• Justice process and peace negotiations in South Sudan are not mutually exclusive says HRW

    Feb 03
    Asserting that the South Sudan “peace process and justice process are by no means mutually exclusive,” Human Rights Watch urged the African Union to reverse its decision to delay publishing findings from the AU’s commission of inquiry into atrocities committed during South Sudan’s ethnic conflict.
  • Myanmar slams 'interfering' UN official
    Myanmar's foreign ministry released a statement condemning a top UN official for “interfering” in the country's affairs and for use of the term “Rohingya”.

    The UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, had described conditions in camps, where some 140,000 Rohingya are residing in following clashes with Buddhists in 2012, as “abysmal”.

    The foreign ministry responded by saying she should do her job in a  "professional and prudent manner", adding,
    "Selectivity is often exercised. On some occasions, interfering on issues which fall within state sovereignty and domestic jurisdiction is evident."
  • Deadly shell attack on Donetsk hospital
    At least three people have been killed after a shell hit Donetsk hospital in eastern Ukraine, a region currently under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

    City officials said that nearby buildings were damaged in the attack, with six schools and five kindergartens reportedly also hit by shell fire.
  • Egypt hands out 230 life sentences to activists

    An Egyptian court has handed out life sentences to 230 people, who were involved in pro-democracy protests which toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

    Prominent liberal activist Ahmed Douma was also among those sentenced.

  • US missile strike kills main al-Shabaab leader
    A US missile strike launched last week, killed the Al Shabaab militant group’s chief of external operations  and planning for intelligence and security, the US said in a statement on Tuesday.
  • Chadian troops kill 'more than 200' Boko Haram militants

    Chadian troops in Nigeria say they have killed over 200 militants with Boko Haram.

    The troops, who entered Nigeria on Tuesday to fight Boko Haram, are fighting for control of Gamboru, a town on the border with Cameroon.

    The army said it had recaptured the town, but gunfire was still heard in the town on Wednesday AFP reported.

    Chad and Nigeria are also bombing the vast Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram is believed to have bases.

  • Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird steps away from politics
    Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down from the role and would not stand for elections, reports Agence France Presse.

    Speaking in parliament Mr Baird, outlining details of his conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, said,

    “I expressed my intention not to run in the next general election…. and I also expressed my intention to stand down as a member of parliament.. in the weeks ahead.”

    John Baird has been vocal on the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka over past years. Speaking to the Tamil Guardian last year, he listed his 3 biggest concerns with Sri Lanka as the “lack of accountability for war crimes, lack of meaningful reconciliation with the Tamil minority and the ongoing trend of authoritarian politics.”
  • Sunni disenfranchisement must be addressed to see lasting peace in Iraq says US intelligence
    Sunni disenfranchisement in Iraq must be addressed, whilst the US led coalition nullifies the immediate threat of Islamic State militants, US military officials said on Tuesday.

    US military officials urged the Shi’ite majority Iraqi government to reach out to the disenfranchised Sunnis to ensure lasting stability in the region, reports Reuters.
  • US imposes visa restrictions on Venezuelan officials over human rights
    The United States on Monday instituted visa restrictions on Venezuelan officials alleged to have been involved in human rights violations and corruption, expanding the list of individuals banned from the US following the sanctions imposed last year.

    "We are sending a clear message that human rights abusers, those who profit from public corruption, and their families are not welcome in the United States," the State Department said in a statement.

    The individuals have not been named due to US regulations on confidentiality for visa applicants.

  • UN court dismisses Croatian and Serbian genocide cases
    The International Court of Justice has rejected claims that Serbia and Croatia committed genocide during the conflict that led to the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

    In a ruling earlier today, Peter Tomka, president of the International Court of Justice, stated that whilst both countries had committed crimes during the war, neither had proved the "specific intent required for acts of genocide".

    Approximately 20,000 people were killed during the 1991-1995 conflict. Most of the deaths were Croatian.

    Speaking on Serbia's campaign against Croatian towns and villages Judge Tomka said "acts of ethnic cleansing may be part of a genocidal plan, but only if there is an intention to physically destroy the target group."

    "Croatia has not established that the only reasonable inference was the intent to destroy in whole or in part the (Croatian) group," he added, saying, “the crimes committed against ethnic Croats appears to have been aimed at the forced displacement of the majority of the Croat population from the regions concerned, and not at its physical or biological destruction”.
  • Head of UN war crimes inquiry into Gaza conflict resigns
    The head of a United Nations inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed during Israel's offensive into Gaza into 2014 has resigned from his post, after accusations of an anti-Israeli bias.

    Canadian law professor William Schabas was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to head a three-member group investigating reports of war crimes committed during the conflict.

    Israel had slammed the commission and accused Mr Schabas of having an anti-Israeli bias, citing consultancy work the professor had done for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in October, 2012.

    Mr Schabas though said the legal opinion that he had written for the organisation represented “a tiny part” of his work and rejected the claims of bias. "The complaint about my brief consultancy, as I understand it, is not about the content, which is of a technical legal nature, but the implication that in some way I am henceforth beholden to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation," he wrote.
  • Jordanian pilot killed by Islamic State

    The Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State has been killed, according to a video released by the militant group.

    Footage shows Moaz al-Kasasbeh in a cage, drenched in a flammable liquid, before being engulfed in flames.

    Jordanian state TV confirmed the death of the pilot, and said he was killed a month ago, soon after his capture.

    The US said it was working to verify the video and its contents. President Obama said the determination of the coalition against IS to degrade and destroy it would be redoubled if the video was authenticated.

  • Chadian troops enter Nigeria to combat Boko Haram militants
    Chadian troops entered Nigeria to join the battle against the Boko Haram militants in the Northern regions of the country, on Monday.

    Chadian armoured vehicles and infantry crossed a bridge from Cameroon amidst air strikes and mortar attacks on Boko Haram territory, reports the BBC.
  • Nigerian election campaign rally hit by bomb

    An election rally attended by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was hit by a suicide bomb, killing at least one and injuring 18.

    The rally, in the northern city of Gombe, was held in advance of the presidential election on February 14, where Mr Jonathan will face the former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to residents, the president left the rally three minutes before the explosion.

    A local journalist told AFP the explosion had led to unrest in Gombe, with angry youths attacking supporters of Mr Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP).

  • Uganda pledges full cooperation with ICC prosecution
    Uganda assured the International Criminal Court of “full cooperation” with the case prosecuting the Ugandan rebel commander for mass atrocities.

    Uganda’s government would help with investigations as well as identifying potential witness for the case, the country’s attorney general, Peter Nyombi told reporters.
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