Search: extraterritorial sanctions

The Globe & Mail has a blockbuster report today concerning China’s willingness to supply weapons to Gaddafi’s regime during the rebellion: China offered huge stockpiles of weapons to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi during the final months of his regime, according to papers that describe secret talks about shipments via Algeria and South Africa. Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200-million to the embattled Col. Gadhafi in late July, a violation of United Nations sanctions....

...they said were killed in U.S. air strikes on Wednesday night which Washington said targeted an al Qaeda-linked militant faction. Oceania Australia said on Saturday it was pleased with progress on a long-planned free trade agreement with China and that it would be happy to conclude it by next week when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits. UN/World The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two allied rebel commanders for threatening the peace and stability of the country and obstructing the political process....

...fact and in effect if not intention, support the status quo of violence and oppression? Will the Global South, or “the rest” (of “the West and the rest”), stand up concretely for one of its own, or simply continue, literally, to carry on business as usual beneath a façade of performative rhetoric and ineffectual diplomatic gestures? And if the latter, is it fear of repercussions — for example, sanctions from the U.S — or simply naked self-interest that negates effective action? International law is legitimate insofar as it is fairly...

...whether a specific weapons part was used to commit a specific violation. It is the very relationship itself between company and state that enables, among other things, the systemic violation of Palestinians’ right to self-determination. And as Albanese points out, the systemic nature of this violation invalidates ‘paternalistic’ arguments about the economic benefits of continued engagement with Israel’s occupation regime. The response to Albanese’s report has confirmed its significance. Nine days after Albanese filed the report, the US government announced it was imposing sanctions on her for ‘writing threatening letters...

...Syria. Foreign Policy outlines the options for Syria, in case the plan does not succeed. According to its Foreign Minister, William Hague, the UK may seek a Security Council decision referring Assad to the ICC. In a Reuter’s exclusive, China’s ZTE trading firm had planned on selling $10.5 million (€8 millon) worth of embargoed computing equipment to Iran, shedding some light on how Iran is able to get American tech products despite sanctions. The Philippine Navy is in a standoff with Chinese ships. Colombia’s foreign minister reports that Venezuelan President...

...every participating nation features at least one female athlete. The US exempted 10 EU countries and Japan from sanctions as they have significantly cut crude oil purchases from Iran, but this move leaves China and India exposed. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a statement here. Israel has asked to clear out its embassy in Cairo, highlighting growing tensions since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak last year. Jurist covers the ACLU’s petition filed yesterday with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on behalf of Afghan and Iraqi citizens who were...

...the agreements If the FARC-Government agreements end up being international treaties, they may still be open to criticism and legal challenges. This is due to several factors. Firstly, there is the issue of jus cogens and impunity. Why so? Some political actors and NGOs as Human Rights Watch have expressed concern that the agreements on justice and victims may lead to impunity of serious violations, including international crimes. While the idea of alternative sanctions is not questioned as such, since States may decide to use them in exceptional case to...

...contrast, the notion of grey zones refers to settings where the very possibility and relevance of accountability is called into question. This piece therefore understands accountability to refer to criminal sanctions and adjudication mechanisms, as well as to the more normative and foundational idea that actors –especially those in positions of power—must bear consequences for their actions and omissions regarding both negative and positive human rights obligations. Accountability can take place in various forums, not just legal ones, with political arenas also playing a crucial role. This broader understanding foregrounds...

...the awards pile up in the United States, Iran is signaling that its legal system can do the same thing. Now, I would not suggest there’s any moral equivalence in the sorts of suits for which sovereign immunity is being waived by U.S. courts and Alikhani’s complaint (he was detained for 105 days following his arrest in a sting operation involving the purchase of oil-field equipment in Florida for shipment to Libya allegedly in violation of U.S. sanctions). But, as a structural matter, once the United States decides to allow...

...criminals of this order of importance. It does not expect that you can make war impossible. It does expect that your juridical action will put the forces of international law, its precepts, its prohibitions and, most of all, its sanctions, on the side of peace, so that men and women of good will, in all countries, may have “leave to live by no man’s leave, underneath the law.” The full text of the speech is here. More on the Nuremberg Trials is available through Yale Law School’s Avalon Project here....

...and the tribunal operates outside of national laws – the judges in each case define the applicable norms and procedures. Decisions by the tribunal are not appealable, and a country faces economic sanctions if it does not comply with its rulings. So after a petition to appear before ICSID filed by 300 organizations in 43 different countries was denied, activists took to the streets. Thousands sent e-mails to corporate executives. Protesters in San Francisco blocked the entrance of Bechtel’s corporate headquarters, and San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed a resolution...

...weekend. Relatives of approximately 90 Yeminis held at the US Guantanamo Bay prison are protesting their “very poor” conditions at Gitmo and demanding their release. Arms Control Blog points to a new report about the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran. The UNGA is set to vote today on the Arms Trade Treaty, a week after Iran, Syria and North Korea blocked the adoption by consensus. Following the return of the two Italian marines to India, India’s Supreme Court has removed the order barring the Italian envoy from leaving the country....