• Kurdish leader calls for a non-binding independence referendum

    Feb 01
    The president of the autonomous region, Kurdistan, on Tuesday called for a non-binding referendum of the independence of the region.

    "The time has come and the situation is now suitable for the Kurdish people to make a decision through a referendum on their fate," Mr Barzani was quoted by Reuters as saying.

    "That referendum does not mean proclaiming statehood, but rather to know the will and opinion of the Kurdish people about independence and for the Kurdish political leadership to execute the will of the people at the appropriate time and conditions."

  • India set to agree on separate flag and constitution for Nagaland in peace accord
    Nagaland may be given a separate official flag under the final accord expected between India’s government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), reports the Hindustan times.
  • Syria opposition ready to leave UN peace-talks if progress not seen
    The United Nations announced the formal start of peace talks for Syria on Monday and urged world powers to push for a ceasefire as Syrian forces backed by Russian air strikes launched their biggest offensive in a year, reports Reuters.
  • Syrian opposition meet UN envoy to reiterate precursory demands for political negotiations
    A Saudi backed Syrian opposition delegation met the UN special envoy to Syria Staffon de Mistura for the first time with demands for tangible actions on humanitarian issues before participating in political negotiations.
  • Guatemalan soldiers face sex slavery charges 30 years on
    Guatemalan soldiers are to be prosecuted over sex slavery charges during the country's civil war, thirty years on, the Guardian reported.

    The trial of the former base commander Esteelmer Reyes Giron and the former regional military commissioner, Heriberto Valdex Asij, is the first time worldwide that sexual slavery committed during an armed conflict will be prosecuted in that country.

    The charges relate to the enslavement and rape of 11 Mayan women from Eastern Guatemala, who were systematic raped by many soldiers.

  • Syrian opposition to boycott UN peace talks
    The Syrian opposition will not attend peace talks due to begin in Geneva on Friday reports Reuters.

    An opposition council that convened in Riyadh said it would not be in Geneva on Friday after failing to receive convincing answers on its demands for good will gestures including an end to airstrikes and sieges.
  • Satellite evidence of mass graves in Burundi says Amnesty
    Amnesty International said on Thursday there is new satellite imagery and video footage depicting mass graves in Burundi following suspected killings by security forces in December.

    "Before and after images and video footage clearly show five possible mass graves in the Buringa area, on the outskirts of Bujumbura," Amnesty said in a statement.

    "The imagery, dating from late December and early January, shows disturbed earth consistent with witness accounts. Witnesses told Amnesty International that the graves were dug on the afternoon of 11 December, in the immediate aftermath of the bloodiest day of Burundi’s escalating crisis."

    "These images suggest a deliberate effort by the authorities to cover up the extent of the killings by their security forces and to prevent the full truth from coming out,” Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s regional director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said.

    “African leaders gathering at the AU summit must call on the Burundian government to grant international investigators access to all suspected grave sites and launch an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the killings and why most families were given no opportunity to retrieve and bury their dead,” Wanyeki added.

  • ‘We must prevent future acts of genocide’ – UN Human Rights chief

    Racism and ethnic intolerance must be combated with “all our might” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain, in a message released to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

    “The Holocaust will forever remain a terrible scar on the human conscience,” said the UN human rights chief, adding that the “hideous reality of planned and deliberate mass murder must lead us to deep reflection on the roots and spread of such violence”.

    Though the High Commissioner paid tribute to those who resisted the Holocaust, he added that “at every stage of this massive crime against humanity, millions of others assisted, supported, or shied away from protesting the steps that led to genocide”.

  • US and China agree on new UN Security Council resolution on N Korea
    The United States and China on Wednesday agreed on the need for a new UN Security Council resolution on North Korea following the country's nuclear test earlier this month.

    The decision was reached when the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who is currently on a two day visit to Beijing, met with China's foreign minister, Wang Yi.

    "We agreed that the UN Security Council needs to take further action and pass a new resolution," Mr Wang was quoted by Reuters as saying at a joint press conference with Kerry after the meeting.

    "In the meantime, we must point out that the new resolution should not provoke new tensions," he added.

  • UN response to demands precursor to attending peace talks says Syrian opposition
    The Syrian Opposition said they await a UN response to their demands before confirming that they will attend peace talks scheduled to take place with the Assad regime in Geneva, reports Reuters.

    The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an opposition council of opponents of Assad, on Saudi TV said,
  • Canada to lift sanctions on Tehran
    Canada confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that it will lift sanctions on Tehran and allow its aircraft maker Bombardier Inc to export to the country.

     Speaking with the press on Tuesday, Canada’s Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said,

    “If Airbus is able to do it, why Bombardier will not be able to do it? In which way it’s helping Canada or Iranian people, or Israel, or anyone, that Canada is hurting its own industry?”
  • UN condemns Israeli settlements as 'provocative acts'
    The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel’s settlement activities as ‘provocative acts’ that raise questions over the nation’s commitment to a two-state solution.

    Israel confirmed on Thursday that it would appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, reports Reuters.
  • Syrian opposition groups threaten to boycott UN talks unless siege ends
    Opposition groups have signalled that they will stay away from UN sponsored peace-talks with Assad regime unless the Syrian government and Russian allies halted air strikes and lifted sieges on towns.

    A spokesperson for one of the rebel groups in the opposition High Negotiating Committee (HNV) said it was impossible for the opposition to attend as long as rebel territory were besieged and hit by airstrikes.
  • UN Security Council to verify Colombia-Farc peace deal
    The UN Security Council approved the appointment of an international observation mission on Monday, to assess the disarmament of Colombian troops and Farc fighters.

    The resolution, drafted by the UK, set out a one year mission "to monitor and verify the definitive bilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and the laying down of arms."

    Speaking after the passing of the resolution, Colombia's foreign minister, Maria Angela Holguin was quoted by Reuters as saying, "this concrete mandate of the Security Council will benefit all Colombians and will contribute to build confidence in a country determined to overcome the aftermath of a decades-long conflict that caused too much suffering for generations."

  • Senior LRA commander faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity

    A senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army faces 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as a trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) began on Friday.

    Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier, facing charges for activities between 2002 and 2005, stands accused of murdering civilians, forcibly entrapping sex slaves, recruiting child soldiers and even acts of cannibalism.

    Prosecutor Benjamin Gumpert told the court that "large numbers lost their lives in indiscriminate acts of murder."

    "Some were tortured in cruel ways. Hundreds were abducted to carry away the loot. And, if they could not walk fast enough, they were beaten."

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