Posts tagged ‘UN’
Domestic Implementations of the UN’s Financial Sanctions against the Libyan Regime
On February 26, 2011, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1970, which authorized, among other measures, an asset freeze against Muammar Gaddafi, his family, and certain members of the Libyan regime.
The Security Council passed the Resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to issue binding decisions to maintain or restore international peace and security. Thus, member states are obliged to take domestic measures to implement the Resolution’s sanctions against the Libyan regime. This post provides a brief overview and comparison of the specific domestic initiatives that Canada, the UK, and the US have taken to implement UNSCR 1970 at a domestic level.
Canada
On February 27, one day after the passage of UNSCR 1970, Canada adopted Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolution on Libya and Taking Special Economic Measures. The Governor General made these regulations under the authority granted by the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA). The Special Economic Measures Act grants the Governor General the authority to make regulations to impose sanctions against a foreign state when Canada is obliged to through its membership in an international organization or when there is a threat to international peace and security.
United States
On February 25, one day prior to the passage of UNSCR 1970, Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13556 Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya. Although the sanctions…
In a showdown between the United Nations and Hezbollah, the rule of law could fall by the wayside
Political tensions in Lebanon have risen dramatically of late, threatening to erupt yet again into an all-out conflagration between the Sunni-led March 14 alliance, which heads the government, and the pro-Syrian March 8 alliance, which includes Hezbollah. Following a Lebanese newspaper report earlier this month on a massive drill by Hezbollah forces simulating a takeover of the entire country, many analysts are fearful of a resumption of the 2008 clashes in which Hezbollah effectively seized military control of several Lebanese cities, including the capital, in a successful bid for increased political influence.
The current escalations relate to the investigation being carried out by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) into the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, who actively opposed the Syrian occupation of his country and had been contemplating a return to politics at the time of his death. His bloody assassination galvanized the nationalist, anti-Syrian movement in Lebanon, sparking massive public demonstrations and international outcry which led in a matter of weeks to the end of Syria’s 29-year occupation of the country. STL was established at the behest of the Lebanese government and pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1757, which referred to the assassination as a “terrorist crime.”
This is the first time an international tribunal of this kind has been set up to investigate and prosecute an act of terrorism.…
10 Years Later — UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
On October 31, 2001, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325 (CSR 1325), a groundbreaking statement emphasizing the disproportionate affect of armed conflict on women and urging the incorporation of a “gender perspective” in conflict prevention and resolution. The resolution was a culmination of years of effort on the part of NGOs, activists, scholars, and bodies within the UN.
While this document is laudable in its recognition of the special needs of women during hostilities and the role they must play in levels of the peace process, the resolution is conspicuous in its lack of concrete plans or benchmarks against which progress can be measured, either by governments, NGOs, or the UN itself.
10 years after the adoption of what might be characterized as a largely aspirational resolution, how far has the world community come? To what extent has the UN itself taken to heart the very language and ideas it advances?
On many fronts, there is cause for optimism. Since November 2000, 100% of Security Council resolutions on Darfur, over 60% of resolutions on Chad and the Central African Republic, and half of resolutions on Sudan contain language consistent with the spirit and language of SCR 1325.[1] In Rwanda, 56% of MPs are women, far surpassing the 30% quota mandated in its post-genocide constitution.[2] This is heartening, especially given that sexual violence and conflict on the…
Hope still lingers as Canada ratifies the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on March 11th, one day before the official opening of the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. This long-awaited ratification made Canada the 78th nation to have adopted the Convention.[1] In addition to requiring provincial governments to update a number of laws, the document imposes a fundamental shift of the focus from institutionalization to integration of people with disabilities. Further, the convention will empower individuals to challenge laws and policies, deemed in conflict with the convention. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has important implications in Canadian immigration and refugee law. How far can its remedial stretch extend in offering hope to disabled immigrant and refugee applicants who seek permanent status or asylum in Canada?
The blatant exclusion of people of disabilities from immigration to Canada on the basis of disability stems back to the 1910 Immigration Act which altogether banned the immigration of people with mental disabilities. The 1927 Immigration Act expanded the basis for refusal to entry to Canada to physical disabilities as well. The subsequent amendment of the Act in 1976, introduced a less blatant discriminatory provision. Under this Act, people with disabilities could be excluded from immigration because they might place “excessive demands” on health or social services. This practice acquired a new dimension with the passing of the 1985 Immigration…
BY Avidan Kent
FILED UNDER
Corporate Social Responsibility
Human Rights
Legal Theory
Public International Law
Non-Governmental Organizations: some new (very muscular) kids on the block
Non-Governmental Organizations (“NGOs”)[1] play an increasingly important role in the moulding of new international policies and their influence has grown dramatically in the last couple of decades[2]. The activity of NGOs has also become ever more international in nature,[3] as globalization has both created and revealed international issues which require the attention of the international community. Increasing international awareness of fields like human rights and environment, the establishment of powerful international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) together with improvements in sectors such as telecommunication and transportation, have all joined together and have turned the activities of international NGOs into living reality. Although not yet fully recognized as subjects of international law[4], NGOs are considered today as new emerging players in the contemporary international legal system[5].
The rising influence of NGOs brings about many questions and debates, mostly concerning democracy and representation. I would however, like to focus on another problem, one which is less of legal nature and more related to narrative, power and appearance. I would like to refer in this post to the fact that NGOs reputation as objective, impartial “watchdogs” may be improperly used by political actors and other agenda driven bodies. Political agendas, in my view, are not “wrong” and should not be excluded from the activity of NGOs. Politics and agendas are a legitimate part…
Last Week in International Law
1. Prosecutor v. Karadzic
On November 5, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia postponed the trial against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic until March 2010. Karadzic ended his boycott of the proceedings earlier this week, saying it would be “criminal” if he had “to enter a trial for which I am not prepared.”
As discussed last week, Karadzic’s boycott of the trial led judges to begin hearing the prosecution’s case and warning Karadzic to appear in court or risk being tried in absentia. Besides postponing the trial, the tribunal has also appointed a lawyer to represent Karadzic.
Karadzic has vowed to resist the imposition of counsel. He has seven days to apply for permission to appeal the ruling, and another seven days thereafter to file an appeal.
2. Lisbon Treaty
The Lisbon Treaty was officially ratified by the last European Union member state, the Czech Republic, on 3 November 2009. It is expected to officially become law in December.
The treaty is an attempt to make the EU more cohesive and influential on the worldwide stage, though some critics have seen it as a threat to national sovereignty. The treaty grants new powers to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. Legislation will now be decided by “co-decision” by the parliament and the European Council. A major change regards the president of the…
Somalian Pirates We!
In the battle against the ever-increasing threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia, a court has finally entered the fray. The court in question is Dutch, and in a recent decision stepped in to prevent a 14-year old girl from sailing off on her own to join the Somali pirates. Typically, the girl claimed she only wanted to break the record for the youngest solo circumnavigation of the world by sail. The truth however is painfully obvious: under the influence of torrent websites and Johnny Depp, youngsters from around the world are unable to resist the romance of piracy, and are setting sail to Somalia to sign up.
Striking a blow against Somali piracy, the momentous Dutch decision responded to a simple question: with no credible Somali government, who else was going to do it? And why shouldn’t a country enforce laws for someone else – look at Belgium’s fancy “universal jurisdiction” law. These questions go to a problem at the heart of public international law today: the “law is power” conundrum. In private international law, states in recent history have been moving further and further from a power-based model towards one founded on international comity. Globalisation rhetoric would have us believe that public international law is doing the same, but the Somali piracy issue belies this notion.
Somalia today, along with a handful of other places…
