SHARES » News

Australian mainland excised from the migration zone

Jessica Schechinger — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:16:21 +0000

On 16 May 2013, legislation passed the Australian Senate to excise the entire Australian mainland from the migration zone. All asylum seekers who arrive anywhere in Australia by boat are now eligible to be sent to Nauru or Papua New Guinea for ‘regional processing’.

With the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issuing scratching reports on the processing centers on Nauru and Papua New Guinea, there was a failed attempt by the Greens, an opposition party in the Australian Parliament, to strike down the legislation.

The Australian Government, which is dealing with an increasing number of boats arrivals, says the legislation is a deterrence measure. The idea was one of 25 recommendations that was put forward by an expert panel on asylum seekers and introduced to the Parliament by the Government last year.

Entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR

Jessica Schechinger — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:01:59 +0000

On 5 May, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, allowing for individual complaints to be brought to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force. The entry into force took place more than four years after the adoption of the Protocol and three months after Uruguay became the required tenth country to ratify it, joining Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mongolia, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain. The entry into force of the Protocol has been hailed for its potential to increase the justiciable character of economic, social and cultural rights and placing them on an equal footing with civil and political rights. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated: “With the entry into force of the Optional Protocol, a jurisprudence will now be developed that will help define the scope of application of economic, social and cultural rights and outline adequate remedies for victims.” Of special interest will be the Committee’s future findings with regard to the extraterritorial applicability of the Covenant. Unlike many other human rights treaties, it does not contain a jurisdiction clause and the treaty places a strong emphasis on the role of international cooperation.

For some background on this topic, see here.

Israel strikes targets in Syria

Jessica Schechinger — Tue, 07 May 2013 07:40:27 +0000

On Friday 3 May, and Sunday 5 May, the Israeli air force has carried out two strikes in Syria. While Israel has refused to comment on the strikes, an Israeli official has pointed out that both strikes were directed against shipments of Fateh-110 missiles (Iranian made missiles) that were allegedly shipped to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The strikes have prompted strong reactions both from Syria and from Iran. Syria in particular, alleged that the Israeli attacks amount to a declaration of war.

French court rules that companies engaged in building projects in Israel are not bound by international humanitarian law

Jessica Schechinger — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:37:16 +0000

On 22 March, the Versailles Court of Appeal ruled that international humanitarian law does not create direct obligations for a private company involved in a tramway building project in Jerusalem. The lawsuit was initiated in 2007 against the French company Alstom for violations of international law on the basis that the company provided equipment for a tramway building project in Jerusalem, supervised by the State of Israel. Alstom signed a concession contract with Israel. The Court considered that the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949, Additional Protocol 1 to Geneva Conventions, the Hague regulations and the Hague Convention do not create direct obligations that may be placed upon private companies. The Court also held that, supposing that the Israel’s litigious concession contract constituted a violation of international law, this violation would not invalidate the contract (because the contract is governed by Israeli law and not by the French Civil Code).

Shared responsibility for poor working conditions in Bangladesh?

Jessica Schechinger — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:44:32 +0000

The Bangladesh garment building disaster has prompted western clothing brands, and also consumers to consider their shared responsibility. Some western clothing brands that were having items made there have promised financial compensation for the deaths. The European Union is reconsidering trade arrangements, and it is reported that ‘some consumers feel confused over whether they should feel a shared responsibility because of their low-price shopping habits.’

Bangladesh worst ever industrial accident (the third deadly accident in recent months) has killed over 433 people. Both the EU and the US, which are major importers, have pressured Bangladesh to raise the standards. Factory owners in Bangladesh as well as western apparel retailers have faced intense pressure from governments, consumers and labour groups to improve workplace safety.

Book published “L’attribution de comportements d’organes de facto et d’agents de l’Etat en droit international”

Jessica Schechinger — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:45:54 +0000

Jérôme Reymond has recently published the book L’attribution de comportements d’organes de facto et d’agents de l’Etat en droit international – Etude sur la responsabilité internationale des Etats (Schulthess, 2013). This book on international state responsibility seeks to establish the precise scope of the rules … Read more

Plan to improve asylum procedures in the EU backed by Civil Liberties Committee

Jessica Schechinger — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:06:36 +0000

A draft law was agreed on by EU Council and Parliament representatives, and endorsed by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday 24 April 2013.

To reduce disparities in the asylum procedures among EU member states, Council and Parliament have agreed to review the Asylum Procedures Directive (2005) to harmonise procedural guarantees for asylum seekers. Asylum seekers would get fairer, more uniform access to international protection across the European Union under this new law. Also, special guarantees for vulnerable persons and deadlines for EU states to process an asylum application have been inserted.

This draft law is part of the backbone of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which will be put to a plenary vote in June. In order to enter into force, the draft text needs to receive backing of the member states and confirmation by the Parliament, which might happen in June.

Petition filed on black carbon emissions by First Nation group

Jessica Schechinger — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:47:11 +0000

The Arctic Athabaskan Council filed a petition on black carbon emissions with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Ruth Massie, the Grand Chief of the Yukon Council of First Nations, and member of the council representing First Nations in Alaska, Yukon and N.W.T., would like the Commission to declare that Canada is violating the human rights of Athabaskan peoples because of the inadequate regulation of emissions on black carbon, or soot, in the Arctic.

Canada should make black carbon emissions a priority, since the Arctic is warming fast and scientists think that reducing black carbon emissions is the most important way to slow climate change in the Arctic, according to Massie.

Lebanon might be dragged into Syrian conflict

Jessica Schechinger — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:07:49 +0000

There are signs that Lebanon might participate in the Syrian conflict, since there are growing signs of involvement of religious groups – Sunnis on the side of the rebels, Shiites on the side of the regime – in the Syrian … Read more

Judgment in case concerning Iranian and Iraqi survivors of mustard gas attack

Jessica Schechinger — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:37:09 +0000

On 24 April 2013, the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands ordered Frans van Anraat, a Dutch national and former businessman convicted of selling raw materials for mustard gas to Saddam Hussein, to pay compensation to 17 victims of chemical weapon attacks by the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1988.

The case was brought by survivors of attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja in Iraq in 1988, in which an estimated 5,600 civilians were killed.

The judgment raises interesting questions from a shared responsibility perspective, as Van Anraat was only one of many contributors to the eventual injuries (see blog post written by André Nollkaemper here).