Sudan's army chief, Abel Fattah al-Burhan, has rejected the latest calls for a ceasefire stating that the nine-month war between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary will continue. RSF head, Mohammed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, agreed earlier in the week to a ceasefire under the condition that the military must cooperate. However, this was met with skepticism as the RSF has previously failed to fulfill its promises. In a video released by his office, Al-Burhan states "the whole world witnessed these rebel forces committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in West...
Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen, emphasized that Taiwan's relationship with China must be determined by the will of the people and peace must be based on "dignity." These comments come in response to China's leader, Xi Jinping stating that "reunification" with the island is inevitable. Xi Jinping's comments depict a shift in tone from the previous year wherein he stated that people on either side of the Taiwan Strait are "members of one and the same family." On 13 January, democratically governed Taiwan will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. China has been ramping up military...
Activists say the review of 113,000 missing people in Mexico is a ploy to reduce the number ahead of the presidential election The government has now announced it was able to confirm just 12,377 of the more than 113,000 cases of disappeared people. The registry had become intensely politicised, with the rising number of disappeared a symbol of the continuing insecurity across the country, while the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that it was being inflated to attack the government . Violence in Mexico soared with the launch of the militarised “war on drugs” in 2006, and...
Former Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana was on Wednesday jailed for 24 years by a French court for his involvement in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis. The 68-year-old former gynaecologist was found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and participation in a conspiracy to prepare these crimes. The trial at the Assize Court in Paris came nearly three decades after a complaint was filed against Munyemana in the southwestern French city of Bordeaux in 1995. His lawyers said they planned to appeal the verdict. The public prosecutor had sought a sentence of 30 years, arguing that the "sum total...
The Irish government has initiated a legal challenge against the UK government over its controversial decision to offer immunity for Troubles-era crimes. In September the Troubles Legacy Act received royal assent despite widespread opposition from victims' organizations, political parties in Northern Ireland, and human rights organizations. Critics of the Act have emphasized that the law would remove access to justice. The Act will stop future civil cases, legacy inquests, and, criminal prosecutions during Northern Ireland's Troubles. Amnesty International released a statement welcoming the...
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have seized Wad Madani, the city has been housing hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled the country's capital Khartoum due to conflict between the state forces and the RSF paramilitary. After three days of intense fighting, the RSF advanced and captured the capital of el-Gezira state. Thousands of people have fled the city, heading towards the south. During the RSF advance, army intelligence units were reportedly arresting civilians, specifically individuals from Darfur, based on their ethnicity. Many people who were arrested had been living and working in...
Human Rights Watch have stated that the Indian government should conduct thorough and impartial investigations into allegations that government agents were involved in assassination plots against Sikh activists in the United States and Canada . In a statement released on 15 December, the organisation notes the "Indian government’s systemic failures to prosecute security force personnel for extrajudicial killings and other serious abuses in India... raise broader concerns about its willingness to address transnational repression – abuses committed against nationals outside the country " "India...
According to the United Nations Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) families in Sudan's conflict zones are being pushed toward famine-like hunger, approximately 18 million people require urgent humanitarian food assistance. The UN IPC has identified the violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) along with other organized violence as the primary driver of life-threatening food insecurity in Sudan. Most of those facing catastrophic food insecurity are concentrated in the country's capital, Khartoum. Sudanese families are struggling to...
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, alongside the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and well as "ensuring humanitarian access". 153 member states voted in favour, 10 against and there were 23 abstentions. This was a second attempt by the UN General Assembly which in October had called for "a humanitarian truce" in a resolution adopted with 121 votes in favour, 14 against and 44 abstentions. Before the vote, the UN General Assembly president, Dennis Francis, delivered a speech in...
The US vetoed a UN security council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. The vote on the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates underscored the US and Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation, as the Israel Defense Forces continue to press the military effort against Hamas in southern Gaza. Thirteen security council members voted in favour of the resolution. The UK abstained. Speaking after the vote, US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said Washington could not support an unconditional ceasefire, which would only...