International brief ~ US to request UN resolution on UN peacekeepers in Darfur News
International brief ~ US to request UN resolution on UN peacekeepers in Darfur

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, US President George W. Bush [official profile] has announced [press briefing transcript] that the United States will be asking the UN Security Council [official website] to accelerate Sudan's acceptance of UN troops to supplement the struggling African Union peacekeeping mission currently attempting to enforce a cease fire in the Darfur region [JURIST news archive]. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] will be requesting approval of a US draft resolution from the Council on Tuesday when it meets to hear a report from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] on the current status of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Sudan [government website] has continually rejected attempts [JURIST report] to allow Western soldiers onto Sudanese territory, claiming it fears imperialistic motives would overrule humanitarian protection as the main impetus behind the UN mission. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

In other international legal news …

  • The UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) [official website] has said that it has completed gathering data on domestic actions taken by all UN member states to comply with UN Security Council counter-terrorism resolutions and will now focus on taking steps to help nations "enhance" their implementation of the relevant international treaties. Part of the process will include training domestic legal professionals on how to implement international treaties into regular domestic legal practice, as well as encouraging political elements of government to take the necessary steps to move from being a signatory of a convention to ratifying and implementing the conventions into domestic law. The CTC was created by UN Security Council Resolution 1373 [PDF text] and mandates all UN members to enforce international counter-terrorism conventions and legislation. The UN News Centre has more.
  • The trial of four men accused of assisting Indonesia's most wanted terrorist Noordin Mohammad Top in the October 1, 2005 suicide bombings of two cities on the island of Bali began Tuesday, with each of the four men facing charges [JURIST report] that could result in the death penalty under Indonesian anti-terrorism laws. All four are allegedly members of Jemaah Islamiya [MIPT backgrounder], a radical Islamist group allegedly responsible for numerous bombings on the Bali island. Government officials admitted that none of the four men were actually involved in the bombing of the two different tourist centers in Bali and would likely face life imprisonment rather than death if found guilty. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Indonesia [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.