Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

30 July 203

IRAQ

• NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson called for greater international involvement in Iraq, saying the more global organizations are engaged the better the situation will be on the ground. Lord Robertson spoke to reporters briefly on Tuesday during a two-day meeting at UN headquarters between the United Nations and regional organizations. Asked how the meeting and the involvement of international and regional organizations could help the situation in Iraq, the NATO chief said there were lessons to be learned from the Balkans and Afghanistan. Asked what role NATO could play in Iraq, he noted that 11 NATO countries are in the country along with six of the seven countries that are going to join the military alliance next year, “so we’re already engaged and involved,” he added. (AP 300440 Jul 03)

WAR ON TERRORISM

• Detailed information about al-Qaida’s activities is not being reported to the UN as required because of the stigma in some countries that terrorists might be living there, the chairman of the UN committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida said on Tuesday. Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, the new committee chairman, told the Security Council that only 64 of the 191 UN member states - barely 30 percent - had submitted reports on what they had done to implement sanctions against Osama bin Laden, his al-Qaida terror network, and Afghanistan’s former Taliban rulers. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that the Bush administration was “disappointed” at the 30 percent response rate, which he called “inadequate.” (AP 292155 Jul 03)

ICC

• The White House on Tuesday announced agreements with another five countries to exempt American personnel from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, which it staunchly opposes. The latest, according to a statement released by the White House, are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Djibouti, Mauritius and Zambia. Non-governmental organizations claim Washington has pushed countries into signing the deals by saying it will withhold humanitarian aid or military support and even blocking NATO membership. (AP 292345 Jul 03)

UNIVERSAL COMPETENCE LAW

• The lower house of parliament approved a bill on Tuesday revising Belgium’s controversial war crimes law, clearing the first hurdle to remove provisions under which complaints were filed against world leaders. The measure now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve it this week. (AP 292154 Jul 03)

OTHER NEWS

• Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday approved a partial amnesty for armed Turkish Kurds holed up in northern Iraq that may help ease tensions between Ankara and Washington. The partial amnesty may reduce attacks by Kurdish rebels on Turkish targets and allow for a possible phased withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq if many Kurds elect to lay down weapons and return to their homes in Turkey. Ankara hopes the law and other recent reforms expanding rights for Turkey’s Kurds will also bolster its chances of winning membership talks with the EU in late 2004. (Reuters 291652 GMT Jul 03)
  
  
• Ukraine plans to put its armed forces, one of Europe’s largest, under civilian control by the end of the year in a bid to speed its integration with Europe, the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday in Kiev. The Armed Forces chief of staff will retain operational control. (AP 291447 Jul 03)