Foreign Policy Blogs

Human Rights

Khmer Rouge prison chief faces genocide tribunal.

Khmer Rouge prison chief faces genocide tribunal.

The first suspect appeared before the U.N. backed Cambodian genocide tribunal to investigate former members of the Khmer Rouge. Kaing Khek lev, better known as Duch, was questioned for his role as the former prison warden in the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh. The prison was notorious for being used as a torture chamber, where […]

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U.S. Secretary of State urges cooperation over Kosovo.

U.S. Secretary of State urges cooperation over Kosovo.

U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, made pleas for Serbian cooperation as Kosovo continues its campaign towards independence. Serbian officials were in Washington, where Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with Rice to discuss “outstanding obligations regarding war crimes indictees.” There are several war crimes suspects still alleged to be within Serbia's reach – […]

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Is Breastfeeding heading for extinction in the Philippines?

Is Breastfeeding heading for extinction in the Philippines?

Are Corporations Sabotaging Child Health to Increase Profit? Misleading advertisements and an onslaught of promotional materials for infant formulas seem to plague the Philippines. Breastfeeding by Filipino mothers seems to be an outdated practice, almost extinct, and who's to blame? It is scientifically proven, and agreed upon by all reliable medical professionals, that exclusively breastfeeding […]

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U.N. and Afghanistan investigate mass grave sites.

U.N. and Afghanistan investigate mass grave sites.

The United Nations has initiated a forensic examination into mass graves peppered throughout Afghanistan at the request of the government there.  Some graves in eastern Afghanistan contain over 1,200 victims.  Specialists from various human rights groups, including the Washington based Physicians for Human Rights, have been providing technical assistance to the U.N. Assistance Mission in […]

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"What Is Man"?

"What Is Man"?

“Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out and help to slaughter strangers of […]

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Rwanda pleas for extradition of French suspects

Rwanda pleas for extradition of French suspects

The Rwandan government has asked France for the extradition of two men arrested last week for their alleged involvement in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, a Catholic priest, and Laurent Bucyibaruta, an ex-civil servant, were detained in France after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued warrants for their arrest. The two […]

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Zimbabwe's Children in Crisis

Zimbabwe's Children in Crisis

Two Zimbabwean Children in Search of Food The children of Zimbabwe are no strangers to struggle, for they have fallen through the cracks from colonialism, civil war, and now to the long and frightful rule of Mugabe.  With the heavy hand of Mugabe has come the political violence that it has become everyday life under […]

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Ethiopian opposition make war crimes accusations

Ethiopian opposition make war crimes accusations

Rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) called on the United Nations to investigate the ruling Ethiopian administration for violations of crimes against humanity.  The ONLF opposition group won several seats in the Ethiopian parliamentary in 2005 in an attempt to topple the regime of Prime Minister Meles Senawi.  The ONLF are warning of […]

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Child Refugees in Lebanon Baring the Brunt of the Turmoil

Child Refugees in Lebanon Baring the Brunt of the Turmoil

"I cannot sleep at night now, I cannot eat, I am just afraid" said Rania Hamed, an eight-year-old Palestinian refugee, who fled the Nahr al Bared camp on foot with her family in May (Fleeing Palestinian children speak of horrors). In armed conflict, children always pay the heaviest price from the fighting, displacement, lack of […]

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Conservative Christians support U.S. legal defense for war crimes

Conservative Christians support U.S. legal defense for war crimes

Regarding the war in Iraq, the U.S. military has prosecuted more than 200 cases against its own personnel for crimes against humanity and the violations of the laws of war, including murder, rape, and kidnapping. Christian conservative groups, in coordination with some veterans associations, have established a grass-roots funding campaign to defend the accused and […]

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Darfur safe, says Sudanse president.

Darfur safe, says Sudanse president.

Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, has concluded that Darfur is now safe and secure and that “people are leading a normal daily life.”  The comments came after the president embarked on a three-day tour across the Darfur region, which is roughly the size of France.  Al-Bashir returned from the trip noting reconstruction projects such […]

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Africa Update

Somalia – Residents of Mogadishu, who had returned after recent fighting between government forces and insurgents, find themselves leaving again, as the violence worsens. Children are the worst effected in the fighting, and suffer most in IDP camps. Sudan – Darfur hasn't become any safer since the signing of a peace treaty was signed a […]

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The Fate of Pastoralists Children in Africa

The Fate of Pastoralists  Children in Africa

Pastorial Child in Tanzania (Photo by VetAid) Pastoralism is a form of farming, or ranching, where one raises and tends to herd animals, including camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas and sheep. Pastoralism, especially in Africa is very nomadic, as one needs to move their herds in search of grazing land and water. Pastoralist, such as […]

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Will We Ever See an end to Hunger in Africa?

Will We Ever See an end to Hunger in Africa?

10 month old-child, suffering from malnutrition in 2005 food crisis in Niger Radhika Chalasani/Unicef via Getty Images   Crisis looms for many African nations, as increasing food shortages seem inevitable. Africa's poorest will again pay for the failure to eliminate the crisis at its very core, as a new report, Beyond any Drought, warns of […]

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France arrests two Rwandan exiles

PARIS (Reuters) – Police said they had arrested two Rwandans living in exile in France who are wanted by an international court trying suspects in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Cleric Wenceslas Munyeshyaka was detained in Gisors, some 60 km (38 miles) northwest of Paris, where he has been living since 2001. Munyeshyaka, formerly head of the […]

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