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Latest news from and about the homeland

Photograph: Screenshot/ BLA video A fresh wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances has been documented across Balochistan this month, as Baloch rights groups recorded the recovery of several bodies of men who had earlier been forcibly taken, and appealed once more to international institutions that have largely ignored the province. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)…

European Court of Human Rights overrules Armenian genocide denial conviction

The European Court of Human Rights stated that a Turkish politician who was convicted for denying the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire was genocide was wrongly prosecuted.

The ECHR ruled that Dogu Perincek had not called for "hatred or intolerance" when he stated "the Armenian genocide is a big fat lie" in 2005.

He had initially been sentenced by a Swiss court for racial discrimination for 2007.

Algeria's UN representative stresses that Western Sahara conflict can be solved through Saharawi self determination

Algeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations Boukadoum Sabri reiterated that the Western Saharan conflict been be solved by ensuring the Saharawi people’s “fundamental right” to self-determination.

Addressing a debate of the Committee on Special Political Decolonisation of the United Nations, Mr Sabri said,

African Union urged to deploy troops in Burundi if violence worsens

The African Union Peace and Security Council called for the organisations to speed up plans to send troops to Burundi if violence in the region worsens, reports Reuters.

In a statement released after meeting on Saturday, the council added that sanctions would be imposed on anyone who incited further violence in Burundi.

EU to remove economic sanctions on Iran

The European Union (EU) will announce a formal end to economic sanctions imposed on Iran this weekend, reports Agence France Presse.

Diplomatic sources involved in the negotiations said that the removal of sanctions would take immediate effect as soon as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certified that Iran had met its commitments to the international community.

Syrian Kurds reject accusations of committing war crimes when fighting Islamic State

Syria’s Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) denounced allegations that its combatants had committed war crimes by forcibly displacing people and demolishing homes.

Amnesty International last week accused the YPB of carrying out a “campaign of collective punishment.”

Progress on China-UK nuclear deal ahead of Jinping's visit says ambassador

China’s ambassador to the UK said that “substantial progress” had been made on a number of agreements between both nations nuclear industries.

Speaking ahead of the Chinese Premier’s visit to the UK, Lui Xiaoming said,

“Substantial progression has been made with regard to nuclear power. Whether there will be a signing ceremony during this visit, I cannot say for 100 percent.”

China’s Premier Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the UK signals warming relations between China and the UK.

China's president lands in US to boost trade ties (23 Sep 2015)

ICC chief prosecutor finds reasonable grounds to open war crimes probe into Georgia conflict

The International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor said she had enough evidence to open an investigation into alleged war crimes during the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, reports the International Business Times.

International Association of Genocide Scholars call on Germany to recognise Armenian genocide

The world’s largest body of scholars who study genocide have written to the German government to legally recognise the genocide of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek populations by the Ottoman Empire.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag Norbert Rottgen, the International Association of Genocide Scholars said:

“In order for progress toward reconciliation to be made between Turkey and the Armenian Republic and the Armenian people, acknowledgement of the historical facts about one of the most devastating human rights atrocities of the modern era must be made”.

The scholars praised Germany’s handling of its own history and the Holocaust, stating “Germany, more than any country in the 20th century, has dealt with the aftermath of genocide with exemplary courage and moral reckoning”. “Germany has been a world leader in its ability to face its past, create a powerful culture of historical memory and deal with issues of recompense and social justice in the wake of the Holocaust,” they added.

KRG makes case for genocide of Yazidis at ICC

The Kurdistan Regional Government has officially filed documents at the International Criminal Court, calling for the recognition and prosecution of those responsible for the genocide of the Yazidi people.

The Kurdistan Region’s Foreign Relations Department sent over 40 documents to the ICC with Judge Aiman Mustaffa, head of investigation and witnesses stating,

Saudi led coalition committed war crimes in Yemen says Amnesty

Amnesty international accused the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen of committing war crimes during its airstrikes to combat Houthi militants in Yemen.

After analysing 13 airstrikes carried out between May and July, Amnesty international, said at least 100 civilians and 59 children had been killed, with evidence of cluster munitions banned under international treaties.