The team behind International Law Observer wishes all its readers a Happy New Year!
Filed under: Observances | Leave a Comment »
The international year 2009
Posted on December 29, 2008 by Dominik Zimmermann
Already in 2006 the United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2009 the International Year of Reconciliation. The motivation behind the UNGA’s action was the recognition “that reconciliation processes are particularly necessary and urgent in countries of the world which had suffered or were suffering, situations of conflict that had affected and divided societies in [...]
Filed under: Clip of the Week, International Year | Leave a Comment »
Merry Christmas
Posted on December 25, 2008 by Dominik Zimmermann
We, the team of authors at International Law Observer wish all of our readers around the world a Merry Christmas and cheery and happy holidays.
Filed under: Observances | Leave a Comment »
Sixty Years of the UDHR: Global Struggle for Human Rights Continues.
Posted on December 23, 2008 by innomawire
December 10, 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since 1948 much has changed in the world: colonialism, by definition a systemic abuse of human rights, has largely been thrown into the dustbin of history although its grotesque legacies remain, while war, another unmitigated assault on human rights, and its aftermath [...]
Filed under: Human Rights, International Day, United Nations | Leave a Comment »
The maritime border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia
Posted on December 19, 2008 by Jernej Letnar Černič
Tensions have been unfortunately increasing again in last days between Slovenia and Croatia. Below you can find an excerpt from The Conundrum of the Piran Bay, co-authored by Matej Avbelj and myself, which it is once again extremely actual. Let us hope somebody learns some lessons from our conclusion and also from past mistakes. Full article is available [...]
Filed under: Public International Law | 4 Comments »
In the Name of Freedom of Speech
Posted on December 18, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
Ban-ki Moon is not the only one criticising international organisations such as the UN’s Human Rights Council for trying to curb free speech in the name of the fight against “defamation of religions” and “blasphemy” laws. A group of freedom of expression rapporteurs from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the UN, [...]
Filed under: African Union, Human Rights, Public International Law, United Nations | Leave a Comment »
Massacre in Kiwanja
Posted on December 16, 2008 by Jernej Letnar Černič
Following Ole’s recent post, it seems necessary to mention the massacre that occurred just over a month ago in Kiwanja, North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The N.Y. Times reports that: ‘In little more than 24 hours, at least 150 people would be dead, most of them young men, summarily executed by the [...]
Filed under: Human Rights, International Criminal Law, Responsibility to protect | 1 Comment »
UN Human Rights Envoy Expelled from Israel
Posted on December 16, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
Yesterday the UN’s special rapporteur for human Rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, was detained by Israeli border authorities, denied entry into Israel and subsequently expelled. While it is unfortunate that the UN is hindered in carrying out its observations and the expulsion is likely to be met with criticism, it is pertinent to [...]
Filed under: Human Rights, Middle East Crisis, United Nations | 7 Comments »
“The Problem from Hell”
Posted on December 15, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
Last week the Genocide Prevention Task Force, of the US Peace Institute, published its report “Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers”, containing a number of recommendations on how future US administrations can actively seek to avoid incidents of genocide. Members of the Genocide Prevention Task Force count, among others, Former Secretary of State Madeleine [...]
Filed under: African Union, Human Rights, ICC, International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law, Public International Law | Leave a Comment »
250 corporate executives express their commitment to human rights
Posted on December 15, 2008 by Jernej Letnar Černič
250 corporate executives have on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights publicly expressed their commitment to ‘respect and support’ human rights. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we, business leaders from all corners of the world, call on governments to [...]
Filed under: Corporations in International Law, human rights and business | 1 Comment »
Guest Post: 10th ICTY Completion Strategy report to UNSC
Posted on December 15, 2008 by asenier
[In this post Amy Senier returns with a piece on last week's report by President Robinson of the ICTY to the UN Security Council on the Tribunal's completion strategy.] Last week Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (“ICTY”) delivered the ICTY President’s 10th report on the Tribunal’s Completion [...]
Filed under: Guest Blogging, ICC, International Courts, International Criminal Law, Public International Law | Leave a Comment »
Second attempt at ratifying the Lisbon Treaty
Posted on December 14, 2008 by Dominik Zimmermann
During the meeting of the Council of the European Union on 11 and 12 November agreement was reached with regard to a European Economic Recovery Plan (including a 200-billion-euro ($264 billion) pact to revive the battered economy), an energy/climate change package (reaffirming the commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 and [...]
Filed under: EU Reform, EU-Law, EU/EC Law | Leave a Comment »
New special coverage section on human rights and business
Posted on December 14, 2008 by Dominik Zimmermann
A new special coverage section has been added, collecting all the posts that deal with issues on the intersection between human rights and business. Examples of the posts that you will find here so far include a post on corporate obligation to protect human rights, discussing the recent report by the NGO War on Want on labour [...]
Filed under: Blogroll, human rights and business, Special Coverage Section | Leave a Comment »
Ban Ki-moon on Human Rights Council
Posted on December 13, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
This week saw the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although immense progress has been made in those 60 years toward the aim of universal respect for fundamental rights, it is often asserted that major setbacks have occurred in the area of civil liberties over the last eight years or so. While [...]
Filed under: Human Rights, ICC, United Nations | Leave a Comment »
European Union grants duty-free access to developing countries for respecting human rights and “good governance” standards
Posted on December 13, 2008 by franzebert
On 9 December 2008 the European Commission stated that the products from 16 developing countries will benefit from duty-free access to the European Union under the “special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance” (GSP+). The GSP+ is a specific tariff arrangement in the context of the Scheme of Generalised Tariff Preferences. It provides [...]
Filed under: EC-Law, EU-Law, EU/EC Law, Human Rights, Public International Law | Leave a Comment »
UN General Assembly Adopts the Optional Protocol to ICESCR
Posted on December 11, 2008 by jankitt
On 10 December the UN General Assembly at its plenary meeting unanimously adopted an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Protocol is undoubtedly a milestone in the history of the universal human rights system. It aims to achieve progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the [...]
Filed under: Public International Law | 1 Comment »
Human Rights a Mistake
Posted on December 11, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
Well perhaps not quite, but according to the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner insisting on the creation of a post of Secretary of State for Human Rights, when he was sworn in by President Sarkozy in 2007, was a mistake. Kouchner, who is a long-time player on the international scene having helped founding Médecins Sans [...]
Filed under: EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, Human Rights | Leave a Comment »
A tragedy in the making: EU profits and the Gaza Strip faces an intensifying humanitarian crisis
Posted on December 10, 2008 by Valentina Azarov
On the one hand, business is going as usual, the European Union is going through the required procedures and working groups in order to arrive at the most mutually profitably arrangement for the upgrading of its bi-lateral trade (plus) relations with Israel. The European Union’s 27 foreign ministers unanimously approved upgrading relations with Israel on [...]
Filed under: EC-Law, EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, EU/EC Law, Human Rights, International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law, Middle East Crisis, Public International Law, United Nations | Leave a Comment »
Most Environmental Wanted
Posted on December 10, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just launched a “most wanted” campaign for environmental outlaws at large. Usually lists of most wanted are kept for the purpose of criminal investigation of serious crimes like murder, child abduction or robbery, but the new EPA list is aimed at drawing the public’s attention to a group [...]
Filed under: Environmental Law, International Criminal Law | Leave a Comment »
Welcome to the blogosphere: EJIL:Talk!
Posted on December 10, 2008 by Dominik Zimmermann
A new and interesting blog dedicated to international law has been added to the blogosphere: EJIL:Talk!, the blog of the European Journal of International Law. The blog was launched yesterday with an entry by Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann on “Human Rights, International Economic Law and ‘Constitutional Justice’”. The creators of the blog, with inter alia Professor Joseph [...]
Filed under: Blogroll, International Law Blog, Public International Law | Leave a Comment »
Corporate obligation to protect human rights
Posted on December 9, 2008 by Jernej Letnar Černič
British retailers (Primark, Asda, Tesco) have been yet again accused of violating fundamental human rights standards. The NGO War on Want has recently published comprehensive report ‘Fashion II‘ on labour rights standards in garment industry in Bangladesh. The report alleges that ‘workers producing clothes for Primark face growing poverty on as little as 7p an [...]
Filed under: human rights and business, Public International Law | Tagged: human rights and business | 6 Comments »
Call for the African Union Intervention in Zimbabwe
Posted on December 9, 2008 by innomawire
While addressing an international press conference in Nairobi over the weekend, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called on the African Union (AU) to oust Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and end the oppression the Zimbabwean people are being subjected to. Odinga specifically called on the current AU chair Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to take the lead [...]
Filed under: African Union, Human Rights | 1 Comment »
The Weirdest Cases of 2008
Posted on December 8, 2008 by Ole W. Pedersen
The Times has an amusing piece on the weirdest legal cases decided across the world in 2008. You can read the list here. I read with particular interest the case from Austria regarding the question of whether a chimpanzee could be considered a person for the purposes of having a guardian appointed following the closure [...]
Filed under: Environmental Law, Human Rights | Leave a Comment »
EU court annuls counter-terrorist measure of the European Union
Posted on December 7, 2008 by franzebert
On 4 December the Court of First Instance delivered its judgment in the matter People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (“PMOI”) v Council of the European Union (Case T‑284/08), where it declares one of the EU’s key instruments for the “fight against terrorism” partly unlawful. This case concerns Council Decision 2008/583/EC of 15 July 2008 which [...]
Filed under: EC-Law, EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, EU-Law, EU/EC Law, Human Rights, Public International Law | 1 Comment »
