Citizens for Justice and Peace
Genocide against Rohingya in Myanmar ongoing: UN investigator
31-Oct-2018
According to United Nations officials, genocide continues to take place against the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Associated Press reported. Marzuki Darusman, who heads the UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar, recently told reporters that thousands of Rohingya are still escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh, and that the estimated 250,000 to 400,000 who stayed in Myanmar following a…
Australia issues apology to victims of child sexual abuse
22-Oct-2018
The Australian government has issued a formal apology to child sexual abuse victims after a five-year investigation found that multiple organisations, including governments, schools, churches, and charities, “for decades failed to keep children safe,” the Guardian reported. Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke in the House of Representatives on Monday, October 22, with victim, survivors, families…
Nearly 6,000 doctors call for children to be moved from Nauru detention centre
22-Oct-2018
Nearly 6,000 Australian doctors have called on Australia’s government to move all children being held in the detention centre on Nauru due to “serious mental and physical health concerns,” the Guardian reported on October 15. Around 5% of all registered doctors in Australia had signed a letter being sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The…
More than 8,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan in first nine months of 2018: UN
22-Oct-2018
In a report released earlier this month, the United Nations said that at least 8,050 Afghan civilians were wounded or killed in the first nine months of 2018, Reuters reported. The same period in 2017 saw 8,084 casualties. According to the report from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in 2018, deaths increased by…
Malaysia to abolish death penalty, revoke sedition law
12-Oct-2018
Malaysia will abolish the death penalty, the New York Times reported. The country’s minister of law, Liew Vui Keong, told reporters, “All death penalty will be abolished. Full stop”. Malaysia’s government is also set to revoke the Sedition Act, a law dating back to the colonial era that has previously been employed against critics and…
“Re-education” camps now part of law in China’s Xinjiang
12-Oct-2018
China’s western Xinjiang region has now legitimised “vocational training centres” for Muslim Uighurs, BBC News reported. Xinjiang said that the centres would address extremism by employing “thought transformation”. However, human rights organisations, who have denounced this development, have said that detainees are required to pledge loyalty to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and to criticise or…
Latin American, Caribbean nations sign landmark environmental agreement
12-Oct-2018
14 Caribbean and Latin American countries recently signed the landmark Escazú Agreement that, according to an announcement from UN Environment, gives “environmental rights the same status as human rights”. The Agreement, which is officially called the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters, is the first environmental treaty for…
164% rise in civilian deaths in Yemen in last four months: ACLED
28-Sep-2018
According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), civilian deaths in Yemen have risen significantly since the Saudi-led coalition mounted a campaign in June 2018 to capture the port city of Hodeidah, the Guardian reported. ACLED data indicates that civilian deaths have risen by 164% in the four months…
UN forms body to ready evidence for human rights violations in Myanmar
28-Sep-2018
The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to establish a body to ready evidence of human rights violations in Myanmar for possible future prosecution, Reuters reported. All 28 member nations of the European Union and all 57 countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation collaborated on the resolution, which was co-sponsored by more than…
Canada lawmakers vote to call Rohingya killings ‘genocide’
21-Sep-2018
Canadian lawmakers have unanimously voted to consider crimes committed by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya as ‘genocide’, Al Jazeera reported. On Thursday, September 20, Canada’s House of Commons backed the findings of a the United Nations fact-finding mission on Myanmar that released its report in August 2018; the mission said it found that crimes against…