NATO presses for capture of Serb war crimes fugitives by end 2006 News
NATO presses for capture of Serb war crimes fugitives by end 2006

[JURIST] NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer [official profile] Monday called on Serbia and Bosnia to step up their efforts to find wanted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounders], both indicted for genocide and other war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. After more than 10 years as fugitives, de Hoop Scheffer expressed his hope that both men could be brought to justice before the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] by the end of the year. At stake is the tentative agreement between NATO [official website] and the two nations to sign a Partnership for Peace [NATO backgrounder] agreement, a document that reaffirms defense cooperation between NATO and non-member countries. Previously, UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte [JURIST report] and EU High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Lord Paddy Ashdown [JURIST report] also pressed for the arrests. NATO will hold several meetings in 2006 to discuss possible extensions of a formal partnership to aspirant countries while the European Commission [official website] agreed [JURIST report] to negotiate with Bosnia to form a cooperation agreement that may result in the country's full membership [EU enlargement background materials] to the EU. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.