Civil Society This week, hundreds of people in Johannesburg, South Africa protested recent xenophobic attacks. [Al Jazeera] On Tuesday, 17 anti-deportation protesters locked themselves to an aircraft due to remove asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Nigeria and Ghana. [Guardian] Lawyers and activists allege Russian authorities in Crimea are detaining and abusing human rights activists in psychiatric hospitals. [Guardian]
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Last week, in two separate cases, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first decision on sentences for witness tampering and first order for a convicted war criminal to pay reparations to victims. A chamber of the ICC delivered a decision on March 22 regarding the sentences of five convicted individuals in the case of The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba
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Civil Society On Wednesday, to mark International Women’s Day, women demonstrated around the world for equality. [Reuters] On Tuesday, in Argentina tens of thousands joined in a march protesting job cuts and other policies initiated under President Mauricio Macri. [Al Jazeera] On Monday, Israel passed a law denying entry visas to foreign nationals who support boycotts against Israel or its
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Civil Society This week, civil society reported that journalist Shamael Al-Bur has been attacked and threatened by radical Islamists in response to her column criticizing Sudan’s spending on health and education. [Reporters Without Borders] On Wednesday, ten protesters in the United States were arrested during the closure of the Dakota Access pipeline central camp. [Guardian] On Thursday, eight demonstrators were
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Civil Society On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals in Kenya released seven imprisoned doctors’ union officials who had been jailed in relation to a strike demanding promised wage increases. [Washington Post] On Sunday, more than 60,000 Romanians protested for the 13th consecutive day in Bucharest, Romania, prompting the Romanian parliament to agree to a national referendum on anti-corruption reforms. [Al
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A trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently rejected defendant Bosco Ntaganda’s claim that the Court lacks jurisdiction to try him for the war crimes of rape and sexual slavery of child soldiers in his own forces. [ICC Press Release] The January 4 decision was issued in response to the defense’s claim that the Court cannot assert jurisdiction
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Civil Society The United Nations requested the government of Burundi to remove a ban placed this week on a prominent rights group in the region, and to lessen other restrictions waged against civil society organizations in the past three months. [Washington Post] This Thursday, Bahrain reinstated arrest powers within its domestic spy service in a move that diverges from reforms
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The trial against Dominic Ongwen, a child soldier turned top commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on December 6, 2016. See ICC, Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen. Ongwen was indicted in 2005 on 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include gender-based crimes and crimes of conscription of children allegedly
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Civil Society This week, seven Tibetans in China were given prison sentences that ranged from five to 14 years. [HKFP] Egyptian authorities arrested a prominent human rights activist, Azza Soliman. [AI] Harsh winter weather forced demonstrators to temporarily evacuate the protest site at Standing Rock where they have been protesting the construction of a pipeline. [Washington Post] A Human Rights
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On November 14, the International Criminal Court (ICC) released its 2016 annual report on its pending preliminary investigations into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. [ICC Press Release] The report details the Court’s progress on the 10 situations being evaluated for possible investigation, including two examinations initiated during the reporting period of November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016
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