Digest

Digest

ASEAN Workshop on Domestic Violence Legislation

On October 20-21, 2008 the ASEAN Workshop on Domestic Violence Legislation was held in Hanoi, Vietnam in celebration of the country’s National Women’s Day.  The workshop is one of the projects created under the Framework for Cooperation between ASEAN and the United Nations Fund For Women.  Participants included over 60 ASEAN Member States.

The purpose of the workshop was to address the international issue of domestic violence.  Representatives met to discuss ways of drafting, implementing, and monitoring domestic violence legislation as well as increase regional cooperation in order to prevent and control future domestic violence.

For more information, please click here.

Digest

President-Elect Obama on International Law

Now that Americans have chosen the 44th President, international lawyers are beginning to scrutinize President-Elect Obama’s approach to foreign policy, and with that, how he perceives international law.

During the Democratic primaries Obama was quizzed by the American Society of International Law, and he emphasized the importance of international law in the conduct of American foreign policy, stating:

“Since the founding of our nation, the United States has championed international law because we benefit from it. Promoting – and respecting – clear rules that are consistent with our values allows us to hold all nations to a high standard of behavior, and to mobilize friends and allies against those nations that break the rules. Promoting strong international norms helps us advance many interests, including non-proliferation, free and fair trade, a clean environment, and protecting our troops in wartime. Respect for international legal norms also plays a vital role in fighting terrorism. Because the [George W. Bush] Administration cast aside international norms that reflect American values, such as the Geneva Conventions, we are less able to promote those values abroad.”

The ASIL survey can be accessed here.

Obama’s stance echoes Harvard Professor Noah Feldman’s discussion of international law in this recent article.

Digest

New ICJ Members Elected

The General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations voted last week to elect five new members to the International Court of Justice.  The five judges haling from Jordan, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Somalia were affirmed for a nine-year term beginning in February 2009.

The International Court of Justice consists of 15 judges – three for Africa, two for Latin America, three for Asia, five for Western Europe and other States, and two for Eastern Europe and Russia.  One third of the membership is renewed every three years, and no two judges may be from the same country.

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Digest

Ban Calls for Urgent Measures to End Congo Crisis

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon encouraged the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring nations (namely, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and South Africa) to take “urgent measures to contain the present crisis created by the upsurge of fighting in eastern DRC” at a UN-backed summit hosted by the African Union on November 7. He expressed deep concern at fresh fighting in the province of North Kivu between Government forces (FARDC) and the National Congress in Defence of the People (CNDP) and stressed that the escalation of violence would be felt not only by the Congolese people but across the region.  He called for efforts to broker a political solution, which would involve a ceasefire, disengagement of troops, and disarmament of armed groups. In addition, he requested that the Security Council add 3,000 troops to reinforce the 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, known as MONUC. Currently, 5,000 peacekeepers are in North Kivu, trying to carry out MONUC’s mandate to protect civilians from the violence. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the total number of internally displaced people in North Kivu since September is now estimated at 252,000, in addition to the existing 800,000 displaced from earlier hostilities.

For further information, please click here.

Digest

Central Asian Countries Seek to Improve Regional Business Climate

On November 4th and 5th, the Ministers of Economy and senior officials from seven Central Asian countries met for a conference hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all had representatives in attendance. The goal of the meeting was for the parties to form an initiative to improve the business climate in the region. Foreign direct investment in the area is low, and it is hoped that cooperation will help to establish a more hospitable climate for business activity. International stakeholders such as the European Commission will assist the initiative through the formation of working groups to provide advice on addressing common challenges.

For more information, please click here

Digest

World Trade Slipped to 6% Growth in 2007

A World Trade Organization report published on November 5 has confirmed that growth in world merchandise trade slipped in 2007 to 6% from 8.5% in 2006.  One of the primary causes of the slowdown is the reduction of import demand in the United States, Europe and Japan. Realignments in exchange rates and fluctuations in commodity prices also contributed to uncertainties in the global markets in 2007.  

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