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8 May 2015
News from HART
- Anna Cox has written a report on the Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide which took place in Yerevan on the 22nd and 23rd April, 2015. You can download the full report here.
- This week, Jack Lindsay examined the absence of human rights and foreign policy from the 2015 General Elections in a blog post.
Burma
- Over 30 bodies, presumed to be Rohingya’s from Burma and Bangladesh, have been found in a mass grave on an abandoned trafficking site in Thailand.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have released a report stating that the treatment of the Rohingya people, being violently displaced, denied citizenship, moved to ghetto camps with restricted movement and made victim of hate speech, puts the population at grave risk of genocide. Read the report here.
Holocaust researchers warn against impending genocide in Burma http://t.co/TDU3fz4T95 pic.twitter.com/13v7zRVm7B
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 4, 2015
- Female activists have been heavily involved in protests against aggressive land confiscation. ‘Activists say that the forces of authority attempt to use female activists’ gender to isolate and diminish them, and know they can do so with impunity’
- On ethnic minority talks on signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement, Kwe Htoo Win, General-secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), told RFA’s Myanmar Service “We’ve lost our trust in the government because the government army has more troops and has attacked the ethnic armed groups, although we signed the draft national cease-fire agreement… We now are suspicious about signing the final NCA.”
- Refugees have released a report saying that their needs must be addressed before repatriation begins. This is based on real concerns surrounding ongoing conflict and the current 643,000 IDPs, many from potential repatriation regions, with reforms continuing to ‘backslide’.
India
- How an anti-smoking campaign is starting to take on the power and influence Tobacco lobbyists over Indian politics
- The environmental group Greenpeace has said it may be forced to shut down in India in a month because the government has frozen its bank accounts. Greenpeace says the restrictions are an “attempt to silence criticism”.
Nagorno-Karabakh
- The Nagorno Karabakh elections took place on the 3rd While many, including the OCSE Minsk Group, have not recognised the elections due to the unresolved conflict over the region, the election process was monitored by about 100 international and 110 local observers with a 70.6% voter turnout. According to Panorama.am, Vladmir Yeseev, Head of the Caucasus Department of the CIS Institute, told reporters that the elections were ‘democratic and fair’.
- Nagorno-Karabakh is to take part in the Pan-Armenian games.
Nigeria
- Nigerian troops rescued 25 more women and children from Boko Haram early Wednesday.
- Niger troops deported 3,000 Nigerians, including refugees fleeing Boko Haram, on Wednesday. Reports have come through that some of those being deported have died from lack of food and water.
- Many of the rescued women and children in recent weeks are in need of medical care and counseling.
South Sudan
- UNICEF has reminded South Sudan of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, amongst souring alleged child abuses.
Sudan
- The bombing campaign of the Government of Sudan has had a heavy toll on children, HRW reports.
- Sudan’s militia has vowed to intensify attacks on South Kordofan rebels, in what it says is a campaign to restore security and stability in the region.
Uganda
- Thousands of people are pouring into Uganda from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fleeing possible abduction and rape by Mai Mai militia. In less than two weeks, over 1,000 Congolese have arrived in Uganda and are being received by authorities at Nyakabande refugees’ reception centre in Kisoro. Authorities at the camp said the refugees report a total breakdown in law and order in eastern DR Congo.