After five weeks of war, the US and Iran on April 8 agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. Its basic details, however, and to what extent it will be implemented, are surrounded by uncertainty. A main sticking point is the question of whether Lebanon was included in the deal. Iranian and Pakistani officials are insisting it was, but the US and Israel say that it wasn’t. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to carry out devastating attacks on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.

The shaky ceasefire is based on a 10-point plan to end the war sent by Iran to Washington in the final hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump. If Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump threatened on April 7 that a “whole civilization will die tonight.” Since the ceasefire began, some vessels have begun to trickle through the strait, but Iran is maintaining its chokehold on passage. The fate of the ceasefire could be decided in the coming days as US and Iranian officials head to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, for peace talks.

Israel’s position on the question of whether Lebanon was part of the US-Iran ceasefire was made painfully clear on April 8, as Israel unleashed a massive series of attacks on Beirut and throughout the country. Many of the strikes targeted densely-populated civilian neighborhoods, killing at least 303 people, by the latest count. Hospitals now struggling to deal with the influx of casualties were already working on power supplied by emergency generators, with supplies dwindling.

On April 9, Israel issued an evacuation order for the Beirut neighbourhood of Jnah, which includes two hospitals, Rafik Hariri University Hospital and al-Zahraa, that are treating the injured. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said there is nowhere to evacuate patients to, and urged Israel to reverse the order. While various aid groups and leaders urge for the inclusion of Lebanon in the truce, and issue conflicting statements, Lebanese civilians are once again left to wait, search for survivors, and mourn the dead.

From The New Humanitarian, April 10

Image: Pixabay

My Office monitored an alarming increase in the use of the capital punishment in 2025, especially for offences not meeting the “most serious crimes” threshold required under international law, the continued execution of people convicted of crimes committed as children, as well as persistent secrecy around executions.

This threshold is established by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights. The increase primarily came from executions for drug-related offenses in a small number of retentionist states. These are countries that continue to retain capital punishment, as opposed to the growing number of abolitionist states. which do not employ the death penalty.

Türk stressed that the death penalty does not function as an effective crime prevention tool, and can kill innocent people. He further emphasized the serious implications for marginalized groups: “In practice, the death penalty is also often applied arbitrarily and discriminatorily, in violation of fundamental principles of equality before the law.”

The report specifically addressed the conduct of several countries, including Iran. The UN estimated that at least 1,500 individuals were executed in Iran in 2025—at least 47% for drug offenses. Türk said this figure suggests a “systemic use of capital punishment as a tool of State intimidation.” Iran Human Rights Monitor reported similar concerns in December, stating that “political death sentences” have especially targeted ethnic minorities, including Kurds and Baloch.

Saudi Arabia also had a high figure, with at least 356 executions—78% for drug-related offenses. At least two of those executed were killed for offenses committed as minors, which raises concerns over the rights of children under international law.

Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, described a “record surge” in executions in the country, and called for an international response. “Governments should immediately press Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authorities to halt all executions,” she said.

Forty-seven executions occurred in the US in 2025—the highest number in 16 years. Experts have continued to express concerns about “torture or cruel punishment” implications of the expanding use of gas asphyxiation, introduced by some states in 2024.

Türk also discussed Afghanistan, Somalia, Singapore, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Belarus.

The report did note some “encouraging steps” taken last year. For example, the Constitutional Court in Kyrgyzstan upheld a prohibition on the death penalty, ruling that an attempt to reintroduce it was unconstitutional. Temur Shakirow, director of the International Court of Justice Europe & Central Asia Programme, praised the measure, saying:

Justice systems in all countries are vulnerable to error or abuse, and the death penalty makes any such failure irreversible. Maintaining the abolition of capital punishment therefore remains essential to the effective protection of the right to life.

Türk called on all retentionist states to cease executions, downgrade all current death sentences, and begin to take steps towards abolition.

From JURIST, Jan. 19. Used with permission.

Photo: ICHRI

The statement also rejected potential linkage between the recognition and “any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”

This statement followed a joint declaration signed one day earlier by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, making Israel the first country on earth to recognize Somaliland. As part of the deal, Somaliland is expected to recognize Israel under the Abraham Accords. US President Donald Trump brokered the Abraham Accords in his first term, seeking to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab nations.

Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in May 1991, during a period of conflict unleashed by the fall of the long-ruling Siad Barre dictatorship. Despite having its own government and currency, Somaliland had not been formally recognized by any nation as an independent country until Israel did so. According to analysts from the Council on Foreign Relations, Somaliland’s claim to independence stems in part from being a “relatively stable democracy” that “is attracting major foreign investors.” In contrast, Somalia, despite having an internationally recognized government, “hasn’t been a functioning country in decades.”

Other countries around the globe have also expressed their disapproval of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. Notably, despite the Trump administration’s failed proposition earlier this year for Somaliland to take in Palestinians from Gaza, the US State Department announced Dec. 27 that Washington will continue to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”

The EU also issued a statement emphasizing its disapproval of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, saying that it threatens peace and security in the African region. The statement concluded with a call for Somalia’s government to resolve the long-standing dispute with Somaliland.

From JURIST, Dec. 28. Used with permission.

See our last report on the contradictions of the Abraham Accords.

See also our podcast, Somalia in the Great Game

Map: Somalia Country Profile

The STC was excluded from the peace talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia that opened in 2023. It has been widely accused of human rights violations, including running clandestine prisons in conjunction with UAE forces. It declared self-rule in its areas of control in 2020.

Map of Yemen before 1990 unification via Wikipedia

The comments came despite weeks of pressure from human rights advocates urging Trump to confront the crown prince over Saudi Arabia’s recent grave abuses, an incomplete list of which is said to include record numbers of executions, torture of dissidents, systematic repression of women, and the killing of hundreds of Ethiopian migrants at the Yemen border.

Human rights groups have also documented prison sentences for social media posts (such as the case of Salma al-Shehab), enforced disappearances, and widespread abuse of migrant workers under the kafala sponsorship system. Several young men who were minors when arrested remain at risk of execution.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that Trump’s meeting with bin Salman came just five months after Saudi authorities executed journalist Turki al-Jasser, who had been arrested for social media posts critical of the regime in 2018 and charged with “high treason.” Executions in Saudi Arabia are carried out by beheading with a sword.

At a press gathering following their meeting, Trump described the crown prince as an “extremely respected man” and a “very good friend of mine,” adding: “What he’s done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”

When a reporter asked about US intelligence conclusions that the crown prince orchestrated the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump dismissed the question as coming from “fake news” and said the Saudi leader “knew nothing about it.” The president described the late journalist, who had been critical of the crown prince’s policies, as “extremely controversial,” saying “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman.”

The crown prince took a less defensive approach to the question, saying that Khashoggi’s death was “painful” and “a huge mistake,” and claiming Saudi Arabia has improved its safeguards to prevent similar incidents.

From JURIST, Nov. 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo of Mohammed bin Salman’s 2017 White House visit via Wikimedia Commons

After months of US-led negotiations, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (known collectively as the Quad) issued a “roadmap to peace” in Sudan, starting with a push for a three-month “humanitarian truce.” However, despite the agreement with the main regional backers of the two sides in the war, fighting continues between the Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On Sept. 19, a week after the “roadmap” was announced, an RSF drone strike on a mosque in  El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state, left more than 70 people dead. (TNH, BBC News)

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur region worsened in August, as UN officials said they were “deeply alarmed” by a large-scale RSF assault on El Fasher and the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Sheldon Yett, condemned the assault and warned of catastrophic consequences for civilians under siege, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical services.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned about the health impact of the siege. Hanan Balkhy, the WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, reported in May that escalated violence in North Darfur had displaced more than 400,000 people, while Sudan faces the world’s worst hunger crisis with 24.6 million people in severe food insecurity, including 770,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition.

In April, after the RSF overran the Zamzam displacement camp outside El Fasher, killing hundreds of residents, a coalition of aid organizations and human rights groups issued a statement finding: “Genocide and atrocity crimes are being committed now in North Darfur. The RSF is engaged in the mass killing of civilians and will likely continue this if/when they reach El Fasher.” The statement charged that the RSF is systematically destroying critical civilian sites and infrastructure including markets, hospitals, schools, and daycare centers.

But the RSF has imposed an ongoing telecommunications blackout on the area, obstructing information sharing about the full scope and scale of what is happening. Starlink is the only connection between North Darfur and the outside world, and the RSF ordered Starlink devices to be shut down as they moved north from Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, in preparation for their attack on Zamzam.

In February, the UN Security Council said it had received alarming briefings describing North Darfur as a “hellscape” where civilians, including women and children, endure unspeakable violence, sexual assault, and targeted attacks on humanitarian workers. Council members condemned the escalation and demanded compliance with international humanitarian law. (Jurist, GlobalR2P)

Map via Radio Tamazuj

A 2017 amendment to Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Law abolished the death penalty for lower-level drug offenses, and introduced a mechanism to limit capital punishment by commuting many death sentences to life imprisonment. Despite this, executions for drug-related offenses have steadily risen since 2020 and surged in 2024, which saw 503 drug-related executions—more than 50% of all executions in Iran that year.

The experts also warned that drug-related executions in Iran disproportionately target minorities from marginalized and underdeveloped regions. Although constituting only up to 6% of Iran’s population, the Baluch ethnic minority accounted for at least 17% of drug-related executions in 2024.

Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) states that every human being has the inherent right to life, and establishes standards that limit capital punishment to the most serious crimes. As a state party to the ICCPR, Iran is bound by these standards, placing its continued use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses in direct tension with its international human rights commitments.

From JURIST, Sept. 29. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Note: Iran and its regional rival Saudi Arabia are largely responsible for the global surge in known executions over the past year.

Photo: ICHRI

The RSF has been accused of genocide and crimes against humanity since it began fighting the army in 2023. Establishing a government is seen as a strategic move to gain legitimacy, rebrand the group’s image, acquire more advanced weaponry, and strengthen its position in the event of peace negotiations. The announcement was made just ahead of expected talks in Washington with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE—all backing different sides in the war—but those talks have now been postponed, faltering like so many previous mediation efforts.

From The New Humanitarian, Aug. 1. Internal links added.

Note: The RSF-led regime is based at Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, while the army-led government has taken refuge at Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, with the official capital Khartoum only recently retaken from the RSF. The RSF controls much of Darfur region in the southwest, while the SPLM-N controls territory in Kordofan and Blue Nile regions in the southeast. This effectively leaves the RSF-led regime in control of much of the south, the army in control of the north, and the center of the country contested.

Map: PCL

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on July 16 criticized attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on two commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea between July 6 and July 9. HRW characterized the attacks as violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes and called for their immediate cessation. “It is critical for concerned governments to recognize war crimes, regardless of which party is responsible,” said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen researcher at HRW. “The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody.”

Houthi drones and missiles targeted and sunk the MV Magic Seas and MV Eternity C in the Red Sea, killing and injuring several crew members. The Houthis have since held in detention six rescued crew members.

The 1994 San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, widely accepted as a reflection of customary international law regarding the conduct of war, provides a strict limitation on attacks on maritime objectives.

HRW argued that there was no evidence that either ship constituted a legitimate military target under the laws of armed conflict. The San Remo Manual’s Article 41 limits attacks to military objectives and clarifies that merchant vessels are generally considered civilian objects. Article 67 forbids attacks on merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral states to a conflict unless they “made an effective contribution to the enemy’s military action.” Examples may include engaging in belligerent acts, carrying troops or military materials, or presenting an immediate threat to the attacking vessel. Article 166 forbids passengers on board neutral vessels from being made into prisoners of war unless they are members of the enemy’s armed forces or have personally committed an act of hostility against the captor.

HRW also cited “long-term environmental threats” from the attacks, noting that oil slicks have been detected spreading from the sites where the vessels were struck and sunk.

MV Magic Seas, a Greek-operated and Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was carrying fertilizer and steel billets from China to Turkey. A passing merchant vessel rescued 22 crew members who had abandoned ship. MV Eternity C, also a Greek-owned and Liberian-flagged commercial vessel, was sailing from Somalia to Saudi Arabia after delivering humanitarian aid for the United Nations World Food Programme. Four crew members were killed and six are believed to be in Houthi custody.

The Houthis have attempted to justify the attacks as part of armed conflict with Israel that began in October 2023, stating that the attacked ships violated the Houthi ban on dealings with Israeli ports and refused calls to stop. The Houthi statement claimed the Eternity C was bound for “Umm al-Rashrash in occupied Palestine,” meaning the Israeli port of Eilat. However, this has not been corroborated.

The attacks have been met with swift condemnation from the international community. The EU called the attacks a “serious escalation endangering maritime security in a vital waterway,” warning that the attacks “directly threaten regional peace and stability, global commerce and freedom of navigation.” The EU also warned that the attacks could directly and negatively impact Yemen’s fragile humanitarian situation.

The attacks come at a critical moment for peace in the region, with a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas pending and Iran (the Houthis’ sponsor) weighing whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program in the aftermath of Israeli and US air-strikes.

From JURIST, July 24. Used with permission.

Map via PCL

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Erratum: At approximately 17.20 we recall that in March 2017 Prince Mohammad bin Salman called Trump a “true friend of Muslims” one day before the US bombed a mosque in Syria, killing at least 50. Contrary to what we state, this exchange between Trump and Prince Mohammad did not take place in Riyadh, but in the White House. Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia, where he met again with the prince, was in May 2017.

Production by Chris Rywalt

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Map: PCL