Author: Mary Lobo

Published: 07 October 2021 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

On 20 August 2020, prominent Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny fell seriously ill on a domestic flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. After an emergency landing of the aircraft in Omsk, he was admitted to the local hospital in a serious condition. From the outset, there were rumours of poisoning. In a first reaction to the incident on the same day, Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Mr. Navalny medical treatment in Germany and called for a thorough investigation, stating: (more…)

Published: 09 July 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Mary Lobo

In the wake of the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine in February 2014, the Russian Federation annexed the Crimean peninsula in March of the same year and tensions between pro-Russian groups in the Eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk and Lugansk (also spelled Luhansk) and the central government in Kiev developed into an outright armed conflict. In April 2014, these groups established the so-called “Lugansk People’s Republic” (LPR) and “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) which, in May of the same year, declared their independence from Ukraine. The declarations of independence, however, were not recognised either by Germany or the international community of States more generally. On 5 September 2014, the Ukrainian Government and the pro-Russian separatists signed a 12-point Protocol in the Belorussian capital Minsk (“Minsk Protocol”) which provided, inter alia, for an immediate ceasefire and the decentralization of power in Ukraine by means of enacting a Law of Ukraine “On interim local self-government order in certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions”. The Law provided for a special status for the two regions but recognized them as an integral part of Ukraine. By January 2015, however, the Minsk Protocol ceasefire had completely collapsed and renewed heavy fighting resumed. (more…)

Published: 15 June 2020 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

It has long been recognised at an international level that the effects of climate change extend beyond the environment. Extreme weather events and rising sea levels have the potential to adversely affect territory, food and water supplies, in turn risking conflicts over access to scarce resources and mass migration as areas of land become uninhabitable. The ability to meet the world’s growing energy needs has also been raised as a key issue in the overlap between climate change and international security. (more…)

Published: 20 April 2020 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

Since 2005, Yemen has faced unrest following uprisings, most notably by the Houthi rebels in the north. Over the years, the conflict has developed into a full-blown civil war. In September 2014, the Houthis took control of the country’s capital Sana’a, as well as much of the north of the country. Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi was made to resign and placed under house arrest. In January 2015, the Houthis appointed a presidential council to replace him. However, in February 2015 Hadi managed to escape to the southern Yemeni port of Aden. He rescinded his resignation and on 24 March 2015, he sent a letter to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States asking them (more…)

Published: 09 March 2020; Revised: 22 July 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Mary Lobo

On 27 November 2019, the Governments of Turkey and Libya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which purported to delimit the boundaries of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the two States the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The public disclosure of this document prompted protests from several other States, especially Greece and Cyprus, as the area that had purportedly been delimited between Turkey and Libya included sea areas also claimed by these two States as part of their continental shelf and EEZ. (more…)

Published: 16 January 2020 Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon

On 4 June 2016, an Israeli citizen used an online booking website to book a seat on a Kuwait Airways flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok, with an approximately five-hour stopover in Kuwait City. When he later filled in the passenger details – including his Israeli citizenship – the airline cancelled his flight and offered to arrange alternative transport with another airline at their own expense. The man declined the offer and instead brought a claim before the Regional Court in Frankfurt, asking that Kuwait Airways either be required to fulfil their contractual obligations to fly him to Bangkok, or else that he be compensated for discrimination.

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Published: 05 December 2019  Authors: Mary Lobo and Stefan Talmon  DOI: 10.17176/20220127-111809-0

On 31 March 2019, the German ambassador to Rwanda returned to Germany prior to the expiry of his regular term after the Rwanda Government informed the German Federal Foreign Office that it would no longer work with him. In the media, it was reported that in a “private email” at the end of 2018 the ambassador had expressed criticism of the Rwandan President Paul Kagame which had led to diplomatic tensions between Germany and Rwanda. It was further reported that in the past the ambassador had held meetings with Rwandan opposition politicians and had voiced concerns about the human rights situation in Rwanda. Commenting on the matter, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs stated on 5 April 2019:

“We informed his government of the unacceptable behaviour of the ambassador, gave them evidence of this behaviour and requested them to take appropriate action. They decided to recall him before the end of his term.”

This was echoed by the Rwandan Minister of State in charge of the East African Community, who stated:

“[H]e was not expelled because of a private email that was intercepted. In fact, he was recalled by his own government because of a message which was not private, but rather sent to the German community in Rwanda, in which there were inappropriate remarks against the head of State.”

“He made inappropriate remarks about Rwanda and about our President. We wrote to Germany showing why we could no longer work with him and they decided to recall him. But our relationship with Germany remains strong.”

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Published: 13 November 2019  Authors: Stefan Talmon and Mary Lobo  DOI: 10.17176/20220122-161354-0

On 22 October 2019, the German Federal Public Prosecutor filed an indictment for crimes against humanity against two former members of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate before the State Security Senate of the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz. This was the first time Syrian State officials were indicted before German courts for international crimes committed during the recent conflict in Syria. Previously, only members of the Islamic State and the Free Syrian Army had been indicted and were sentenced for committing or aiding the commission of war crimes. (more…)