The United Kingdom announced yesterday its withdrawal of its candidate for a spot on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, allowing Judge Dalveer Bhandari of India to be elected as the sole candidate. [UN News Centre] After ten rounds of voting, another round was due to take place yesterday but was canceled following
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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 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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The Victims and Witnesses Section (VWS) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has issued a report entitled Echoes of Testimonies: A Pilot Study into the long-term impact of bearing witness before the ICTY, which recommends programs to ensure witness safety and shares the findings of a four-year study on the overall impact of testifying before the
Read moreEconomic, Social, and Cultural Rights United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) heard from civil society organizations on adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the United Kingdom, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Angola. [OHCHR Press Release] As the French government debated a new labor bill that would ease restrictions on
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Germany recently began its first prosecution for alleged war crimes in Syria, joining the several States and private actors seeking accountability for atrocities committed in the ongoing conflict in Syria. [The New Arab] Despite the lack of a final peace agreement, human rights experts are encouraging State governments to take steps to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has convicted Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role as leader of a rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo whose troops carried out attacks in neighboring Central African Republic (CAR), in support of that country’s former president. See ICC, Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, ICC-01/05-01/08, Judgment
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A new database aims to increase access to the proceedings, evidence, decisions, and orders of the international tribunal created to prosecute those most responsible for the commission of international crimes during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. On December 3, 2015, the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) launched the Judicial Records and Archives Database (JRAD) to facilitate public access to
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A new campaign, GQUAL, aims to address the gender imbalance on international courts and human rights bodies, where women make up less than 25% of the existing membership. [GQUAL Press Release] The campaign will work to change the nomination and voting practices of States and the relevant institutions, to ensure that gender balance is a real consideration. Through its website,
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On August 3, 2015 the Kosovo Parliament passed the “Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office,” a constitutional amendment that will establish a special war crimes court to prosecute former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas for crimes committed during and after the Kosovo War between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2000. The court will operate under Kosovo law
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