UN Security Council – Page 4 – International Justice Resource Center

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Opens Trial of 4 Accused in Rafiq Hariri Assassination, in Abstentia

January 23, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, international criminal law, internationalized criminal tribunals, right to life, UN Security Council

Last week, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) opened the trial proceedings against Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra for the Beirut bombing that killed 22 individuals, including the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, on February 14, 2005. See STL, Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. (Case STL-11-01), Indictment (Public Redacted Version), 10

UN Confirms Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria and Urges Security Council Action, as Syria Joins Chemical Weapons Convention

September 18, 2013 IJRC international human rights, international humanitarian law, military and humanitarian intervention, UN General Assembly, UN Security Council

Following UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s formal announcement on Saturday of Syria’s accession to the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention), the United States and Russia revealed their joint Framework for the Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons. The concurrent release of a UN report containing

UN Commission of Inquiry Hears Compelling Witness Testimony in Hearings on Human Rights Conditions in North Korea

August 21, 2013 IJRC International Criminal Court, international human rights, UN Security Council, UN Special Procedures

The curtain of secrecy enshrouding one of the world’s most isolationist States, North Korea, is being partially lifted this week through the testimony of more than 30 witnesses, including several who have fled the country, at public hearings held by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Yesterday, survivors of North Korean prison

Mali Conflict: Concerns Persist for Protection of Human Rights, Displaced Populations, Minority Groups

February 5, 2013 IJRC African System, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, International Criminal Court, international human rights, military and humanitarian intervention, right to life, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, Universal Periodic Review

The West African nation of Mali, previously hailed as a democratic model for other regional governments, has become engulfed in a human rights and political crisis that is now the target of international attention and military intervention. Government and foreign forces are attempting to reclaim territory from separatist rebel groups, while the International Criminal Court and UN and African human rights

Syrian Opposition Coalition Formed as Human Rights Situation Continues to Deteriorate

November 16, 2012 IJRC crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, international human rights, international humanitarian law, military and humanitarian intervention, UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council

On Sunday, November 11, Syrian opposition groups signed a draft agreement to form the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary Opposition Forces. [BBC] Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib, a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus who is considered a moderate and unifying force, was chosen to lead the new coalition. The Gulf Arab States have recognized the coalition as the sole legitimate

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Commences its Final Trial

October 15, 2012 IJRC ICTY, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, UN Security Council

The final case pending before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) involves Goran Hadžić, the former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, who is indicted for persecution and murder of non-Serbs, as well as unlawful imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, forcible transfer, deportation and wanton destruction, and plunder of private or public property. Hadžić was

IACHR, ACHPR, HRC, UNGA in Session this Week

October 25, 2011 IJRC ICJ, regional human rights protection, UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

In Geneva, the 103rd Session of the Human Rights Committee (the treaty body charged with monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) is underway; it will examine the compliance of Jamaica, Kuwait, Norway, Iran, Malawi (no report submitted), and convene Country Task Forces regarding Armenia, Lithuania, Kenya, Cape Verde (no report submitted), Uruguay, Cameroon, Monaco, Denmark,

Coalition Urges UN to Increase Protection for DRC Civilians in Run up to Fall Elections

June 9, 2011 IJRC democracy & political rights, UN Security Council

The Democratic Republic of Congo will be holding national elections for the presidential and parliamentary offices on November 27, 2011. [CongoPlanet] Amidst fears of attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army and other acts of violence, 47 organizations issued a press release calling on the UN Security Council to direct adequate resources to the UN stabilization mission in DRC (MONUSCO) to

Pressure on Libya to Comply with AfCHPR's Provisional Measures to Protect Civilians

April 26, 2011 IJRC African System, democracy & political rights, interim measures, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, thought, expression & association, UN General Assembly, UN Security Council

Late last month, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights issued an order for provisional measures, directing the Libyan government to “immediately refrain from any action that would result in loss of life or violation of physical integrity of persons”, in response to Application No. 004/2011 from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Human Rights Watch,