Latest news
11 February 2013
A New York Times report reveals that the United States (US) carries out strikes in Yemen from a drone base in Saudi Arabia since 2011. Military strikes are carried out with the consent of the government of Yemen, but the CIA can carry out a drone strike without the permission of the government of Yemen. The CIA has been given the mission of killing leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who the Obama administration have determined to pose a direct threat to the US.
The fact that the Joint Special Operations Command must get Yemen’s government’s approval before launching a drone strike is said to be in place, because the military’s drone campaign is closely tied to counterterrorism operations that are conducted by Yemeni special operations troops.
Source: The New York Times | Drone Strikes’ Risks to Get Rare Moment in the Public Eye
8 February 2013
The Open Society Justice Initiative published a report according to which at least 54 states co-operated with the CIA in its rendition programme. Cooperation varied from holding interrogations to hosting CIA prisons. The report states that the exact number of the co-operating states is still unknown.
Source: The Guardian | CIA rendition: more than a quarter of countries 'offered covert support'
Source: Open Society Justice Initiative | Globalizing Torture - CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition
7 February 2013
French Foreign Minister said on Wednesday that France wanted a United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali by April, incorporating troops offered by West African nations. At the UN, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous confirmed that a UN-led mission looks increasingly likely rather than an African-led force. The UN force would need the approval of the Malian government, which has expressed doubts.
Source: France 24 | France calls for Mali handover to UN troops
Source: UN News Centre | UN peacekeeping mission in Mali increasingly possible, says top official
1 February 2013
States should not recognise an unlawful situation resulting from Israel’s violations of international law in the occupied territories, and states should take appropriate measures to make sure that business enterprises that are domiciled in their territory – that conduct activities in or related to the settlements – respect human rights. These are some of the recommendations in the advance copy of the Report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The report also calls on private companies to assess the human rights impact of their activities, and to take all necessary steps to ensure they are not adversely impacting the human rights of the Palestinian People, in accordance with international law, as well as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Source: Human Rights Council | Report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem
31 January 2013
The SHARES Project has been closely following and collecting news items that are linked to the issue of shared responsibility (see: www.sharesproject.nl/news). We hereby introduce our second ‘SHARES News Items Overview’, a new category of blog posts consisting of a summary of recent news relating to shared responsibility. (more…)