Search Results for: 2009-02-20

Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld most provisions of controversial legislation that imposes a sentence of death by hanging against individuals convicted of “aggravated homosexuality.” In upholding the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the court maintained that though the country’s penal code is “undoubtedly … considered to be a relic from the country’s colonial past,” the bill’s overwhelming [...]

Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]

Norway announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with the indigenous Sámi people after a three-year dispute over the construction of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm. The dispute centred on the fact that the partially state-owned wind farm on the Fosen peninsula was built on land that the Sámi people have used for centuries to [...]

Nigerian authorities must comply with a recent federal high court judgment ordering them to investigate and appropriately punish all attacks against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday. The landmark judgment, delivered on February 16, could have significant implications for Nigerian journalists, who are frequently monitored, arbitrarily arrested, attacked and killed. However, the [...]

The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II).  With both courts located in [...]

Norwegian authorities criminally charged 20 Indigenous Saami activists and supporters on Friday for blocking access to multiple government buildings in protest over the continued operation of wind turbines in the Fosen region. The operation occupies the same land as traditional reindeer herding grounds, despite a 2021 Norwegian Supreme Court ruling calling for an end to [...]

The Hong Kong trial of prominent pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai has garnered widespread attention globally. Lai, a 76-year-old British citizen and high-profile critic of Beijing, faces national security charges, and his trial is expected to take months. Lai is a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. His detention and subsequent trial exemplify [...]

“For by wise counsel, thou shalt make thy war.” Proverbs 24:6 Though one might think otherwise, there is no Palestinian state at present, nor has there ever been such a state in the past. Still, once the current Gaza War comes to an end – and whatever the tangible correlates of any war termination agreements [...]

During a Cabinet meeting held Monday, the Nepalese government banned the social media platform TikTok, according to local newspaper Kantipur. Minister for Communication Rekha Sharma announced the decision by underlining the “negative effects of on social harmony and goodwill.” She also mentioned that preparations for the implementation of the decision are already underway. Sharma also [...]

In the summer of 1983, ethnic violence swept the island nation of Sri Lanka. Known as Black July, the outbreak of communal violence between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority communities left thousands dead and hundreds missing. Four decades later, the legacy of the violence lives on, searing Sri Lanka‘s social and political landscape. This [...]