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15 December 2013
On 10 December 2013, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a judgment in Case C 394/12. It held that the opportunities for an asylum seeker to challenge a decision to transfer him/her under the Dublin II Regulation are limited once a member state has agreed to take charge of the examination of his/her application. This decision can only be overturned when there are systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and reception conditions of that member state.
The case concerned a Somali national, Ms. Abdullahi, who entered Greece irregularly by boat. She travelled to Austria via the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. The Austrian authorities requested Hungary to take charge of her under the Dublin II Regulation, and Hungary accepted. Ms. Abdullahi appealed the transfer request and a dispute arose as to whether Greece or Hungary was responsible for examining the asylum claim in light of Article 10(1) of the Dublin II Regulation. The Austrian court asked the CJEU to clarify the procedure for determining responsibility.
Source: Court of Justice of the European Union | Case C‑394/12 | Request for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Asylgerichtshof (Austria), in the proceedings Shamso Abdullahi v. Bundesasylamt | Judgment | 10 December 2013
12 December 2013
A United States embassy spokesman in Turkey announced that the US has suspended all non-lethal aid to the opposition in northern Syria, after forces from the Islamic Front (a new coalition of six major Islamist rebel groups) seized bases and warehouses belonging to the Western-backed Supreme Military Council (SMC). Likewise, a spokesman from the British embassy in Turkey stated that ‘We have no plans to deliver any equipment while the situation remains so unclear. We will keep this under close review.’
The Islamic Front disconnected last week from the SMC and Free Syrian Army (FSA), and took over the headquarters and weapons warehouses at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. According to the US spokesman, the situation is being investigated to ‘inventory the status of U.S. equipment and supplies provided to the SMC.’ The US alone has committed 250 million dollar worth non-lethal assistance (food rations, medical supplies, but possibly also communications equipment, intelligence assistance and body armour) to be delivered to the Syrian National Coalition, local opposition councils, and the SMC.
The Islamic Front’s success in capturing the weapons stores could undermine SMC assurances to the US that no supplies sent to their fighters would fall into the hands of Islamist brigades.
Source: Reuters | U.S., Britain suspend aid to north Syria after Islamists seize weapons store
Source: Foreign Policy | U.S. Suspends Non-Lethal Aid into Northern Syria
10 December 2013
In the midst of inter-religious conflicts and widespread human rights abuses, French troops have been deployed in Central African Republic (CAR) to provide operational support to the new International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA, also referred to as AFISM-CAR).
The MISCA, under the command of the African Union (AU), is replacing and reinforcing the Mission for the consolidation of peace in Central African Republic (MICOPAX) led by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and launched in 2008. Authority over the forces of the MICOPAX is to be transferred to the MISCA on 19 December 2013, and the mission is expected to be strengthened by additional troops contribution from African states. (more…)
Source: United Nations Security Council | Resolution 2127 (2013) | Adopted by the Security Council at its 7072nd meeting | 5 December 2013
Source: The Guardian | French troops sent into Central African Republic in effort to stop bloodshed
Source: The Independent | US to fly African troops to Central African Republic
Source: European Commission | Press Release | EU commits to funding the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic
9 December 2013
The lawyers for two Guantánamo Bay detainees claimed before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that the detainees were tortured in a secret ‘black site’ in Poland. Poland has been brought before the ECtHR for allowing US officials to use ‘enhanced’ interrogations and ‘waterboarding’ technics within its territory. Ben Emmerson, the UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism argued before the Court, where ‘systematic human rights violations are alleged to have occurred, the right to know the truth is not only an individual right that belongs to the immediate victim of the violation, but also a collective rights that belongs to the whole of society.’ (more…)
Source: The Guardian | Guantánamo Bay detainees claim Poland allowed CIA torture
6 December 2013
The UN Security Council approved the French-sponsored Resolution 2127, which authorises the increase in military action in the Central African Republic (CAR) by French and African troops. The resolution provides for the deployment of African Union forces, known as the International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA), with the authorisation to use ‘appropriate measures’ to protect civilians and restore security. Additionally, French troops are now authorised ‘to take all necessary measures’ to support MISCA. Such mandate will last for a year and MISCA is expected to increase its troops from about 2,500 to 3,500, while French troops will double from the 600 currently present in the CAR.
The Central African Republic, a predominantly Christian country, has been plagued by Muslim-Christian violence after the ousting of President Francois Bozize by Muslim rebels from Chad and Sudan. The violence in the CAR includes waves of killings, torture, and rape that are attributed to the rival armed groups – the Christian Balaka fighters and the Seleka Muslim rebel army. Despite being rich in gold, diamonds, and uranium, the CAR is a poor and unstable country which often suffers from the spillover of conflicts in neighboring countries.
Source: Al Jazeera | UN passes resolution on CAR military action
Source: United Nations Security Council | Resolution 2127 (2013) | Adopted by the Security Council at its 7072nd meeting | 5 December 2013