30 November 2005 - First ICTY Judgement on Crimes Allegedly committed in Kosovo.

The International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia handed down today its first judgement concerning crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo.

The accused (F. Limaj, I. Musliu, H. Bala) were members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and were indicted with crimes allegedly committed against Serbian civilians and Kosovo Albanian civilians in central Kosovo. According to the indictment, thirty-five civilians were abducted by KLA forces, detained in a prison camp under inhumane conditions and subjected to assault, beatings and torture. Fourteen were allgedly murdered in the course of their detention. Another ten were allegedly executed when the KLA forces abandoned the prison camp came under attack from Serbian forces. Such allegations supported five counts of violations of the laws or customs of war and five counts of crimes against humanity, under Articles 3 and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, for imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhumane acts, torture and murder.

The Chamber preliminarily established that:

• there was in kosovo, at time material to the indictment, an armed conflict (Tadic case test);

• there was a nexus between the existence of the armed conflict and the conduct alleged in the indictment.

The Chamber further held that the Prosecution had proved “that civilians were detained by the KLA in a prison camp in a farm compound in Llapushnik/Lapusnik in June and July 1998, and that 3 of these prisoners were murdered by KLA soldiers at the camp. Most of these prisoners were subjected to cruel treatment, and 4 were tortured, while they were imprisoned by the KLA. Further, it has been proved by the Prosecution that 9 identified prisoners from the camp were murdered in the nearby Berishe/Berisa Mountains by KLA guards on the day the KLA were forced to abandon the prison camp”.

However, as to the issue whether the three Accused had been criminally responsible for any of the established offences, the Chamber found that the Prosecution

- had not proved beyond any reasonable doubt that F. Limaj was in a position of command, or had effective control, over the KLA soldiers involved in prison camp;

-had not proved any involvement of I. Musliu in the prison camp;

-had proven that H. Bala was involved in the running of the prison camp and was criminally responsible for cruel treatment, torture and murder.

The II Chamber found F. Limaj, I. Musliu not guilty of all the charges against them, while H. Bala was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

See the text of the decision at: http://www.un.org/icty/limaj/trialc/judgement/lim-tj051130-e.pdf

18 November 2005 - Guantanamo, Statement of Five Rapporteurs of the UN HR Commission

The five independent rapporteurs of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights working on a study on the situation of detainees in Guantanamo issued today a joint statement regretting the US refusal of standard terms for a fact finding mission in Guantanamo. An invitation for a fact finding mission in Guantanamo was formally asked in a letter of 25 June 2004.

"We deeply regret that the United States Government did not accept the standard Terms of Reference for a credible, objective and fair assessment of the situation of the detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. These Terms include the ability to conduct private interviews with detainees.

Under the circumstances, we will not be traveling to Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, as doing so would undermine the principles on which the work of the Special Procedures, the fact-finding mechanisms established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, is based. These principles apply to all fact-finding missions undertaken by the different Special Rapporteurs, Working Groups and Experts of the Commission to all countries.

It is particularly disappointing that the United States Government, which has consistently declared its commitment to the principles of independence and objectivity of the fact-finding mechanisms, was not in a position to accept these terms”.

see:http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpNewsByYear_en)/CA9B9A8ABA910A50C12570BD00390DCC?OpenDocument (30/11/2005).

17 November 2005 - David Irving arrested in Austria last Friday

David Irving, a British revisionist historian who questioned the systematic extermination of the Jews during the Nazi regime, was arrested in Austria last week. Austrian police acted on the basis of an arrest warrant issued in 1989 on grounds of denying the holocaust.

see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4446646.stm (accessed 17 November 2005).

see also: High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division 1996-I-1113 http://www.pixunlimited.co.uk/news/rtf/irvingjudgment.rtf

16 November 2005 - US official admits use of white phosphorus during the siege of Falluja

After an earlier denial, the Pentagon confirmed that US Forces used the chemical agent "white phosphorus" during the battle of Falluja (Iraq) in 2004. Lt Col Barry Venable argued that white phosphorus "was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants" but not against civilians. The US official further argued that w. ph. is not a banned chemical agent and that the US is not bound by any international treaty prohibiting its use.

see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4440664.stm (accessed 16 November 2005).

and: http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive_Index/Illegal_Weapons_in_Fallujah.html (17 November 2005).

Allegations on the use of white phosphorous in Falluja were raised, inter alia, by an Italian State TV documentary on 8 November 2005:

http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/inchiesta/en/body.asp (accessed 16 November 2005).

15 November 2005 - Israel - PNA agreement on the Gaza-Egypt border crossing

The Palestinian National Authority and Israel reached an agreement over the Rafah border crossing (Gaza Strip). On 25 November 2005, the Rafah Crossing Point will be opened for civilians. EU observers will be in charge of transmitting images to a control room, which will be jointly run by Palestinian and Israeli officers. The agreement also deals with links between the Gaza Strip and West Bank and includes draft a plan to reduce obstacles to movement within the West Bank. According to the agreement: "Israel will allow the passage of convoys to facilitate the movements of goods and persons" between the two areas. Bus convoys shall be established by December 15 and truck convoys by January 15.

see: http://news.findlaw.com/wash/s/20051115/20051115150254.html (accessed 15 November 2005).

11 November 2005 - UN Security Council authorizes UNMIL to capture C. Taylor

Acting under Ch VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council authorized the UN Mission to Liberia "to apprehend and detain former President Charles Taylor in the event of a return to Liberia and to transfer him or facilitate his transfer to Sierra Leone for prosecution before the Special Court for Sierra Leone".

see: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/600/30/PDF/N0560030.pdf?OpenElement (15 November 2005).

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established in 2002 by the UN and the Government of Sierra Leone in order to to try serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the country's civil war. The Court has called for the arrest of C. Taylor on charges of war crimes allegedly committed in Sierra Leone.

7 November 2005 - UN SG Report on Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine

The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, submitted his Report on the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine according to GA Resolution 59/31. The Secretary General commended "Prime Minister Sharon's political courage and steady commitment to disengagement" and the "Palestinian
Authority for its responsible behaviour during this period". He added that the PA should push ahead in the reform of its Security Services which remain "divided, weak, overstaffed, badly motivated and under-armed". He also noted that Israel failed to make progress on the implementation of the road map and that "settlement expansion and lack of action on removing illegal settlement outposts erected since 2001 severely undermined trust in Israel’s intentions". The SG stressed that "Government-sponsored settlement activity may have a negative impact on the territorial contiguity of Palestinian territory" and that "[a]ccording to the road map, Israel has an obligation to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, and immediately dismantle outposts". As concerns the issue of the construction of the Barrier in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the SG noted that the continuing construction is not "in keeping with the Road Map" and that it constitutes a challenge to the fulfilment of the two-State solution. He called upon Israel to abide by its obligations as set forth by the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 and he announced the establishment of a register of the damages incurred by the Palestinians due to the construction of the Barrier.

see: Report of the Secretary General A/60/539–S/2005/701:

http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/590/72/PDF/N0559072.pdf?OpenElement (21/11/2005)