The human rights crisis and war of misinformation continue in Xinjiang province, western China, as the government of the People’s Republic has reportedly begun to put pressure on ethnic Uyghurs in Europe. The Guardian reported that individuals living outside the Uyghur homeland have received threats against the safety of their
Earlier this month, London hosted the biennial Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair 2019. International delegations from 68 countries came to the Ministry of Defence-supported trade show in order to see the wares of 1,700 military technology suppliers, who manufacture everything from light firearms to unmanned drone systems. On
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) faces a crisis in its borderlands. Xinjiang province in the West of the country has surfaced numerous times in recent months for authorities’ ill treatment of ethnic minorities, particularly the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs. In Tibet, 2018 saw aggravated religious and political oppression, land seizures,
According to the Uyghur governor of Xinjiang province in western China, 90% of those in so-called “re-education centres” have been released. Regional governor Mr Shohrat Zakir observed that “more than 90% have returned to society,” adding that these people “have work that they like and find suitable.” The statement, given
In the Central African Republic (CAR), a country in the heart of the African continent, rebel militias continue to run amok in an estimated 80% of the country. Arbitrary violence, torture, weaponized rape, and displacement have been daily occurrences for the citizens of the CAR, with as many as half
The president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin-Archange Touadéra, declared three days of national mourning after attacks left over 50 civilians dead in the villages surrounding the north-western village of Paoua, near the border with Chad. The killings, which took place on the 21st of May, are thought to
According to recent reports out of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China, Muslim minority detainees in political “re-education” centres have been forced to eat pork, a practice which is expressly forbidden to adherents of Islam. One former inmate at a detention centre, Omir Bekali, said that those in the
The face of modern warfare is ever changing. While fewer conflicts are fought between national governments, war in some form rages across much of the world: from a proxy war in Yemen, to the anarchic strife in the Central African Republic, to the civil war in Syria. These conflicts are
Despite its noble aims to “to end impunity” for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is not without controversy. The Court was established in 2002 in the Hague in the Netherlands and is governed by the Rome Statute. In its nearly 19 years of operations,
The westernmost region of China, officially known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has drawn international attention in recent years for the severity of ethnic and religious policies implemented there by the central government of the People’s Republic of China. In particular, the Uyghur ethnic group, Turkic-speaking Muslims who have been
In the classic and controversial novella titled ‘The Heart of Darkness’, Joseph Conrad depicts the Belgian colonized territory around the Congo river as a place of intense savagery, madness, and depravity – at least to his European gaze. Conrad took what is now the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo
Thousands turned out on Saturday May 4th for the ceremonial opening of Aladza Mosque in the eastern Bosnian city of Foca. The opening of this mosque is significant as it was one of 12 destroyed during the Bosnian War of 1992-95 – part of wider ethnic conflicts throughout the region
The International Criminal Court stated that it would not investigate alleged war crimes committed by United States troops in Afghanistan since 2003. The rejection was voted unanimously by a pre-trial chamber on 12th April on grounds that “the current circumstances of the situation in Afghanistan are such as to make
On Friday 12 April, the Taliban announced the beginning of the Spring Offensive in Afghanistan called Operation Fath, or “Victory”. In a statement, the group reinforced their “unbreakable Jihadi determination,” and stated that they had “new tactics, public support, influence inside enemy ranks and advanced weapons.” Townships and urban areas
“Terrorism is the common enemy of humanity, and the target of joint action by the international community.” This is the first line of the white paper released by the Chinese government on 18th March, titled “The Fight Against Terrorism and Extremism and Human Rights Protection in Xinjiang”. The 29-page document,
16 year-old Swede Greta Thunberg has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize on account of her weekly school strikes that she has been undertaking in front of the Swedish Parliament since August last year. What began as an individual action has since grown into a generation demanding that
The United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that Israeli security forces are accountable for 189 deaths in the Gaza strip that occurred in 2018, among them 35 children. The report, published on 28th February, also put the number of injuries by live
