• US admits shortcomings in civil rights protection at UNHRC period review

    US officials told the United Nations Human Rights Council that the country had much to improve with regards to upholding civil rights laws.

    Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the US, a US justice department official, James Cadogan, told the council,

    “We must rededicate ourselves to ensuring that our civil rights laws live up to their promise.”
  • Manufacturing company to move out of occupied Palestinian territory following boycott pressure
    A manufacturing company, SodaStream, announced that it was ahead of schedule in procedures to move out of occupied territory in the West Bank.

    SodaStraem, which produces carbonation products, came under pressure from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, for manufacturing products in occupied Palestinian territory, reports Haaretz.
  • Knesset speaker calls on Israel to recognise Armenian genocide
    The speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein called on Israel to officially recognise the mass killings of Armenians 100 years ago by the Ottoman empire as a genocide.

    “It is no secret that Israel has taken too ambivalent a stance on the Armenian genocide,” said Mr Edelstein, referring to the killing of over 1.5 million Armenians, calling it “one of the most despicable and most dramatic incidents that happened in the beginning of the last century.”

    “A thicket of constraints, diplomatic and other, created a state of affairs in which the Israeli position was too hesitant, too restrained, and as a result – it appears to have diminished the importance of this powerful event,” continued Mr Edelstein.
  • Scottish devolution plans do not go far enough says Nicola Sturgeon

    The British government’s plans to devolve powers to Scotland do not go ‘far enough’, said the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on Monday.

  • UK to replace EU based Human Rights Act

    The Conservative party confirmed that it would implement previous plans of abolishing the Human Rights act and replace it with a new British Bill of Rights.

    The Human Rights Act incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law, and was brought in to legislation in 2011.

  • CAR armed factions agree to ceasefire agreement including accountability for war crimes and genocide
    Armed factions in the Central African Republic agreed to a peace accord that entailed disarmament and accountability for war crimes committed over the two years of conflict.

    The agreement signed by 10 groups and the CAR defence ministry on Sunday at the country’s capital, Bangui, also detailed that those involved in the ’crime of genocide, w

  • Kurdish leader discusses self-determination and arms deliveries during White House visit
    The leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq Masoud Barzani concluded a visit to the United States on Friday, where he discussed the option of directly delivering arms to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the question of self-determination for the Kurdish people.

    US President Barack Obama met with Mr Barzani, with the Kurdish President’s Chief of Staff, Fuad Hussein, stating talks would revolve around self-determination. “The question of self-determination is a just right of the Kurds and how Kurdistan’s self-determination is to be handled will certainly be discussed,” Mr Hussein said. “Kurds have their own vision for the area, but we will see how the Americans view it, too.”

    A White House press release said the leaders discussed the “ongoing political initiatives to address the needs of the Iraqi people and foster cooperation across all communities” whilst the US leaders “reaffirmed the United States’ enduring commitment under the Strategic Framework Agreement to a united, federal, and democratic Iraq, as defined in the Iraqi constitution”.

    Speaking at the Atlantic Council the day after the meeting at an event co-sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace, Mr Barzani said “certainly an independent Kurdistan is coming.”
  • Israeli banks ordered to adhere to international sanctions programmes on Russia
    Israeli banks were ordered to adhere to sanctions programmes set up by the US and EU last year, reports Haaretz.

    The Bank of Israel instructed all Israeli banks to adhere to the sanctions programme in a letter from its Banking Supervision Department.
  • Houthis move to accept ceasefire plan as UN criticises Saudi strikes in Yemen

    Houthi militants have moved towards accepting a proposed 5-day ceasefire in Yemen, as the United Nations representative in the country criticised airstrikes being carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

    The ceasefire could begin on Tuesday if both sides agree, however the Houthis warned that "any military violation of the ceasefire from al Qaeda and those who stand with it and support it and fund it will be responded to by the army and security and the popular committees".

    A Houthi statement also pledged to deal “positively” with the ceasefire and any humanitarian efforts in the country.

    The latest development comes as the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Yemen, Johannes Van Der Klauuw, said he was "deeply concerned" by Saudi Arabia led airstrikes against the Houthis, saying the conflict “is taking a dreadful toll on civilians”.

  • Preventing atrocities now — and in the future

    Jared Genser is an associate of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. This article was first published in the Washington Post on April 24, 2015.

    Three years ago, President Obama created the Atrocities Prevention Board to help fulfill his important recognition that the prevention of mass atrocities is a “core national security interest and core moral responsibility.” With ethnic conflict boiling in Burma, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other places, such a mechanism has never been more important. Although the board’s operations have been classified, there have been some visible successes. But much remains to be done.

  • EU to call for military action against Libyan people smuggling networks
    The European Union has established military attack strategies in Libya to target people smuggling networks which have been deemed to contribute to  a rise in migrant refugees attempting to travel to Europe through treacherous conditions.

    The UK is drafting a UN Security council resolution to authorise such a mission, which would be headed by Italy leading a coalition of 10 countries including the UK, France and Spain.
  • Indonesia releases Papuan political prisoners

    The Indonesian government has released five Papuan political prisoners, as President Joko Widodo promised reforms.

    The president told media on Saturday, restrictions on foreign journalists in the restive province of West Papua, which have been in place for decades, will be lifted.

    The five political prisoners – convicted over a 2003 raid on an Indonesian military weapons arsenal – were granted clemency by Widodo in a ceremony at Abepura prison, in the provincial capital Jayapura.

    Dozens of Papuan activists remain in prison, many for protesting against the government and raising the banned Morning Star flag of Papua, both considered acts of treason by the government.

  • Russia seeks extradition of 93-year old suspected Nazi from Canada

    Russian prosecutors are seeking the extradition of suspected Nazi collaborator, 93-year old Vladimir Katriuk, from Canada.

  • International investigators find undeclared chemical weapons agents in Syria

    International inspectors in Syria have found undeclared traces of sarin and VX nerve agent at a military research site, reports Reuters.

  • WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola
    The World Health Organisation declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, after 42 days passed since the last reported new case in the country.

    “The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over,” the WHO said in a statement, after 4,700 people had died from the illness in the country. Over 11,000 people are thought to have died in the region form the disease since last year, as Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to battle the virus.
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