Author: Stefan Talmon

Published: 26 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

With the Syrian civil war entering its seventh year and the Islamic State terrorist organization being largely defeated in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on 13 January 2018 that in the coming days Turkey would start a military operation in Syria’s Afrin region against the “separatist terror organizations”, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in order to “purge terrorism from our southern borders.” The PYD/YPG controlled Afrin, which borders Turkey’s southern Hatay and Kilis provinces, since 2012 when, during the early phase of the Syrian civil war, Syrian government forces were compelled to withdraw from the region. President Erdoğan stated that the Kurdish YPG militia was trying to establish a “terror corridor” on Turkey’s southern border, linking Afrin with a large Kurdish‑controlled area to the east. (more…)

Published: 25 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 18 January 2018, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted in the second and final reading the Law of Ukraine “On the Specifics of the State Policy on Ensuring State Sovereignty of Ukraine over the Temporarily Occupied Territories in the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions”. The law declared, inter alia, that the Russian Federation was performing “a criminal act of aggression” against Ukraine and “temporarily occupied” a portion of its territory, governing the Donbas region with the help of an “occupation administration” controlled by Moscow. The law held that the Russian Federation, as occupying power, was responsible for ensuring the protection of the rights of civilians in these areas. The law also stated that Russia was to be held liable for all physical, moral or financial damage inflicted on the State of Ukraine, government authorities and local self-government agencies, individuals and legal entities. Persons participating in the armed aggression of the Russian Federation or being involved in the administration of the Russian occupation were to be held criminally liable for acts that violate the laws of Ukraine and international humanitarian law. (more…)

Published: 22 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 22 January 1963, France and Germany concluded the Treaty concerning Franco-German co-operation (the “Elysée Treaty”). The Treaty took the relationship between the two countries to a new level providing for close cooperation in the areas of foreign affairs and defence, as well as education and youth affairs. On the basis of this Treaty, Germany cooperates more closely with France than with any other country.

For example, in the area of foreign affairs the two countries agreed to “consult each other, prior to any decision, on all important questions of foreign policy, and particularly on questions of mutual interest, with a view to achieving as far as possible an analogous position.” (more…)

Published: 12 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 8 January 2018, the spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office confirmed that Iranian Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi had been receiving medical treatment at a private hospital in Germany since 21 December 2017. The spokesperson declared that “due to a serious illness Mr. Shahroudi had sought further treatment in Germany” and that “this request was granted after credible health reasons had been given.”

At the time of his treatment, Ayatollah Shahroudi was the head of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, a body tasked with the resolution of disputes between Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, and a constitutional watchdog known as the Guardian Council. He was also First Deputy Chairman of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the body empowered to designate and dismiss the Supreme Leader of Iran. From 1999 to 2009, Ayatollah Shahroudi was the head of Iran’s Judiciary. As head of the judiciary, he appointed all public prosecutors, the provincial heads of the judiciary and the prison wardens across the country. He also determined the composition of the Supreme Court which he also presided over. The Supreme Court decides on the execution of the death penalty. During his time in office, some 2,000 persons had been executed, including minors and persons who had been minors at the time of their crimes. He had also endorsed the amputation of limbs as fair punishment, as well as flogging, stoning, burning at the stake, and the falling from a height without administration of anaesthetics. (more…)

Published: 10 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

At the end of 2017, the research vessel “R/V Meteor”, owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, conducted marine scientific research with permission from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Aegean Sea. The research involved taking core samples from the seabed. On 29 December 2017, while the vessel was operating in the sea area between the Greek islands of Samothrace and Lemnos, two Turkish warships approached the “R/V Meteor” and warned the vessel that it was conducting research in Turkish waters without permission and asked it to leave or seek permission from the Turkish authorities in order to continue its research. While the details of the case are unknown, the Greek media speculated that in order to complete its research programme the master of the vessel requested permission from Turkey to continue research in the Aegean Sea. According to the official project plan the “R/V Meteor” was scheduled to conduct research, inter alia, in the sea area off Kythira from 6 January 2018.

On 3 January 2018, the Turkish authorities issued two navigational telex – Navtex 0020/18 and 0021/18 – which informed seafarers that the “R/V Meteor” would carry out scientific research until further notice in nine designated sea areas in the central and southern Aegean Sea within a triangle formed by the Greek islands of Lemnos, Carpathos, and Kythira. (more…)

Published: 6 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

In his annual New Year’s Day Address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that the whole of the United States mainland was within the range of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and that “the nuclear button was always on [his] office desk all the time”. At the same time he signalled that he was open to talks with South Korea. He said:

“Now it is not time for the north and the south to turn their backs on each other and merely express their respective standpoints; it is time that they sit face to face with a view to holding sincere discussions over the issue of improving inter-Korean relations by our nation itself and seek a way out for its settlement in a bold manner.

As for the Winter Olympic Games to be held soon in south Korea, it will serve as a good occasion for demonstrating our nation’s prestige and we earnestly wish the Olympic Games a success. From this point of view we are willing to dispatch our delegation and adopt other necessary measures; with regard to this matter, the authorities of the north and the south may meet together soon.”

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Published: 4 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

On 28 December 2017, protests over food price rises and corruption began in the north-eastern Iranian city of Mashhad. Protests quickly spread across the whole country and took on a wider anti-government sentiment. On 30 December 2017, protesters at Tehran University called for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and there were violent clashes with police in multiple cities. On 1 January 2018, it was reported that protesters were attacking police stations and that at least 12 people, including a policeman, had been killed and hundreds had been arrested. In the evening on that day, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel commented as follows on the protests:

“I am very concerned by the latest developments in Iran and by the reports of further deaths among the demonstrators and the large number of arrests. We call on the Iranian Government to respect the demonstrators’ freedom of assembly and their right to voice their opinions freely and peacefully.

Following the confrontations over the past few days, it is all the more important for all sides to refrain from taking any violent action.”

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Published: 03 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon

In 2017 Germany signed more than 60 bilateral agreements and undertook treaty action with regard to nine multilateral treaties. In addition, Germany signed numerous non-binding Memoranda of Understanding and Declarations of Intent. The following is an incomplete list compiled from public sources:

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Published: 31 December 2017 Author: Stefan Talmon

In response to a parliamentary question the Federal Government declared on 26 January 2018 that Germany maintains more than 220 diplomatic and consular missions abroad. In the following 43 countries the Federal Republic of Germany is not represented:

“Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Cook Islands/Tokelau and Niue, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Suriname, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.”

There are no German diplomatic missions in these countries. Diplomatic relations with these countries are maintained through non-resident ambassadors based in neighbouring countries. The only country Germany does not maintain diplomatic relations with is Bhutan. (more…)

Published: 31 December 2017 Author: Stefan Talmon

In response to a parliamentary question on 26 January 2018 the Federal Government declared that German diplomatic and consular missions provided consular protection to 2,867 German nationals in prison, custody or detention in foreign countries in 2017. The right to provide consular protection to nationals in prison, custody or detention is enshrined in Article 36, paragraph 1(c) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The number of cases in which Germany provided consular protection has constantly risen over the years (2012: 2,459 cases; 2013: 2,636 cases; 2014: 2,720 cases; 2015: 2,633 cases; 2016: 2,694 cases). On the practice of providing consular protection the Federal Government declared:

“In addition to regular visits by consular officers and the arrangement for legal representation, consular assistance generally includes – if necessary and desired –  liaison with relatives, legal counsel and the authorities of the receiving State. The diplomatic and consular missions also observe whether the foreign authorities and courts adequately adhere to principles of the rule of law in criminal proceedings against German nationals and take up possible grievances with the local authorities.”

The Federal Government also declared that it does not maintain any statistics on Germans being detained abroad for political reasons.

The exercise of diplomatic protection always depends on the individual case. For example, in the high-profile case of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel, who was held in Turkey in pre-trial detention without formal indictment for more than a year, diplomatic and consular officers visited the detainee eight times, that is, at intervals of every six weeks. The Federal Government, however, admitted that “this perhaps was not, so to speak, a classic case of consular assistance.”