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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Good Governance: Transnational Corporations and Human Rights

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

US and EU negotiators have agreed on a general framework within which to negotiate to reduce agricultural trade subsidies. In the absence of specific proposals, it has not been viewed as sufficient to move forward World Trade Organization talks scheduled for September. India has rejected the framework. Benin, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have issued a joint statement saying they are not prepared to start negotiation with WTO in September, pointing to the implications on WTO proposals on developing countries.

Talks regarding North Korea's nuclear programs will be held in China August 27-19. North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the US will participate. Russia, China and South Korea are all considering potential security and trade arrangements to help ease tensions.

Iraqi oil exports through the pipeline to Turkey had scarcely begun when a fire stopped production. It will take weeks to repair. Damage to this critical industry sector hurts revenues and raises the cost of occupation. This was not the only likely incident of sabotage -- a damaged water main was only one of the more serious among escalating incidents. Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise, including attacks against the police. Responsibility for the myriad attacks is wide-ranging, including loyalists of the ousted regime, nationalists and Islamists, friends and families of civilians hurt or killed by the occupying powers, and foreign terrorists.

An international sting operation brought together the US, UK and Russia. The sting was an operation represented as Islamic militants targeting a US aircraft, to convince a British arms dealer to sell an anti-aircraft missile to be used in the attack. Intelligence organizations in the three countries cooperated to trap Hemant Lakhani and two alleged accomplices.

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2. Africa

Refugees International has published "Forgotten People: The Batwa 'Pygmy' of the Great Lakes Region of Africa" calling for extension of citizenship to the indigenous Batwa hunter-gatherers in Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and in areas outside the Great lakes. http://www.refugeesinternational.org/cgi-bin/ri/bulletin?bc=00625&spotlight=1

Algerian kidnappers holding 14 European hostages in Mali have agreed to let the local Tuareg negotiator take food and medicine to the hostages. A resolution to the situation seems imminent.

Benin and Nigeria have agreed to reopen the border that had been unilaterally closed by Nigeria to combat cross-border crimes.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting between Mayi-Mayi militias and CD rebels continues as do discussions of militia disarmament. Bangladeshi peacekeeping troops have begun to join the UN mission.

Ivory Coast continues to make progress towards peace and security. 54 political prisoners have been released under an amnesty. But unofficial armed groups continue to threaten the peace process.

Kenyan police in Mombasa recovered explosives and military training manuals in a house linked to the November car bomb that blew up a hotel.

Liberian President Charles Taylor handed over power to his Vice President, Moses Blah, who has been sworn in and attended initial peace discussions in Ghana. Taylor has accepted asylum in Nigeria. The port of Monrovia has been handed over to peacekeepers and humanitarian aid is slowly resuming. The security situation remains unstable, with only 800 Nigerian soldiers in place, and 200 US marines patrolling in the vicinity. The West African peacekeeping force will eventually increase to over 3,000, but there have been repeated calls for more than 5,000, including a significant US presence.

Libya has accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and is expected to pay $2.7 billion into a UN-managed fund for the families of the victims. These measures open the way for lifting of UN sanctions against Libya. The US has already stated it will not lift its own separate sanctions program. Questions still remain over the actual responsibility for the attack. See https://terrorismcentral.com/Library/Incidents/Lockerbie/LockerbieSubList.html

Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta has seen more ethnic fighting between the Ijaws and Itsekiri, killing at least three.

Rwanda's presidential elections will begin on August 25.

The situation in Somalia has deteriorated. The future of the transitional government is uncertain, as the President says his government will remain in power until an alternative is in place, while the Prime Minister says the transitional mandate expired, making the President's government illegitimate. Meanwhile, armed groups have exchanged fire, and there have been a number of fatal criminal attacks.

Peace talks in Sudan have resumed.

In Swaziland, protesters against the absolute rule of King Mswati III and his defiance of court orders were violently suppressed by police using tear gas and batons. Mswati dismissed the concerns.

Former Ugandan dictator has died in hospital in Saudi Arabia, his country of exile. Meanwhile, in eastern Uganda, there was renewed fighting between Ugandan armed forced and rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has survived a parliamentary impeachment vote.

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3. Americas

Argentina's congress has voted to annul laws providing amnesty for former members of the military dictatorship of 1976-1983, opening the way for prosecutions of human rights abuses during the "Dirty War".

Chile's main trade union federation, the 600,000 member Central Workers Unit (CUT), went on strike for improved working conditions and benefits. It was the first national strike since the end of military rule, almost 20 years ago. Police used tear gas and water canon to disperse demonstrators, broke up a 3,000 person march, intervened in a riot and arrested 130 people.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, after meeting with US military officials reviewing the effects of US military aid, has increased pressure on the army to perform better in their fight against left-wing rebels. The largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has undertaken a series of deadly car bombings. In these and armed clashes, more than a dozen people were killed last week, including three FARC guerillas and seven United Self-Defense Forces (AUC) paramilitaries.

Mexico's Zapatista rebels have created 30 new town councils to govern areas of Chiapas in their control. With these in place, they will withdraw from roadblocks and stop charging fees for travel through the region. The Mexican government has said that it would respect the local councils and that peace talks could be restarted.

Paraguay's President Luis Gonzalez Macchi has handed over power to his successor, Nicanor Duarte. Macchi has been prohibited from leaving the country; he faces charges of embezzlement.

When the power went out in New York City and large parts of the northeast and midwest, the first question answered was that there was no evidence of terrorist involvement. The cause of the blackout, affecting some 50 million people, has not yet been determined, but has raised questions about the stability and security of this sector of the critical infrastructure. Telecommunications including the internet were virtually unaffected by the outage.

The American Bar Association has called for the US Congress and White House to ensure defendants at military tribunals have adequate access to civilian attorneys. To date, minimal changes have been made in the rules of the military tribunals, which currently provide for a military officer to act for the defense and grant no confidentiality. Discussions regarding the British detainees at Guantanamo Bay have continued.

US anti-war activists who went to Iraq before the invasion have been told that under sanctions against Iraq, including a travel ban, they could face penalties of up to 12 years in jail and $1 million in fines.

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4. Asia Pacific

The Pacific Forum has elected Australian Greg Unwin as the new secretary general, an appointment normally given to one of the small island states. There has been concern that Australian proposals for regional efforts to combat money laundering, terrorism, poverty and so on could compromise sovereignty of smaller countries.

Australia will renew cooperation with Indonesian special forces Kopassus unit, despite its association with atrocities in East Timor in 1999. Cooperation with Indonesia is of particular interest now that al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the Marriott Hotel bomb last week and in its communication singled out Australia as a particular target.

China has discharged the last SARS patient as it welcomes a team of experts investigating links between animals and the virus.

Indonesia plans to tighten internal security law to prevent further terrorist attacks. Another victim of last week's Marriott Hotel bombing has died, increasing the death toll to 11. Ten people have been arrested in connection with the explosion and Indonesia remains in a heightened state of alert.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo has lifted the "state of rebellion" declared after the military mutiny in July. More than 300 soldiers have now been charged in connection with the failed mutiny.

Solomon Islands warlord Harold Keke has surrendered to the Australian-led peacekeeping force. He is now the subject of a murder investigation and under continual guard to prevent possible assassination. Members of the Malaita Eagle Force(MEF), a leading militant group, surrendered nearly 100 weapons in a public ceremony.

In Thailand, security officials were tipped off to the presence of wanted Jemaah Islamiah terrorist suspect Riduan Isamuddin "Hambali". Assisted by the US Central Intelligence Agency, he was arrested and taken into US custody at a secret location.

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5. Europe

France wants a settlement with Libya for the 1989 UTA airliner bombing that killed 170 equivalent to that reached for the Lockerbie bombing. This demand could delay lifting the UN sanctions against Libya.

In Germany, three businessmen have been arrested in connection with attempted smuggling of aluminum tubes to North Korea for its nuclear weapons program.

The Serbian government has rejected a UN proposal for an independent Kosovo in favor of it joining the federation of Serbia and Montenegro. Murders and armed attacks continue to occur weekly in Kosovo, including a recent atrocity in which a group of about 50 children who were swimming in a river were sprayed with machine gun fire. Two were killed and four seriously wounded.

It has now been one year since Medicins Sans Frontieres worker Arjan Erkel was kidnapped by gunmen in Dagestan, Russia, a situation blamed on lack of involvement by Russian authorities.

British authorities have been on high alert following a threat of an imminent al Qaeda suicide attack. A simulated terrorist attack against the London Underground is planned for September 7.

An investigation into security breaches at Windsor Castle following the "comic terrorist" gatecrasher has found prior security breaches and numerous security failures, including operational flaws and insufficient planning.

Northern Ireland has commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Omagh bombing with new hopes of recognition for the victims now that sufficient funding has been raised to pursue a civilian case.
https://terrorismcentral.com/Library/Incidents/OmaghBombing/OmaghBombList.html
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2002/021002.html#FeatureArticle

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6. Middle East

Bahraini investigators researching the fate of ten people missing in Iraq since 1991 have declared them dead.

Iran may put some al Qaeda suspects on trial but has no intention of allowing the US to interrogate those it has in custody, although it may repatriate Saudis. Government attempts to remove legal and social inequalities against women have been rejected by the hardline Guardian Council. The Iranian government is proceeding to the second development phase of its nuclear power plant and is planning for a second.

Violent incidents in Israel and the occupied territories continue to put the roadmap peace process at risk. There were two Palestinian suicide attacks: in Israel, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade bomber killed himself and one other, injuring ten. Outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the Hamas-affiliated bomber and one Israeli were killed. Israeli troops demolished the home of one of the bombers and entered the West Bank city of Hebron to search for the local leader of Islamic Jihad's armed wing, Mohammed Seder. Seder was killed in the attack and Islamic Jihad has vowed revenge.

Despite these attacks, Israel has moved to free additional prisoners, has agreed to turn four more West Bank cities to Palestinian control, and will permit Yasser Arafat to visit his sister's grave, following her death in Gaza earlier in the week.

Lebanon and Syria are concerned over the escalation of tension in the Levant. In southern Lebanon, Israeli aircraft attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in retaliation over shells fired to northern Israel that killed a teenage boy. Hezbollah had reacted to the death of a Hezbollah militant and continued overflights by Israeli forces.

Saudi security forces fought a gun battle with suspected militants, killing four policemen and one militant. Authorities have pledged a decisive battle against terrorism in an operation that will include questioning as many as 12,000 citizens.

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7. South Asia

Afghanistan saw its bloodiest 24-hours in more than a year as 61 people were killed and dozens wounded in violent attacks across the country, including factional fighting, battles with Taliban and al Qaeda, and a bus bomb that killed 15 people. Attacks against aid workers and Afghan soldiers forced the closure of missions in Helmland and Kandahar provinces. More forces are required to secure Afghanistan outside of Kabul.

NATO has now assumed control of peacekeeping in Afghanistan. This is NATO's first operation outside of Europe.

All Afghan refugees six years of age or more will now undergo compulsory iris scanning during repatriation to try to limit abuses in which multiple family assistance packages were claimed against the same child.

It was also a violent week in the India, as separatist groups protested independence day celebrations. In the state of Tripura, the separatist rebel All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) claimed responsibility for a landmine that killed five. Another attack at the end of the week killed 30 villagers. Assam separatists clashed with government troops, killing six rebels. In Manipur, a bomb on a bridge killed six bus passengers.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, the militant Freedom Force set of an explosive device near a restaurant, killing at least 45. In a separate grenade attack on an Indian army vehicle, one civilian died.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has called for a ceasefire along the Line of Control separating Kashmir. Border incidents in Pakistan continue, with two Pakistani soldiers killed by US troops operating at the Afghan border. In the north, a shootout with suspected al Qaeda members killed one man.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

The Blaster ("Lovesan") worm that infects most versions of Microsoft Windows infected more than 385,000 computers. Two variants, Blaster-B and Blaster-C have also been identified. For details see Internet Storm Center
http://isc.sans.org/dairy.html?date=2003-08-11

The US federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies issued proposed guidance for identity theft protection and have requested public comment. http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/bcreg/2003/20030812/

Australia's first case of ATM skimming has ended in the guilty plea of Kok Meng Ng, charged with financial transactions act and computer crimes.

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9. Finance

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has listed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (Mujahedin-E Khalq, MEK et al) as a global terrorist organization. It has also expanded the list of prohibited persons in connection with sanctions against Burma.

Note: Finance now incorporates narcoterrorism

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10. Human Rights

The UN Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights has adopted a resolution regarding the effects of measures to combat terrorism on human rights. They called for all countries to ensure that anti-terrorism measures complied with obligations under international human rights laws.

Argentina's congress has voted to annul laws providing amnesty for former members of the military dictatorship of 1976-1983, opening the way for prosecutions of human rights abuses during the "Dirty War".

Chileans tortured under Pinochet's military regime will receive compensation from the government that previously had been provided only to families of those killed. Pinochet's dictatorship was in power from 1973-1990.

The Israeli parliament's July passage of a marriage law that prevents Palestinians married to Israelis from gaining citizenship or residency rights has raised widespread criticism, and has been called a violation of international human rights law.

Detention policies in the UK and Australia were criticized last week. In the UK, the chief inspector of prisons has called for an end to long-term detention of children in immigration removal centers. The high Court of Australia ruled that indefinite mandatory detention is unlawful.

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Daniel J. Baas has been arrested in Cincinnati in connection with hacking into the computer system of Acxiom and gaining access to personal information.

Armando Valencia Cornelio and seven associates were arrested in Mexico on suspicion of drug trafficking. He was wanted in both Mexico and the US, and is suspected of involvement in a third of drug shipments to the US as well as links to Colombian operations. He will be tried in Mexico prior to any possible extradition to the US.

Joynal Hazari, a Bangladeshi opposition politician of the Awami League, has been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for possession of weapons and ammunition.

Riduan Isamuddin ("Hambali") was arrested in Thailand in a joint operation between Thai authorities and the US Central Intelligence Agency. Hambali is alleged to be the operational head of Jemaah Islamiah and connected to al Qaeda.

Anthony Perry Jensen was acquitted at the High Court of Fez in Morocco of charges associated with the May suicide bomb attacks and of involvement in the Islamic militant organization Salafia Jihadia. He was sentenced to four months in prison for improper registration of his marriage.

Hemant Lakhani and two alleged accomplices, Yehuda Abraham and Moinudden Ahmed Hamid, have been charged in US court of providing material support to terrorists and illegal weapons dealing.

Abdelghani Mzoudi is on trial in Germany, charged with 3,066 counts of an accessory to murder in connection with the September 11 attacks in the US and accused of membership in al Qaeda and providing support to members of the Hamburg terrorist cell that carried out the hijackings. Mzoudi is the second person to be tried in Germany in connection with the attacks on the US.

Robert Naylor, Benjamin Wilson and James Patrick Moloney have been charged in British court under the Terrorism Act with weapons violations and having money for terrorism.

Kok Meng Ng pleaded guilty in Australian court for breaching the financial transactions act and computer crimes in connection with Australia's first case of ATM skimming.

Juvenal Rugambarara was arrested in Uganda and has been transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania. He is charged with nine counts related to genocide in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Mhill Sokoli was found guilty by Belgian court of human trafficking. He is believed to have smuggled as many as 12,000 people from Belgium into the UK and has been sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of GBP85,000.

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12. Transportation

The investigation and arrest of Hemant Lakhani and two alleged accomplices in connection with smuggling an anti-aircraft missile to be used against a commercial US aircraft has again raised fears over this threat to aviation. Most airports use predictable approaches that are highly susceptible to this form of attack. A failed attempt was seen recently in the failed attack coinciding with the Kenyan hotel bombing.

Taiwanese authorities, acting on a request from the US, boarded a North Korean ship and seized barrels of phosphorus pentasulfide. It is an ordinary chemical used to manufacture insecticide and as a fuel additive, but could also potentially be used in chemical weapons production.

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

In China, construction workers came upon five metal drums that they cut into pieces and sold to a recycling facility. At least 36 people, including the construction workers and others who came into contact with the barrels, became seriously ill. The drums had contained chemicals, probably mustard gas that had been left by Japanese troops after World War II. Japan has sent a medical team to help and will also dispose of the chemicals.

The US Institute of Medicine has recommended that the focus on smallpox preparedness should move away from vaccinations (that are dangerous relative to the small risk) and towards improved coordination and response. They also said a vaccination for the general public is not recommended.

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14. Recently Published

Robert Baer, "Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude" Brown

Joseph W. Eaton "Privacy Card: A Low Cost Strategy to Combat Terrorism" (re-issue) Rowman and Littlefield

Paul Farmer, "Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor" University of California Press

Financial Times feature on Military Outsourcing, August 11 and 12 http://www.ft.com/military

Paul Findley "Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam" Amana Publications

Donald Kagan "The Peloponnesian War" Viking

Ronit Matalon, transl Jessica Cohen, "Bliss" (novel) Metropolitan/Henry Holt

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Good Governance: Transnational Corporations and Human Rights

Poor governance is one of the major contributing factors to the emergence of terrorism and political violence, and the systems that support them. Efforts to improve governance have largely focused on political institutions, but increasingly the role of corporations has come to the forefront.

In the US, the scandals surrounding the collapse of corporate giants Enron, WorldCom and others have led to new legislation to attempt to forestall future such collapses and to punish the perpetrators. The Sarbonnes-Oxley Act is particularly focused on corporate governance. In addition, transnational criminal cases have begun to open the way towards not just extradition but to cooperation and in some cases an implicit acceptance of the concept of universal jurisdiction applied to multinational crimes. Argentina's recent efforts to lift immunity of those involved in the "dirty war" and cooperate with Spanish and French authorities is one example. Another is the case of Unicol, in which a US court recently ruled that a case brought against it for human rights abuses in Burma would move forward.

Around the world there are a plethora of standards and a wealth of local laws. There are many voluntary standards for specific industries, including many focused on working conditions and labor rights as well as environmental laws. For the first time, an international body has undertaken a review of these initiatives around the world, and has developed a set of norms, or best practices, that can be used to apply universally to all international corporations.

The organization that has undertaken this is the United Nations Sub-commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. This expert panel is a subsidiary of the Commission on Human Rights and was established in 1947. Its 26 members undertake studies related to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and makes recommendations for protecting these rights.

At their 55th session, meeting last week, the Sub-commission unanimously approved the "Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.8)" and will transmit them to the Commission on Human Rights for its consideration and adoption. Only after adoption by the full commission will the new rules begin to apply.

The guidelines describe these general obligations:
"States have the primary responsibility to promote, secure the fulfilment of, respect, ensure respect of, and protect human rights recognized in international as well as national law, including assuring that transnational corporations and other business enterprises respect human rights. Within their respective spheres of activity and influence, transnational corporations and other business enterprises have the obligation to promote, secure the fulfilment of, respect, ensure respect of, and protect human rights recognized in international as well as national law".

And then proceeds to describe these rights and obligations:
* Right to Equal Opportunity and Non-Discriminatory Treatment
* Right to Security of Persons
* Rights of Workers
* Respect for National Sovereignty and Human Rights
* Obligations with regard to Consumer Protection
* Obligations with regard to Environmental Protection

It then describes how to implement the Norms, in a fashion similar to that previously used only by nation states whereby the corporation would "adopt, disseminate, and implement internal rules of operation", report on their progress, and periodically be subject to monitoring and verification by the UN.

Although moving away from voluntary industry initiatives and clearly meant to be binding on the corporations, it is not clear what force of law the Norms would have, although they do provide guidance for more binding steps in the future. Despite this lack of force, the recommendations will provide more support to those companies already complying with global standards and will put more pressure on those that do not. For those companies sitting on the fence, fearing compliance could be a competitive disadvantage, this is likely to push them towards adoption. They also provide a universal norm that will help close cross-border loopholes and support local enforcement efforts.

Additional Resources:

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