News Clips- June 17, 2016

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

• United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) heard from civil society organizations on adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the United Kingdom, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Angola. [OHCHR Press Release]

• As the French government debated a new labor bill that would ease restrictions on employers’ firing and hiring procedures and on working hour limits, 40 citizens and 29 police were injured during mass demonstrations that turned violent. [BBC]

Conflict and Humanitarian Emergencies

• On Tuesday, 34 people died during intense bombing and air strikes in the city of Aleppo in Syria. [Al Jazeera]

• A United Nations peacekeeping official announced that due to little progress in Darfur, the joint UN and African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) would be extended for another year. [UN Press Release]

Prosecutions and Impunity

• Guatemalan authorities recently announced that eight former Guatemalan military members will soon be on trial for crimes against humanity and forced disappearances that took place during Guatemala’s civil war. [New York Times]

• Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nunez, the accused murderer of Chilean poet and singer, Victor Jara, will be tried in United States federal court. [LA Times]

• After preparing 23 reports on the situation in Darfur, International Criminal Court (ICC) special prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, voiced concern over the inaction of the council, which has allowed the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashiri, to travel outside of Sudan, ignoring the two warrants for his arrest. [UN Press Release]

• Due to a northern California class action suit, detained immigrants in four facilities will be granted better access to phones to contact their legal counsel. [The Guardian]
• On Monday, the Sri Lankan president reiterated that foreign judges would not be used during the trials for crimes committed during the 30-year long conflict with the Tamil Tigers despite a recent report from the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) that found victims are only willing to testify in front of international judges. [Colombo Page]

Tribunal Developments

• The final witness in the trial against Ratko Mladic is scheduled to testify this week at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. [Balkan Insight]

• On Tuesday, the European Council allocated 29.1 million Euros to fund the new Kosovo War Crimes Court until June 14, 2017. [Balkan Insight]

Equal Rights and Discrimination

• Thousands of people of all sexual orientations participated in an LGBTI march in Warsaw this past week, seeking increased visibility and legal changes, such as marriage equality. [The Guardian]

• After a shooting at a gay club in Orlando, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights have made statements on homophobia, violence, and gun control in the United States. [IACHR Press Release; OHCHR Press Release]

Migrants and Refugees

• A newly published UNICEF Report voices concern about the exploitation of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children. [UN Press Release]

Human Rights Defenders

• Bahraini authorities have instated travel bans on three human rights defenders and activists traveling to Geneva to partake in the 32^nd session of the United Nation Human Rights Council. [Bahrain Rights]

Arrests and Detention

• Syrian activists demonstrated last Saturday in Paris on behalf of detainees in Syria who often do not have sufficient access to electricity, food and water. [Al Jazeera]

• After the recent murder of the wife of a Bangladeshi police superintendent who runs the Islamist militants and drug cartels operations, the police in Bangladesh have recently arrested over 5,000 people, 85 of which are suspected Islamic radicals. [The Guardian]