29 July 2020 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

Central African Republic: ICC Sets Trial
Human Rights Watch, 28 Jul 2020

(Nairobi) – The International Criminal Court  (ICC) announcement on July 16, 2020 of the upcoming trial of two militia leaders is a significant step for justice for grave crimes committed in the Central African Republic, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video interview with one of the accused. The interview took place on September 3, 2014, at the height of the country’s most recent conflict.

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Candidates for Next ICC Prosecutor Face Public Hearings
Human Rights Watch, 28 Jul 2020

This week, International Criminal Court (ICC) member countries will hold hearings with four candidates shortlisted for the court’s next prosecutor. Countries are due to elect the prosecutor in December, filling the most critical top job at the court. There are fewer more important decisions for member countries. The prosecutor, serving for a nine-year term, drives the work of the ICC through decisions about what cases to bring and how. The next prosecutor will need to continue efforts to improve the court’s performance and forcefully confront politicized opposition.
 

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Concerned by Worsening Situation in West Africa, Sahel, Security Council Presidential Statement Calls for National, Regional, International Support
ReliefWeb, 28 Jul 2020

The Security Council, expressing concern about security and humanitarian challenges in West Africa — as well as the potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to exacerbate existing fragilities — today adopted a presidential statement calling for national, regional and international support for countries of the region. In a statement (document S/PRST/2020/7) issued by Christoph Heusgen (Germany), Council President for July, the 15-member organ voiced its deep concern about the continued deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, as well as the challenging security situation in West Africa, fuelled by such factors as terrorism, transnational organized crime and conflicts between pastoralists and farmers.

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Youth Justice Board chair aims to tackle racial disparities in criminal justice system in England and Wales
The Guardian, 27 Jul 2020

Keith Fraser says all agencies working with BAME children need to examine their practices, and that children should not be treated the same as adults in the justice system. Too many schools, police forces, councils and courts are hiding behind “a veil of complexity” to excuse their failure to reduce the disproportionate number of black and minority ethnic children in the criminal justice system, according to the first black chair of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in England and Wales. 

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