News Clips – November 4, 2016

Civil Society

• Two girls in Morocco are facing charges of homosexual conduct after they were seen kissing. [Guardian]
• Thousands protested this week against the United Nation’s peace proposal to end the conflict in Yemen. [Al Jazeera]
• Several UN experts called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to put an end to the ban on protests that has been in place since September. [OHCHR Press Release]
• Ai Wei Wei, a famous dissident, artist, and activist from China, recently stated before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York that other governments need to continue pressuring China on human rights. [Guardian]
• Russian authorities blocked Amnesty International employees from accessing their office in Moscow this week, claiming the organization had failed to pay rent. [Wasington Post]
• Protesters in South Africa demonstrated this week outside of President Jacob Zuma’s residence calling on him to resign. [Guardian]
• Several human rights organizations have sent a letter to Facebook asking for clarification on its takedown policies because, they claim, human rights content has been removed in several instances. [Jurist]

Politics

• A court in the United Kingdom ruled this week that Parliament must vote first before the UK leaves the European Union because, otherwise, exiting the EU would inevitably change UK domestic laws without consulting Parliament. [Bloomberg]
• In response to the UN firing a Kenyan commander who was part of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Kenya is now pulling out 1,000 men from the peacekeeping operations in the country. [Washington Post; BBC]
• A United States court ruled this week that US constitutional protections, including protections against unlawful searches and seizures, do not apply extraterritorially. [BoingBoing]
• A trial and protest march against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro were canceled this week due to promised talks with the opposition. [Al Jazeera]
• The Supreme Court of Pakistan stayed the execution of a man with a disability, Imdad Ali, this week. [Reprieve]

Armed Conflict and Violence

• The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant are using over 1,500 civilians as shields against airstrikes, according to the UN. [UN News Centre]
• A NATO airstrike in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians this week. [Al Jazeera]

Activities of International Bodies

• The UN Secretary General announced this week the appointment of the Special Adviser on Follow-up to the UN Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. [UN News Centre]
• The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released 21 decisions on individual complaints this week. [OHCHR Press Release]
• The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is collecting testimony from Native American activists and indigenous leaders who are protesting an oil pipeline in North Dakota, United States. [Guardian]
• The UN General Assembly elected 14 States to serve on the UN Human Rights Council. [UN Press Release]

Migrants and Refugees

• France has cleared a migrant camp in Paris of almost 4,000 migrants and refugees. [Guardian]
• Civil society groups are pressuring Kenya to reconsider closing the refugee camp in Dadaab, which would leave tens of thousands of Somali refugees without a choice but to return to Somalia. [Washington Post]

Environment

• The UN warned this week that taking into consideration the pledges made by various countries, the world is set to warm by three degrees Celsius. [Guardian]
• A recent report from civil society argues that expanding indigenous communities’ land rights can help stabilize climate change. [Guardian]