Digest

Digest

European Court of Human Rights Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The judicial year of the European Court of Human Rights opened on January 30, officially marking the start of the Court’s 50th anniversary year. The Court, based in Strasbourg, which is comprised of of one judge for each state party to the Convention (47), ensures that states comply with their obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Notable judgments of the ECHR include:

  • Ruling that the United Kingdom had violated Article 2 (right to life) for shootings in Northern Ireland.
  • Ruling that Turkey had violated Article 6 (right to a fair trial) for trying civilians in military courts in northern Cyprus.
  • Ruling that Germany had not violated Article 7 (no punishment without law) in convicting former East German officials after unification for the killings of East Germans attempting to escape to West Germany.
  • Ruling that Ireland had not violated Article 10 (freedom of expression) by prohibiting religious radio advertising.

At a press conference on January 30, the President of the Court, Jean-Paul Costa, noted the ECHR’s successes over the past fifty years but also looked ahead to combating the 21st century problems it faces. In particular, he stressed the size of the current, and continuously growing caseload (nearly 100,000 cases pending) and pointed out that the Court could not simply continue to increase its staff and resources indefinitely. Mr. Costa stated that he hopes new reforms, including the effective execution of the Court’s judgments by Member States, and a re-structured protection mechanism allowing the Court to concentrate its efforts on important cases, would safeguard its long-term effectiveness.

For further information, please click here and here.

Digest

Zimbabwe's Opposition Party Consents to Unity Government

Ten months after Zimbabwe’s presidential election, the country’s main opposition party has announced that it is ready to establish a unity government with President Robert Mugabe. The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, won a majority of votes in the presidential election in March. He did not win enough votes to avoid a runoff and eventually withdrew from the race, accusing Mugabe of violence against MDC supporters. In what was widely regarded by the international community as a fraudulent election, Mugabe won the runoff in June.

The MDC and Mugabe’s party, ZANU-PF, agreed in September to share power in a unity government. However, the agreement has been hindered by a lack of agreement on key issues, such as the distribution of key Cabinet posts amongst the two parties and the control of security forces. The decision by the MDC to recommit to the unity government was conditional on the country’s constitution being amended to include the position of Prime Minister (which Tsvangirai would hold) and all opposition supporters arrested since the election being released. A deadline of February 11th was set by the MDC and members of the Southern African Development Community; Zimbabwe’s government did not issue an immediate response.

The agreement has been praised by international leaders, particularly because the country is in the midst of a deadly cholera epidemic. The UN will release $8 million from its emergency fund to combat the spread of the disease, which has infected 60,000 people and killed 3,100 in Zimbabwe. The crisis has been exacerbated in the country by a shortage of food (more than half of the country’s population relies on food aid) and safe drinking water. Inadequate sanitation and insufficient health care infrastructure have also been contributing factors. Assistant Director-General for the World Health Organization’s Health Action in Crises Cluster, Eric Laroche, described the situation as “an extraordinary public health crisis” that will require swift action to prevent additional outbreaks in Zimbabwe and spillover epidemics in other southern African nations.

For further information, please click here and here

Digest

Iraqis Go to Polls in Provincial Elections

Iraqis voted for provincial council members on Saturday in an election many hoped would be more inclusive of ethnic and tribal sects than the 2005 national elections widely boycotted by Sunnis and Sadrists. As the U.S. military presence in Iraq diminishes, the elections are seen by some as a test of Iraq’s ability to govern independently, maintain security gains, and build a governing coalition of diverse ethnic groups.

Elections occurred in 14 of the country’s 18 provinces, with over 14,000 candidates running for 440 seats. Unlike the elections in 2005, voters could select candidates individually and were not limited to selecting pre-made “lists” of candidates. President Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa party is hoping to gain power in southern predominantly-Shiite provinces, four of which are currently controlled by followers of Moqtada al-Sadr.

Voting was postponed in three predominantly Kurdish provinces in the North until January, and indefinitely postponed in the province surrounding Kirkuk. Control of these regions is hotly contested between Arab, Kurdish and Yazidi groups that have been unable to reach a power-sharing agreement.

Security for the elections was extremely high, with driving prohibitions and more than 6,000 checkpoints throughout the country. No election-related deaths were reported during the day.

For further information, please click here

Digest

Obama's Envoy Supports Gaza Cease-Fire

George Mitchell, President Obama’s top envoy to the Middle East, is currently on an eight-day “listening tour” of the region.  Recently, he met with Israeli and Palestinian officials to discuss the cease-fire between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants in Gaza.  During the meeting, Mitchell told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that “a sustainable and durable cease-fire” was necessary.  He also expressed the “deep concern” of President Obama over “the loss of Palestinian life and the humanitarian needs in Gaza.”  Mitchell stressed that the objective of the United States was to create long-term peace.  Israel is asking for international assistance in preventing Hamas militants from smuggling weapons into Gaza and firing rockets into Israel.  This initial meeting with Mitchell is part of an effort by the Obama administration to help promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

For more information, please click here.

Digest

US Strengthens Ukraine Ties

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko signed a security charter last month that establishes enhanced cooperation between the United States and Ukraine on a broad range of issues. The Charter will bring a greater American military and diplomatic presence to the Crimea and Black Sea, and indicates gradual implementation of steps leading up to eventual NATO membership for Ukraine.

Both Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Ohryzko emphasized the Charter’s objective of developing Ukraine’s status as a strategic partner of the United States and its European allies. By creating a more effective strategic partnership, the Charter will bring Ukraine closer to meeting the specifications for NATO candidacy articulated in last year’s Bucharest Summit Declaration of the NATO North Atlantic Council.

For more information, please click here.

Digest

Detainee Poses Early Challenge for Obama

If Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan’s nomination as Solicitor General is successful, one of her first tasks will be the February 20th brief in an enemy combatant case, Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli, addressing the Bush Administration’s assertion that the President may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime.

Ali Al-Marri is a Qatari student and legal U.S. resident who was arrested in Illinois in December 2001 for fraud. Upon receipt of information identifying him as a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, those charges were dropped and he was transferred to military detention. The government is holding him without charges at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. Intelligence officials argue that Al-Marri is particularly dangerous, which makes deportation problematic, and charges may not be filed due to the potential involvement of torture in evidence gathering.

While Al-Marri’s continued detention is arguably legal as a result of post-September 11 congressional legislation, given the President-elect’s public statements against such detentions, the Obama Administration may find it a politically difficult position to maintain.

More information is available here and here.

Scroll to Top