28 December 2004

by Alex Flor

The earth quake that struck on Sunday was the biggest of its kind during the last 40 years. Its epicentre was located 150 km off the South-western coastline of the Indonesian province of Aceh. The tidal wave which was triggered by the quake took the life of tens of thousands in the coastal regions of twelve Asian and African states.

The death toll is still rising by the hour. On Sunday, the day of the ... read more

14 December 2004

Joint NGO Statement

This statement outlines what we, the undersigned NGOs, believe must be done at EU level, as part of the EU process on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) to address the import of illegally sourced timber in the EU and the illegal practices of the EU timber industry. Although this statement focuses on illegal logging, we would like to state that legal and illegal logging are often closely linked and that legal ... read more

24 November 2004

von Petra Stockmann

On November 11th, 2004, the Constitutional Court eventually announced its ruling concerning the application for judicial review of Law No. 45/1999 on the Establishment of the Province Central Irian Jaya, the Province West Irian Jaya, the Regency Paniai, the Regency Mimika, the Regency Puncak Jaya and the Municipality Sorong. The Court declared Law 45/1999 unconstitutional and thus invalid as of the date of the verdict. However, in its legal considerations the Court states it ... read more

Press Release

15 November 2004

Our friend and colleague Munir, possibly the best known Indonesian human rights defender, was poisoned. He died under great pain and distress on an airplane on his way from Jakarta to Amsterdam. Two months after his death, we are once more deeply shocked, this time due to the certainty concerning the cause of his death.
Speculations that Munir died from unnatural causes had been circulating from the start. But despite our knowledge of previous attacks ... read more

Made during a Panel Discussion at the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswaertige Politik, DGAP), Berlin, October 20th, 2004

02 November 2004

Question: If East Timor’s leadership is committed to democracy, the rule of law and human rights, of which international criminal law is an inherent part, how can it be that the arrest warrant issued by the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in May 2004 is not forwarded to Interpol by the Prosecutor General? Answer by ... read more