In goodwill gestures inspired by the renewed relations between France and Rwanda, France arrested two Rwandan expatriates residing in Paris. It is as of yet unknown whether France will try the suspects, or whether they will be extradited to Rwanda. In either scenario, it will be the first instance of France aiding Rwanda in the prosecution of Hutu individuals implicated in the 1994 genocide.
Yesterday a resolution that would officially recognize the forced deportation of millions of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks during and immediately after World War I as a genocide cleared an important hurdle when the House Foreign Affairs committee passed it by a narrow 23-22 margin.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a United Nations court of law dealing with war crimes that occurred during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. The Tribunal was established in 1993 and has since contributed significantly to the fields of international humanitarian law, setting precedents when it proved that individual leaders of mass crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity will be held accountable and will face justice.
Whether civilian casualties in Afghanistan undermine counterinsurgency efforts remains a central point in how the United States and its allies approach the way that their operations impact Afghanistan's citizenry.
This morning, the Nobel Women's Initiative is streaming testimony from women who have been the victims of human rights abuses at the hands of the Burmese government.
It appears that the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, whose leaders are under current indictment at the International Criminal Court, remain at large in the western part of the Central African Republic (CAR).
Due to the lack of an international media presence, the situation of civilians in Somalia often appears as a footnote to reports of violence and the ongoing limitations of the central government. However, a closer look shows that even when they are not caught in the crossfire between militia groups, Somali citizens suffer greatly from the ongoing conflict.
According to the UNICEF 2010 Humanitarian Action Report, increased fighting between the government and rebel forces in Afghanistan along with floods in the Western and Northern provinces have displaced 235,000 people and caused one third of the population to be food insecure. An additional 2.6 million Afghans have registered as refugees in neighboring countries.
