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28 June 2013
On 11 June 2013, the European Court of Human Rights decided unanimously to declare inadmissible ratione personae the application in the case of Stichting Mothers of Srebrenica and Others v. the Netherlands. The case concerned alleged violations of Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention by the Netherlands arising from the grant of immunity from national jurisdiction by Dutch courts to the United Nations in relation to a civil complaint lodged against the UN concerning the Srebrenica massacre. A parallel case against the State of the Netherlands is currently pending before the Hague District Court.
According to the Court, the foundation Mothers of Srebrenica was not itself affected by the matters complained of under Articles 6 and 13 and therefore had no standing before the Court. The Court nevertheless proceeded to assess the material claims of the applicants. It stated in that regard that, in the absence of an alternative remedy, the recognition of immunity does not ipso facto constitute a violation of the right of access to court, and concluded that the fact that the UN had not made provisions for appropriate modes of settlement was not imputable to the Netherlands.
Source: HUDOC | Stichting Mothers of Srebrenica and Others v. the Netherlands
25 June 2013
UNAIDS announced on Tuesday historic decisions by Senegal and the Republic of the Congo, the first African states to do so, to contribute financially to UNAIDS. The decisions follow the 2012 African Union Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity that entails African-owned solutions to AIDS and other diseases.
The Roadmap calls on African states and international partners to jointly finance the funding gap and includes the designation of role and responsibilities of the various stakeholders. The Executive Director of UNAIDS said the decisions of Senegal and Congo demonstrated Africa’s leadership in the global AIDS response and called for further contributions by African countries.
Source: UNAIDS | UNAIDS welcomes the Republic of the Congo and Senegal as its first African donors
25 June 2013
The New York Times reported last Friday on an extensive unregistered multinational arms transport network, fueled my multiple actors including Qatar and Turkey, that supplies the Syrian opposition with weapons from Libyan stockpiles. The spread of uncontrolled weapons has been a significant problem facing Libya since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.
Evidence gathered in Syria, backed by interviews and flight-control data, confirm that weapons from Libya are being shipped on Qatari aircraft to Turkey and then distributed to opposition groups in Syria by the staff of the Supreme Military Council. Although the SMC reportedly does not distribute weapons to extremist groups, these groups can easily buy weapons from groups supported by the SMC. A Western decision to arm the opposition would feed the same distribution network, the NYT writes.
Source: The New York Times | In Turnabout, Syria Rebels Get Libyan Weapons
Source: Al Jazeera | Libya's escalating gun problem
25 June 2013
President Obama announced in his foreign policy speech held in Berlin on Wednesday 19 June 2013 that he would seek negotiations with Russia with a view to reducing US strategic nuclear weapons by up to one-third, in addition to the cuts already required by the New START treaty. Obama also vowed to push the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that was rejected in 1999.
Non-proliferation was also discussed between the US and Russia on the sidelines of the G8 summit, but the President’s speech left unclear how the reductions would be coordinated, saying only that cuts would be negotiated, not committing to a treaty requiring Senate approval, where further cuts are expected to face obstacles. President Putin, speaking in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, did not comment on further reductions and raised instead concern about US missile defenses and high-precision weapons.
Source: The New York Times | Obama Asks Russia to Join in Reducing Nuclear Arms
Source: The Guardian | Barack Obama to call for nuclear stockpile reductions in Berlin speech
Source: CNN | Obama calls for reducing U.S., Russian nukes
Source: Newsmax | Obama in Berlin, Calls for Huge Cuts in Nuclear Arsenal
20 June 2013
John Glaser, the editor of Antiwar.com, argues in his opinion post released on Al Jazeera that US arming the Syrian opposition risks entangling the US in a brutal and complex civil war.
Providing small arms to the opposition would not tip the scale in favor of the opposition and would instead prolong the stalemate and even push the Assad regime to be more violent, Glaser argues.
More intrusive intervention could even turn into a broader clash with Iran and Hezbollah with potentially dangerous implications for the entire Gulf Region, Glaser notes. Echoing the comments by Tufts Professor Daniel W. Drezner on Foreign Policy on 14 June, that arming the opposition is US realpolitik towards Syria, Glaser reminds his readers of the last time US interests coincided with those of the Saudis: supporting insurgents in Afghanistan in the 1980s, now a textbook example of blowback and unintended consequences.
Source: Al Jazeera | Sending arms to Syria is irrational and dangerous
Source: Foreign Policy | Why Obama is arming Syria's rebels: it's the realism, stupid.