Latest news
22 July 2013
A boat carrying 89, mainly Iranian, asylum-seekers was intercepted off the coast of northern Australia. This occurred a day after the country announced that asylum seekers arriving by boat can no longer be resettled in Australia as refugees. The Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke stated that the group can either press an asylum claim in Papua New Guinea, or be transferred to a third state.
The announcement of the new immigration policy was reportedly followed by violent riots in an Australian-run immigration detention camp in Nauru over the weekend where hundreds of asylum seekers escaped detention.
Source: Al Jazeera | Australia intercepts boat with asylum-seekers
22 July 2013
The EU announced the publication of guidelines explicitly banning EU funding of Israeli institutions operating in the occupied territories. Israel had opposed the directive saying it will hurt the peace process and Israeli ties with the EU.
A New York Times op-ed wrote that the hostile reaction in Israel has been stimulated by inaccurate reporting on the decision. According to an EU statement, the guidelines are a reiteration of a long-held position of the EU that it will not recognise border changes unless agreed by both parties, and the decision will not prejudge the outcome of peace negotiations. The guidelines only apply to programs of the EU, not its member states or trade, and they are estimated to affect only 0.5 percent of relevant EU project funding.
Source: European Union | Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the publication of guidelines on Israel and EU funding instruments | A 391/13 | 19 July 2013
Source: The New York Times | The E.U.’s New Guidelines on Israel Are Not a Boycott
Source: The Jerusalem Post | EU officially publishes settlement guidelines despite Israeli objections
19 July 2013
The Panamanian Foreign Ministry announced that a five-member team of UN experts will inspect the Cuban weapons shipment that was seized last week in Panama on suspicion of carrying weapons to North Korea in violation of the UN arms embargo.
Although Panama has claimed to have acted on its own, American sources have reportedly confirmed that US intelligence was used, and the seizure has received strong support from the US. The US, operating the Panama Canal until 1999, has declined to comment on the details of the case, but security experts say the US likely assisted Panama in the operation.
Source: Reuters | U.S. concerned over North Korean arms ship, Panama awaits U.N.
19 July 2013
Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed an agreement that allows Australia to send all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat to a refugee processing centre in its developing neighbour Papua New Guinea.
The policy was immediately condemned by refugee and human rights advocates as disregarding legal and moral obligations towards asylum seekers, the New York Times reports. The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, while admitting the move was ‘very hard line’, insisted it met Australia’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention. Under the arrangement, those who are found to be genuine refugees would be resettled in Papua New Guinea or in another state, while forfeiting any right to asylum in Australia.
Source: The New York Times | Australia Adopts Tough Measures to Curb Asylum Seekers
Source: AP | Australia to sent refugees to Papua New Guinea
19 July 2013
Hong Kong customs officials announced the seizure of smuggled ivory worth $ 2.25 million on a Togolese container. The shipment contained 1,148 elephant tusks and is one of the largest seizures ever made in Hong Kong.
The seizure is the fifth ivory seizure in Hong Kong since last October, all originating in Africa where conservationists say elephant populations are in crisis. According to the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, the increasing large-scale shipments indicate the involvement of criminal organizations that smuggle ivory through South-East Asian states to major markets such as China. In Asia, growing affluence has resulted in soaring demand for wildlife products, while enforcement and penalties often remain weak, wildlife experts say.
Source: The New York Times | Hong Kong Seizes Smuggled Elephant Tusks