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#GlobalJustice Weekly – Justice in sight with new Rohingya commission?

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Asia-Pacific
The latest in Global Justice news: Civil society calls on European Union to present new UN resolution on Myanmar’s human rights situation; thousands of victims in Uganda express willingness to participate in ICC trial of LRA commander Dominic Ongwen; new details emerge of alleged secret detention by Ukrainian authorities; ICC judges reaffirm Court’s obligation to provide effective right to family visits for ICC detainees; and much more.

Can new Rohingya commission jolt action on alleged Myanmar atrocities?

Members of civil society working to end human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar, and in particular against the Rohingya ethnic group, have insisted that the European Union (EU) and its member states present a new resolution on the country’s human rights situation during the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.

While welcoming Myanmar’s new government’s prioritization of peace and national reconciliation, Burma Partnership drew the EU’s attention to reports of renewed military offensives, almost 14,000 civilians displaced between January and September 2016, and alleged extra-judicial killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence, forced labor, indiscriminate use of landmines, and recruitment of child soldiers by both the government and ethnic armed groups.

The call comes after former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s appointment as chair of the nine-member Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, established by Myanmar to investigate communal conflict pitting Rakhine Buddhists against the Rohingya, amounting to crimes against humanity according to some.

Both the appointment of a non-Burmese as chair and the lack of Rohingya representation on the Commission have garnered criticism, but can the establishment of the Commission nevertheless spur on local and international action within the Rome Statute framework?

International Criminal Court investigations

Côte d’Ivoire: No witnesses called yet as Gbagbo and  Blé Goudé trial resumes

Uganda: Ugandan special forces to halt operations against Lord’s Resistance Army while thousands of victims expresses willingness to participate in Ongwen case

Democratic Republic of Congo: Prosecution moves to make Ntaganda trial shorter

Mali: Is the Al Mahdi case stretching the principles of the ICC to a breaking point?

Sudan: Bashir invited to visit Mali and Guinea-Bissau

Kenya: Expert witness says failure for sexual violence victims to report crime does not invalidate right to reparations

ICC preliminary examinations

Ukraine: New details of alleged secret dentition by Ukrainian authorities emerge after the release of 13 people

Nigeria: UN rapporteur calls for urgent action to protect thousands of displaced people in north-eastern Nigeria

Colombia: ICC Prosecutor Bensouda gives statement on the conclusion of the peace negations between the Government of Colombia and FARC

Palestine: Israel to allow ICC visit in relation to alleged Gaza war crimes of 2014

Campaign for Global Justice

Rights group builds legal case against Pyongyang abusers

UN experts urge Sudan to drop charges carrying death penalty against six human rights activists

FIDH urges international justice for Burundi and South Sudan

Justice for sexual violence in DRC advancing painfully, says NGO coordinator

ICC presidency reaffirms Courts obligation to provide effective right to family visits forICC detainees

Mengistu aide to face complementary war crimes charges in The Netherlands  after conviction in Ethiopia for role in 1970s genocide

Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation urges Malawi to domesticate Rome Statute as it hails Hissene Habre sentencing

Avocats Sans Frontieres and REDRESS to hold international conference to discuss reparations for mass atrocities committed against civilians in Uganda over past 50 years

Around the world

UNESCO chief condemns deaths of media workers in Brazil and Iraq

Iraq urged to join ICC to bring ISIS leaders to justice

UN agency stresses importance of investing in Colombia’s rural communities in wake ofpeace accord

UN rights expert condemns Iran’s illegal execution of 12 people on drug-related charges