Dutch officials have arrested a self-exiled Philippines leader of the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) for ordering the assassination of two former allies in Manila. Jose Maria Sison, who founded the Marxist party and established its military wing – the New People's Army (NPA) – has been allegedly commanding an insurgent campaign for over two […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Eight military personnel were charged with the murder of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha. After an IED attack on a convoy killed one Marine, troops from Kilo company went on a house-to-house excursion that ended tragically. Three of the troops in the Haditha case had their charges dropped by Lt. Gen James […]
The jury in the U.S. District Court in Miami has handed out guilty charges against Jose Padilla on three counts; providing material support for Islamist terrorist groups and conspiring to murder, kidnap and maim people in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia and other countries from 1993 to 2001. Jose Padilla was detained at Chicago's O’Hare airport after […]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a report assessing accountability and reconciliation regarding violations of humanitarian law committed in Northern Uganda. The report, Making Peace Our Own: Victims Perceptions of Accountability, Reconciliation, and Transitional Justice in Northern Uganda, highlights interviews from 1,725 victims of the 20-year war in the troubled African […]
The central government in Somalia has reacted angrily against a report by the U.S. based Human Rights Watch that alleges the Somali government is complicit in violations of humanitarian law and crimes against humanity in ongoing conflicts there. The report cites a counter-insurgency campaign launched by Somali and Ethiopian troops, who launched bombing campaigns in […]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report detailing violations of humanitarian law and the laws of war committed by both sides in the ongoing conflict in Somalia. The group said Ethiopian and Somalian troops routinely and indiscriminately bomb heavily populated civilian neighborhoods in an effort to root out insurgents, who themselves deploy among civilian populations. […]
The U.S. Defense Department has designated 14 “high-value” detainees as enemy combatants, paving the way to a trial before a military commission at the naval facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The suspects, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Muhammad and co-conspirator Ramzi bin al-Shib, were classified as enemy combatants after Pentagon officials reviewed recommendations from […]
Milorad Trbic, an ex-Serbian army captain, failed to appear before a Bosnian court to enter his plea due to a hunger strike, according to statements from the court. Trbic was indicted in June for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws of war at a U.N. tribunal and transferred to Bosnia. According to […]