You are a hope-bringer in forgotten conflicts
18 December 2015
News from HART
- Yesterday, during oral questions in the House of Lords, HART CEO Baroness Cox raised the ongoing situation in Nigeria. Directly afterwards, Lord Chidgey asked a question about human rights in Sudan, to which Baroness Cox gave an insightful contribution.
- HART’s partner in India, Operation Mercy, have given an update and a Christmas greeting, informing us of their amazing work.
- Happy Christmas to all our supporters! Thank you so much for all the support you have given us over the last year.
HART’s Christmas card. The original artwork was painted by Erik Manucharyan, a deaf and mute patient at the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Centre in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Burma
- A court in Irrawaddy Division has dropped one of two defamation charges brought against Chaw Sandi Tun, an NLD supporter who remains on trial for allegedly sharing a satirical Facebook post insulting the military.
- Attendees at a media conference in Rangoon have called for revisions to recently passed media laws, arguing that the governments retains undue power over broadcasters and print publishers under the current legislative framework.
- Eighty-two individuals have been charged or are under investigation in Irrawaddy Division for violating Burma’s election laws, according to local police.
Uganda
- Uganda’s parliament has passed a bill that rights groups say could severely limit the activities of non-governmental organizations inside the country.
- Despite moving up one place in this year’s United Nations Human development Index rankings (HDI), Uganda remains at 163 out of 185 countries in the world.
- Uganda is short of imported drugs to treat HIV victims because of a weak currency and insufficient foreign exchange. The government has said it is raising funds to cover the shortfall.
Nigeria
- The Nigerian Army has said that at least 49 members of Boko Haram militia have been killed in two days of sustained battle in northeast Borno State.
- Human rights advocates, including Amnesty International, have called for an investigation following the Nigerian army’s raid on a Shai Muslim sect, in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed.
- It is now fifteen years since the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights came into force, and Nigeria is yet to adopt the framework to guide its extractive industry.
- Speaking on BBC’s HARDtalk, the secretary general of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has said that he would be prepared to talk with Boko Haram – if their leadership could be identified.
India
- 93 Women are sexually assaulted every day in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. This week, The Telegraph published a poignant article named “Stories of courage in the face of sexual violence in India, in pictures”.
- Amnesty International India have released an eight-point article to inform those who have faced or witnessed sexual violence about the best ways to report it.
Sudan
- The UN envoy to Sudan and South Sudan has presented a proposal to Bashir in Khartoum in an attempt to break a deadlock in peace talks.
- Bashir has said that more money will be spent on security and defence in Sudan.
- At least 17 have been killed in tribal clashes in South Darfur State.
- Bashir has threatened the press with ‘decisive measures’ after damaging reports against the finance minister.
South Sudan
- The South Sudanese Council of States has approved and ratified the constitutional amendment to establish 28 states.
- The UN is to boost the number of peacekeeping troops in South Sudan.
- Human Rights Watch has said that South Sudanese commanders and officials should be investigated for recruiting child soldiers.
Rebel child soldiers gather in Gumuruk, as they prepare to handover their weapons at a demobilisation ceremony in Jonglei State, eastern South Sudan, January 27, 2015. Credit: REUTERS/Katy Migiro - MSF has said that the UN is not doing enough to protect civilians from violence.
- The presidency has downplayed suggestions that there is a division within the leadership of the ruling SPLM party.
- Thousands of people have been displaced in Wau County, Western Bahr el Ghazal, due to fighting.
Nagorno-Karabakh
- The NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Apathurai has said it is too early to discuss peacekeepers’ deployment in Karabakh.
Timor-Leste
- The Foreign Secretary of the Philippines, Albert del Rosario, has reaffirmed their support for Timor Leste’s application for ASEAN membership.