In the last two months, the Organization of American States (OAS) held unprecedented hearings to gather witness testimony on the situation in Venezuela to determine whether to refer the State to the International Criminal Court (ICC). [OAS Press Release: First Session; OAS Press Release: Second Session] In the sessions of hearings held so far, the OAS has heard testimony from
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Civil Society Protesters in Hong Kong demonstrated last weekend to call for the release of three pro-democracy activists who were imprisoned last week. [Guardian] Maina Kiai, a former United Nations Special Rapporteur and a human rights activist, was detained at the Nairobi airport for two hours before allowed to leave the country last Sunday. [Guardian] A Chinese human rights lawyer
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, last week urged Kenyan leaders to “calm a volatile political climate” while ensuring the right to peaceful assembly; his statement followed reports of the use of live ammunition against protesters in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s August 8th re-election. Reports indicate 24 people died due to the
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Civil Society In Kenya, five people have been killed since Raila Odinga, an opposition leader, declared the recent presidential election fraudulent. [Al Jazeera] On Thursday, authorities in Turkey issued 35 detention warrants for journalists and other individuals connected to Fethullah Gulen, who has been accused of involvement in the attempted coup last year. [Washington Post] On Sunday, Russia passed a
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, condemned last week the recent violence and arrests that occurred in response to demonstrations around Venezuela’s election for a National Constituent Assembly – a powerful entity intended to replace the current legislature and rewrite the Venezuelan constitution. The election was reportedly tampered with by the Venezuelan government, prompting
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Civil Society This week, a source confirmed that the government of Syria executed activist and Internet entrepreneur, Bassel Khartabil Safadi, in October 2015. [Washington Post] On Thursday, it was reported that activists launched a public appeal asking the prince of Saudi Arabia to dismiss terrorism-related offenses against 14 Shiite men. [Washington Post] On Tuesday, two Venezuelan opposition leaders were taken
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Violence & Humanitarian Crises On Wednesday, several international aid organizations in the Central African Republic halted operations due to violence between armed groups and the targeting of aid workers. [Reuters] On Monday, suicide attacks targeted two camps for internally displaced persons in Nigeria resulting in the deaths of at least eight people. [UN News Centre] On Monday, at least 24
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Civil Society Around the world, people went to the ocean this week to commemorate the death of Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who recently died in custody, after his ashes were spread in the sea. [Guardian] A journalist in Russia reported this week that he received threatening text messages demanding he halt his current work. [CPJ] A court in Turkey
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Civil Society Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who previously won the Nobel Peace Prize, died from cancer on Thursday. [New York Times] On Wednesday, protesters in Zimbabwe demonstrated in favor of fair elections but were met with tear gas and water cannons. [Al Jazeera] Last weekend, tens of thousands of protesters in Istanbul, Turkey demonstrated against the state of emergency
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Civil Society On Thursday, Turkish police arrested nine human rights activists, including Amnesty International’s Turkey director, Idli Eser. [BBC News] On Thursday, a student activist in Hong Kong pleaded guilty to a contempt of court charge related to his participation in pro-democracy protests in 2014. [Al Jazeera] On Sunday, anti-G20 summit protesters clashed with local police in Hamburg, Germany. [Guardian]
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