Crimes against humanity in Western Tigray Zone
6/4/2022: Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone have committed widespread abuses against Tigrayans since November 2020 that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Ethiopian authorities have severely restricted access and independent scrutiny of the region.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Sudanese militia leader to go on trial at the ICC
6/4/2022: A senior commander of the notorious Janjaweed militia will become the first person to go on trial at the International Criminal Court for atrocities in Darfur. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 72, faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003-04. Former president Omar al-Bashir and three others are still being sought by the ICC.
Source: The East African
Bucha killings raise ‘serious’ questions about possible war crimes
4/4/2022: Senior UN officials have echoed the Secretary-General’s call for an independent investigation into the killing of scores of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. An independent investigation is critical to determine the extent of these crimes and to ensure that perpetrators are held to account.
Source: UN News
Will new African Union mission in Somalia succeed?
1/4/2022: A transitional force has been given less than two years to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's national army and withdraw from the troubled country. Analysts say progress on security cannot be achieved while the country is stuck in political deadlock. Elections are more than a year overdue.
Source: The East African
UN announces 2-month truce in Yemen
1/4/2022: The two sides in Yemen's ongoing conflict — the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels — will put down their weapons for two months, to coincide with Ramadan. The UN Special Envoy plans to intensify efforts to reach a permanent cease-fire, and address urgent economic and humanitarian measures.
Source: DW
UN Security Council votes for new Somalia peacekeeping force
31/3/2022: The current African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) includes 20,000 soldiers, police and civilians, resisting Al-Shabaab insurgents who have been seeking to overthrow the fragile government for more than a decade. The new mission will work to enable Somali forces to take primary responsibility for security, before a scheduled withdrawal in 2024.
Source: The East African
War in Ukraine is morally unacceptable and politically indefensible
31/3/2022: In an address to the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calls for the hostilities to stop, without delay.
Source: Inter Press Service
US declares violence against the Rohingya was genocide
28/3/2022: The US decision has came more than four years after 730,000 Rohingya from Myanmar were forced to flee. It’s unclear what action the US may now take, though it has been outspoken about its opposition to the military coup that occurred last year.
Source: Devex
War in Syria: eleven years of carnage
22/3/2022: The latest UN Human Rights Council report on the Syrian conflict estimates the poverty rate to be an unprecedented 90 percent, with 14.6 million people dependent on humanitarian aid. More than half of the pre-war population of 22 million has been displaced. More than 100,000 are missing or forcibly disappeared.
Source: Inter Press Service
Where is the UN’s Guterres?
15/3/2022: It is long overdue for UN Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene more forcefully in Russia’s war on Ukraine and use his good offices to try to forge a cease-fire and work out a final settlement on this nightmarish conflict. Guterres should follow up with all sorts of new proposals on how to end the fighting.
Source: PassBlue