UN humanitarian coordinator Jan Egeland told the UN Security Council on Friday that sexual abuse of women and girls by soldiers in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo "has become a cancer in Congolese society that seems to be out of control", and said the country's leaders needed to condemn and prosecute it. Egeland acknowledged [...]
Leftist protestors objecting to the official results of Mexico's July 2 presidential election took down their so-called "resistance camps" on Mexico City's Reforma Avenue Friday. Supporters of losing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that they will find alternate means to protest the election, while Obrador told supporters "I am not giving up nor giving [...]
Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, previously found guilty on charges of conspiracy, murder, and racketeering in July, will now serve terms of life in prison without parole after the death penalty phase of their proceeding ended in a mistrial Friday. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter of the District Court for the [...]
Letter to members of Congress from retired federal judges, September 15, 2006 . Read the full text of the letter . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
The Secure Fence Act of 2006, passed by the US House of Representatives, September 15, 2006 . Read the full text of the bill . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
At a press conference in the Rose Garden Friday, President Bush urged members of Congress to approve his proposed legislation authorizing the use of military commissions for terror detainees and enemy combatants, currently competing for passage with another bill approved Thursday by the Senate Armed Services Committee . Bush said:The bill I have proposed will [...]
US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said in a speech Friday that Cuba should hold a referendum on democracy as a countervailing force to the ongoing dictatorship of Cuban President Fidel Castro . Gutierrez, a Cuban-American, suggested that the Organization of American States could sponsor the referendum in a manner recalling its successful campaign to [...]
One week after US President Bush confirmed the existence of secret prisons for high-value terror suspects run by the US Central Intelligence Agency abroad, top-level members of the Council of the European Union publicly criticized the program Friday. According to an EU press release: Ministers reiterated their commitment to combating terrorism effectively, using all legal [...]
Ben Davis : "The President in his televised press conference today framed the discussion of the draft bill on Military Commissions in terms of whether Congress was going to permit "the Program" to go forward. He made it clear that Americans working in the intelligence community would not violate the law. He did not want [...]
While noting that "many of our nations are making progress on human rights," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged nations belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement Friday to "fulfill their obligations to their people at home" by ending the suppression of opposition groups, guaranteeing a free press and fighting corruption. Speaking at the NAM summit in Cuba [...]
