The International Criminal Court (ICC) Thursday unanimously rejected the appeal of Dominic Ongwen, former commander of Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In May 2021, the ICC sentenced Ongwen to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ongwen’s defense team filed an appeal on 12 grounds, including claims that [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Thursday released their annual report summarizing violence and abuse against journalists. The organization reports that a total of 533 journalists are currently detained because of their work, 65 are held hostage and another 57 have been killed in the past year. RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said of the report’s findings: This [...]

The UN Economic and Social Council (ESC) Wednesday voted to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Of the 54 current ESC members, 29 voted in favor of removal, 8 voted against and 16 abstained. Iran was to serve its term from 2022-2026. In early November, the US promised to [...]

Peru Minister of Defense Alberto Otarola early Tuesday announced that Peru will enter a state of emergency. In a tweet, Otarola said the measures are meant to “guarantee order, the continuation of economic activities, and protection of millions of families” following the protests that have broken out following the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo [...]

The UK Wednesday announced 16 new sanctions against Russian commanders and Iranian businessmen in response to missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The sanctions are in response to the continuing Russian occupation and seizure of Ukrainian territory. The new sanctions target 12 Russian commanders, 3 Iranian businessmen and an Iranian business for the [...]

The UK Attorney General’s Office Wednesday announced it started a program to train Ukrainian judges to conduct war crime trials. The program will train 90 judges from Ukraine under the supervision of Sir Howard Morrison, a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Morrison said that the judges are “very experienced in Ukrainian domestic [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday demanded the immediate release of Hong Kong “pro-democracy media tycoon” Jimmy Lai and six of his co-defendants. Lai is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence in Hong Kong for his participation in a vigil commemorating victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. A Hong Kong court added almost six additional [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday demanded the immediate release of Hong Kong “pro-democracy media tycoon” Jimmy Lai and six of his co-defendants. Lai is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence in Hong Kong for his participation in a vigil commemorating victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. A Hong Kong court added almost six additional [...]

New Zealand Tuesday passed the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Bill to prohibit anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, from ever purchasing cigarettes. The law will usher in a lifetime ban to prevent future generations from being able to purchase cigarettes and lowers allowable nicotine content in New Zealand products to 0.8 milligrams per [...]

A Reuters investigation released Monday reports that Nigeria’s military has killed at least 60 children since 2009 as part of the nation’s 13-year battle against Islamic extremist organisations like Boko Haram. Under “Operation No Living Things,” soldiers were often acting on orders to interrogate, search or even kill children to prevent “a future threat.” These [...]