white phosphorous which can gravely burn people.

“However, the committee remains concerned that not all allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law have been investigated.”

Mr. Tomuschat noted lack of information substantiating whether the probe complied with international standards, “a fundamental lack of transparency,” and the issue of impartiality where the military advocate-general is both an adviser to the Government involved in planning the Gaza operations and responsible for referring cases for criminal investigation.

“It also appears that Israel has refrained from conducting a general review of the military doctrine regarding legitimate military targets as opposed to civilian targets,” he said. “The [Goldstone] Fact-Finding Mission rejected the Israeli viewpoint that the entire governmental infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including the Legislative Council building, was a legitimate target.”

The committee was also unable to visit the Gaza Strip, where Hamas seized power from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. “Unfortunately, the two reports the committee has received from the de facto authorities in Gaza did not indicate that a serious investigation into the violations alleged in the report of the fact-finding mission took place,” Mr. Tomuschat said, noting that they focus primarily on allegations aimed at Israel.

Because of Israel’s refusal the committee was also unable to visit the West Bank, but he welcomed the way the Palestinians had investigated the allegations through an independent commission.

“However, actual steps would have to be undertaken with a view to implementing the results of the investigation, in particular by commencing criminal prosecution against the alleged perpetrators where appropriate,” he said.

(UN Press Release)

Iran's Former Diplomatic Properties May Not Be Used to Satisfy Terrorism-Related Judgment

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that five properties located in the District of Columbia may not be used to satisfy a judgment against Iran for its support of the terrorist organization, Hamas.  Plaintiffs in the suit are Michael and Linda Bennett, whose daughter, Marla Ann, was killed by a Hamas bombing while she was studying in Jerusalem.  The Bennetts sued Iran in U.S. court under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and California law, alleging that Iran provided support for Hamas and was therefore partially responsible for their daughters' death.  In 2007, the Bennetts won a default judgment against Iran in excess of $12 million.  Bennett v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 507 F.Supp.2d 117 (D.D.C. 2007).

To satisfy the judgment, the Bennetts obtained writs of attachment against Iran's former diplomatic properties in D.C., which have been in the custody of the United States government since 1980, which the U.S. broke off diplomatic ties with Iran over the seizing of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.  The Court of Appeals ruled that because these properties were used for diplomatic purposes, the United States has a continuing duty under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to preserve and protect the property of a foreign mission that has ceased conducting diplomatic activities in the United States.  Thus, the properties are immune from attachment under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which generally allows the attachment of blocked properties to satisfy terrorism-related judgments, but which contains an exception for any diplomatic property protected by the Vienna Convention. 

(cgb)

Japan Calls for Security Council Reform

Underscoring the centrality of the United Nations in promoting peace and prosperity, Japan’s leader stressed last week that the Security Council must be reformed to reflect the international community’s current realities.  “Ensuring a functional UN that is capable of effectively addressing diverse global issues is of the utmost importance,” Prime Minister Naoto Kan told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, which entered its second day today.  Member States, he said, must take proactive steps to promote the world body’s reform, while the UN, for its part, must ensure its own transparency and accountability.

Mr. Kan pointed to the creation of UN Women – or the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – as a “test case for the promotion of effective and efficient activities” of the world body. Created by the Assembly on 2 July, UN Women, headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, will oversee all of the world body’s programmes aimed at promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs.  UN Women is the merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).

The Japanese Prime Minister underscored the key role played by the Security Council in helping the UN resolve global challenges, calling its reform “indispensable.”  His country, he said, as the only country that has ever been devastated by atomic bombings and does not possess nuclear weapons, is “well-suited to play a role in the Security Council in the 21st century.”

Mr. Kan underscored “Japan’s determined aspiration to take on further responsibilities for international peace and security as a permanent member” of the Council.  In his address, he also urged stepped-up will and action in the arena of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, pointing to recent strides, including Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, making him the first Secretary-General to take part in the event.  “Japan bears a responsibility to all humankind to hand down to future generations an awareness of the catastrophic nature of nuclear weapons,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the country will coordinate with other countries to promote education on disarmament and non-proliferation.

On the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), he said that the country’s nuclear and missile development programmes are a threat to the entire world, calling on it to take measures in line with relevant Council resolutions and the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, involving China, DPRK, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.  Under that September 2005 agreement, referring to the September 2005 agreement in which the DPRK committed itself to abandon nuclear weapons and rejoin the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).  Japan continues to endeavour to normalize relations with the DPRK, and towards that end, “it is absolutely indispensable to resolve the abduction issue,” Mr. Kan stressed, referring to the abduction of Japanese citizens in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  “If the DPRK takes constructive and sincere steps such as implementing its agreement with Japan, Japan is ready to respond in kind,” he said.

(From a UN Press Release)

United Kingdom Calls for Radical Overhaul of the United Nations

The United Kingdom called for a radical overhaul of the United Nations including enlarging the Security Council to make up for the failure to fully face new challenges posed by a global map that has radically changed since the world body was founded 65 years ago.

“We are not doing anything like as well as we must,” Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the General Assembly on the second day of its annual session, citing the three “three profound challenges” of a redrawn map of power, the globalization of problems like terrorism and climate change and the rapid circulation and potency of new ideas.  Click here to read his statement.

Reform is essential, he said, “and a good place to start is right here – the United Nations. The UN Security Council must be reformed to reflect the new geography of power. The UK is clear and unambiguous in our support for permanent seats for Brazil, India, Germany and Japan, and for African representation. Put simply, the UN cannot speak for the many if it only hears the voices of the few…

“Let us be frank. Without a radical overhaul, the UN will not provide the leadership the world seeks from it, and needs from it.”

(from a UN Press Release)

Australian Foreign Minister Urges UN Reform

The United Nations will become “a hollow shell” with nations choosing to go around it to deal with the most pressing global issues unless its institutions are reformed to meet today’s challenges, according to a statement by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd made before the U.N. General Assembly.  Click here to read a copy of his remarks. 

Mr. Rudd told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate that on several key international issues the UN had shown recently that it was unable to meet public expectations. The Australian official warned that “if we fail to make the UN work, to make its institutions relevant to the great challenges we all now face, the uncomfortable fact is that the UN will become a hollow shell. Nation States may retain the form of the UN, but increasingly seek to go around the UN and deploy other mechanisms, to achieve real results.” 

(from a UN Press Release)

African Nations Want to Have a Permanent Representative on the Security Council

Top officials from three African nations have called for the continent to have a permanent representative on the Security Council, saying it was a travesty that the region that comprises so much of the body’s work does not have a permanent place.  South Africa’s Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told the General Assembly’s annual general debate that a transformation of the United Nations will not be complete until there is a “fundamental reform” of the Council, which currently has 15 members.

Swaziland’s King Mswati III told the General Assembly that his nation backs the so-called Ezulwini Consensus regarding reform of the Security Council.  This consensus, developed in the Swazi town of Ezulwini in 2005, states that Africa should be given two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats on an expanded Council.  The King said he was hopeful that negotiations, which have lasted for nearly two decades, could be wrapped up in the next year.

Basile Ikouebe, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Congo, said in his remarks that both the composition and the working methods of the Council should be reformed to ensure it is more responsive and effective.  Mr. Ikouebe also called for the General Assembly to be strengthened to make it more efficient.

Click on the names above to see fuller versions of the statements.

(Adapted from a UN Press Release).

UN Secretary General Discusses Matters of Importance with the President of Rwanda

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met on the sidelines of the General Assembly''s high-level debate, during which they discussed a range of issues, including maternal and child health. The Secretary-General thanked Mr. Kagame for promoting progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Mr. Ban said he was very satisfied to learn that Rwanda would continue its important role in UN peacekeeping operations, and particularly in the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.  The Secretary-General and Mr. Kagame also discussed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Mapping Report, which will be released on 1 October.  Prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the report will describe more than 600 incidents of serious human rights violations in the DRC during the period between 1993 and 2003, in which tens of thousands of people were killed.  Covering not only the war-torn east but the entire territory of the DRC, it has the overarching objective of helping the Congolese Government to establish transitional judicial systems and fight against impunity.

(from a UN Press Release)

Obama Administration Asks Court Not to Review Targeted Killings Pursuant to State Secrets Doctrine

Over the weekend, the Obama Administration filed a brief in a lawsuit brought by civil liberties groups on behalf of the father of U.S.-born al-Aulaqi, arguing that the state secrets doctrine prevents U.S. courts from reviewing the administration's decision to engage in a targeted killing of Aulaqi.  Aulaqi is a cleric believed to be in Yemen where he is allegedly in charge of a branch of al-Qaeda.  Earlier this year, the U.S. government placed Aulaqi on its capture or kill list of suspected terrorists.  Plaintiffs argue that it is illegal extrajudicial execution for the government to engage in targeted killing of an American citizen outside a warzone and absent an immiment threat.  The government argues that if Aulaqi wants to access the U.S. legal system, he is free to submit to U.S. authorities and return to the United States for trial. 

Earlier this month, the Obama Administration received a favorable ruling in another case in which it had invoked the states secrets doctrine to prevent judicial review of allegations regarding a Boeing subsidiary's participation in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program and alleged torture of prisoners.  According to The Washington Post, this is the fourth time the Obama Administration has invoked the states secrets doctrine.

(cgb) 

International Law at CSLSA

Once again, it's that time of year - the Central States Law Schools Association (CSLSA) annual conference.  This year, the conference is being hosted at University of North Dakota School of Law.  There's a great lineup of international and comparative law professors, including:

H. Allen Blair (Hamline), The Value of Standards in International Sales Law

Robert Brown (John Marshall, Atlanta), All that Glitters is Not Gold: the Limits of Exporting Securitization Reform in the United States to International Financial Markets

Cindy Buys (Southern Illinois), Strangers in a Strange Land: The Importance of Better Compliance with Consular Notification Rights

Shahram Dana (John Marshall), Beyond Retroactivity to Realizing Justice: A Theory on the Principle of Legality in International Criminal Law Sentencing

Gregory Gordon (North Dakota), Peter von Hagenbach and the Twilight Zone Pre-History of International Criminal Law

Virginia Harper Ho (Kansas), Exploring Interactive Corporate Compliance Beyond Democracy: The Puzzling Case of China 

William Johnson (North Dakota), Understanding Exclusion of the CISG: A New Paradigm of Determining Party Intent

Andrew Jurs (Florida Coastal), Balancing Legal Process with Scientific Expertise: A Comparative Assessment of Expert Witness Methodology in Five Nations and Suggestions for Reform of Post-Daubert U.S. Reliability Determinations

Milena Sterio (Cleveland-Marshall), A Grotian Moment: Changes in the Legal Theory of Statehood

More information about the conference and abstracts for these papers can be found on the CSLSA website.

(cgb) 

Friday Fun: Stereotype Maps of Europe

OK, you have to look at these maps of Europe.  These are great.  Click here.

Hat tip to Rex Wockner.

(mew)

Symposium Announcement: Beyond Borders: Extraterritoriality in American Law

On Friday, November 12, 2010, Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California is hosting a symposium titled Beyond Borders: Extraterritoriality in American Law.  

 

This one-day symposium will bring together leading legal figures from throughout the country to analyze critical issues related to transnational litigation and extraterritorial regulation.  Questions to be examined at the symposium include: Do U.S. laws stop at the border?  If not, when do they – or when should they – govern the conduct of people abroad?  From the controversial extraterritorial application of U.S. domestic law, to the contentious uses of universal jurisdiction in the human rights context, to debates over the extent to which the U.S. Constitution applies outside U.S. territory, a flurry of recent scholarship has involved disputes over the geographic reach of domestic law.  The symposium will bring together leading scholars to discuss the history, doctrine, and current issues related to extraterritoriality.  The proceedings will be published in the Southwestern Law Review and distributed widely.

The registration deadline is November 5, 2010. For more information, contact the Law Review Office at 213-738-6744 or the Student Affairs Office at 213-738-6716.   

(cgb)

Early Bird Registration Extended for ABA International Section Meeting in Paris

The American Bar Association Section of International Law is holding its fall meeting in Paris in November.  The early bird rate has been extended until tomorrow (Friday).  In a change from previous years, the registration fee includes the spectacular evening networking events instead of changing for those separately.  Click here for more details about the meeting and registration.

(mew)

Who is Head of State of Fiji This Week?

You may remember that Fiji had a military coup and is operating under an interim regime.  The interim Prime Minister told the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation that  in the absence of the president, the country’s Australian chief justice is the acting head of state. 

Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, said that Justice Anthony Gates has assumed the role of President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, who is on a 16-day tour that includes a nine-day visit to the People's Republic of China. Commodore Bainimarama says he is yet to appoint an acting prime minister and an acting military commander before he heads to the United Nations in New York later this week. The interim foreign minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, is already in the US.

Another interim minister, who previously served as acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, is out of the country, attending a meeting in Switzerland.

 

Hat tip to the East-West Center and Radio New Zealand

(mew)

 

Gabon Joins Two Protocols

Gabon this week acceded to:(1) the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; and (2) the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition.

The former is the first global legally-binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons. It also seeks to protect and assist victims of trafficking, with full respect for their human rights.  The latter is the first pact to be adopted at the global level on the illicit trade in firearms, and countries that ratify it commit to adopt a series of crime-control measures.  The two protocols are among dozens of treaties that address human rights, disarmament, environmental protection, biodiversity, desertification and climate change, terrorism and crime, and the safety of UN and associated personnel that are open for signature, ratification or accession during the annual treaty event that coincides with the high-level segment of the General Assembly.

Other countries that took action with regard to treaties this week were Panama, Lesotho, Bulgaria and Armenia.

(adapted from a UN press release)

Madagascar Decides Not to Speak at United Nations

General Assembly President Joseph Deiss acknowledged Madagascar’s commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals  as the African nation announced its decision to not take the podium at a high-level gathering on the eight anti-poverty targets.   Mr. Deiss said in a statement that Madagascar, on a “voluntary and sovereign basis,” decided not to speak at the Millenium Delevopment Goals debate.

He expressed his “appreciation to all African Member States, including Madagascar, for their support to the objective of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the wider objective of reducing poverty, including on the African continent.”

During last year’s high-level segment of the Assembly’s 64th session, the 192-member body barred a delegation from Madagascar, where violent political unrest led to the ousting of the president, from addressing the event.

President Marc Ravalomanana resigned in early March 2009 amid a dispute with Andry Rajoelina, mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, who now leads the country..

(from a UN Press Release)

CISG Update

The latest countries to join the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) are the Dominican Republic and Turkey, which became the 75th and 76th State Parties to the Convention. The CISG will enter into force for the Dominican Republic on July 1, 2011 and for Turkey on August 1, 2011.

(mew)

Happy Independence Day, Belize!

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following message for the people of Belize:

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Belize on 29 years of independence this September 21.

As we commemorate this month’s historic events – the Battle of St. George’s Caye and your proclamation of independence – we also join in honoring the rich heritage that has shaped Belize into the country it is today. Your commitment to democracy, security, and prosperity for all Belizeans is an inspiration to people throughout the region, and the foundation for a strong partnership between our nations. The United States and Belize enjoy a vibrant exchange of people that fosters cultural ties, and our collaborative efforts to improve citizen safety through the Central America Regional Security Initiative are enhancing economic and social opportunities for people throughout the region.

On this festive occasion, I wish all Belizeans a happy independence day and reaffirm our dedication to strengthening the bonds of friendship between our countries.

Draft Peace Accord for Sudan

A committee involving the United Nations has produced a preliminary draft peace document aimed at ending the bloody conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, in which some 300,000 have been killed and 2.7 million other driven from their homes in the past seven years.  The draft is based on peace agreements which the Government signed earlier this year by the Government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), the positions of concerned parties, recommendations of two civil society conferences and consultations with the Joint Arab-African Ministerial Committee and International Partners.  It is drafted by a committee formed from the mediators to the Darfur conflict, which include the UN, the African Union and Qatar.

“This document is intended to serve as a unified basis for peace in Darfur to be presented to all parties without exception, and it shall be the basis for talks to reach an agreement on a comprehensive and final solution,” AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé and Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud said in a joint statement after receiving the document from the committee. No details were released. 

Government forces have clashed with members of JEM in recent months, contributing to a deterioration in the overall security situation in Darfur where fighting erupted in 2003 between Government forces, allied Janjaweed militiamen and rebel groups. All three have been accused of grave human rights violations. JEM withdrew from the Doha talks as the fighting resumed and has yet to re-engage.  The Government and the LJM have agreed to resume their negotiations on 29 September in Doha, today’s statement said.

(from a UN Press release)

A Modern Day Lotus Case?

Recent news reports regarding a dispute over a Chinese ship captain arrested by Japan have echos of the Lotus case from 1927.  International law scholars will recall that the Lotus case involved a collision between a French vessel and a Turkish vessel on the high seas.  The French vessel took the survivors to Turkey.  During an investigation of the matter, the Turkish officials arrested the officer in charge of the French vessel, Lt. Demons.  France protested Turkey's assertion of jurisdiction over its citizen.  The Permanent Court of International Justice held that there was no rule of international law that prevented Turkey's assertion of jurisdiction.

The present case involves the collision of a Chinese fishing vessel with a Japanese Coast Guard vessel in the East China Sea.  Both China and Japan have claims to the waters where the collision occurred.  Japan arrested the captain of the Chinese vessel and China has vehement protested the arrest and detention of its citizen.  The lawfulness of Japan's arrest is not clearly decided by the Lotus case, however, because the waters where the collision occurred are not considered highs seas (although the status of those waters is in dispute) and because there are more well-developed treaty rules (e.g., the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) governing collisions today than existed at the time of the Lotus case.  So the outcome of this matter remains to be seen.

(cgb)