Australia fines company for mistreatment of asylum-seekers News
Australia fines company for mistreatment of asylum-seekers

[JURIST] In the latest controversy surrounding Australia's detention of illegal immigrants seeking asylum [JURIST report], the private company responsible for running the detention camps for asylum-seekers has been fined $378,286 for mistreating 5 detainees. Global Solutions Limited [official website] was fined after an investigation revealed that during a seven hour transport from Maribyrnong and Baxter Detention facilities in September 2004, five detainees were denied food, water, and bathroom breaks, and were physically abused. Australia Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says she is outraged by the incident. [JURIST report]. Australia has recently softened its mandatory detention policy [SafeCom backgrounder] for illegal asylum seekers, especially as regards children [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.