Citizens for Justice and Peace
Colorado communities mount latest legal case against oil companies over climate change
24-Apr-2018
The city of Boulder in Colorado, as well as the counties of Boulder and San Miguel have filed a lawsuit against oil firms Exxon Mobil and Suncor to obtain damages to cover what they say are the expenses of adapting for climate change, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. They have alleged that the companies created a…
African migrants in Yemen suffering physical, sexual abuse: HRW
24-Apr-2018
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has alleged that “Yemeni government officials have tortured, raped, and executed migrants and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa in a detention center” in Yemen. HRW said that ex-detainees informed the organisation that they were kicked, punched and beaten with steel bars and bricks by guards, and also sexually assaulted. They said…
Trinidad and Tobago judge deems certain anti-gay laws unconstitutional
17-Apr-2018
On Thursday, April 12, Trinidad and Tobago Devindra Rampersad stated in a ruling that certain sections in the country’s Sexual Offences Act were unconstitutional, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. These sections banned “serious indecency” and “buggery” between two men, and Rampersad said in his ruling that they outlawed same-sex activity between consenting adults. Gay sex could…
First Rohingya family returns: Myanmar
17-Apr-2018
Following a military crackdown that was launched in late August 2017, more than 600,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh. Myanmar has been accused of conducting “ethnic cleansing” by the United Nations, but it has denied this. The country has announced that five members of one family reached a “repatriation camp” on Saturday, April 14, the…
Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 1,000 children since 2013: UNICEF
17-Apr-2018
Boko Haram militants in Nigeria have kidnapped more than 1,000 children in the country’s northeast since 2013, UNICEF has said. UNICEF has said that it has recorded more than 1,000 confirmed cases of kidnapping, but that the true figure could be more. According to UNICEF, over 1,400 schools have been destroyed and at least 2,295 have…
Global execution rate declined in 2017: Amnesty
12-Apr-2018
Amnesty International has released its report on death sentences and executions in 2017, where it notes that the number of executions that were carried out in 2017 reduced compared to 2016 and 2015. According to the report, Amnesty documented 993 executions in 2017, 4% lower than executions in 2016, which numbered 1,032, and 39% lower…
Nearly 700,000 Syrians displaced thus far in 2018: UN
12-Apr-2018
Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations’ Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, issued a statement this week, saying he was “deeply concerned about the continuing massive displacement of close to 700,000 Syrians since the beginning of the year due to ongoing hostilities in the country.” He said that this figure adds to the 6.5 million Syrians who…
Somaliland upper house approves law criminalising rape
12-Apr-2018
According to a senior official, Somaliland approved its first law against rape, with alleged rapists now potentially having to face up to 20 years’ imprisonment, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Somaliland’s upper house of parliament approved the bill in question on Saturday, April 7; it also criminalises sexual harassment, sex trafficking, and forced marriage. The lower…
UN official says Myanmar not “conducive” for Rohingya refugees’ return
11-Apr-2018
Ursula Mueller, the United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, recently completed a six-day visit to Myanmar. “From what I’ve seen and heard from people – no access to health services, concerns about protection, continued displacements – conditions are not conducive to return,” Mueller has said, according to a Reuters report. Myanmar’s government has previously promised…
Thousands of children need urgent psychological support in Papua New Guinea
11-Apr-2018
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 25,000 children in Papua New Guinea urgently require psychological support after the country suffered multiple crippling earthquakes, the Guardian reported. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the country on February 26; nearly 200 aftershocks have occurred in the last 40 days, some of which were 6.5 magnitude. Papua New…