Experts Convene for Symposium on Torture Victims’ Right to Rehabilitation

The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) held a symposium in Mexico City last week entitled Delivering on the Promise of the Right to Rehabilitation that brought together over 300 people, including clinical professionals, lawyers, researchers, and policymakers, from around the world to discuss rehabilitation of torture survivors. [IRCT Press Release] The IRCT is a membership-based organization consisting of

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UNHCR Issues Guidelines on Refugee Status of Those Fleeing Conflict

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued new guidelines relating to individuals who are fleeing their countries due to armed conflict and violence, seeking to ensure that States consistently apply international law when conducting refugee determinations and generally view these individuals as possible refugees. [UN News Centre] The guidelines are intended to resolve discrepancies in States’ application of

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ICC Reviews Lord’s Resistance Army Abuses in Dominic Ongwen Trial

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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ICC Releases Annual Report on Progress of Preliminary Examinations

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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News Clips- November 25, 2016

Civil Society Following protests over the weekend and statements from the United Nations, Turkey withdrew a bill that would have granted amnesty to some perpetrators of child sexual assault. [Guardian] Thousands of protesters in Malaysia demonstrated against the prime minister, resulting in 15 arrests. [Washington Post] Authorities have started using tear gas and water cannons against refugee protesters in Bulgaria.

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ICC Finds Jean-Pierre Bemba, Four Others Guilty of Witness Tampering

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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