Uganda has outlined its intentions of withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from conflict hotspots, following UN allegations that suggested it was supporting the Congolese rebels.

The security minister, Wilson Mukasa, described the decision as “irreversible” and said another cabinet minister was travelling to New York to explain Uganda’s position.

Describing Uganda’s intentions, Mukasa stated,

“What we’ve said and what we’re proposing to the UN.. is that we are going to withdraw from our engagements in Somalia, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo to concentrate on our own security here in Uganda.”

A recently leaked confidential UN report revealed that the panel of experts had accused Uganda of supporting the M23 Congolese rebel group.

The leader of the rebel group stands indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

The report outlined that Uganda’s subtle support allowed the Congolese rebel group’s political branch to fully function in Uganda.

An US diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Cambell, stressed that the US would not shy away from raising concerns over the human rights situation in Cambodia at the upcoming summit East Asian Leaders. Campbell, stated that the U.S was concerned about the actions Cambodia regime had taken against opposition groups, civic organisations, and individuals.

The statement of concerns comes after exiled Cambodian opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, recently wrote in The New York Times urging President Obama to boycott the conference to avoid providing international legitimacy to the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia unchallenged since a coup in 1997.

Human Rights Groups have consistently accused the US of failing to provide adequate international pressure on Cambodia to respect human rights.

Serbia must acknowledge Kosovo’s borders will not change and are not debatable, said the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, as the United States and European Union urge the two countries to cooperate on trade and security.

Speaking after a meeting with Kosovo's president, Clinton said:

"[The United States] will oppose any discussion of territorial changes or reopening Kosovo’s independent status. These matters are not up for discussion,"

“The boundaries of an independent, sovereign Kosovo are clear and set.”

About six percent of Kosovo’s population consist of Serbs who predominately live in the northern region, and continue to have friction with the majority Albanian authorities. Clinton called on the Albanian government to extend the rule of law throughout Kosovo as Albanian authorities lack the influence in the northern region. 

The Swiss government has agreed to implement 50 of the 86 recommendations made by other member states at the UN Human Rights Council, during the country's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) this week.

The Swiss government indicated that a response to the remaining 30 recommendations would be provided at the next session of the council, due to take place in March next year. Four recommendations were rejected.

Commenting on the Swiss government's initial response to the recommendations, Amnesty International Switzerland said,

“We are satisfied with the fact that a certain number of the proposals are still up for discussion, even if some of them will be rejected, because the authorities and civil society will have their say.”

Swiss non-governmental organisations welcomed Switzerland’s positive response to the periodic review, and acknowledged the constructive steps taken by the government in associating civil society with the process of improving human rights.

UN human rights experts have said that Turkey is using a vague counterterrorism law to prosecute activists, lawyers and journalists.

The UN Human Rights Committee reviewing Turkey’s human rights record said that some provisions within its Anti-Terrorism Law are incompatible with international law and that there have been severe restraints on the right to due process since the law’s passing in 1991.

Thousands, including activists, lawyers, politicians, military officers and almost 100 journalists, have been imprisoned, most often under accusations of plotting against the government or supporting outlawed Kurdish militant groups.

The committee’s vice-chairman, Michael O’Flaherty, told a news briefing:

"We're worried about the vagueness of the definition of the terrorist act in the 1991 law and the very far-reaching, unacceptable restrictions on the right of due process for accused people and the high number of cases in which human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and even children are charged under the anti-terrorism law,"

"Not for terrorism, but for the free expression of their opinions and ideas, in particular in the context of non-violent discussion of the Kurdish issue."

See full Reuters report here.

An alleged spokesperson for the Nigerian radical Islamist group Boko Haram has said that the group is willing to enter into peace talks, on the premise that they are held in Saudi Arabia and headed by Muhamed Buhari, a Muslim colonel who ruled Nigeria for 20 months after seizing power in 1984.

The spokesperson, Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, claiming to be representing Boko Haram’s leader said:

"We are not actually challenging the state, as people are saying, but the security [forces] who are killing our members, children and wives. If this government is sincere, [attacks] will come to an end.”

A senior security source claimed that the demands were being treated as politically genuine, saying:

"The fact of asking Buhari to be involved is telling. Like the average northerner, the bulk of Boko Haram members believe Buhari is a stalwart Muslim who will not be swayed into betrayal by politics.”

Read the full report on the Guardian here.

Gujurat's chief minister Narendra Modi, who was previously shunned by the West following the 2002 Godhra riots, is now free to apply for a US visa.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, said that Modi the US has "very good" relations with the state of Gujurat, and that it was a "very, very important" market for American companies.

Blake went on to say,

“... And in terms of Mr. Modi, I do not want to speculate… He is free to apply for another visa whenever he chooses and the system will take its course,”

Blake's words come shortly after the British High Commissioner to India, James Bevan, met Modi earlier this month.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has warned the Syrian opposition of attempts by radical groups to “hijack” the Syrian revolution.

The opposition Syrian National Council is based in Turkey and has no control over the escalating violence.

Clinton criticised the make-up of the SNC, saying that the leadership should be more representative of those resisting on the ground.

"There has to be a representation of those who are in the front lines fighting and dying," she told reporters.

"This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but who, in many instances, have not been inside Syria for 20, 30, 40 years."

She said that the rebels should "strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution".

Syria’s fractured opposition is meeting in Doha next week and Clinton said Washington would like to assist the opposition to come up with an efficient strategy to unify and work towards a political transition.

Dozens of British protesters condemned alleged torture in Indonesia as the Indonesian President, Susilo Banbang Youdhoyono, received a royal welcome upon his first visit to Britain in over 30 years. The president will address parliament and open a new ‘Indonesia-UK Business forum’ during his 3 day visit.

Activists accused Britain of prioritising their commercial interests ahead of human rights issues that were affecting the Indonesian minorities. The protests were staged by several activists from Amnesty International and other non-governmental Indonesian organisations.

Speaking to Reuters, one protester said,

“The West Papuans are being held, tortured and killed and all England and the whole European Union do is back him (yudhoyono) up – they are only in it for the money,”

Indonesia’s government and military have been criticised for human rights abuses since they took power in 1969 amidst a controversial voting process.

Though Indonesia has one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is perceived as a democratic country, observers have noted that a tight military reign is held on the area of Papua, which incidentally exhibits one of the largest gold reserves.

The former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, Momčilo Perišić, is appealing against a 27-year prison sentence, after being found guilty of war crimes in September last year.

Perišić’s appeal is due to start on Wednesday, with the former General arguing that he was not aware of or responsible for any atrocities.

In his trial last year, Bakone Justice Moloto, the president judge ruled that,

“Momcilo Perisic was found criminally responsible for aiding and abetting murder, inhumane acts, attacks on civilians and persecution on political, racial or religious grounds in Sarajevo and Srebrenica.”

Over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in Srebrenica, and the town of Sarajevo was subjected to a 44-month seige between 1992 and 1995, leaving thousands dead.

See our earlier post: Yugoslav Army General convicted of war crimes (06 September 2011)

The Bahraini government has banned all protests and public gatherings as violence between anti-government protesters and police intensifies.

The interior minister, Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifah, said protests would only be permitted once secuirty and stability were returned, and "repeated abuse" of the rights of freedom of speech and expression (ie. the protests), could not be tolerated.

Claiming that the protests were "devoid of respect and intended to humiliate", Al Khalifah said the protests "jeopardised civil peace and disturbed security and general order".

He added,

"The interior ministry has strived to tackle those violations through co-ordination with the organisers in many occasions, but they failed to control those events despite their promises"

[An] "illegal rally or gathering would be tackled through legal actions against those calling for and participating in it".

The Vietnamese government has jailed two song writers for criticising government policy in their songs.

Tran Vu Anh Binh and Vo Minh Tri were jailed for six and four years respectively by a court in Ho Chi Minh City.

Their songs criticised China over the South China Sea dispute and Vietnam’s handling of the crisis.

Amnesty International called for the release of the musicians in a statement released on Monday.

Amnesty’s Vietnam researcher, Rupert Abbott, said the men were “prisoners of conscience”.

"This is a ludicrous way to treat people just for writing songs,

''These men are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression through their songs and non-violent activities, and should be freed,

''There is a very disturbing trend of repression against those who peacefully voice opinions the Vietnamese authorities do not like."

Tensions between the Greek media and government escalated following the interruption of state television , ERT, broadcasts by a journalists’ union announcement.

A morning chat show was interrupted by an announcement condemning the recent suspension of two presenters who were seen as critical of the government.

The union called for the reinstatement of the presenters, warning,

“Employees will proceed with continuous 24-hour strikes and other actions to preserve the prestige of ERT… which the management is undermining.”

The earlier prosecution of a critiquing magazine editor, Kostas Vacevanis, soured relations between the free media and the state.

The free press advocacy group, Article 19, described the Greek state actions as  “a direct attack on democracy which must not be tolerated.”

“It is not an appropriate response for a democratic European government to limit press freedom in order to protect political power.”

The Athens Bar Association noted that the government’s resolute pursuit of a journalist whilst failing to launch an investigation into tax evasion of senior officials gave the impression that, “the democratic institutions in Greece, or whatever remains of them, are applied now to protect the system in power.”

A commander within the Basque separatist organisation, Eta, was arrested by French police 70km north of Lyon this weekend.

Izaskun Lesaka, who is believed to be the military commander of Eta, was arrested along side her boyfriend, Joseba Iturbe Otxoteka.

The operation was a joint venture by RAID, an elite French police unit, and the Spanish Civil Guard.

Just over a year ago, Eta declared a "definitive" ceasefire, however refused to surrender arms, or formally dissolve. Twenty-four members of Eta have been arrested by Spanish and French forces this year.