News Clips- June 23, 2017

On Thursday, several civil society organizations urged for the prompt and independent investigation into the “barrage of assaults and threats” against human rights lawyers in Pakistan. [ICJ]
On Saturday, thousands of protesters in Madrid, Spain marched to demand that the government fulfill its pledge to take in 17,000 refugees. [Al Jazeera]

On Thursday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack, allegedly targeting security forces, that killed 29 people in Afghanistan. [Washington Post]
On Tuesday, it was reported that 3,300 people have been killed in the Kasai provinces of central Congo since August 2016. [Washington Post]
On Tuesday, 15 people, mostly civilians, were killed by a car bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia claimed by al-Shabab extremists. [Washington Post]
On Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 66 million people were forcibly displaced in 2016 due to conflict and persecution. [UN News Centre]

On Thursday, the United States declined to join a United Nations resolution on violence against women due to its inclusion of access to safe abortions. [Reuters]
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Romania, Sorin Grindeanu, was ousted from power in a vote of no confidence six months after his taking office. [Guardian]
Last week, Ana Brnabić became Serbia’s first female and first gay Prime Minister. [Guardian]

This week, Norway threatened to halt its financial assistance to Brazil’s Amazon fund if the rate of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is not reduced. [Guardian]
Several large oil companies this week publicly supported a plan to tax carbon dioxide emissions as an incentive to shift towards renewable energy sources. [Guardian]

The United Nations and relief partners increased global aid dedicated to humanitarian assistance by over a billion dollars. [UN News Centre]
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that a Russian law banning the promotion of homosexuality violated three gay activists’ rights to freedom of expression and non-discrimination. [Guardian]
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing a new office dedicated to global counter-terrorism strategy. [UN News Centre]