Pope Francis has apologized to Indigenous delegates for the conduct of some members of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada’s residential school system. A week of private separate meetings between Pope Francis and First Nations, Inuit and Metis delegates, comprised discussions of the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system and its enduring legacy. The week culminated with a final and public meeting at the Vatican on Friday. "For the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God's forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart, I am...
Jamaica's prime minister, Andrew Holness has told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that his country is "moving on" and intends to become a republic. Representatives from the British monarchy's arrival in Jamaica on Tuesday coincided with major demonstrations urging them to pay reparations for slavery and calls from senior politicians for the country to become a republic, severing its tie with the United Kingdom. During a meeting between the prime minister and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Holness said their visit had given an opportunity for the nation to address "unresolved" issues. "...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Myanmar’s violence and killings of Rohingya amounted to genocide, in a speech made at the Holocaust Memorial Museum earlier today. “The United States has concluded that genocide has been committed seven times,” said Blinken. “Today marks the eighth.” “I have determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity.”
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the ongoing crisis occurring in Tigray, starting that there is no where on earth where "people are more at risk". At a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus implicitly addressed those concerns. He said such was the scale of the crisis, it would be a dereliction of his professional duty not to speak out. The UN has been unable to get emergency food supplies into Tigray since mid-December. And while in recent weeks medical supplies have started to trickle in, after a six-month hiatus, the WHO and...
Lithuania has reportedly cancelled the delivery of more than 400,000 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh, citing Dhaka’s refusal to vote in favour of a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to reports, Rasa Jakilaitienė, a spokeswoman for Lithuania’s prime minister said the shipment of 444,600 doses which was agreed upon just last week, was now cancelled. Bangladesh was one of 35 countries that abstained from voting on the UN resolution against Russia, including Sri Lanka. Read more here . See how members of the UN...
Several senior Ukrainian officials, including president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, have claimed Russian actions verged on "genocide" with proceedings underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN, told the UN General Assembly that Russia had "come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist. They have come to resolve the Ukrainian issue, as their propagandists claimed". “it's already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only, it is genocide," Kyslytsya added . "This is terror,” said Zelenskiy in a video message earlier this...
Foreign secretary Lizz Truss has said she would "absolutely" support individual Brits going to fight Russian forces in Ukraine. Following an announcement made by Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, who pledged to arm the country's international "friends" who chose to travel to Ukraine to fight alongside them. Lizz Truss was asked whether she would support the call during an appearance on the BBC's Sunday Morning programme. She said, "I do support that. Of course, that is something that people can make their own decisions about." The cabinet minister added, “The people of Ukraine are...
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. Khan who is currently on a mission In Bangladesh said in his statement ,
Pul-e-Charki Prison, Kabul, January 2012 A 76-year-old Afghan man, Abdul Razaq Arief, accused of abusing political prisoners in the 1980s, is currently on trial at The Hague district court. The Dutch court is trying Arief for war crimes, citing his role as commander and head of Political Affairs at the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison from 1983 - 1990 in Kabul. Reportedly, opponents of Afghanistan's Soviet-backed regime were "held without fair trial in appalling conditions," in which prisoners had "no shower, no soap, no heating, [and] no warm water." One witness detailed that prisoners were...
'They slap a price on you' - Ethiopian officials accused of extorting arbitrarily detained Tigrayans
In a damning report by Al Jazeera , reporters uncovered a series of incidents where Ethiopian security officers have been extorting and abusing Tigrayan civilians detained without charge. Since an influx of arbitrary arrests last year, Ethiopian security forces, including "prison wardens, government prosecutors and officials from the attorney general's offices have demanded exorbitant bribes for release."