• Chadian policemen sentenced to life for torture

    Mar 25

    Seven former policemen in Chad have been sentenced to life imprisonment for torture, in the first trial of former president Hissene Habre's accomplices.

    Under Mr Habre's rule from 1982 to 1990 thousands of people are thought to have been killed and tortured. He is currently being held in Senegal awaiting a war crimes trial.

  • Saudi Arabia leads air strikes against Houthi rebels as President Hadi flees

    The Saudi air force has led air attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, as Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi left the country and arrived in Riyadh.

    Iran has described the air strikes as "dangerous", while Saudi Arabia said it was "defending the legitimate government" of President Hadi.

    Reports say at least 13 civilians died in air strikes in the capital Sanaa.

    On Wednesday, the Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubair, announced the beginning of the air strikes.

  • OHCHR highlights 'obligation to prosecute' after investigations into disappeared persons
    The Chief of Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination of the OHCHR highlighted the obligation to persecute violations of international humanitarian law at an event presenting the ‘Good practice guide for the use of forensic genetics in investigations into human rights and international humanitarian law violations’ at the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

    Panellists at the event included the Permanent Representative of Argentina (H.E. Ambassador Alberto D’Alotto), the Deputy Head of Operations of ICRC (Christophe Martin), the Chief of Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination of the OHCHR (Mona Rishmawi), along with several experts on forensic genetics involved in the drafting process.

    In her presentation Ms Rishmawi made clear that states have an obligation under international human rights law and international humanitarian law to investigate gross violations of human rights, of which enforced disappearances is one. She said that this obligation to investigate was “very closely tied” to the “obligation to prosecute” and “the right to truth” and that the right to truth included the right to know what happened to the person, the circumstances under which the disappearance occurred, the gross violations of rights, the status of progress made, results of identification processes, and the identity of perpetrators.
  • Human Rights Watch launches 'Votes Count' website monitoring countries’ voting record at Human Rights Council
    Human Rights Watch launched a new website, ‘Votes Count’ to monitor and make available countries’ voting records on issues concerning international human rights violations.
  • US supports Iraqi controlled forces and militia with airstrikes
    A US led coalition of warplanes launched their first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, in collaboration with Iraqi forces working with Iran backed militia on the ground, reports Reuters.
  • India overturns controversial social media expression law

    The Indian Supreme Court has overruled a controversial law which enabled the prosecution of people for comments on social media networks.

    The Supreme Court decided section 66A of the Information Technology Act was unconstitutional.

  • Yemen's foreign minister calls for Gulf state intervention

    The foreign minister of Yemen Riad Yassin called on Gulf Arab states to intervene in the halting the Houthi rebel offensive.

    The call comes a day after President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was ousted from the capital Sanaa last month, pleaded for UN intervention as the Houthi forces captured the strategic town of Taiz.

  • Two states is the best path forward' says US President Obama on Israel-Palestine
    US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, where he criticised comments made by the newly re-elected Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    During a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, Mr Obama said,
  • Canada to extend air strikes against ISIS to Syria

    The Canadian government has announced it will extend its airstrikes against ISIS into Syrian territory.

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada would not seek "express consent" of the Syrian regime.

    "Instead, we will work closely with our American and other allies, who have already been carrying out such operations against ISIL over Syria in recent months."

    "The government recognises that ISIL's power base, indeed the so-called caliphate's capital, is in Syria," Mr Harper said in the House of Commons.

  • US slows military withdrawal from Afghanistan
    US President Barack Obama on Tuesday approved requests by the Afghan government to slow down the removal of US troops from Afghanisatan, reports Reuters.

    Speaking at a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Barack Obama said,
  • IMF to cooperate with Chinese-led AIIB

    The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said the IMF would be "delighted" to cooperate with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a Chinese-led development bank, with over 30 international members, with a similar remit as the World Bank.

    Ms Lagarde said there was "massive" room for IMF co-operation with the AIIB on infrastructure financing.

  • PKK leader calls for end to armed struggle

    The jailed leader of the PKK, Abudllah Ocalan, has reiterated his call on his fighters to lay down their arms in their fight against Turkey.

    Pro-Kurdish politician Sirri Sureyya Onder, who visited Mr Ocalan in prison last week, read out a statement by the leader at an event marking the Kurdish Newroz festival.

  • World mourns death of Singapore's founding leader
    Singapore’s first ever elected Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, has died at the age of 91.

    The world renowned leader is most admired for the role he played in transforming Singapore from a small port city into one of the wealthiest and most industrious nations in the world, whilst serving as the nation’s prime minister for 31 years.

    The US President Barack Obama described him as a “giant of history” whose advice has been sought by other world leaders, reports the BBC.

    In statement made on Monday, Mr Obama said,

    “I personally appreciated his wisdom, including our discussions during my trip to Singapore in 2009, which were hugely important in helping me formulate our policy of rebalancing to the Asia Pacific.  He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one the great strategists of Asian affairs.”
  • Netanyahu's campaign comments draw criticism from White House
    Newly re-elected President of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu apologised for comments he made shortly before the Israeli election last week in which he claimed Arabs were coming out to vote en masse against him and calling on his supporters to go to the poll on Monday.

    Mr Netanyahu also made a statement the day before the election last week rejecting a two-state election, increasing tensions between the United States and Israel.

    While Mr Netanyahu has since seemingly backtracked on these statements, US President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff made a statement saying, “[w]e cannot simply pretend that those comments were never made” and “[a]n occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end.”

  • Yemen's president calls for international intervention as Houthi seize Taiz
    Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi called on the United Nations to dispatch “urgent intervention” to the country, as Houthi militants took over Yemen's third largest city.
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