Alberto Gonzalez, U.S. president George W. Bush's long-time friend and associate, resigned yesterday after increasing pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Gonzalez, who served as White House counsel and later as attorney general, held the highest cabinet position of any hispanic-American. He was an unflappable supporter of the neo-conservative agenda launched by vice-president Dick Cheney […]
The war crimes trial for former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, has been delayed until January, 2008. Debates over counsel, logistical concerns, and financial hurdles have postponed the trial. The Sierra Leone tribunal was to take a lessons-learned approach, taking note from the war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Mr. Taylor faces […]
There is no question that Africa is in dire need of good leaders, the question has been asked and we are in search of Africa's true leaders, but are there any true leaders in Africa?”. Last year the leaders of Africa where put to the test, with the announcement from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, who […]
Failing to secure the health and safety of children is unfortunately nothing new in Zimbabwe, however to see the actual figures is shocking, when you see that little progress has been made to save the children in the last decade. In Zimbabwe malnutrition of children is increasing, the increase is due to a number of […]
The ‘cycle of abuse’, we’ve all heard the phrase a million times, yet I often think we forget what it means. It does not only mean the cycle, or stages, in which abuses are carried out. A child who grows up in an abusive home, is sexually abused, is a victim of trafficking, a child […]
The last Croatian fugitive for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavian republic has requested a temporary release from The Hague. Ante Gotovina, a former Croatian general, has filed a motion from his release from custody at the U.N. facility in the Netherlands. Prosecutors, however, have produced formerly unknown charges against Gotovina for armed robbery […]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report detailing mass rapes against the woman of Darfur. The U.N. has asked the Sudanese government to investigate the rapes and further allegations of sexual slavery, however, the Sudanese government at Khartoum has failed to look into the matter. Louise Arbour, […]
The director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Abraham Foxman, has stated that the World War I – era massacres of Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks “were indeed tantamount to genocide.” Foxman's statement comes after weeks of turmoil and internal wrangling among pro-Jewish and Holocaust memorial organizations. Earlier this week, the ADL fired the […]
Pakistan: 50 million Pakistanis suffer from iodine deficiency, and it is severely affecting children in northwest Pakistan. Iodine is essential for healthy thyroid function, and iodine deficiency can cause developmental delays, and is the leading cause of mental retardation/learning disability. Iodine deficiency in pregnant woman, may cause infants to be born with with severe mental […]
Norway pledges funds to help UN fight female circumcision, pledging $3.4 million USD to the UN, Norway hopes to make considerable strides in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM). “Genital mutilation is a brutal violation of the basic human rights of women and children,” Norwegian Aid Minister Erik Solheim said in announcing the pledge. […]
Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali” for his use of chemical agents against civilians, and 14 other former Iraqi aids to Saddam Hussein are facing war crimes prosecution for actions committed in response to a Shi’ite uprising in 1991. It is estimated that tens of thousands were killed suppressing the uprising and buried […]
Photo: Heba Aly/IRIN In the town of Malicounda Bambara, population of around 3,000, a large crowd gathered on 5 August to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the day that the community publicly stated its commitment to abolish female genital mutilation (FGM). The declaration, which was officially made on July 31, 1997, made headlines around […]
The Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “informing him that the government of the Netherlands is favorably disposed to hosting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.” The United Nations narrowly passed a resolution to establish an international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese […]
The practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not reserved to the Middle East and Africa, as the law enforcement in the UK has discovered the hard way. Female genital mutilation is on the rise in Britain, as Scotland Yard estimates that up to 66,000 girls, 74,000 according to the woman's rights group Forward, in […]
11 year old, Saraa Barhoum, Hamas TV's child star says she's ready for martyrdom. The star of Hamas television's most famous children's show, "Tomorrow's Pioneers". The very same Hamas television children's show that brought us the ‘militant Mickey Mouse look-alike’, Farfour, that was killed by an Israeli interrogator. Saraa said she was ready to be […]