26 August 2020 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

Cracking down on protesters in Iraqi Kurdistan legitimizes corruption
ReliefWeb, 25 Aug 2020

Geneva – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq should respond effectively to the demands of protestors and improve living conditions in the oil-rich region which produces about 15% of Iraq's oil, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said on Tuesday, 25 August 2020.The demonstrations swept through the region for the third day in a row and continued until the late hours of the night, including the governorates of Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, in addition to the cities of Rania, Darbandikhan and Chamchamal.
 
 

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Nickolay Mladenov: UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East
ReliefWeb, 25 Aug 2020

Israel’s commitment to suspending annexation removes an immediate threat that had the potential to upend the peace process and regional stability. The Secretary-General has consistently called for Israel to abandon these plans. Annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law, effectively close the door to a renewal of negotiations and destroy the prospect of a viable Palestinian State and the two-State solution itself, said Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace.
 

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Myanmar: Rohingya Await Justice, Safe Return 3 Years On
Human Rights Watch, 24 Aug 2020

(New York) – The Myanmar government has failed to ensure that nearly one million Rohingya refugees can safely return home three years since fleeing the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and possible genocide, Human Rights Watch said. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have faced tightened restrictions on rights to information, movement, access to education, and health, and have been unlawfully killed by Bangladeshi security forces.

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The AU’s peace and security architecture: filling the gaps
The Conversation, 23 Aug 2020

Since its inception in 2002 the African Union has been under pressure to resolve the extensive peace and security challenges facing the continent. In particular, it’s tried to address the limitations faced by its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity’s (OAU), in this area.The biggest change has been the shift away from the OAU’s so-called non-interference stance to the AU’s more interventionist approach. This is most explicitly found in Article 4 of the AU Constitutive Act.
 

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Belarus: Criminal case against opposition is a shocking violation of freedom of expression
Amnesty International, 20 Aug 2020

Responding to the announcement that Belarus’s Prosecutor General has launched a criminal case against the Coordination Council, a new body formed by opposition leaders, Bruce Millar, Amnesty International’s Acting Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Not content with arresting thousands of protesters, torturing detainees and beating up journalists and medics, the Belarusian authorities have now accused peaceful opposition leaders of being a threat to national security. This demonstrates just how far the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka is willing to go to cling to power". 

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