Australia rejects proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in constitution

Australians have rejected a proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in the country’s constitution and establish a body to advise parliament on Indigenous issues. Saturday’s voice to parliament referendum failed, with the defeat clear shortly after polls closed. To succeed, the yes campaign – advocating for the voice – needed to secure a double majority, meaning it needed both a majority of the national vote, as well as majorities in four of Australia’s six states. The defeat will be seen by Indigenous advocates as a blow to what has been a hard fought struggle to progress reconciliation and...

International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia releases final report

The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) released its final report today detailing human rights violations committed during the two-year war in Tigray, Amhara, Afar and ongoing conflict in the Oromia region before its mandate was terminated. The draft motion to extend the ICHREE was not renewed and passed its deadline on October 4th, despite repeated appeals from leading human rights organisations worldwide calling for its extension. In the weeks prior to this deadline, members of the Commission sounded alarms over the high risk of continued atrocities absent...

Myanmar Junta accused of bombing Kachin state refugee camp

Dozens of people have been killed by an artillery strike on a refugee camp in the Kachin state. 30 people, including women and children, were killed in Myanmar in an artillery strike on a camp for displaced people in Kachin State near the border with China The attack took place at Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp, a few kilometres from a military base run by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the military wing of the KIO and one of many groups fighting against Myanmar’s military junta , which seized power in 2021. Col. Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the KIA, told The Associated Press that 29 people,...

Israel uses white phosphorous in Gaza and Lebanon as Palestinian death toll rises above 1500

Israel's use of white phosphorous "violates international humanitarian law", Human Rights Watch reports following attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Israel’s use of white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing a question and answer document on white phosphorus. Human Rights Watch verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the...

Israel cuts food, water and electricity supply to Gaza as bombardment continues

srael has declared a "complete siege" on Gaza as the United Nations states there is " clear evidence " of war crimes committed in the conflict. 900 Palestinians have been killed, which includes 260 children following intense bombing by Israel across Gaza. The area is home to about 2.3 million people in total - 80% of whom rely on humanitarian aid. Since the attacks began on Saturday morning, Israel has stopped all supplies entering Gaza, including food and medicine. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said more than a dozen healthcare workers had been killed or injured and at least seven medical centres had been damaged.

Pakistan plans deportation of 1.7 million Afghan refugees

Pakistan has ordered for the deportation of an estimated 1.7 million Afghan refugees by the end of November, in a move the Taliban has opposed as “unacceptable”. The recent crackdown follows a deadly blast at a mosque in Mastung city near the Afghanistan border, resulting in over 50 casualties during a religious celebration. Balochistan province, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has been a frequent target of armed groups, including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State. Pakistan’s caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti alleged that Afghan nationals had carried out...

India asks Canada to remove 41 diplomatic staff from Delhi embassy

India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 staff in the country, in an escalation of diplomatic tensions between the two countries. According to officials who spoke to the Financial Times , the Indian foreign ministry has given Canada a week to repatriate two-thirds of its diplomats stationed in India, reducing the number to 21. An official familiar with the matter confirmed the report to the Associated Press. Those who stayed past 10 October would lose their diplomatic immunity, the Financial Times first reported. India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment, but ministry...

Former Bolivian President to pay damages to families of protestors killed during his tenure

A former Bolivian president and his defence minister have agreed to pay damages to the families of people killed by the military during their government, in a landmark settlement that sets a precedent by which other foreign leaders could face accountability for human rights abuse in US courts. The settlement concerns events in 2003, when massive protests broke out over then president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada’s plan to export Bolivia’s natural gas . The army was sent to clear blockades in the largely Indigenous and working-class city of El Alto, killing more than 60 protesters and injuring...

Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan seizes control

Thousands of ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday in lines of cars which stretched for kilometres after Azerbaijan took control of the breakaway region sparking fears of persecution. The Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in a 24-hour blitz last week, forcing the authorities of the breakaway region to agree to lay down weapons. They also agreed to start talks on the “reintegration” of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, into Azerbaijan, after three decades of separatist rule. r\Atak Beglaryan, a former adviser to the self-declared government of Artsakh, told The...

US recognises Cook Islands and Niue

The United States has recognised the Cook Islands and Niue as “sovereign and independent” states and pledged to open diplomatic relations. In a statement on Monday, Biden said “the history and the future of the Pacific Islands and the United States are inextricably linked”. “The United States’ recognition of the Cook Islands, and the establishment of diplomatic relations will not only strengthen the ties between our nations, it will help ensure that our shared future is more secure, more prosperous, and more free — for our people and people around the world.” The US president is hosting the...

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