In its first decision concerning witness tampering, Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and four others guilty of offenses against the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute. [ICC Press Release: Guilty] The holding of October 19 found that Bemba and the four other accused had bribed witnesses and presented
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On Sunday, October 2, 2016 Colombians headed to the polls to vote on a peace agreement to end the 52-year war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas. [The Guardian: Voters] Contrary to what the polls had predicted, the peace deal referendum was rejected by a 0.4 percent margin. [The Guardian: Voters] The deal was the result of
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In response to the ongoing crisis in Burundi, the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) presented its final report to the Human Rights Council on September 27, 2016, which documented evidence of gross human rights abuses perpetrated by the government and its affiliates. [OHCHR Press Release] UNIIB was formed in light of increasing instability in Burundi, which was prompted
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Civil Society A member of the United Democratic Party, an opposition political party in Gambia, died while in detention last Saturday, prompting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to condemn the death and conditions of detention. [UN News Centre] The Ethiopian government announced this week that it will not prosecute the Olympic athlete who publically
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The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently published a report on the upswing in civilian casualties in the first six months of 2016. [UNAMA Press Release] More than 5,000 civilians were killed or maimed, the highest number of such casualties in Afghanistan in a six-month period since 2009 and one that includes significant numbers of women and children.
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International Criminal Law Nada Kiswanson, a permanent representative at the International Criminal Court who works on evidence of war crimes in Palestine, has received death threats. [MEMO] The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh issued sentences to eight individuals for crimes against humanity. [Jurist] German investigators have identified eight individuals who they suspect of war crimes during the Nazi era. [The
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Following a May 2016 conviction for crimes against humanity, the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) issued an order on July 29 for Hissène Habré to pay monetary reparations to thousands of victims. The former president of Chad was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes including murder, summary executions, kidnapping, rape, and sexual slavery committed during his 1982 – 1990 rule. [Guardian] Although
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Civil Society & Human Rights Defenders After a video revealed the harassment of aboriginal boys in detention in an Australian jail, Australians protested, demanding an investigation. [Al Jazeera] A human rights lawyer in China, Wang Yu, who was in detention for over a year, made a public confession this week that appeared scripted. [Washington Post] A court in Bahrain postponed
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Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, recently stated that the rights to freedom of association and of assembly are hindered by racial inequality in the United States. [OHCHR Press Release] Experts on freedom of expression from both the United Nations and the Organization for
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On July 28, experts will provide an inside look at the conviction of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who announced this week he will appeal the March 2016 ruling finding him guilty of genocide and other crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). [Justice Info] On Thursday, the Bar Association of San Francisco will host
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