Supreme Court Kicks Off With a New Justice
The Supreme Court began its new term on Monday with much focus on the new Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the high court’s first Latina member who has drawn much media attention over recent months. More here.
Reshaping U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan
Where the U.S. strategy is going, and the latest debate on surgical strikes against terrorist suspects. Read more
Honduras Crackdown Drawing International Condmenation
The international community sounds alarms over the Honduran crackdown on freedoms. Read more
Keeping the Goldstone Report Alive
Palestinian authorities had a change of heart, calling it a “mistake” to have deferred Goldstone action.
From the Jerusalem Post:
A member of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s inner circle said Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership had erred by suspending action on the Goldstone Report, which alleged that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last winter.
Last week, Abbas apparently gave in to US pressure and agreed to suspend the push for war crimes tribunals. Abbas aides defended the decision by saying they were only delaying, not dropping action.
However, on Wednesday, senior Abbas adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo said that “we have the courage to admit there was a mistake.” [...]
More here.
HRC Concludes 12th Session
The Human Rights Council today concluded its twelfth regular session, adopting texts on a wide range of issues, including on discrimination against women, adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, human rights and unilateral coercive measures, the right to development, freedom of opinion and expression, protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, human rights and international solidarity, the situation of human rights in Honduras since the coup d’état of 28 June 2009, and on Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Myanmar.
More here at UNHCHR.
UN Defers Decision on Probe into Gaza Conflict
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferre
The UN Human Rights Council decided today to defer action on a draft resolution on the “Goldstone report”. Read more
Backsliding on Human Rights
Richard Gowan, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and Franziska Brantner, a German member of the European Parliament, discuss worrying trends at the U.N. for Western positions on human rights. Read more
