Photo Credit: Stop Killer Robots Following calls from the government of New Zealand for the adoption of international laws to prohibit and limit autonomous weapons systems, the United States has opposed such regulations. Speaking at a meeting in Geneva, US official Josh Dorosin maintained that America saw "the best way to make progress ... would be through the development of a non-binding code of conduct”. Autonomous weapons systems would enable military equipment which could deploy lethal force without a human overseeing the process. A report by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s...
On Monday India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a $5.4 billion dollar missile defence system sale to India despite warnings from the United States of sanctions. The sale of Russia's S-400 missile defence system was also accompanied by a $600 million deal to manufacture hundreds of thousands of Russia's AK-203 rifles in Uttar Pradesh. These rifles will replace the older Kalashnikov-style rifles currently used by Indian troops. Both Modi and Putin further agreed to extend cooperation between their countries on military technology over the next decade...
Speaking at the White House press briefing, US Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, announced that “the Biden administration would not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses”. The announcement comes as China continues to face criticism over their detention of over one million Uighurs in “re-education camps”. Detainees have reported being tortured, sexually abused, and forcibly sterilised whilst in detention. US diplomatic or official...
The north district court in San Francisco has received a class action complaint, on behalf of estimated 10,000 Rohingya Muslims, against the social media giant Facebook for enabling and fomenting genocidal violence in Myanmar. In 2018 Facebook admitted that it had not done enough to prevent the incitement of violence and hate speech against the Rohingya; following a brutal military campaign in the Rakhine state which saw over 10,000 Rohingya killed. There are an estimated million Rohingya who continued to be displaced and living in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp, in south-eastern Bangladesh. “...
Myanmar’s military-ruled court has halved their sentence of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from four to two years, as international criticism continues to mount. This follows the court’s initial guilty ruling on Monday of inciting dissent and breaking COVID-19 rules. These are the first in a series of charges which are to be levied against the ousted leader; others include corruption, election fraud, and illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies. The court had ruled that she be jailed for four years before lowering the sentence to two. Ousted President Win Myint was also sentenced...
Responding to the reported executions of over 100 former Afghan security officials by the Taliban, the US, EU and 20 other countries have released a joint statement condemning the killings. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report notes that whilst the Taliban had agreed to provide amnesty to surrounding security forces; they had used screening "to detain and summarily execute or forcibly disappear individuals within days of their registration, leaving their bodies for their relatives or communities to find". Their report notes that over 100 former members of the Afghan security forces have been...
Following a meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken reaffirmed American support for the "territorial integrity of Ukraine" and warned Russia that it would be held responsible for any aggressive actions it takes towards Ukraine. Blinken has further threatened this week that the US respond to “Russian aggression against Ukraine” with “high-impact economic measures that we’ve refrained from taking in the past”. The announcement comes as US intelligence has revealed potential Russian invasion plans for early next year. The unclassified...
On Tuesday US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, revoked the designation of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) rebel group as a "foreign terrorist organisation" but proscribed two splinter organisations of FARC, "FARC-EP and Segunda Marquetalia". The decision follows a resurgence of violence in the rural regions of Colombia where FARC had previously held control. The International Crisis Group has pointed towards the dire economic conditions that are pervasive in Columbia to explain this uptake in arms however Columbia's army has accused the Venezuelan regime of...
The United States has sanctioned the Eritrean army and the country's ruling party for their role in the Ethiopian conflict. In a press release , the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on four entities and two individuals "that have contributed to the crisis and conflict" in Ethiopia. "The presence of Eritrean forces is an impediment to ending the ongoing fighting and increasing humanitarian access," the press release said. The individuals and entities that have been sanctioned are Eritrean Defense Force, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, Abraha Kassa Nemariam, Hidri...
International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, said on Wednesday he will open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela. Speaking in a conference alongside Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Khan said he is "determined that he will proceed to open an investigation to establish the truth" of events that occurred in Venezuela. A memorandum of understanding was signed by both the President and Karim Khan. A preliminary investigation was conducted in 2018 and Khan noted during the press conference that "The preliminary examination that opened in 2018 is nothing...