Jurist

UN experts: famine spreads throughout Gaza Strip

United Nations experts affiliated with the Human Rights Council declared July 9 that famine has now undoubtedly spread throughout the Gaza Strip. The expert determination follows the deaths of three more Palestinian children in May and June. Six-month-old Fayez Ataya, 13-year-old Abdulqader al-Serhi, and nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida were all found by the experts to have died from malnutrition. The experts stressed that inaction by the international community amounts to complicity, adding: "Israel's intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza."

Ecuador court rules that river in capital has rights

A court in Quito ruled that the Machángara River, which runs through the city, possesses rights under the Constitution of Ecuador, making the municipal government responsible for keeping it free from pollution, a local civic advocacy group reported July 5.

The court recognized the river as a living entity, subject to rights under Chapter 7 of the Constitution, which establishes that nature possesses a right to protection, promotion and restoration. The provision states that "all persons, communities, peoples or nations are able to call on public authorities to enforce the rights of nature." The Constitutional Court of Ecuador in January 2022 recognized that rivers are protected under Chapter 7.

Ukraine: Russian strikes hit largest children's hospital

Russian missile attacks on Ukraine killed dozens of people, injured hundreds, and damaged the country's largest children’s hospital, UN and Ukrainian officials announced July 8. Numerous commercial and residential buildings were struck in the wave of strikes on cities including Dnipro, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, Kryviy Rih and Kyiv, leading to the death of at least 36 and injuries to no less than 140 people. Kyiv's Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital was damaged with at least 16 injured, including children and medical staff, and two adults dead.

Protesters march in Israel to demand hostage deal

Anti-government protesters marched July 7 across Israel's major cities, aiming to pressure the authorities to instate a ceasefire in Gaza and reach a hostage deal with Hamas. Demonstrators blocked roads and gathered in front of the homes of government officials. The protesters marched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, calling for immediate elections to replace his government. Simultaneously, thousands assembled in Tel Aviv, where Einav Zangauker, whose son is being held in Gaza, staged a symbolic protest by isolating herself in a cage suspended from a bridge over Begin Road. Addressing the crowd below, Zangauker described the entire region as being held hostage by Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza.

Yemen: demand Houthis release detained UN staff

Amnesty International called Juy 5 for Houthi authorities in Yemen to immediately release detained staff from the UN and civil society organizations. Amnesty's call comes one month after the workers' arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances following raids on homes and offices.

According to Amnesty, Houthi authorities have detained 13 UN staff and at least 14 staff from Yemeni and international aid organizations. Between May 31 and June 9, Houthi authorities conducted a series of nighttime raids on the detainees' homes and the offices of UN agencies and other local and international organizations in the cities of Sana'a, Hodiedah and Hajjah.

ICC convicts Mali militant of war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Jue 26 convicted al-Qaeda-linked militant leader al-Hassan ag-Abdoul Aziz ag-Mohamed ag-Mahmoud of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in terrorizing the civilian population of the Malian city of Timbuktu. The charges against al-Hassan stem from his time as de facto leader of the Islamic Police, an unofficial enforcement body established by armed Islamist groups when they controlled the city between 2012 and 2013. The group patrolled the city day and night, imposing harsh new rules that severely restricted daily life. The force imposed extreme punishments, including flogging and amputation, for such perceived violations of Islamic law as extramarital relations, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The Court found that al-Hassan played a "key role" in the Islamic Police throughout the period of control of Timbuktu by Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). 

ECHR: Russia liable for rights violations in Crimea

Ruling in the case Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea), the European Court of Human Rights unanimously found June 25 that Russia is guilty of a pattern of human rights violations since 2014 in Crimea, as codified under the European Convention on Human Rights and international humanitarian law. These violations include ill-treatment, intimidation, disappearances, forced Russian citizenship, and suppression of Ukrainian media and press.

Bolivia: coup attempt collapses, top general arrested

In an apparent coup attempt against Bolivia's President Luis Arce, military vehicles surrounded the presidential palace in La Paz June 26—with one ramming open the building's front doors. Arce took to Twitter to denounce the "irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian Army," and called for democracy to be respected. As La Paz residents converged on Plaza Murillo to confront the troops outside the palace, Arce officially dismissed armed forces commander Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, replacing him with Gen. José Sánchez—who promptly issued orders for all troops to return to barracks. This caused the occupying troops to retreat from the plaza. Later, the Government Ministry announced that Zúñiga had been arrested.

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