land – CounterVortex

Greater Middle East

Israel to expand illegal settlement of Golan Heights

Human Rights Watch protested the Israeli government’s plan for increased settler transfers into the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, calling the decision a “clear statement of intent to commit war crimes.” The $334 million plan, announced by the Finance Ministry, seeks to make the small town of Katzrin the Golan’s “first city,” by bringing in 3,000 new Israeli settler families. Funds are allocated for infrastructure, housing, public services, and academic facilities. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer by an occupying power of any of its own civilian population into territory it occupies. Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), defines such transfers as war crimes. Occupied by Israel in 1967, the Golan Heights has since been declared unilaterally annexed. (Photo: Freedom’s Falcon via Wikimedia Commons)

North America

BC court upholds conviction of Indigenous land defender

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia unanimously upheld the criminal contempt conviction against Chief Dsta’hyl (Adam Gagnon), finding him in breach of a court injunction by protesting against a pipeline project in the territories of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. In 2019, the British Columbia Supreme Court issued an injunction banning protests in the construction area of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. Defying the injunction, Chief Dsta’hyl organized a blockade in an attempt to halt the construction in 2021. At trial, he contended that the protests were necessary to uphold the traditional Wet’suwet’en law of trespass and fulfill his duties as a chief to preserve and protect their yintah (territory). The trial judge rejected the defense, holding that it was an impermissible “collateral attack” on the injunction. Amnesty International declared Chief Dsta’hyl Canada’s first prisoner of conscience. (Image: Front Line Defenders)

The Andes

Colombia: UN experts welcome anti-mercenary law

UN experts welcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s ratification of the 1989 International Convention against Recruitment, Use, Financing & Training of Mercenaries. The experts praised the signing of what amounts to a new anti-mercenary legislative package, calling it an essential step toward protecting human rights and upholding international legal obligations. Colombia has experienced a decades-long armed conflict that began with the formation of guerrilla groups, notably the FARC and the ELN. Paramilitary groups later emerged to fight the guerrillas. Following a landmark peace agreement with the FARC in 2016 and ongoing negotiations with the ELN that began in 2018, violence levels have been reduced. But the protracted conflict has led to a profusion of armed actors and fueled the growth of private military and security companies (PMSCs). (Photo: Contagio Radio)

Palestine

UN report sees ‘ethnic cleansing’ on West Bank

A report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that over one year—from Nov. 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2025—Israel’s government accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and “annexation” of large parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This has led to the forced displacement of over 36,000 Palestinians, amid increasing violence by both Israeli security forces and settlers. The report stated: “The displacement in the occupied West Bank…at the hands of the Israeli military appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.” (Photo: B’Tselem)

North America

British Columbia: protest call to amend Indigenous rights act

The Law Society of British Columbia warned that the provincial government’s intention to amend the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) may erode judicial independence and improperly constrain the power of the courts. The proposed amendment would limit the role of the judiciary in matters related to DRIPA’s implementation, and follows two landmark court rulings upholding Aboriginal rights and title last year. The BC Supreme Court held in August that the Cowichan Tribes have established Aboriginal title in the city of Richmond, meaning that the province is obliged under the DRIPA to “reconcile” fee simple interests in the city with tribal authorities. In December, the BC Court of Appeal held that the provincial mineral tenure system—allowing registration of mineral rights online without notifying or consulting the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht nations—is impermissible under the DRIPA, which commits the province to upholding principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Europe

Arrests as French farmers protest EU-Mercosur trade deal

UN experts cautioned against the escalating use of arrests and criminal proceedings against agricultural trade union activity in France, after authorities detained 52 farmers during peaceful protests in Paris. Union leaders and members of the Confédération Paysanne held protests in opposition to the EU-Mercosur Deal, signed in December 2024 but still pending ratification, which would reduce tariffs and more deeply link the European market with the bloc of South American nations. Participants unfurled banners in offices of the Agriculture Ministry in protest of the agreement. Protesters included a large delegation from the French overseas regions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion and Mayotte, all of which have denounced unfair import costs imposed upon them by the government. Three key spokespersons were among those arrested. (Photo: UN Human Rights Council via Twitter)

Africa

DRC: ethnic massacre near Kinshasa

At least 22 ethnic Teke civilians were killed when militia fighters attacked a village in the western Democratic Republic of Congo. The massacre in Nkana village—located just some 75 kilometers northeast of the capital Kinshasa—was reportedly carried out by fighters from the Mobondo militia, which is aligned with the Yaka ethnic group. Human Rights Watch said fighters armed with firearms and machetes killed “mostly ethnic Teke villagers in their homes as they attempted to flee.” The conflict is rooted in penetration of traditional Teke territory by Yaka agricultural settlers, setting off competition for land. It points to the potential for simmering conflicts to escalate throughout the DRC while the world is focused on the internal war in the country’s east. (Map: PCL)

Africa

Chad: herder-farmer clashes amid climate crisis

Amnesty International denounced authorities in Chad for their failure to protect victims of armed clashes between herders and farmers. The group documented seven instances of herder-farmer violence in four provinces since 2022, which resulted in 98 people dead, at least 100 injured, and 600 left without homes or sources of income. The clashes, concentrated in southern Chad, are said to be driven by climate change, population growth, and an influx of weapons and support from armed groups in the neighboring Central African Republic. Researchers stated that higher temperatures, desertification, and shrinking pasturelands in the center of the country have led herders to travel longer distances and settle in southern provinces where conditions are more conducive to livestock grazing. (Photo: European Commission/DG Echo via NASA Earth Observatory)

Palestine

Israeli ‘crimes against humanity’ seen in West Bank

Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report documenting the forced displacement of approximately 32,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps beginning in January 2025. The report charges that Israeli forces carried out mass forcible displacements as part of a widespread attack on civilians, accusations that, if substantiated, would constitute crimes against humanity under international law. “The organized, forced displacement of Palestinians in the refugee camps has removed nearly the entire Palestinian population from these areas,” the report stated, noting that residents of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps have been denied the right to return nearly a year after the operations commenced. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Planet Watch

Indigenous groups protest at COP30

Indigenous groups held protests in Belém, blocking the main entrance to the restricted area at the UN Climate Summit (COP30) to demand that the Brazilian government halt extractive projects that jeopardize their cultures and livelihoods. The protesters mostly belonged to the Munduruku people of the Amazon rainforest, who inhabit the states of Amazonas and Pará (of which Belém is the capital). The army was sent in to reinforce security after the action. Protesters’ demands included increased representation of indigenous peoples in COP30 and the UN climate process, as well as an end to activities that threaten Munduruku territories in the Tapajós and Xingu river basins. (Photo: Diego Herculano/UNFCCC via UN News)

Africa

Trump threatens Nigeria with military action, aid cut

US President Donald Trump said that he has ordered the Pentagon, or “Department of War,” to prepare contingency plans for potential military action in Nigeria. Trump alleged that the Nigerian government has failed to protect Christian communities from violent extremist attacks. The comments follow Trump’s declaration designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for religious-freedom violations, citing what he described as an “existential threat” to Christianity. (Map: PCL)

Palestine

‘Skyrocketing’ settler attacks on West Bank

The regional head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that Israeli settlers are increasing violence against Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank. Ajith Sunghay said: “Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency, with the acquiescence, support, and in many cases participation, of Israeli security forces—and always with impunity.” The statement comes at the start of the critical olive harvest season, a main source of income for many Palestinian families. The Israeli Knesset meanwhile voted to advance legislation that would effectively annex the West Bank. (Photo: B’Tselem)