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26 July 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on international criminal justice
Articles
OAS to Study Possible Crimes Against Humanity in Venezuela
By VoaNews, 25 Jul 2017
As Venezuelans prepared for a two-day national strike beginning Wednesday, the head of the Organization of American States met Tuesday with a former International Criminal Court prosecutor about the prospect of bringing charges against Venezuelan authorities for humanitarian crimes. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said at a press conference Tuesday that Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno-Ocampo will help the OAS examine whether Venezuelan authorities have committed crimes against humanity that warrant an investigation by the ICC.
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Will Syria's war criminals be let off the hook?
By BBC , 25 Jul 2017
For six years, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria has been painstakingly gathering information about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict. The investigators have produced 13 reports, the evidence in each is harrowing. Villages destroyed, crops burnt, wells poisoned, torture, rape, starvation sieges, mass bombing of civilians, and what only a decade ago might have been unthinkable - chemical weapons
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War crimes court to award Timbuktu damages in August
By News24, 22 Jul 2017
War crimes judges will next month deliver a landmark order for reparations for the razing of the fabled Timbuktu shrines by a Malian jihadist, the International Criminal Court said Friday. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was jailed for nine years in September after pleading guilty to directing attacks on the Unesco world heritage site during the jihadist takeover of northern Mali in 2012. It was the first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime at the tribunal based in The Hague.
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Dakar Conference on the Day of International Criminal Justice
By International Criminal Court , 21 Jul 2017
To commemorate the Day of International Criminal Justice, H.E. Mr. Sidiki Kaba, President of the Assembly of States Parties (the "President") convened, on 17 July 2017, a high-level conference in Dakar, Senegal, on the "Challenges and Opportunities for the ICC on the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the Rome Statute". The event was organized with the financial support of the European Union and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In the context of the discussions on the ICC's future challenges and opportunities, the debates focused on four main themes: the relationship between Africa and the ICC, cooperation with the ICC, complementarity and the universality of the Rome Statute.
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ICC Judges amend the Regulations of the Court
By International Criminal Court , 20 Jul 2017
On 12 July 2017, the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), by unanimity of the 17 judges present at a special plenary convened by the President under Rule 4(2) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, adopted some amendments to the Regulations of the Court during their thirty-sixth plenary session. The amendments are intended to expedite and streamline the Court's proceedings on appeal through a number of procedural innovations, in keeping with the Court's commitment to enhance its efficiency at all stages of the judicial process. Pursuant to article 52(3) of the Rome Statute, the judges determined that the amendments would enter into force upon their publication by way of a press release. Accordingly, the amendments enter into force today, 20 July 2017.
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Palestinian civilians urge International Court to speed up ‘war crimes’ probe
By The Times of Israel, 19 Jul 2017
Palestinian lawyers and civil society groups on Wednesday urged the International Criminal Court to speed up inquiries and open a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.For two years Palestine is under preliminary examination,” said lawyer Gilles Devers, adding “in Gaza, we think two years is too long.” The Palestinian Authority has formally asked the ICC to investigate Israel, which is not a party to the Rome Statute that governs the court, for alleged war crimes. It has presented the court with a dossier alleging abuses during the 2014 summer Gaza war, and for the Israeli presence and settlements in the West Bank.
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