MONTEVIDEO CONVENTION

The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States was a treaty (which was later accepted as part of customary international law) signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, at the Seventh International Conference of American States. At this conference, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared the so-called Good Neighbor Policy, which opposed U.S. armed intervention in inter-American affairs. This was a diplomatic attempt by Franklin D. Roosevelt to reverse the perception of "Yankee imperialism," brought about by policies instituted (largely) by his predecessor, President Herbert Hoover. The convention was signed by 19 states, three with reservations (Brazil, Peru and the United States).

The convention sets out the definition, rights and duties of statehood. Most well-known is article 1, which sets out the four criteria for statehood that have sometimes been recognized as an accurate statement of customary international law:

The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

Furthermore, the first sentence of article 3 explicitly states that "The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states." This is known as the declarative theory of statehood.

Some have questioned whether these criteria are sufficient, as they allow less-recognized entities like the Republic of China (Taiwan) or even entirely non-recognized entities like the Principality of Sealand to claim full status as states. According to the alternative constitutive theory of statehood, a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. It should not be confused with the Estrada doctrine.

There have also been attempts to further broaden the convention's definition, although they have gained less support. Founders of non-territorial micronations commonly assert that the requirement in the Montevideo Convention of a defined territory is in some way wrong-headed, for largely unspecified reasons. Some non-territorial entities, notably the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, are indeed considered subjects of international law, but these do not aspire to statehood.

Signatories

The states that signed this convention are: Honduras, United States of America, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Cuba[2]. However, as a restatement of customary international law, the Montevideo Convention merely codified existing legal norms and its principles and therefore does not apply merely to the signatories, but to all subjects of international law as a whole.

The European Union, in the principal statement of its Badinter Committee,[4] follows the Montevideo Convention in its definition of a state: by having a territory, a population, and a political authority. The committee also found that the existence of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory and not a determinative factor of statehood.

Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, adheres to the same principle, stating that "neither a political unit needs to be recognized to become a state, nor does a state have the obligation to recognize another one. At the same time, neither recognition is enough to create a state, nor does its absence abolish it."

Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (FULL TXT)

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/intdip/interam/intam03.htm

SOURCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo_Convention

Arab Militiamen in Sudan Said to Use Rape as Weapon of Ethnic Cleansing

It was not an isolated incident, according to human rights officials and aid workers in this region of western Sudan, where 1.2 million Africans have been driven from their lands by government-backed Arab militias, tribal fighters known as Janjaweed.

Interviews with two dozen women at camps, schools and health centers in two provincial capitals in Darfur yielded consistent reports that the Janjaweed were carrying out waves of attacks targeting African women. The victims and others said the rapes seemed to be a systematic campaign to humiliate the women, their husbands and fathers, and to weaken tribal ethnic lines. In Sudan, as in many Arab cultures, a child's ethnicity is attached to the ethnicity of the father.

"The pattern is so clear because they are doing it in such a massive way and always saying the same thing," said an international aid worker who is involved in health care. She and other international aid officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared reprisals or delays of permits that might hamper their operations.

She showed a list of victims from Rokero, a town outside of Jebel Marra in central Darfur where 400 women said they were raped by the Janjaweed. "It's systematic," the aid worker said. "Everyone knows how the father carries the lineage in the culture. They want more Arab babies to take the land. The scary thing is that I don't think we realize the extent of how widespread this is yet."

Another international aid worker, a high-ranking official, said: "These rapes are built on tribal tensions and orchestrated to create a dynamic where the African tribal groups are destroyed. It's hard to believe that they tell them they want to make Arab babies, but it's true. It's systematic, and these cases are what made me believe that it is part of ethnic cleansing and that they are doing it in a massive way."

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell flew to the capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday to pressure the government to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. U.S. officials said Powell may threaten to seek action by the United Nations if the Sudanese government blocks aid and continues supporting the Janjaweed. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is due to arrive on Khartoum this week.

The crisis in Darfur is a result of long-simmering ethnic tensions between nomadic cattle and camel herders, who view themselves as Arabs, and the more sedentary farmers, who see their ancestry as African. In February 2003, activists from three of Darfur's African tribes started a rebellion against the government, which is dominated by an Arab elite.

Riding on horseback and camel, the Janjaweed, many of them teenagers or young adults, burned villages, stole and destroyed grain supplies and animals and raped women, according to refugees and U.N. and human rights investigators. The government used helicopter gunships and aging Russian planes to bomb the area, the U.N. and human rights representatives said. The U.S. government has said it is investigating the killings of an estimated 30,000 people in Darfur and the displacement of the more than 1 million people from their tribal lands to determine whether the violence should be classified as genocide.

The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said in a June 22 report that it investigated "the use of rape by both Janjaweed and Sudanese soldiers against women from the three African ethnic groups targeted in the 'ethnic cleansing' campaign in Darfur." It added, "The rapes are often accompanied by dehumanizing epithets, stressing the ethnic nature of the joint government-Janjaweed campaign. The rapists use the terms 'slaves' and 'black slaves' to refer to the women, who are mostly from the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups."

Despite a stigma among tribal groups in Sudan against talking about rape, Darfur elders have been allowing and even encouraging their daughters to speak out because of the frequency of the attacks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16001-2004Jun29.html

SUDAN CRISIS

What Is the Situation in Sudan?

An increasingly dire situation in Darfur in western Sudan has devolved into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to international observers and the U.S. State Department. A

State Department report issued Sept. 9 says that 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in Sudan while at least 200,000 have fled to neighboring Chad. As many as 405 villages have been destroyed and and more than 100 others significantly damaged. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports at least 50,000 people have died as a result of the conflict between government-backed Arab militias and Africans in western Sudan.


Living conditions in the region threaten hundreds of thousands of people. The U.N. World Food Program delivered food to nearly one million people in Darfur in August, falling short of its goal of 1.2 million people. If the situation persists, the U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that at least 350,000 people will die of disease and malnutrition by the end of the year.

How Did This Happen?

Tensions between Arabs and Africans competing for scarce natural resources in Darfur first surfaced during the 1970s. In February 2003, rebel groups of African Muslims, fed up with chronic inequalities between Africans and the ruling Arab elite (who are also Muslim), struck out against the Khartoum government. The government responded by arming local militias to crack down on mainly three ethnic groups: the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

The government-backed groups, known as "Janjaweed," terrorize Africans, destroying villages, killing and maiming men, ransacking food supplies and blocking international assistance. The Washington Post’s Emily Wax reports that the Janjaweed also carry out systematic campaigns of rape against African women in an attempt to humiliate the women and their families and weaken tribal ethnic lines. Human rights groups say the government, by funding the Janjaweed militants, is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign.

A U.N. report accuses local government leaders of instituting a policy of "forced starvation" that simultaneously has government officials denying problems with food distribution while militias prevent food delivery. Aid workers and journalists have been kept from visiting some affected areas since government-backed militias have blocked access to 31 of the approximately 130 camps in Darfur.



What Is the International Community Doing?

Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sept. 9 that the situation in Darfur constitutes “genocide” by the Sudanese government and Arab militias. Powell, who visited Sudan in early July, said the State Department came to its conclusion after interviews with refugees revealed "consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities committed against non-Arab villagers." His comments, made before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came a day after the United States circulated a draft U.N. resolution calling for a stronger international security force in Darfur. The House and Senate passed resolutions in July calling the situation in Darfur "genocide" and urged President Bush to seek a U.N. protection force.


The 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide requires signatories, including the United States, to prevent and punish genocide. Some in the U.S. government argued that the explicit use of the word genocide might alienate the Sudanese government and limit the United States’s ability to pressure leaders to stop the Janjaweed. Human rights officials counter that the U.S. declaration will draw attention to the crisis and prompt action by the U.N. Security Council.


The Security Council passed a resolution on July 30, after much negotiation, threatening to consider sanctions against Sudan if it failed within 30 days to apprehend and prosecute the Janjaweed. Sanctions against the North African country’s oil industry are also under consideration. It remains to be seen when the Security Council will take up the new U.S.-proposed resolution. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Darfur in early July and appealed to U.N. member nations to provide more financial support to U.N. humanitarian efforts in the region.



How Does This Relate to Sudan’s Civil War?

Sudan has been wracked by a 21-year civil war between the Arab Muslims in the north, who dominate the government, and black Africans in the south, represented by the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army, who are mostly animist or Christian. More than 2 million people have been killed, mostly due to starvation. A U.S.-backed peace deal, signed in May in Naivasha, Kenya, paved the way for a power-sharing agreement designed to end the continent’s longest-running civil war.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20765-2004Jul1.html

Treaty of Paris

Article 3 of the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898 defines the metes and bounds of the archipelago by longitude and latitude, degrees and seconds. Technical descriptions are made of the scope of the archipelago as in this may be found on the surface of the earth.

ARTICLE III

Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippines Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within the following line:

A line running from west to east along or near the twentieth parallel of north latitude, and through the middle of the navigable channel of Bacchi, from the one hundred and eighteenth to the one hundred and eighteenth to the one hundred and twenty-seventh degree meridian of longitude east of Greenwich, thence along the parallel and forty-five minutes north latitude to its intersection with the meridian of longitude one hundred and nineteen degrees and thirty-five minutes east of Greenwich to the parallel of latitude seven degrees and forty minutes north to its intersection with the one hundred and sixteenth degree meridian of longitude east of Greenwich, and thence along the one hundred and eighteenth degree meridian of longitude east of Greenwich to the point of beginning.

The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars, within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty.

http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/treaty1898.html

Philippine Archipelago

To understand the extent of the territorial sea one must begin with the understanding of baselines. The baseline is the “low-water line along the coast as marked on a large scale charts officially recognized by the coastal state”.

There are two ways of drawing base line. The “normal baseline” is one drawn following the low-water line along the coast as marked on a large scale charts officially recognized by the coastal state. Archipelagic States, however, instead of following the normal baseline, have drawn “straight baseline”. Instead of following the sinuosities of the coast, straight lines are drawn connecting selected points on the coast without appreciable departure from general shape of coast.

Straight baseline method refers to imaginary straight lines are drawn joining the outermost points of outermost islands of the archipelago, enclosing an area the ratio of which should not be more than 9:1 (water to land); provided that the drawing of baselines shall not depart, to any appreciable extent, from the general configuration of the archipelago. The waters within the baselines shall be considered internal waters; while the breadth of the territorial sea shall then be measured from the baselines.

Archipelagic Water

Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution said: “The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.” This assertion, together with the “straight baseline method” form the Archipelagic Doctrine.

Internal water refers to water within the baseline

Territorial sea means water outside the baseline extending up to 12 miles.

Contiguous Zone is the zone contiguous to territorial sea but it may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breath of the territorial sea is measured.

Exclusive Economic Zone which extend to a distance of 200 nautical miles beyond and from the baselines from which the territorial sea is measured.

Legal status of the territorial sea, of the air space over the territorial sea and of its bed and subsoil.

1. The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea.

2. This sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil.

3. The sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this Convention and to other rules of international law. ( Part II, Art. II, Section 1 of the UN Convention on the Law of The Sea)

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm

Bernas, The 1987 Philippine Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines ( 2003 edition)

Philippine National Territory

Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution

National Territory

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

ORGANS OF UNITED NATIONS

The General Assembly

- is the most representative of the United Nations.

Members:

- All members of the Organization, each of which is entitled to send not more than five representatives and five alternates as well as technical staff as it may need.

Session:

- Regular annual session – beginning on the third Tuesday of September

- Special session

o At all of the majority of its members

o At the request of the Security Council

Voting:

There must be a determination of whether the question is important or not. This matter is decided by a majority of those present and voting.

- Important questions- taken by two thirds of those present and voting

- Not important questions / all other matters- decided by majority of those present and voting

Functions:

- Deliberative

Initiating studies and making recommendations toward the progressive development of international law and its codification and recommending measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation which it deems likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relation among nations.

- Supervisory

Receiving and considering annual and special reports from the other organs of the United Nations, making recommendations for the coordination of their various functions and approving trusteeship arrangements in non-strategic areas.

- Financial

Consideration and approval of the budget of the Organization, the apportionment of expenses among its members and approval of financial arrangements with the specialized agencies.

- Elective

Election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, all the members of the Economic and Social Council, and some of the members of the Trusteeship Council, as well as, in concurrence with the Security Council, the Secretary-General and the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

- Constituent

Admission of members and the amendment of the Charter of the United Nations.

Security Council

- the key organ of the United Nations in the maintenance of the international peace and security.

Members:

- 5 permanent members (the Big Five)

-China

- France

- United Kingdom

- Russia

- United States

*permanent members was given preferred position because of the feeling that they were states that, in view of their prestige and power, would provide leadership and physical force that might be needed to preserve the peace of the world

- 10 non-permanent members

- 5 from African and Asian states

- 2 from Latin American states

- 2 from Western European and other states

- 1 from Eastern European states

* elected for 2 years

* not eligible for immediate re-election

*geographical distribution of the non-permanent members was recognition of the relative importance of the areas affected in the maintenance of international order.

Sessions:

Voting:

Governed by Yalta Formula which is incorporated in Article 27 of the Chater.

Each member shall have one vote but distinction must be made between procedural matters and substantive matters.

- Procedural matters- decided by the affirmative vote of at least 9 members

- Substantial matters- decided by the concurrence of at least 9 members, but including the Big Five

*No member, permanent or not, is allowed to vote on questions concerning the pacific settlement of a dispute to which it is a party.

*a permanent member can cast what is known as veto and thereby prevent agreement on a non-procedural question even if it is supported by all the other members of the Security Council.

*a permanent member may also exercise the so called double veto or the Rule of Great power Unanimity by means of which it can disapprove any proposal to consider a question merely procedural and thereafter vote against the question itself on the merits.

Functions:

- Pacific settlement of dispute or, when necessary, even preventive or enforcement action

LIMITATION: dispute must be international, that is, it must not be an internal dissension, such as civil war UNLESS the parties themselves submit the matters to the United Nation.

- Approves trusteeship agreement in strategic areas.

- Performs a number of voting and constituent functions such as those relating to the admission and discipline of the members of the United Nations.

- Election of judges of International Court of Justice and Secretary –General.

- Amendment of Charter of United Nations.

Economic and Social Council

Members:

- 54 members

*elected for three-year terms by General-Assembly.

*may be re-elected immediately.

Sessions:

- Regular session- as required in accordance with its rules

- Special session- at the request of a majority of its members

*members of the United Nations and representatives of the specialized agencies may be allowed to participate, without vote, in the deliberations of the Council.

Voting:

- Each member has one vote and decisions are reached by the majority of those present and voting.

- Members of the UN and representatives of the specialized agencies may be allowed to participate but cannot vote in the deliberations of the Council.

Function:

- Responsibility for the promotion of international economic and social cooperation is vested in the General Assembly and, under its authority, the Economic and Social Council.

- It exert efforts toward:

o Higher standard of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development.

o Solutions of international economic, social, health and related problems, and international, cultural and educational cooperation.

o Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

- Collaborates and may enter into agreements, subject to the approval of the General Assembly, with specialized agencies like the International Monetary Fund and the International Trade Commissions.

*in the performance of its duty, the organs like the Commissions on the Status of Women and the regional economic commissions for Europe, Asia and Far East, and Latin America.

International Court of Justice

- judicial organ of the United Nations.

Members:

- 15 judges

*elected by absolute majority vote in the General Assembly and the Security Council.

*QUALIFICATION:

- high moral character

- possesses the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to their highest judicial offices or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law.

*no two of them may be nationals of the same state. In event that more than one national of the same state obtain the required majorities, only the ELDEST shall be considered elected.

*having a term of nine years

*may be re-elected

*The court shall elect its President and Vice-President who shall serve for tree years and may be re-elected

Sessions:

- Shall permanently in session, at the Hugue or elsewhere EXCEPT during the judicial vacations and may meet either:

-en banc

-chambers- composed of three or more judges

Voting:

- All questions are decided by a majority of the judges present

QUORUM: 9 when the full Court is sitting.

Functions:

- Decide contentious cases

- Render advisory opinions

Secretariat

- chief administrative organ of the United Nations which is headed by Secretary-General

Secretary-General

- Chosen by the general assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council.

- His term is fixed at five years.

- May be re-elected.

- Highest representative of the United Nations and uthorized to act in its behalf.

- Entitled to full diplomatic emmunities and priviledges which only the Security Council may waive.

- Immunities and priviledges of other key-officials of the United Nations may be waived by him.

Functions:

-To bring the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security or he can personally mediate such matter upon authority of the Security Council.

-Act as secretary in all meetings of the General Assembly, Sicurity Council and the Trusteeship Council and perform any other duties as may be assigned to him by these organs.

-Prepares the budget of the United Nations for Submissions to the General Assembly.

-Provides technical facilities to the different organs of the Organization

-Coordinates its vast administrative machinery.

*Secretary-General and the members of his staff are international officers solely responsible to the Organization and are prohibited from seeking or receiving instruction from any government or any other authority external to the United Nations.

Trusteeship

- organ charged with the duty of assisting the Security Council and the General Assembly in the administration of the International trusteeship system.

Members:

- The members of the United Nations administering trust territories.

- Permanent members of the Security Council not administering trust territories.

- Many other members elected for three-year terms by General Assembly as maybe necessary to ensure that the total number of the members of the Trusteeship Council is divided equally between those members of the UN which administers trust territories and those which do not.

Sessions:

- Regular session as required with its rules

- Special session at the request of a majority of its members.

Voting:

- Each member has one vote and decisions are reached by a majority of those present and voting.

Functions:

- Consider reports submitted by the administering authorities.

- Accept petitions and examine them in consultation with the administering authorities

- Provide for periodic visits to the trust territories at times agreed upon with the administering authorities.

- Take such other actions in conformity with the terms of the questionnaire on the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories.