human rights agency – European Affairs Magazine

Iraq: ISIS attack on SDF and fleeing civilians kills over 30

3 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

ISIS attack in an area held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria killed at least 32 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attack on Rajm al-Salibi, the location of a checkpoint and refugee camp near the border with Iraq, led to fierce clashes, injuring dozens, the Britain-based war monitor said. The SDF has been battling ISIS since dawn in nearby areas of Hasaka province, which Kurdish forces largely control. An adviser to the SDF, Nasser Haj Mansour, confirmed that several civilians had died, including people fleeing ISIS in Syria’s Deir al-Zor and in Iraq. The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has seized large swathes of northern Syria from Islamic State in a campaign to drive the jihadist group out of Raqqa city, its base of operations in Syria. This week, the SDF said it captured most of the strategic town of Tabqa, 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa along the Euphrates. The SDF said fighting continued on Tuesday to capture the last few districts of Tabqa as well as an adjacent dam, Syria’s largest.

UN Security Council Discusses the Libyan Crisis

21 Aprile 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Widespread conflicts could return to Libya, yet the Libyan agreement could be amended to overcome the current political impasse, according to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. UN SecretaryGeneral recalled the importance to reach, as soon as possible, an agreement to stop current Libyan evolution toward an other civil war. UNSMIL responsable (United Nations Support in Libya), Martin Kobler, suggested the UN increases its support to the security, economy and political process in the country as means to put an end to the Libyan crisis. He also recalled that a large part of Libyans still support LPA (Libyan Political Agreement) signed on December 2015. Guterres urged Libyan political fractions to find a consensus to stabilize the country, he also evoked his worries about Human Rights in the coutnry.

The European Court of Human Rights has decided to give priority to Turkish daily Cumhuriyet case

14 Aprile 2017 BreakingNews @en di

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has decided to prioritize the case of the jailed journalists and executives of Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, stating that it will investigate the case “as soon as possible”. Previously, the court had made the same decision about jailed Turkish journalists Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Atilla Taş and Murat Aksoy. The indictment into daily Cumhuriyet columnists and executives was completed on April 4, nearly five months after the investigation was launched, with the prosecutor seeking jail sentences for all 19 suspects.

Yemen: Violation of human rights in the port of al-Mokha, 200 houses destroyed by the airstrikes

14 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en/Middle East - Africa di

The United Nations Human Rights Agency warned about violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law over the past two weeks in the south wester port of al-Mokha. Even if it was impossible for UN Human Rights office field monitors to acces the area, credible reports indicate that civilians were caught in an intolerable situation. Probably 200 houses were damaged or completely destroyed by the airstrikes. The UN also estimates that around 12 million people are facing famine in the country and 3.3 million people are already malnourished.