9 February 2022 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

An Urgent Need for Justice: Expediting the International Criminal Court’s Afghanistan Investigation
The Diplomat, 09 Feb 2022

After retaking control of Afghanistan on August 15 of least year, the Taliban, one of the main perpetrators of past major atrocities in Afghanistan, allegedly continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. With the legitimate Afghan government gone, it is the time for the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the only available international body with jurisdiction over the alleged crimes, to act swiftly and responsibly and make a difference by expediting its intervention in Afghanistan.

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Kazakhstan: Set Independent Inquiry into January Events
Human Rights Watch, 09 Feb 2022

The Kazakhstan government should invite international experts to join its domestic investigative efforts into serious human rights violations during the January 2022 protests and violence to ensure that the results are seen as credible, Human Rights Watch said today. The statement followed a meeting between Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Kazakhstan’s foreign affairs minister, and Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. 

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Egypt faces unprecedented labour rights violations
Middle East Monitor, 08 Feb 2022

In its annual report, the Egyptian Organisation for Trade Unions and Labour Services monitored 8,041 violations of workers' rights throughout the country during 2021, including arbitrary dismissal, forced resignation, delayed payment of salaries and the absence of a nursery. The Organisation, which won the French Republic for Human Rights Prize in 1999, revealed that many of these violations took place with the government's knowledge. Moreover, the government was a party to many of them, as 1,629 of these violations were committed by government agencies. 

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Ethiopia accused of ‘serious’ human rights abuses in Tigray in landmark case
The Guardian, 08 Feb 2022

Ethiopia has committed a wide range of human rights violations in its war against Tigrayan rebel forces, including mass killings, sexual violence and military targeting of civilians, according to a landmark legal complaint submitted to Africa’s top human rights body. Lawyers acting for Tigrayan civilians said the complaint, filed on Monday, marked the first time that the African Union’s human rights commission had been asked to look into the conduct of Ethiopian troops in their war with the northern region’s rebel forces.
 

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Yemen: Intensifying war worsens world’s worst civilian crisis
Al Jazeera, 07 Feb 2022

When US President Joe Biden entered the Oval Office last year, there were hopes that Yemen’s crisis would move towards de-escalation with expected changes in American foreign policy. Yet warfare has only intensified this year. Violence plaguing Yemen has escalated internally, regionally, and on an international level – particularly since January 17 Houthi attacks against Abu Dhabi. 

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What’s behind the spike in journalist murders in Mexico?
Al Jazeera, 04 Feb 2022

Against a backdrop of increasing violence, human rights violations and impunity in Mexico, attacks against journalists are spiking, with four killed last month alone. On January 31, three armed men reportedly shot Robert Toledo, a videographer for Monitor Michoacan, as he prepared to film an interview west of Mexico City. 

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Myanmar’s UN envoy under fire for proposing ‘power share’ with military
The Guardian, 03 Feb 2022

The UN special envoy to Myanmar has been widely rebuked for suggesting that pro-democracy activists should negotiate a power-sharing agreement with the country’s military, which is accused of atrocities including genocide. Almost 250 civil society organisations published a statement condemning the comments, warning they risked emboldening the military to commit “grave crimes with total impunity”. 

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