A Japanese court has jailed two members of the US Navy for the rape of a Japanese woman on Okinawa.
Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker were sentenced to ten and nine years in prison respectively.

The judge at Naha district court said the sailors, who both pleaded guilty, were "contemptible and violent".

Pro-democracy activist, Zainab al-Khawaja has been sentenced by a Bahraini court to three months in jail for "insulting and humilating a public employee".

She received her sentence after a court of appeal overturned a previous aquittal.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Obama administration to ban antipersonnel landmines, on the Mine Ban Treaty's 14th anniversary.

The Mine Ban Treaty, which comprehensively prohibits antipersonnel landmines and requires their clearance and assistance to victims, entered into force in 1999, and was signed by 161 nations including the EU and all NATO members except the US.

A Rwandan born Dutch citizen has been found guilty of inciting genocide and has been sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison.

66-year old Yvonne Basebya was found guilty of inciting genocide in 1994, before moving to the Netherlands in 1998. She was cleared of other charges including perpetrating genocide, murder and war crimes.

The US pledged $60 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition. Speaking in Rome after a 'Friends of Syria' meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US would now "extend food and medical supplies to the opposition, including to the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military (Council)."

A death sentence handed to a senior Islamist leader for war crimes, has sparked deadly clashes in Bangladesh, leaving 30 people dead and hundreds injured.

A war crimes tribunal issued the death penalty to Delwar Hossain Sayeedi for crimes including murder, torture and rape during the country’s 1971 war of independence.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has claimed that it has discovered a rocket launcher and a war head during a raid on a house with republican links in West Belfast.

Tensions in the region have risen as the annual marching season approaches.

"The recovery of these items has saved lives," said a PSNI spokesman.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC that Rwanda cannot be blamed on its own for its involvement in the conflict of its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have said that they would “not object” the delaying of the trials of four Kenyans, including Deputy Prime Minister and presidential candidate in next week’s election, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has addressed the opening of the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, calling for a strengthening of the international justice system to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.

The High Commissioner also went on to allege that the Security Council had "failed" in regard to Syria, and highlighted gross human rights violations in several countries, including Sri Lanka.

She also underlined the threat faced by human rights defenders from states, including intimidation of human rights activists within the council in Geneva, as had occured in March 2012.

See our previous post: Tamil NGO delegates intimidated at UN Human Rights Council (02 March 2012)

Extracts from her address have been reproduced below. See her full address here.

"Yet here too, we still have a long way to go. The ICC can only become involved if the State concerned is among the 122 State Parties to the Rome Statute, or if a situation is referred to it by the Security Council. Two important situations – Darfur in 2008, and Libya in 2011 have been referred, but the Security Council has so far failed with regard to Syria, despite the repeated reports of widespread or systematic crimes and violations by my Office, the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, civil society organizations and Special Procedures."

"Again, despite the truly inspiring advances in combating impunity and ensuring accountability both at the international and national levels, including through transitional justice processes, there are still far too many people with command responsibility who escape justice for serious crimes and gross human rights violations. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Palestinian territories are still occupied; massive violations have occurred in Iraq and Sri Lanka; and war crimes continue to be committed in numerous internal conflicts including those continuing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria. We must continue to nurture and strengthen the system designed to deal with such crimes and violations, and those who commit them. It is also critical that we in the international community do our utmost to prevent such situations from developing or deteriorating."

Iranian negotiators have met with officials from the P5 +1, comprised of the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, to discuss its controversial nuclear programme.

A western official said that the talks in Kazhakstan had been “useful” and another meeting will be held on Wednesday.

Burma’s President Thein Sein is embarking on his first European tour, where he is expected to engage in high-level European Union talks.

The Syrian government is ready to hold talks with an armed opposition announced the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moualem, on Monday.

However, Moualem added that the government would continue the war "against terrorism".

In a statement released today, Human Rights Watch called on the Sudanese government to release six members of the opposition parties that were detained in poor conditions, witho