Archive for April, 2015

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02/04/2015

'It’s about More than Mines’ – International Mine Awareness Day

Human Wrongs Watch

1 April 2015 – As the world marks the tenth anniversary of the passing of the global mine ban treaty and commemorates International Mine Awareness Day, the head of the United Nations’ office dealing with the threat they pose stressed today the importance of looking beyond the effects of just anti-personnel mines.

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) in and around the Goma-Kibati area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being cleared. UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) in and around the Goma-Kibati area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being cleared. UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

Agnès Marcaillou, Director of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), told reporters in New York the significance of the commemoration had expanded over the years and that now it was “mine awareness week” rather than just “mine awareness day.”*

The theme for this year is ‘More Than Mines’, she said, explaining that an evolution had taken place since the mid-1990s, when the focus had been on anti-personnel landmines and civil society had rallied together to conclude a treaty banning landmines that had since become a cornerstone of international humanitarian law.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

01/04/2015

International Criminal Court Welcomes Palestine as State Party to Rome Statute

Human Wrongs Watch

1 April 2015 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) welcomed the Palestine as the 123rd State Party to its founding Rome Statute today, in a ceremony held at the seat of the Court in The Hague in The Netherlands.*

ICC Second Vice-President, Judge Kuniko Ozaki (right), walking with Foreign Minister Dr. Riad Al-Malki to a ceremony welcoming the State of Palestine as the 123rd State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. Photo: ICC-CPI | Source: UN

“Accession to a treaty is, of course, just the first step,” said Judge Kuniko Ozaki, the ICC’s Second Vice-President. “As the Rome Statute today enters into force for the State of Palestine, Palestine acquires all the rights as well as responsibilities that come with being a State Party to the Statute. These are substantive commitments, which cannot be taken lightly.”

During the ceremony, Ms. Ozaki presented Riad Al-Malki, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine, with a special edition of the Rome Statute, as a symbol of their joint commitment to the rule of law.

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Posted in Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

01/04/2015

‘Roots of Conflict’ Must Be Addressed to Defeat Boko Haram'

Human Wrongs Watch

Expansive economic, social and political opportunities are key to reducing Nigeria’s smoldering ethnic and sectarian tensions and countering the growing threat posed by Boko Haram, the top United Nations human rights official on 1 April 2015 declared.

Nigerian refugees fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages, wait to be registered by UNHCR in Ngouboua, western Chad. Photo: Chadian Red Cross/Hachim Abdoulaye | Source: UN

Nigerian refugees fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages, wait to be registered by UNHCR in Ngouboua, western Chad. Photo: Chadian Red Cross/Hachim Abdoulaye | Source: UN

“Profound inequalities, corruption, and resulting marginalization, naturally generate discontent. And the more marginalized and desperate the people, the more likely they are to turn to radical and violent movements,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.*

In opening remarks to the Council’s 23rd special session, on terrorist attacks, abuses and violations committed by Boko Haram, Zeid warned that the increasingly appalling atrocities perpetrated by the terrorist group had spawned “a critical human rights situation” in northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region that could only be tempered through development initiatives.

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