ICC

The daily update of human rights events around the world.

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe’s Zanu PF backtracks on inclusive government

The Zanu PF caretaker government has begun to backtrack on the inclusive government by dithering to discuss contentious issues in line with the SADC resolutions.  This Is Zimbabwe

ISRAEL: ICC Investigating Israel War Crimes Charges

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced a preliminary investigation Tuesday into whether Israel committed war crimes during the recent Gaza war, following the Palestinian National Authority’s (PNA) move to recognize the ICC’s authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  IPS

NIGERIA: Government to be Quizzed on Human Rights Record at UN

As the Nigerian government prepares to be quizzed over its human rights record by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Amnesty International called on the government to take its human rights responsibilities seriously and implement any recommendations coming from the Council as quickly as possible.  Common Dreams

US: Study Challenges Claims of Gitmo Recidivism

A prominent law professor says the U.S. Defense Department is issuing questionable data on the number of Guantanamo detainees who have been released “and then returned to the battlefield” because the government “is now in a position where they have to find some bad guys – even if they have to invent them by naming people who were never there”.  IPS

NEPAL: Law on Disappearances Provokes Outcry

Despite loud opposition, the Maoist-led coalition government of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has vowed to push through an ordinance to resolve the cases of hundreds of people ‘disappeared’ during the decade-long people’s war waged between Maoist rebels and the forces of the former monarchy.  IPS

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The daily update of human rights events around the world.

SUDAN: Sudanese Harassed for Cooperating with the International Criminal Court

FIDH is concerned about the repeated attacks against persons suspected of supporting or cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which have been registered in Sudan over the last months.  FIDH

U.S.: Time to Select U.S. AIDS Leader

As acronyms go, OGAC — the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator — is no memorable stand-out. However, its coordinator has the extraordinarily important job of setting U.S. AIDS policy and identifying spending priorities. With the U.S. investing more than ever in the global AIDS fight, it’s time to fill the position with someone with the knowledge, credibility and leadership to head up what is America’s largest global public health initiative, accounting for billions in annual spending. Remarkably, this office has been leaderless for over a week now.  Nicholas Kristoff – NY Times

CHINA: Human Rights Lawyer in Arbitrary Detention

The Chinese government should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng, a leading human rights lawyer who disappeared two weeks ago, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Human Rights in China said today in a joint statement.  Human Rights Watch

LATIN AMERICA: Human Rights Coverage Serving Washington’s Needs

A new Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) study finds that leading newspapers have been putting political considerations ahead of humanitarian concerns in their editorials on human rights in Latin America.  Common Dreams

BOLIVIA: Tight Grip on the Next Big Resource

In the rush to build the next generation of hybrid or electric cars, a sobering fact confronts both automakers and governments seeking to lower their reliance on foreign oil: almost half of the world’s lithium, the mineral needed to power the vehicles, is found here in Bolivia – a country that may not be willing to surrender it so easily.  NY Times

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The daily update of human rights events around the world.

DRC: International Court Begins First Trial

Children snatched from Congo streets were trained to kill and forced to fight in a brutal ethnic war, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said Monday as the tribunal opened its historic first trial.  NY Times

RWANDA: Congo Presses for Extradition of Warlord

On Sunday, a bunch of former guerrilla fighters lounged around a hilltop army base, picking avocados and looking relaxed. Though their former commander, Gen. Laurent Nkunda, was captured Thursday by the Rwandan Army, the soldiers up here insisted that he was not in captivity but “in negotiations.”  NY Times

MIDEAST: Unconventional Warfare on the Rise

Violent conflict is hardly new to the Middle East, but increasingly it is taking the form of unconventional warfare.  IPS

COLOMBIA: Entire Battalion Dismantled Over Killings of Civilians

The purge of the Colombian army over killings of civilians passed off as guerrilla casualties continues, this time with the dismantling of an entire army brigade and the removal of 11 officers who served in another battalion.  IPS

DARFUR: Killing of 33 civilians in Darfur camp was unlawful, says UN report

A new UN report into the killing of 33 civilians and wounding of 108 others in a camp for displaced people in Darfur last August concludes that Sudanese government security forces violated international human rights law by using lethal force in “an unnecessary, disproportionate and therefore unlawful manner.”  UNHCR

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WIth attention focused on the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, little else has garnered attention in the media. That’s not to say that the rest of the world has come to a halt. Hardly. So here is a summary of news from outside the Conventions.

Surge of Violence Against Trade Unionists in Guatemala – AFL-CIO

The government of Guatemala ratified the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) on March 25, 2005, which entered into force between the United States and Guatemala on July 1, 2006. The government made several promises prior to the ratification vote in the United States to substantially improve the administration of labor justice in the country. However, the political will necessary to achieve these changes never materialized, and the United States has applied little visible pressure on the country to comply with the labor provisions of the trade agreement.

Social Factors Key to Ill Health – BBC

Social factors – rather than genetics – are to blame for huge variations in ill health and life expectancy around the world, a report concludes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out a three-year analysis of the “social determinants” of health. The report concludes “social injustice is killing people on a grand scale”.

The Military is the Main Culprit in Zimbabwe – The East African

Since 2000 and his defeat in a referendum destined to reinforce his presidential powers, Robert Mugabe has been at war with his opposition and his regime has become the equivalent of a military dictatorship.

Dismantling the military structure’s control over the country’s politics, economy and civilian administration is crucial for the country’s future. But this will only be possible if real executive powers are handed over to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the ongoing talks.

Mexico City Struggles With Law on Abortion – The New York Times

When Mexico City’s government made abortion legal last year, it also set out to make it available to any woman who asked for one. That includes the city’s poorest, who for years resorted to illegal clinics and midwives as wealthy women visited private doctors willing to quietly end unwanted pregnancies.

A man looked at portraits of women who support abortion rights during a recent demonstration in Mexico City. But helping poor women gain equal access to the procedure has turned out to be almost as complicated as passing the law, a watershed event in this Catholic country and in a region where almost all countries severely restrict abortions.

ICC May Launch Investigation in Colombia – Colombia Reports

The International Criminal Court may soon launch an official investigation in Colombia. The court’s prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will conduct an official visit to Bogota next week to find out whether the Colombian government is capable of securing justice in the context of its civil conflict.

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