In early November, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that she was seeking authorization from the judges of the Court to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Under the 1998 Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of genocide, crimes against
As civil war continues in Yemen, a conflict that is tangled in complex regional geopolitics, the hunger crisis continues to worsen and seriously affect some 17 million of the country’s 28 million citizens. Saudi Arabia had enforced a complete blockade on the southern Arab nation in early November, preventing much
North Korean government officials met with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women last week to discuss the state of gender equality and women’s rights in the reclusive nation. The North Korean government claims that it is upholding and promoting gender equality and the rights of women.
The Australian Senate is currently carrying out an inquiry into the implications of climate change for Australia’s national security. Although the inquiry is due to run until next month, many expert submissions have already been made and, following on from the Department of Defence’s 2016 White Paper, now is an
The forced exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state presents a grave risk to regional stability, according to several organizations. Since August 25, Myanmar’s security forces have conducted extensive and violent “clearance operations” against the minority group, instigating a refugee crisis which has seen over
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta recently declassified almost 30,000 pages of records from 1964 to 1968, which has helped shed further light on the extent of American knowledge and support of the Indonesian Massacre of 1965-66. The Indonesian massacre was the mass anti-communist killings that resulted in the death of
Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte announced last week that he has suspended the anti-drug operations of the Philippine National Police. All operations will now be transferred to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which will entail a refocusing on larger drug syndicates as opposed to low-level street dealers and users. Since
In recent weeks, tensions have escalated between North Korea and the United States, with the conflict threatening to potentially spiral out of control. Both sides are blatantly engaging in aggressive rhetoric—exchanging mutual threats of destruction and petty insults as the global community anxiously looks on. The current condition of North
The head of the Indonesian military has banned scheduled public screenings on September 30 of a 2014 documentary commemorating the anti-communist massacres of 1965-66. A directive from General Gatot Nurmantyo instructed the military to restrict any efforts to hold a public screening of The Look of Silence, arguing that it
China is increasingly cracking down on fleeing refugees from North Korea, and the networks that facilitate these escapes, according to Human Rights Watch. In July and August of this year, the humanitarian organization documented China’s apprehension of 41 refugees— a sharp increase from the 51 people caught throughout the period
In a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned what he called “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim population. The U.N. now estimates that over 370,000 Rohingya have fled the violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State since August
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported last week that Iran continues to comply with its commitments established under the July 2015 nuclear deal. Through that agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the IAEA is tasked with monitoring and verifying specific nuclear-related agreements and reporting
