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In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the territorial sea (and certain grandfathered internal waters) of another state, subject to certain restrictions.
Innocent passage applies to the entire territorial sea, up to at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from coastal baseline. Transit passage is a similar right that applies only to straits that divide two areas of international waters; it has different requirements for transiting vessels. Freedom of navigation is a general right enjoyed in international waters; "freedom of navigation operations" enforces this right, in some cases to counter a claim by a sovereign state that certain waters are territorial.[1][2]
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 19 defines innocent passage as:[3]
- Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State. Such passage shall take place in conformity with this Convention and with other rules of international law.
- Passage of a foreign ship shall be considered to be prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State if in the territorial sea it engages in any of the following activities:
- (a) any threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of the coastal State, or in any other manner in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations;
- (b) any exercise or practice with weapons of any kind;
- (c) any act aimed at collecting information to the prejudice of the defence or security of the coastal State;
- (d) any act of propaganda aimed at affecting the defence or security of the coastal State;
- (e) the launching, landing or taking on board of any aircraft;
- (f) the launching, landing or taking on board of any military device;
- (g) the loading or unloading of any commodity, currency or person contrary to the customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations of the coastal State;
- (h) any act of wilful and serious pollution contrary to this Convention;
- (I) any fishing activities;
- (j) the carrying out of research or survey activities;
- (k) any act aimed at interfering with any systems of communication or any other facilities or installations of the coastal State;
- (l) any other activity not having a direct bearing on passage.
Underwater vehicles like submarines are required by the treaty to surface and show their flags during innocent passage.[4]
Initially, the right of innocent passage in the current sense began to take shape in the 1840s (as a customary rule) with the development of world trade and the emergence of steamship navigation, for which it was economically significant to use the shortest possible route often through the coastal waters of a foreign state.[5] The law was codified in the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone and affirmed in the 1982 UNCLOS.[6][7]
The coastal state may temporarily suspend the innocent passage of foreign ships if "such suspension is essential for the protection of its security". The suspension must be applied without discrimination between foreign ships. Suspension is however not permitted in international straits.[8][9]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the territorial sea (and certain grandfathered internal waters) of another state, subject to certain restrictions. Innocent passage applies to the entire territorial sea, up to at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from coastal baseline. Transit passage is a similar right that applies only to straits that divide two areas of international waters; it has different requirements for transiting vessels. Freedom of navigation is a general right enjoyed in international waters; "freedom of navigation operations" enforces this right, in some cases to counter a claim by a sovereign state that certain waters are territorial.
In 1989 the USA and USSR issued a Joint Statement on Uniform Acceptance of Rules of International Law Governing Innocent Passage. It made it clear that the text of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) reflected customary international law, and every ship, regardless of cargo, does not need permission to enter another state's territorial sea so long as it adheres to the definition of innocent passage in Article 19 of UNCLOS. During the Cold War the United States had maintained the right of the US Navy to transit the territorial waters of other states including the USSR. They would send regular patrols into contested waters to assert this right. This led to frequent tensions such as the 1988 Black Sea bumping incident where Soviet ships intentionally pushed into American warships in Soviet Black Sea waters. The next year the Joint Statement was issued acknowledging all nation's rights to peacefully transit the territorial waters of another and ending such disputes between the two superpowers. However, the same position is not maintained by the government of China. China demands that foreign warships request permission before entering its waters, including the contested South China Sea. The United States maintains its rights to cross those waters and regularly sends naval vessels through them to enforce that claim.
The Black Sea bumping incident of 12 February 1988 occurred when American cruiser USS Yorktown and destroyer USS Caron exercised the right of innocent passage through Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea during the Cold War. The cruiser was bumped by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetny, which aimed to push Yorktown into international waters. The destroyer was intentionally shouldered by SKR-6, a Soviet Mirka-class frigate. Yorktown reported minor damage to her hull, with no holing or risk of flooding. Caron was undamaged. At the time, the Soviet Union recognized the right of innocent passage for warships in its territorial waters solely in designated sea lanes. The United States believed that there was no legal basis for a coastal nation to limit warship transits to sea lanes only. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of State found that the Russian-language text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 22, paragraph 1 allowed the coastal state to regulate the right of innocent passage whenever necessary, while the English-language text did not. After the incident, the Soviet Union agreed to resolve the issue of innocent passage in Soviet territorial waters.
On March 13, 1986, the American cruiser USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Caron exercised the right of innocent passage under international law through Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea near the southern Crimean Peninsula. They were confronted by Soviet frigate Ladny and border guard vessels Dozorny and Izmail. Yorktown and Caron stayed in Soviet territorial waters for roughly two hours. The situation de-escalated when the US ships left; diplomatic repercussions continued for several weeks.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
