genocide

Europe

Tatar Mejlis opposes betrayal of Crimea

The representative body of the Crimean Tatar people has vowed to oppose any international recognition of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The Tatar Mejlis, now sitting in exile in Kyiv, said that any move to recognize Crimea as Russian territory would violate international law. Refat Chubarov, the body’s chairman, asserted in a statement: “Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one can decide the fate of Crimea under any circumstances, except for the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people.” The statement comes amid reports that the Trump White House is pressuring Kyiv to accept a peace formula that includes formal US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea. (Photo: Crimean Tatar Mejlis)

Africa

Massacres mount in Nigeria’s Plateau state

Communal violence in Nigeria’s troubled north-central state of Plateau has killed more than 100 people in just under two weeks. Plateau has a history of tensions between Muslim pastoralists and mostly Christian farmers over access to land. The state governor described the latest killings as “coordinated acts of terror” and has blamed armed Fulani herders for the violence. In what seems like an abdication of responsibility for security by the police—a trend across much of Nigeria—he said every community “must defend itself.” (Map: Google)

Africa

Sudan marks two years of war —and another massacre

It was tragically appropriate that the second anniversary of Sudan’s devastating civil war was marked by yet another massacre. At least 400 people were killed when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the Zam Zam displacement camp in North Darfur. They also executed 10 staff members in the camp’s last remaining clinic, including medics and ambulance drivers. Eighty percent of the camp’s original 500,000 population has escaped to the nearby government-held town of el-Fasher, although the RSF is believed to be trying to stop people—especially young men—from leaving. Sudan is recognized as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in a conflict marked by both sides’ brutality and intransigence. An international conference held in London last week pledged millions of dollars in aid but made no progress on ending the war. Instead, regional powers, who hold the most sway over the military rivals (including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) disagreed on Sudan’s political future. As splits sharpen, the RSF has declared that it is forming a rival government—deepening fears of the permanent division of the country. (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

Palestine

OHCHR protests Israel’s Gaza evacuation orders

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressedconcern over the legality of Israeli evacuation orders under international humanitarian law, citing fears over the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. According to the OHCHR, while Israel “can lawfully order the temporary evacuations of civilians in certain areas under strict conditions,” the nature and scope of such orders raises concerns over whether the Israeli leadership has intentions of forcibly transferring civilians out of Gaza, breaching the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute. Since resuming hostilities last month, Israel has issued 21 “evacuation orders.” The most recent such order covers almost all of Rafah, the Strip’s southernmost governorate, and has been followed by a large-scale ground operation in the area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were already reportedly trapped in Rafah, with no way out and no access to humanitarian aid. (Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

Hague Group demands UN action on Gaza ‘genocide’

A coalition of independent UN human rights experts called on additional states to join the Hague Group, warning that the credibility of the international legal system is at risk due to inaction over Israel’s ongoing violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Earlier this year, delegates from nine nations (including South Africa, Malaysia, Colombia and Bolivia) formed the Hague Group, responding to the failure of the broader international community to halt Israel’s military actions and crimes against Palestinians in the occupied territories, including that of “genocide.” (Photo: Hague Group)

Syria

UN rights council: investigate Assad regime atrocities

The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution demanding accountability for violations and abuses by Syria’s ousted Bashar Assad regime through “transitional justice,” and declaring support for “the commitments of the interim authorities” to an “orderly and inclusive transition” and establishment of a timeline for free elections. Assad al-Shaibani, foreign minister of the newly re-founded Syrian Arab Republic, welcomed the resolution, viewing it as an acknowledgement of the government’s “local and international efforts to protect human rights.” (Image: Mapping MENA)

South Asia

Isolated people under threat in Andaman Islands

A US national was arrested on North Sentinel Island, in India’s remote Andaman & Nicobar archipelago, for illegally seeking to make contact with the isolated Sentinelese people, an officially designated “particularly vulnerable tribal group” (PVTG). London-based Survival International expressed relief at the arrest, but called the news deeply disturbing, saying the adventurer’s actions “put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,” due to their lack of immunity to common outside diseases. Within days of the arrest, a journalist with local news channel Republic Andaman was found dead—apparently targeted for his reportage on illegal logging and mining in the archipelago. And far greater threats loom; Survival warns that isolated peoples could be wiped out if New Delhi goes ahead with its plan to transform Great Nicobar Island into the “Hong Kong of India,” with massive new port facilities and rapid urbanization. (Photo: Survival International)

Palestine

Israel anti-Semitism confab embraces fascism —yes, really

The Zionist-fascist convergence under Bibi’s regime is getting too blatant even for the habitually pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League, whose leader stayed away from a supposed “International Conference on Combating Antisemitism” held in Jerusalem under the auspices of the Israeli government, headlining Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu—and also featuring several figures from the European and American xenophobic (and even anti-Semitic!) far right. (Image via frgdr Blog. Hebrew lettering in background spells names of places in Europe where Jews were exterminated.)

Europe

UN inquiry: Russian ‘crimes against humanity’ in Ukraine

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that widespread enforced disappearances and torture committed by Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine constitute “crimes against humanity,” one of the most serious classifications of international crimes. Central to the commission’s findings is Rule 7 of the Rome Statute, which states that forced disappearance and torture constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population. The report, which included evidence gathered by the commission and interviews with soldiers who deserted from the Russian armed forces, concluded that the enforced disappearances against civilians were perpetrated pursuant to a coordinated state policy. (Photo: CounterVortex)

Mexico

Demand Mexico investigate mass killing site

Human Rights Watch published a report urging Mexican authorities to conduct a “thorough” and “impartial” investigation into an apparent mass killing site outside the city of Guadalajara, in Jalisco state. A local collective called the Jalisco Search Warriors uncovered the site on an isolated ranch, where they found “bone fragments…hundreds of shoes, clothing items, charred human remains, and three underground ovens on a ranch.” The discovery was made while attempting to locate missing individuals or their remains, with local citizens organizing the effort in the absence of a sufficient response by the authorities. (Photo: Mtenaespinoza via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe

US withdraws from investigation of Russian aggression

The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (EuroJust) announced that the United States is withdrawing from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), created to hold Russia accountable for its invasion and seizure of territory in Ukraine. The organization was launched by EuroJust in 2023 to assist Ukraine in prosecuting parties responsible for orchestrating the crime of “aggression” against Ukraine, facilitating information-sharing across international law enforcement and judicial bodies. The Biden administration collaborated with the organization by providing monetary support and appointing US prosecutors to help with the work of the ICPA. The funding cut-off comes as the White House has shifted course in US foreign policy on Ukraine, with President Donald Trump insisting on brokering a bilateral peace deal with Russia, regardless of the wishes of the Ukrainian government. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Africa

Demand investigation into Burkina Faso massacre

Human Rights Watch has called for an urgent investigation into the massacre of dozens of civilians in Burkina Faso’s western city of Solenzo. HRW noted video footage circulating on social media that implicates pro-government militias in the killings, raising serious concerns about accountability and civilian protection in a country already grappling with widespread violence and human rights abuses. The victims, many of whom belonged to the Fulani ethnic group, were targeted in what appears to be a reprisal attack amid ongoing counterinsurgency operations. (Photo of VDP fighters: Henry Wilkins/VOA via Wikimedia Commons)