Gabriel Helou

Man grabs French leader Sarkozy, is detained "A man in a crowd grabbed French President Nicolas Sarkozy by the shoulder Thursday and nearly knocked him to the ground before being tackled by security officers and detained. The unusually aggressive incident occurred as the president shook hands with a crowd in the town of Brax in southwest France"

"Human rights group Amnesty International called on Thursday for China to stop the harassment, arbitrary detention and torture of human rights lawyers, part of what it said was an "uncompromising" series of steps to rein in activists. "(Chinese authorities) are not only failing to ensure protection for human rights lawyers and others seeking to provide legal services, but are actively undermining their work through legislative, administrative and practical measures," the group said in a report"

Lebanon tribunal issues indictments for 4 people over assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri "A special tribunal for Lebanon has issued indictments for four people in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a Lebanese official with knowledge of the investigation said Thursday. A U.N. source familiar with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said the people include alleged perpetrators on the ground. The next two lists of indictments are expected later this summer and are expected to include the organizers and planners of the attack, the source said"

"The events of the Arab Spring emphasise that people everywhere yearn to be free, to have their voices heard and to participate in the decisions that affect their lives. In particular, they show that these are not 'Western' values, but universal values to which we all aspire"

This past Monday on June 20, 2011, the Spinelli Group hosted a conference on the “Arab Spring” at the European Parliament in Brussels with Secretary General of the Arab League and 2011 Presidential candidate Amre Moussa. "At the start of the event, former Prime Minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt introduced Moussa as both a prime witness and a key player to the events happening in the Arab world. He also acknowledged Europe’s lack of understanding that the revolutions starting back in January were about democracy, not religion, and that their slow response to act due to this lack of understanding was unacceptable, enforcing that the same mistakes cannot be made again"

Intervention of Guy Verhofstadt on Greece and Schengen “My first point concerns Greece and the so-called economic governance package, the six-pack. The position of the Parliament is very clear: We want a bolder package. By doing this, we are on the same line as Trichet of the ECB, as Lipski from the IMF as Geithner. They are saying what we are saying: there can't be a common currency without an economic union. That means that we not only need sanctions for those countries that are not fulfilling their duties. We need the Commission, not the Member States to have to power to decide that. Member States don't punish themselves.  That is why Parliament decided last week to stick to a reversed voting system. For us it is essential that the Commission takes the decision and that the Council can only decide to overturn it. Don't say: this is irresponsible of the Parliament. This is not the time to block such an important package. It is not the Parliament which is blocking....

“ Palestinian leadership decided to seek United Nations full recognition and membership of a Palestinian state next September within 1967 borders based on the international legitimate decisions concerning Palestine, according to Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee, Yasser Abed- Rabbo. He said, after a meeting headed by President Mahmoud Abbas in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, that this decision is for the sake of a just peace process; which involves announcing an independent Palestinian state that lives in harmony with its neighbors and applying all international charters and resolutions. The leadership asked all countries to support recognizing a Palestinian state, which helps the peace process and doesn’t contradict it. It explained that this step follows President Obama’s speech, Arab peace initiative, European Union statements and the International Quartet committee decisions”

"La Cour pénale internationale a émis lundi un mandat d'arrêt contre le dirigeant libyen Moammar Kadhafi , son fils Seïf el-Islam et son bras droit Abdallah el-Senoussi, pour crimes contre l'humanité. Les juges ont annoncé que le colonel Kadhafi était recherché pour avoir orchestré la mort, l'arrestation et le placement en détention de plusieurs centaines de civils au cours des douze premiers jours du soulèvement contre son régime en février, et pour avoir tenté de dissimuler ces crimes"

"The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and two of his confidants, citing evidence of crimes against humanity committed against opponents of the Libyan regime. Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng announced the decision on behalf of a three-judge panel in The Hague on Monday, saying the warrants were meant to force Gaddafi, his son and his intelligence chief to appear before the court and prevent the possibility of a cover-up. It was the second time in the ICC's nine-year history that it has issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state. The ICC indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2009, though he has yet to be arrested"

"The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country's spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had in May asked the court to issue arrest warrants for the "pre-determined" killing of protesters in Libya after the UN Security Council referred the issue to the court "

ALDE will oppose the creation of any mechanism allowing for a temporary re-introduction of border controls in case of exceptional circumstances as the current rules already provide for this. "ALDE will oppose the creation of any mechanism allowing for a temporary re-introduction of border controls in case of exceptional circumstances as the current rules already provide for this. What we need is properly applying the Schengen rules, not weakening the system rules by introducing additional exemptions. If a concrete proposal was to be drafted by the Commission one would have to make sure that the proposal ensures that the final decision is in the hands of the Commission (and not the Council on the basis of a report from the Commission). Recent events show that the intergovernmental peer review system does not work. Therefore we need a decision at Community level. Moreover, the legal basis of the proposal should allow for co-decision as it is the case for the currently discusse...

European Council 23/24 June 2011 Conclusions P. 16   “5. The European Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing repression and unacceptable and shocking violence the Syrian regime continues to apply against its own citizens. It notes with grave concern reports of Syrian military activity close to the Turkish border at Khirbet al-Jouz and reiterates previous calls for maximum restraint. By choosing a path of repression instead of fulfilling its own promises on broad reforms, the regime is calling its legitimacy into question. Those responsible for crimes and violence against civilians shall be held accountable. Endorsing the conclusions on Syria adopted by the Council on 20 June 2011, the European Council welcomes the adoption of new sanctions. It also lends its full support to diplomatic efforts aimed at ensuring that the UN Security Council can assume its responsibility and give adequate response to the situation in Syria”

International Criminal Court will rule on Monday whether Gaddafi should be arrested “ Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, have said they will rule Monday on whether to order Muammar Gaddafi's arrest. A warrant would turn Gaddafi into an internationally wanted war crimes suspect at risk of detention if he traveled to ICC member states. However, the ICC has no independent enforcement agency and relies on participating countries to arrest suspects”

"The UN human rights office is set to deploy a delegation on Monday to Yemen for a 10-day mission to assess the human rights situation in the country in light of recent events. A team of three human rights experts from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will visit Yemen from 27 June to 6 July to gather information on the human rights situation in the country by meeting Government officials, human rights defenders, victims of rights violations, members of the political opposition and civil society, religious leaders as well as other UN agencies. The team will also try to meet internally displaced persons and intends to visit medical facilities and detention centres in a number of cities"

Merkel : EU leaders agree on Croatian membership "German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that European leaders had agreed they want Croatia to become a member of the EU. "We have agreed on accession for Croatia," Merkel said at the conclusion of a two-day EU summit in Brussels. Merkel says Croatia had significant gaps in March but those have been worked out, so there was no reason to delay accession. "There are no reservations, as we had with Bulgaria and Romania," she said. A draft summit conclusion had said talks on Croatia's membership should be concluded this month and an accession treaty signed by December. The parliaments of all 27 members will then have to ratify the document, a process expected to last until June 2013, when Croatia will formally be inducted into membership. Croatia, which started membership talks in 2005, will become the second former Yugoslav nation to join, following Slovenia. The last members to join the EU were Romani...

ALDE will strongly condemn any attempt to create any additional mechanism and possibilities of making it easier for Member States to re-introduce border checks.  This is one of the messages of the ALDE group to today's European Council summit due to decide over migration and the governance of the Schengen area. " We would find unacceptable any request from the European Council to reintroduce internal border controls via the back door of Schengen's temporary protection mechanism, even as a last resort ," stated ALDE President Guy Verhofstadt , who added:" The Commission should resist any such request which would contradict the very spirit of the Treaties ." " It is not by allowing a temporary reintroduction of internal border controls that we will solve what ultimately has been the result of Member States' failure, such as their lack of solidarity in dealing with migratory flows or their years of reluctance towards a European asylum and migration ...

Amman , 22 June - UNRWA has received US$ 5.2 million from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the Kingdom’s annual contribution of US$ 2 million to the Agency’s core budget, together with some payments relating to earlier years.  UNRWA Commissioner General, Mr. Filippo Grandi, taking delivery of a cheque from HE Mr Fahd Al Zaid, Ambassador of the Kingdom to Jordan, said, “UNRWA is grateful to the leadership and people of  Saudi Arabia for this timely contribution. It comes at a time when the Agency is facing a very worrying deficit in funding for its regular programmes. The Kingdom’s support for UNRWA is highly appreciated. ”   Saudi Arabia is the current chair of the UNRWA Advisory Commission. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest funders of the Agency construction and relief projects. About UNRWA UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 4...

Qatari diplomat elected as President of next session of General Assembly “An experienced Qatari diplomat who has served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations for more than a decade was today chosen by the world body’s 192 Member States to be the next President of the General Assembly. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, 57, who was elected this afternoon by acclamation, will succeed Joseph Deiss of Switzerland when he takes over the presidency in mid-September as the 66th session of the General Assembly begins. Accepting the post with “great honour,” Mr. Al-Nasser said he was becoming President at a time when the world is facing “enormous political, social, economic and environmental challenges”

Recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations “The Security Council , Having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Recommends to the General Assembly that Mr. Ban Ki-moon be appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations for a second term of office from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016”

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he doesn't see "much credibility" in Syrian President Bashar Assad's promises of reforms because of his failure to allow peaceful demonstrations and to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. Ban said unified action by the U.N. Security Council, which is deeply divided over a resolution that would condemn the Syrian crackdown on protesters, "would be helpful." Asked about promises of reform by Assad and his foreign minister, the secretary-general said "I do not see much credibility of what he has been saying because the situation has been continuing"

Genocide is the ultimate crime. All the more reason to use the word carefully "NO LESS than the act itself, “the politics of genocide can be heartbreaking.” That is what Sophal Ear, who fled Cambodia as a ten-year-old and now works as a politics professor in the United States, remembers feeling as a young man" "Professor William Schabas sees two trends in the definition of genocide..."

Guy Verhofstadt , leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) expressed his extreme disappointment at this decision and warned that the anti-democratic grip on Russia is tightening. " I participated in the Congress of PARNAS last week in Moscow and I am saddened by the failure of the Russian authorities to allow the party to register. The upcoming State Duma elections in December and the presidential elections in March 2012 will now be yet another exercise of stage-managed political campaigning between political forces loyal to the leading duo inside the Kremlin ." " I expect a clear and strong reaction from all EU officials dealing with Russia, including Council President Van Rompuy and the High Representative, Baroness Ashton. The continued failure of Russia to uphold basic democratic principles, a commitment for a member of the Council of Europe, must have implications for its relations with the European Union and the Member States ", sai...

“ European Union states agreed on Tuesday to extend sanctions against Syria to four military-linked firms and more people connected with the violent suppression of anti-government protests, an EU diplomat said. Lists prepared by Britain and France proposed adding fewer than a dozen individuals and entities to those already targeted by asset freezes and visa bans, the diplomat said. The British list also proposed sanctions against at least two Iranian individuals involved in providing equipment and support for the suppression of dissent in Syria, but one of the 27 member states had yet to approve this, the diplomat said”

" أكد نائب الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية السفير أحمد بن حلي، أن اللجنة القانونية المعنية بمتابعة الطلب العربي بالعضوية الكاملة لفلسطين بالأمم المتحدة، أعدت ملفا قانونيا شاملا بشأن التحرك العربي القانوني لدعم التوجه إلى الأمم المتحدة. وقال السفير بن حلي في تصريحات صحفية، اليوم الثلاثاء، إن هذا الملف سيتم رفعه إلى الاجتماع المقبل للجنة مبادرة السلام العربية لاعتماده وكذلك النظر في التوصيات الصادرة في هذا الإطار والاتفاق على الخطوات المقبلة. وشدد على إصرار الجانب الفلسطيني والعربي على الذهاب إلى مجلس الأمن والأمم المتحدة للاعتراف بالعضوية الكاملة لفلسطين. وأوضح أن الاعتراف الدولي بالدولة الفلسطينية قائم الآن وهناك اعتراف من أكثر من 122 دولة من أعضاء الأمم المتحدة البالغ عددها 192"

"يقترب عدد اللاجئين الفلسطينيين المسجلين لدى وكالة غوث وتشغيل اللاجئين الفلسطينيين (أونروا) من خمسة ملايين لاجئ، غالبيتهم يسكنون الأردن، والباقي الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة وعدد من الدول العربية. وحسب بيان صادر عن الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للاجئين الذي يصادف اليوم الاثنين، فإن مجموعة خصائص ميزت لاجئي الأراضي المحتلة، أبرزها ارتفاع نسبة الفقر مقارنة مع السكان غير اللاجئين، وارتفاع نسبة الخصوبة وعدد أفراد أسرهم"

"The resounding electoral victory of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned the spotlight to the European Union, which now must decide what kind of long-term strategy and relationship it wants with Turkey "

Adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held at Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985 and endorsed by General Assembly resolutions 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985.

NATO accuses Gaddafi of using mosques and children's parks as shields "NATO has accused Muammar Gaddafi of using mosques and children's parks as shields after the Libyan leader taunted the alliance in an address broadcast to protesters in Tripoli. In a speech piped through loudspeakers to a few thousand people demonstrating in Green Square, Gaddafi railed against Nato's intensified air strikes in the capital

Security Council recommends re-appointment of UN Secretary-General "The Security Council announced today that it is recommending to the General Assembly that Ban Ki-moon be appointed to a second consecutive term as Secretary-General of the United Nations.   In a closed-door meeting this morning at UN Headquarters in New York, the Council’s 15 members adopted by acclamation a resolution on extending Mr. Ban’s time in office.   The Council recommended that Mr. Ban serve a second term starting on 1 January 2012 and ending on 31 December 2016, Ambassador Nelson Messone of Gabon, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month, told journalists.   Under Article 97 of the UN Charter, the Security Council makes a recommendation and then the General Assembly makes a decision on the appointment. The consistent practice is that the Council recommends one candidate.   Earlier this month Mr. Ban, who has been in office since January 2007 and is the eighth UN Secretary...

In his March report on United Nations Reform priorities, Secretary General Kofi Annan urges Heads of State and Government to “embrace the 'responsibility to protect' as a basis for collective action against genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity "The so-called "right of humanitarian intervention" has been one of the most controversial foreign policy issues of the last decade - both when intervention has happened, as in Kosovo, and when it has failed to happen, as in Rwanda. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his report to the 2000 General Assembly, challenged the international community to try to forge consensus, once and for all, around the basic questions of principle and process involved: when should intervention occur, under whose authority, and how. The independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty was established by the Government of Canada in September 2000 to respond to that challenge"

Turkey calls for immediate end to Syrian ‘savage’ crackdown as EU mulls toughening sanctions on Assad regime "Turkey called for Syria to immediately halt a violent crackdown on protesters and pass democratic reforms, in a meeting on Thursday between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and a top Syrian envoy as the European Union began work to toughen sanctions against Syria. The crackdown, which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has condemned as “savagery,” has tested relations between the two countries, and Turkey has given sanctuary to some 8,900 Syrian refugees who have streamed across the border"

"Many of the Arab League member countries have proposed suspending Syria's membership in the organisation over violent crackdowns on pro-democracy protests by its government, the Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper said Tuesday. The Arab League currently has 22 members and four observers. Sources in the Arab League told the paper that the proposed measure is intended to demonstrate a protest against the "Syrian army and security forces' actions aimed at suppressing demonstrations in support of changes and reforms" in the Arab country"

" Our wording was accepted and led to the adoption by the 171 states participating in the WCHR of the following statements: “ the universal nature of [human] rights and freedoms is beyond question ”. “ All human rights are universal, indivisible and inter-dependent and inter-related. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner on the same footing and with the same emphasis ".

United Nations Inaction on Syria "The Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was confident that the wave of change which hit the Arab World – since the outset of this year – would not reach Syria, to the point of labeling his country as “immune” from any calls for freedom and democracy. Contrary to Al-Assad’s  expectations, since mid-March, thousands of peaceful demonstrators took to the streets in different areas of the country – in Daraa, Banias, Nawa, and elsewhere – demanding democracy and human rights"  Click here to read the full article

 يتم هنا تناول عدم قانونية الاستيطان الاسرائيلي حسب القانون الدولي كما جاء في الرأي الاستشاري لمحكمة العدل الدولية بخصوص الجدار الفاصل، وأيضاً تجريم الاستيطان كجريمة حرب بموجب النظام الأساسي (نظام روما) للمحكمة الجنائية الدولية.  أولاً: محكمة العدل الدولية  تناولت محكمة العدل الدولية في لاهاي موضوع المستوطنات الاسرائيلية في إطار الرأي الاستشاري ( ( Advisory Opinion الذي أصدرته – عام 2004 - بناءً على طلب الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة حول الآثار القانونية لبناء جدار في الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة، بما فيها القدس الشرقية وما حولها [1] .  أشارت المحكمة إلى الفقرة السادسة من المادة 49 من اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة التي تحظر على دولة الاحتلال أن ترحل أو تنقل جزءاً من سكانها المدنيين إلى الأراضي التي تحتلها، وأكدت أن هذا الحظر "لا يقتصر على ترحيل السكان أو نقلهم بالقوة، وإنما يحظر أيضاً أية تدابير تتخذها القوة القائمة بالاحتلال من أجل تنظيم أو تشجيع نقل أجزاء من سكانها إلى الأراضي المحتلة" [2] .  وقد استنتجت المحكمة أن اسرائيل "تتبع سياسة وممارسات...

يتم هنا تناول عدم قانونية الاستيطان الاسرائيلي وفق القانون الدولي، وذلك عن طريق استعراض وتحليل الوثائق الدولية ذات الصلة (سوف يتم لاحقاً تناول الموضوع من حيث الرأي الاستشاري لمحكمة العدل الدولية بخصوص الجدار الفاصل، وأيضاً من ناحية تجريم الاستيطان كجريمة حرب بموجب النظام الأساسي (نظام روما) للمحكمة الجنائية الدولية). أولاً: ميثاق الأمم المتحدة   يحظر ميثاق الأمم المتحدة بموجب الفقرة الرابعة من المادة 2 الاحتلال العسكري والاستيلاء على أراضي الغير وضمها عن طريق الحرب أو استخدام أو التهديد (أو التلويح) باستخدام القوة المسلحة. فيحرم التهديد باستعمال أو الاستعمال الفعلي للقوة العسكرية في العلاقات الدولية فيما بين الدول الأعضاء في الأمم المتحدة في المادة المذكورة سابقاً، حيث تنص على ما يلي: "يمتنع أعضاء الهيئة جميعاً في علاقاتهم الدولية عن التهديد باستعمال القوة أو استخدامها ضد سلامة الأراضي أو الاستقلال السياسي لأية دولة أو على أي وجه آخر لا يتفق ومقاصد الأمم المتحدة". فلقد أنهى ميثاق الأمم المتحدة شرعية الحصول على الأراضي بالغزو. هذا بالإضافة إلى القاعدة الآمرة...