On July 14, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), presented “evidence showing that Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.” The motives of the Sudanese head of state were “above all, political,” the prosecutor declared. He used the “alibi” of counterinsurgency in order to try “to end the history of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa people.” In fact, “his intent was genocide.” Let us leave aside the assessment that Gen. al-Bashir’s motives were “political” in nature, which seems to constitute an aggravating factor in the [...]
Editor’s Note: Rights & Wrongs covers the world’s major human rights-related news and appears every week. Click here to browse past installments. NEW U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF TO BE NAMED — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week will name South African Judge Navanethem Pillay as the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to various press reports. Under apartheid, the Harvard-educated Pillay, who is an ethnic Tamil, was the first woman to establish an independent legal practice in South Africa’s Natal province in 1967. In post-apartheid South Africa, Pillay became the first woman named as a high court judge in [...]
Rights & Wrongs: Singapore, Afghan Boys, Cluster Bombs, and More
INTERNATIONAL BAR REPORT ON SINGAPORE — Singapore has achieved phenomenal economic development but still fails to meet international standards on freedom of assembly and expression, and an independent judiciary, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute said in a report released July 8. “As one of the world’s most successful economies, Singapore should be a leader in human rights and the rule of law, and should now have the confidence and maturity to recognize that this would be complementary, not contradictory, to its future prosperity,” institute Executive Director Mark Ellis said at its release. Singaporean authorities continue to restrict media [...]
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