Author: Injusticeto Team
(Beirut) – The transitional Syrian authorities should urgently take steps to secure and preserve evidence of atrocities committed under the government of former President Bashar al-Assad, including key government and intelligence documents as well as the sites of atrocities and mass graves, the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.Transitional authorities should urgently coordinate and cooperate with relevant United Nations bodies, Syrian civil society, and international forensic teams to secure, preserve and protect this evidence. Evidence of crimes left behind will be essential to establish the fate and whereabouts…
Ukraine became a full-fledged member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on January 1 – a key development for accountability and human rights in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. This significant step for global justice was the culmination of years of dedicated advocacy by Ukrainian and international nongovernmental groups.Paving the way for Ukraine to join the court, in August, the country adopted a law providing for ratification of the Rome Statue, the court’s founding treaty.To achieve justice for international crimes in the country’s 11-year war, authorities need to align Ukraine’s legislation with international law, so that serious crimes…
On January 9, 2025, the People’s Court of Hanoi is scheduled to hear the case of high-profile lawyer Tran Dinh Trien, who was arrested on June 1, 2024, and charged with “infringing upon the interests of the state” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s penal code. If convicted, Tran faces up to seven years in prison. According to the indictment, between April 23 and May 9, 2024, Tran published three posts on Facebook criticizing actions by then Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam. The court issued a statement that these posts “had untruthful and fabricated…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Additional water tankers and scores of firefighters have arrived at the Los Angeles area ahead of fierce winds that were forecast to return and threaten the progress made so far on two massive infernos that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.On Monday, planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, while crews and fire engines were being placed near particularly vulnerable spots with dry brush. Dozens of water trucks rolled in to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week when the two largest fires erupted. Tabitha Trosen and…
Less than three weeks after a December 25 military airstrike in Sokoto state reportedly killed 10 villagers, an airstrike in Zamfara state has resulted in more accidental deaths. The victims, who the military wrongly identified as bandits, were members of a local vigilante group and farmers in the vicinity of Tungar Kara village, Zurmi Local Government Area.Similar airstrikes have killed hundreds of people in Nigeria. They have been carried out during operations against bandit gangs that emerged from years of conflict between farming and herding communities in Nigeria’s northwest. The military has called the killings of ordinary people accidental, but…
This week, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority banned the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, from using the personal data of its child users in Brazil to train its artificial intelligence (AI).The data regulator also banned X from sharing children’s personal data with third parties to train generative AI and ordered the company to amend its privacy policy to reflect these changes.X, owned by Elon Musk, has five business days to comply with the decision, which was issued December 16. It has 10 business days to make further changes to its privacy policy that would disallow the company from collecting and…
Lawmakers in El Salvador recently voted to reintroduce industrial mining in the country, ending a 2017 landmark ban that has protected freshwater and public health.President Nayib Bukele has advocated for the return of mining despite the unpopularity of the industry in El Salvador, arguing that it will bring in billions of dollars and create thousands of jobs.The government will have at least 51% control over every mining project while also being in charge of oversight, causing concern from environmentalists that it will be hard to challenge projects that aren’t being carried out responsibly.See All Key Ideas Lawmakers in…
A Metropolitan Police firearms officer has been found not guilty of the murder of Chris Kaba. Chris Kaba, a 24 year old Black man, was fatally shot by Martyn Blake, a firearms officer from the Metropolitan Police on 5 September 2022 in Streatham, London. He was unarmed. On 5 September 2024, Metropolitan police forced the car Chris was driving to stop believing it was linked to a firearms incident the previous night in nearby Brixton. The car was not registered to Chris and was not stolen. The officers did not know who was driving the car. Chris was unarmed and…
In October 2024, Israel’s Knesset passed legislation banning the UNRWA from operating in Israeli-occupied territories, marking a critical shift in the history of Palestinian humanitarian aid. Eltayeb Bashar argues that the ban, set to take effect in January 2025, will hinder UNRWA’s ability to provide essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees who are facing atrocious human rights violations. This move is viewed as a violation of international law and will have a devastating impact on Palestinian lives. In late October 2024, the Israeli Knesset enacted two bills prohibiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in…
Transcript: In the Great Plains, black-tailed prairie dogs scamper in the grass and dig massive burrows where they live together in colonies. Lindsey Sterling Krank of the Humane Society of the United States says prairie dogs are cute – and important to the ecosystem. Many other species depend on them as prey or even live in their burrows. Sterling Krank: “You’ve got eagles, you’ve got burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, even tiger salamanders.” But prairie dogs are in trouble. Much of their habitat has been lost to agriculture, and the southern part of their range is becoming too dry. Sterling Krank…