News Clips- April 21, 2017

African System, armed conflict, assembly and association, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, immigration & asylum, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, labor rights, liberty & security of person, migrants, News Clips, regional human rights protection, thought, expression & association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system
The United Nations and African Union sign the joint UN-AU Framework for Enhancing Partnership on Peace and Security
Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Civil Society

  • On Wednesday, anti-government protesters marched in the streets of Caracas, Venezuela amid riot police while the government held counter-demonstrations. [Washington Post]
  • On Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission in Ethiopia reported 669 deaths resulting from anti-government protests in the country. [BBC News]
  • On Saturday, a United States aid worker was released from pretrial detention in Egypt after three years. [Washington Post] 

Violence & Humanitarian Crises

  • On Monday, the government of Turkey announced it would extend Turkey’s state of emergency for an additional three months. [Al Jazeera]
  • On Saturday, a suicide bomb attack in Syria killed 126 people; there are no claims of responsibility for the attack. [Guardian]

Migrants, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers

  • On Thursday, the Libyan coastguard reported at least 97 people missing after a boat transporting African nationals to Europe sunk. [Al Jazeera]
  • The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated 8,300 migrants were rescued at sea from smugglers last weekend; eight migrants died. [Washington Post] 

International Criminal Law

  • On Wednesday, Uganda’s military ended its years-long search for Joseph Kony, a warlord charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, because his Lord’s Resistance Army was largely neutralized. [Washington Post]
  • The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the attacks in Syria over the weekend may amount to war crimes and recommended referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). [UN News Centre]

Politics

  • This week, the government of Tunisia signed a declaration that gives non-government organizations and individuals the ability to submit complaints directly to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) against Tunisia. [ACHPR Press Release]
  • On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull announced a plan to get rid of the country’s 457 skilled-worker visa program. [Washington Post]
  • On Wednesday, the United Nations and the African Union signed a joint UN-AU Framework for Enhancing Partnership on Peace and Security. [UN News Centre]