US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp said Jan. 28 that no US president is likely to present the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the US Senate for ratification in the "foreseeable future." Speaking at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Rapp said that while the US has an important role in international criminal justice, it is unlikely to join the ICC anytime soon. Rapp cited fears that US officials would be unfairly prosecuted and the United States' strong national court system as reasons it would be difficult to overcome opposition to ratification. Rapp also said that the US has a role to play in a three-part system for ending international impunity. The US must work to strengthen national court systems, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the US must work with countries that exercise universal jurisdiction when there is some relation between the country and the crime, and the US should continue to support the work of international criminal tribunals.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Jan. 27 cited costs and potential disruptions to the lives of New Yorkers in urging the federal government not to try accused 9-11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile terror suspects in New York City. Bloomberg suggested a military base may be a more appropriate venue for the trial. Earlier this month Bloomberg claimed that providing security for the trial in New York would cost the city more than $216 million in the first year and $206 million in any additional years. Bloomberg originally backed the idea of trying some of the terror suspects currently held at Guantánamo Bay in Manhattan due to its proximity to Ground Zero and the symbolic significance of convicting the suspects there. (Jurist, Jan. 28)

A Sana'a government official said Jan. 27 that Yemen will build a rehabilitation center for transfered Guantánamo Bay detainees. According to the anonymous official, Yemen will begin building once it receives funding for the $11 million project promised by the US. The project will presumably be discussed this week at a London meeting intended to garner international support for counter-terrorist efforts in Yemen. (Jurist, Jan. 27)

The US Department of Justice announced Jan. 26 that an Uzbek Guantánamo Bay detainee has been transferred to Switzerland. The detainee's identity will not be disclosed in order to facilitate his transition into life in Switzerland. The Swiss government agreed to accept the detainee for resettlement "on humanitarian grounds" after reassurances from the US that the man was not convicted of any crime and will not be a threat to public safety. The detainee was originally cleared for release in 2005, but could not return to Uzbekistan for fear of persecution.

Four explosions rocked Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula in the wee hours on Jan. 26, the day slated for the first national election since the government declared victory in the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May. At least two bombs went off outside the home of a ruling party activist in the Jaffna peninsula, but there were no reports of casualties, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said.

A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb outside of the Forsenics Lab of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior's Criminal Investigation Department on Jan. 26, killing 21 people and injuring at least 80 others. The building collapsed shortly after the attack, which comes one day after coordinated deadly attacks against several Baghdad hotels frequented by westerners left 36 dead. Some have suggested that the attacks might be in retaliation for the previous day's execution of "Chemical Ali" Hassan al-Majid. The bombing has also aroused concerns about Iraq's ability to ensure citizens' safety in the run-up to the general election scheduled for next month. Iraq's election legislation was just amended in December following a political impasse, causing the election to be pushed back from Jan. 31 to Feb. 27.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — More than 100 people were pressed against the iron gates of the mayor's office in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville. "When will we get that food?" voices called out to the mayor, Claire Lydia Parent, who stood behind the closed gates. The problem Parent faced was how to explain to the frustrated crowd that the food they just saw being delivered on Jan. 23 was intended for a neighboring community.

Continuing global economic growth "is not possible" if the world is to stop devastating climate change, according to a report by the New Economics Foundation (Nef). The study, entitled "Growth Isn't Possible," finds that "unprecedented and probably impossible" carbon reductions would be needed to hold temperature rises below 2 degree C (3.6 F), the limit beyond which global warming will become dangerous for human civilization. "We urgently need to change our economy to live within its environmental budget," said Nef's policy director Andrew Simms. "There is no global environmental central bank to bail us out if we become ecologically bankrupt."