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 [...]
Search Results for: 2017-06-30
Israel public defender warns against worsening prison conditions amid Israel-Hamas conflict
The Israeli Public Defender’s Office warned in a report on Tuesday against worsening conditions of incarceration in prison service facilities. The report stated that the overcrowding in prison service facilities violated a prior High Court ruling and international standards. It called for immediate actions to improve prison conditions in Israel. The report stated that nearly [...]
Stephen Rapp, an American lawyer and diplomat, has been a leading figure in international criminal law and human rights. He was appointed as the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues in 2009, overseeing investigations and prosecutions of war criminals worldwide. Rapp’s commitment to justice and ending impunity was evident during his tenure, supporting [...]
Pakistan's Forced Deportation of Afghan Refugees: A Violation of Human Rights and International Law
Last month, Pakistan’s caretaker government issued an ultimatum to all undocumented immigrants, including some 1.73 Afghan nationals: leave the country voluntarily, or face expulsion. The deadline was Nov. 1. Since the announcement, over 86,000 undocumented Afghan nationals, including women and children have returned to their country, presumably to avoid arrest. Pakistan, a country that hosts [...]
Rule of Law Chronicles: In America, the Kids Are Not Alright
This article is the fourth in a series covering attacks on the rule of law. The rule of law is a political philosophy premised on the promise that all citizens, leaders, and institutions are accountable to the same laws, guaranteed through processes, practices, and norms that work together to support the equality of all citizens [...]
Austria prosecutors announce false evidence charges against former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Austrian prosecutors announced Friday that they have charged former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz with giving false evidence while testifying before a parliamentary committee. In a statement, the Central Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Economic Criminal Matters said that Kurz, along with Magistrate Bernhard Bonelli “and one other person were charged at the Vienna Regional [...]
Europe rights court orders Russia to legalize same-sex unions
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Tuesday ordered Russia to recognize same-sex unions. The ruling came in response to an appeal by three gay couples who were denied the ability to marry by Russian authorities. It remains to be seen whether Russia will implement the court’s ruling. A bench of 17 judges presided over [...]
Explainer: Enforced Disappearances and Torture Finally Criminal Offences in Thailand
Recently, Thailand passed an important human rights law following significant pressure from many parties including NGOs, victims of torture, relatives of the dead and missing, and investigative journalists. On 24 October 2022, the King signed into law the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances Act which Parliament enacted on 26 August 2022. This [...]
The Elizabeth Holmes Sentencing: A Message on Investor Protection or a Lesson in Hubris?
Are the recent tech founder scandals going to change Silicon Valley or future appetite for investments in tech firms? It seems that investors are unphased by losing millions through the failures of Elizabeth Holmes or the sudden collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Investors seem to love tech visionaries whose brash rhetoric fueled the recent tech [...]
Hong Kong journalist sentenced to prison for waving colonial flag during national anthem
A Hong Kong court Thursday sentenced citizen journalist Paula Leung to three months in prison – the first conviction under the National Anthem Ordinance of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong. The act, passed in China on September 1, 2017, was