The Republic of Vanuatu is seeking support from other Pacific islands towards a UN General Assembly resolution calling for the right to self-determination for West Papua, to be presented at the 74th session in September 2019. 

The draft text was presented last week at the Pacific foreign ministers' meeting in Apia, by Vanuatu's foreign minister, Ralph Regenvanu.

According to the Daily Post, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji expressed reservations about the draft resolution text.  

Last week Vanuatu also appointed a special envoy for West Papua, Lauri Lini, whose father is known as the founding father of Vanuatu. 

The Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik yesterday rejected a government report which acknowledged the Srebrenica genocide as "biased" and called for it to be withdrawn, AP reports. 

"The report is biased and does not mention Serb victims," Mr Dodik told parliament. His supporters voted to reject the report, arguing it was "not objective and is untrue". 

The report was written in 2004 by the previous Bosnian Serb government. 

Mr Dodik has consistently rejected UN reports describing the massacre of over 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica as a genocide. 

EU observers maintain that whilst there were irregularities there was not fraud, commenting on the recent runoff election in Mali between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and opposition leader Somalia Cisse.

Mr Cisse has rejected this arguing that the results were “neither sincere nor credible” and launched a legal challenge in Mali's constitutional court alleging "ballot box-stuffing”.

The election is the first time an incumbent president in Mali has had to face a runoff election.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh today sentenced five men to death for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the rape, murder and torture of civilians during the country's war of independence in 1971. 

The International Crimes Tribunal, led by Justice Shahinur Islam said the convicted men were part of the Muslim League and Al-Badr, who were working with the then occupying Pakistan army. 

All convicts sentences to death have one month to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court. 

Bangladesh's war crimes trials have been criticised by international human rights organisations however. 

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Friday raised concerns over China’s internment of over one million ethnic Uighurs in secret camps and that an additional 2 million were admitted into “re-education camps for political and cultural indoctrination”.

The Uighurs, China’s Turkic speaking Muslim minority, number approximately 10 million and are primarily based in the Xinjiang where they make up around 45% of the population.

Over a hundred Uighur students who returned to China from countries including Egypt and Turkey had been detained, with some dying in custody.

Human Rights Watch called on South Sudan’s leaders to ensure that there must not be an amnesty for war crimes and crimes against humanity as a peace agreement was signed in the country between the warring sides last week.

“Amnesty for atrocities not only conflicts with South Sudan’s international obligations, but experience shows it is no way to build a lasting peace,” said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

“While South Sudan’s leaders may aim to provide assurances to opponents, they should make clear that the amnesty does not cover grave crimes by all parties since the conflict began.”

More than 50,000 Romanians, including thousands of diaspora members, took to the streets of Bucharest this weekend as part of an anti-government rally in Romania.              

More than 450 were reportedly hurt, as protestors demonstrating against corruption, clashed with Romanian police.

The crowds shouted slogans including "Diaspora is with us!" and "Justice, not corruption". The rally was reportedly organised on social media under the motto "Diaspora at Home,"

Riot police were seen firing tear gas into the crowds and firing a water cannon.

The former Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet has been appointed as the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to serve from September 1. 

Ms Bachelet, who was hailed by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres as a "pioneer", said she was "deeply humbled and honored". 

“Michelle Bachelet brings unique experience to the United Nations and to all of us, and is strongly committed to keeping human rights at the forefront of the work of the United Nations,” Mr Guterres told reporters following the announcement of her appointment. 

Colombia has become the last country in South America to recognise the state of Palestine, a decision made by the previous president during his last few days in office.

Former Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos announced the decision in a letter to the Palestinian representative in Colombia last week, stating he had decided to recognise Palestine as a “free, independent and sovereign state.”

Although the government of the new president Ivan Duque, who took office on Tuesday, said that it would review the decision, it acknowledged that the decision was legal.

Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s former finance minister and one of the leaders of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been arrested under charges of inciting post-election violence as well as “possession of dangerous weapons” and “subversive material”.

The arrest comes after the MDC contested last Friday’s election result which yielded a victory for Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Zanu-PF candidate, who took power in a military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

The MDC had planned to file a court case, which would delay Mnangagwa planned inauguration for Sunday.