Human Rights

The Supreme Court today denied appeals from several cases filed by detainees held in the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  The Court stated that detainees no longer have the right to file a habeas petition.  The Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006 stripped access to the Great Writ.  The Court passed in order […]

Five African Union (AU) soldiers participating in the peacekeeping effort in Darfur were killed near the border with Chad today.  It is unclear which group was responsible for the attack.  It is the heaviest lose for the AU since being deployed to the region in 2004.  More reporting on this issue as it develops. BBC […]

1 Plato, "Symposium"
2 Young Edward (Drummer Boy of Waterloo).
3 Protocol I: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 8 June 1977
4 Cape Town Principles and Best Practices, April 1997. http://www.unicef.org/emerg/files/Cape_Town_Principles(1).pdf
5 Paris conference on child soldiers concludes with commitment to stop the recruitment of children. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_38231.html
6 Peter W. Singer. Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Director, 21st Century Defense Initiative. Personal correspondence.
7 Child Soldiers still recruited 10 years after pact. Reuters. March 20, 2007. http://uk.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUKZWE06965320070320
8 "Bombers Blow Up 2 Children After Using Them as Decoys" , Semple, Kirk. The New York Times, March 21, 2007, A8
9 Francis Orr's photoessay on the atrocities in Uganda may be found at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uganda5jun05-splash,0,70542.story
0 Child Soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army. National Public Radio, August 9th, 2005. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4791635
11 For more information on Red Hand Day, visit www.redhandday.org.

The first person to face a US war crimes tribunal since WWII was formally sentenced at Gauntanamo Bay. David Hicks, and Australian captured in Afghanistan after fleeing al-Qa'ida frontlines in Kandahar, was originally sentenced to seven years, but his plea agreement allows him to only serve nine months. Hicks had originally faced a life sentence […]

David M. Hicks, the 31 year old Australian national being held at Gauntanamo Bay, will be returned to his home country within two months. Hicks plead guilty to charges of providing material support to al-Qa'ida on Monday. He is the first person to face the new tribunal system to try Gauntanamo detainees and his trial […]

Canadian courts have begun to hear testaments in their first trial for genocide and war crimes. The trials focus on the Rwandan genocides. The Canadian courts are calling on witnesses from five countries, as well as sending Justices to Rwanda to hear testimonials. A witness identified only as C-16 detailed accounts of rape and murder […]

  Human slavery, child trafficking, its all something that happens in a country far away, maybe someplace you've never even heard of, right? Well yes it does and the problem is huge, but it's also right here at home. Yes, child trafficking and slavery is a major issue in the United States, the Land of […]

Allegations of violations of the laws of war by former Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, were dismissed in US District Court yesterday. Nine former prisoners of detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan represented by The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First allege that Rumsfeld had personally approved torture techniques and violated the rights granted […]

The Pentagon's detainee offices have released the transcripts of KSM's (among others) trial before the CSRT. Inquiries have also been made regarding Hick's trial yesterday.

This weekend I was trying desperately to avoid work and all that comes with it, but when you work in the NGO world work is hard to avoid. There I was desperately trying to decompress from a long week at my job working for an anti-child trafficking organization, but I couldn’t escape. I flip the […]

David Hicks will be arraigned for war crimes before a US military tribunal enacted at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba at 1pm this afternoon. Hicks, 31, is charged with providing material support for al-Qa'ida during the US led conflict in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime and track down associates of bin Laden's group. In a previous […]

Dr. Vali Nasr, one of leading experts on Islam and Muslim politics, presented a lecture for Grand Rapids Community College's Diversity Lecture Series at Fountain Street Church. Dr. Nasr is the author of many books, including The Shia Revival, and is a Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also an adjunct Senior Fellow […]