A special session was held at the UN on the 27th January, Holocaust Remembrance Day, or International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Speaking at the event, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon said,

"Today, as we remember all those lost during the Holocaust, young and old alike, I call on all nations to protect the most vulnerable – regardless of race, color, gender or religious belief."

"Children are uniquely vulnerable to the worst of humankind. We must assure them the best this world has to offer."

Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also urged "learning from the past". In a statement, Pillay said,

"The Holocaust serves as a reminder of the perils of discrimination and intolerance, of just how powerful the incitement to racial hatred can be, and of the importance of intervening early to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again."

"In remembering the Holocaust and condemning the atrocities committed there, we renew every year our condemnation of all manifestations of intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against individuals and entire communities, wherever they occur."

Rights groups in Libya have claimed that torture of suspected Gaddafi loyalists by Libyan militias is widespread.

Medicins San Frontiers, a medical charity, has ceased all operations in the country after it was asked to treat torture victims, sometimes between instances of torture.

"Some officials have sought to exploit and obstruct MSF's medical work," says MSF General Director Christopher Stokes.

"Patients were brought to us for medical care between interrogation sessions, so that they would be fit for further interrogation. This is unacceptable. Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions."

"My staff have received alarming reports that this is happening in places of detention they have visited."

The UN has expressed concern over the claims, blaming the government for failing to bring militias under state control and to stop widespread abuses committed by those forces.

"The majority of detainees are accused of being Gaddafi loyalists and include a large number of sub-saharan, African nationals," said UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay.

"The lack of oversight by the central authority creates an environment conducive to torture and ill treatment.”

Calls for the secession of South Yemen have resurfaced and are on the increase as Yemen's political unrest continues.

Graffiti calling for secession, such as "Freedom for South. Aden Get Up", is cropping up across the south, along side prominent displays of the old flag of South Yemen.

The Yemeni security forces have attempted to crack down on such calls since the 1990 pact that unified the North and South.

A former general in South Yemen's army and leading members of the current secessionist movement, Nasser Al Tawil, said,

“We are becoming stronger and stronger because of the political situation,”

“Our point of view is becoming stronger and stronger.”

“We will not stop,”

“We are going to escalate our political activism in a greater way. We want our rights."

Southerners allege long-standing marginalisation, with decreased job opportunities, development, land grab, and an unequal distribution of the country's oil revenue.

Guatemala’s former dictator, Efrain Rios Montt, has been charged with genocide and crimes against humanity by Judge Carol Patricia Flores on Thursday.

Rios Montt ruled the country in 1982-83, after a military coup. A 36 -year civil war with leftist guerrillas, which ended in 1996, cost more than 200,000 lives, of which 93% were caused by state and paramilitary forces, according to a UN report.

The former dictator is accused of being involved in the deaths of over 1,700 and the displacement of 29,000 indigenous Guatemalans during his reign.

The forces under his command are accused of wiping out entire Mayan villages through murder, abductions and rape because they were perceived to be supportive of the leftist insurgency.

Human Rights groups welcomed the charges and hailed it as a historic day.

"The justice system is settling debts it had with indigenous people and society for grave human rights violations," said Eduardo de Leon of the Rigoberta Menchú foundation.

However the defence counsel accused the judge of violating due process and passing judgement without hearing testimony on the allegations.

"The judge's duty was to report the resolution. The fact is that she talked for an hour as if the case had already been prosecuted," said Danilo Rodriguez Galvez, the defence lawyer of Rios Montt.

The former military leader of the Guatemalan army, Efrain Rios Montt, has been summoned to appear before a Guatemalan court on Thursday as the first step towards facing genocide charges for his role during the massacres committed by the army in the Mayan highlands during 1982-1983.

General Rios Montt, now 85 and elected into Congress in 2000, was so far shielded from prosecution. However, that immunity ended earlier this month as his term in office expired.

An UN-backed commission deemed that over 200,000 people were killed or disappeared during the 36-year civil war.

General Rios Montt is the latest in a string of on-going prosecutions of war-time leaders.

See related articles:

Discovery of bodies raise possibility of further war crimes investigations - Guatemala (24 Nov 2011)

Former Guatemalan president wanted for genocide (15 Oct 2011)

Guatemalan war criminal to be extradited to US (05 Sep 2011)

Former Guatemala army chief charged with genocide (15 Jul 2011)

Genocide charges - thirty years on (18 Jun 2011) 

"I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence this person to life in prison and that he would appear and confess in front of the whole world that he committed this crime, so that America could show itself as democratic and fair."

"Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved ones. The truth is, I don't believe anyone in my squad ... behaved in any way that was dishonorable or contrary to the highest ideals that we all live by as Marines."

"Turkey is committed to taking all the necessary steps against this unjust disposition which reduces basic human values and public conscience to nothing."

"When I say total rupture I include things like I can leave definitively."

"You can also expect that now diplomatic relations will be at the level of charges d'affaires not ambassadors anymore."

"This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of human rights."

"Today's apprehension of Stankovic significant for the victims of the grave crimes he has been convicted for."

"I hope that this arrest reflects an increased commitment of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to support the process of bringing to justice those responsible for the grave crimes committed on their territory in the early 1990s."

"What would happen if a thousand, ten thousand or a hundred thousand gathered around Eiffel and said 'there is no genocide'? What would the French justice do? Would it be able to convict ten thousand or a hundred thousand people? I don't think so."

"This will create a lot of noise and difficulty in Turkey's overall relationships with France and other EU states that will complicate that effort."

No sooner had the Arab League annonced its decision to seek support from the UN Security Council to bring about a peaceful end to Assad's rule through a national unity government and elections held within 6 months, than the Assad regime declared it was rejecting it.

According to Syria's official news agency, SANA, the Assad regime has rejected the Arab League's proposals outright as a "conspiratorial scheme".

In a statement, broadcast on SANA, the regime said,

“Syria considers these decisions a violation of its national sovereignty, a blatant interference in its internal affairs and a flagrant violation of the objections for which the Arab League was established,”

“Syria condemns this decision, which came in the framework of the conspiratorial scheme hatched against Syria which have been exposed to our people and the Arab Homeland.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi foreign minister has threatened to withdraw its observers.

In a statement, Prince Saud el Faisal said,

“My country is going to withdraw its observers.”

“We are not going to accept being used as witnesses to crimes or to hide their crimes."

“We are calling on the international community to bear its responsibility and that includes our brothers in Islamic states and our friends in Russia, China, Europe and the United States.”

The European Union has imposed severe new sanctions on Iran due to its refusal to suspend its nuclear activities.

Sanctions include a ban on all new contracts to import Iranian oil to EU member states and the freezing of assets of Iran’s central bank in the EU.

In a joint statement, David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy supported the sanctions and called on Iran to abide by international obligations.

“[…] The Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.

"Iran has so far had no regard for its international obligations and is already exporting and threatening violence around its region.

“We call on Iran’s leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations. The door is open to Iran to engage in serious and meaningful negotiations about its nuclear programme.

"Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime’s ability to fund its nuclear programme, and to demonstrate the cost of a path that threatens the peace and security of us all.”

Iran responded to the increased pressure by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route for global oil supplies.

"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," said Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee.

The US responded to Tehran’s threat by pledging to keep the Strait open.

"The Strait of Hormuz needs to remain open and we need to maintain this as an international passageway," Ivo Dalder, US Ambassador to NATO told the BBC.

"We will do what needs to be done to ensure that is the case."

“Through this ceremony, Mali wishes to reaffirm its unfailing commitment to human rights and the ideals of international peace and justice on which the ICC was founded.”

“This is a modest, symbolic contribution from Mali to assist the Court in best serving its mandate, in particular in the fight against impunity for international crimes the world over.”

“The enforcement of sentences is a crucial element of a well-functioning justice system, and the ICC is grateful to every State Party that expresses its willingness to accept persons convicted by the Court.”

Anti-government protesters came out onto the streets of Sanaa to celebrate the departure of Yemen's ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, on Sunday.

According the Yemeni government's spokesperson, Muhammad Albasha, Saleh was travelling to New York for medical treatment, with a possible detour via Oman.

Amidst the calls to prosecute the former president for alleged violations of human rights, the US State Department was sure to stipulate the precise nature of Saleh's visit.

In a statement, the US State Department, said,

“the sole purpose of this travel is for medical treatment and we expect that he will stay for a limited time that corresponds to the duration of this treatment.”

In November, Saleh, signed an agreement relinquishing power to his vice president,  Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, with immediate effect.

The agreement, facilitated by Saudi Arabia and supported by the US, will signal the end of Saleh's 33 year rule of Yemen, following months of protests.

The agreement allowed Saleh many face-saving measures, including the retention of his title and certain privileges until new elections are held next month. It also granted him immunity from prosecution, however protesters have demanded that he faces justice.