The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a worldwide press freedom group, called on the Egyptian military to end the violence against journalists and the censoring of media outlets.  

See CPJ statement -'In Egypt, press freedom abuses must be investigated' (19/12/11)

CPJ's Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, Mohamed Abdel Dayem, said,

"Military authorities must stop using violence as a form of censoring the press who are exposing their violent suppression of protests in the streets of Cairo,"

"The Egyptian government must ensure that additional attacks on the media are prevented and must also guarantee that the attacks that have already occurred are thoroughly investigated."

See other reports by CPJ:

'Sri Lanka's savage smokescreen' - CPJ (17/11/11)

CPJ: Sri Lanka fourth 'Getting Away With Murder' (03/06/11)

Addressing the UN Secruity Council, chief ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, continued the court's call to end impunity in Sudan and bring those responsible for crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, to justice. 

Ocampo said,

“The execution of the arrest warrants will end the crimes in Darfur."

“The individuals sought by the court are still allegedly committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur."

“The world knows where the fugitives of the court are. They are in official positions, controlling the Government of the Sudan, commanding military operations in different parts of the Sudan.”

“The people of Darfur need the leadership of the Security Council.”

“The arrest warrants shall be implemented. The Security Council resolutions shall be implemented. Millions of civilians in Darfur shall be protected”

An arrest warrant was issued for the Sudanese president, Bashir, by the International Criminal court, in 2008 on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur.

The International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of the Sudanese defence minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussain, and is compiling evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by the Sudanese Defence Minister, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussain, along the border between South and North Sudan.

A former member of the Waffen SS has begun a life-sentence for the murder of three civilians during World War II.

Wheelchair bound Heinrich Boere, who is now 90 years old, was taken from his nursing home to the prison where he will serve his sentence.

An appeal on medical grounds was rejected, as a medical expert testified he was well enough to serve his sentence at a suitable facility.

Boere argued he had to shoot members of the Dutch resistance as he was ordered to do so by his commanding officers and risked being sent to a concentration camp himself if he didn’t comply.

"At no time in 1944 did I act with the feeling that I was committing a crime," he told the court during his trial, but added that 65 years later he saw things from a different perspective.

Related article:

Nazi hunters' final push (15 Dec 2011)

Russia has proposed a new UN resolution on Syria, condeming the violence used against civilians by “all parties, including disproportionate use of force by Syrian authorities”.

Although officials from the US and Europe described the current draft as too mild, they welcomed it, remaining hopeful that a sterner stance can be negotiated with Moscow.

US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said,

“Hopefully we can work with the Russians, who for the first time at least are recognising that this is a matter that needs to go to the Security Council”.

Michael Tatham, a British official at the UN,

“We are ready to work with that text. But let me be clear: we believe that we need a Security Council resolution that matches the gravity of the situation on the ground in Syria. And in our view the text circulated by Russia does not do this.”

Little over a fortnight after, along with China, Russia voted against a UN resolution condemning the Syrian regime's violence, whilst less than a week after the Russian foreign minister described the West's criticism of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad as "immoral". In September, China and Russia blocked an attempt to condemn the Syrian regime's violence at the UN Security Council.

Moscow's change of heart follows the UN High Commissioner, Navi Pillay's call to refer Syria to the ICC for the deaths of over 5000 civilians in what amounts to "crimes against humanity", as well as the release of damning eye-witness testimony by Human Rights Watch, that senior commanders ordered troops to kill civilians.

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, has asked the National Transitional Council of Libya what steps the government is taking to investigate war crimes committed by all sides during the rebellion.

He said: "The death of Muammar Gaddafi is one of the issues to be clarified - what happened - because there are serious suspicions that it was a war crime."

Mr Moerno-Ocampo said the plans of the NTC would determine the actions of the ICC.

If the NTC proves to be unwilling to act on war crimes committed by the rebels or is unable to provide free and fair trials for members of the Gaddafi regime, the ICC will be forced to step in under the Rome statute that established the war crimes tribunal.

The ICC is also coordinating closely with the NTC on the case of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said the Libyan authorities told him it was "very important" for them to prosecute Saif al-Islam themselves because he was "the face of the old regime" and "they would like to show they can do better than with Muammar" and conduct a proper trial.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has announced a new push to prosecute the last remaining individuals guilty of committing war crimes during the second world war.

The head of the Nazi-hunting organisation's Jerusalem office, Efraim Zuroff, told a press conference in Berlin, the Center would offer a reward of 25,000 euros for information leading to successful prosecution of former Nazi's still at large.

The intiative has been given a boost by the conviction of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian former camp guard.

Demjanjuk was convicted purely on the basis of his employment at a concentration camp where over 30,000 Jews were killed, without a proven involvement in individual killings.

"The Demjanjuk case should pave the way for the prosecution of many people who on a daily basis, for an extended period of time, were involved in mass murder," Zuroff said.

Time is running out for prosecutors as perpetrators are dying of old age.

But Zuroff stressed the time that has passed since the crimes should not be a limiting factor.

"We are hoping that this effort will inspire and encourage and motivate faster action.

"The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the killers.

"Old age should not afford protection to mass murders. Each of the victims deserves that an effort be made to find their murderers.

"This society must face up to its responsibility -- there must be no statute of limitations or line drawn under history," he said.

Defected Syrian soldiers identified 74 of their senior officers and commanders responsible for the killing of protesters said Human Rights Watch in a report released on Thursday.

The report, ‘By All Means Necessary!’: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria, has compiled evidence from over 60 interviews with defectors, where former soldiers state they were ordered to "shoot to kill" and curtail the protests "by all means necessary".

One former soldier said,

"Our orders were to make the demonstrators retreat by all possible means, including by shooting at them. It was a broad order that shooting was allowed. When officers were present, they would decide when and whom to shoot."

"If somebody carried a microphone or a sign, or if demonstrators refused to retreat, we would shoot. We were ordered to fire directly at protesters many times. We had Kalashnikovs and machine guns, and there were snipers on the roofs."

One of the report's authors and associate director for emergencies at Human Rights Watch, Anna Neistat said,

“Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer for their crimes against the Syrian people,”

Calling on the UN Security Council to ensure accountability by referring Syria to the ICC, Neisat added,

“Try as he may to distance himself from responsibility for his government’s relentless brutality, President Assad’s claim that he did not actually order the crackdown does not absolve him of criminal responsibility,”

“As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he must have known about the abuses – if not from his subordinates, then from UN reports and the reports Human Rights Watch sent him.”

Sudan president, Omar al-Bashir will face justice one day asserted Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, at a news conference following a briefing at the UN Security Council on Thursday.

Ocampo warned,

“International justice is here to stay. It will take time but the destiny is clear. He will face justice.”

Drawing parallels to the prosecution of war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, which took over 18 years but arrested all 161 accused, Ocampo warned that Bashir would eventually be arrested.

Commenting on the Security Council meeting, Ocampo stated that there was "full support for arrest warrants issued” and many delegates had asserted that “Sudan should cooperate with the court because it’s not about being a member of the ICC, but about complying with Security Council resolutions.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has symbolically raised the Palestinian flag above the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to the backdrop of the Palestinian national anthem, marking the first time the flag has flown above a UN agency.

Addressing the crowd at UNESCO, Abbas said,

"This is truly a historic moment. This admission is the first recognition of Palestine."

"It is moving to see our flag raised and for it to be flying in this beautiful city of Paris, among all the other states. This bodes well for Palestine becoming a member of other international institutions,"

See a video below from the Guardian of the flag raising ceremony and excerpts from Abbas’s and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova speeches.

The International Criminal Court referred Chad to the UN Security Council on Wednesday over its failure to arrest Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir for a second time.

The referral comes 2 days after Malawi suffered a similar fate.

A statement by the ICC read,

“Today, the pre-trial chamber of the ICC decided that the Republic of Chad failed to cooperate with the court by not arresting and surrendering Omar al-Bashir during his visit to Chad on 7 and 8 August 2011,”

“The chamber decided to refer the matter to both the United Nations Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, founding treaty of the ICC,”

The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Bashir in 2008, for charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. He is believed to be responsible for over 300,000 deaths since 2003.

The UN Security Council have previously been urged, by the ICC, to take action against Kenya and Djibouti too, for failing to arrest Bashir during state visits, however no action has been taken.

A former member of the Rwandan government during the genocide in 1994 has had his life sentence reduced to 35 years on appeal.

Former Chief-of-Staff to the Defence Ministry, Theoneste Bagosora, was seen as one of the main organisers of the Tutsi genocide.

He was sentenced to life by the UN-backed ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) in 2008.

His convictions for some of the charges, including ordering killings at roadblocks were quashed, however the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity were upheld.

Baosgara was in charge of the soldiers that committed massacres during the Rwandan war.

The appeals court found that he knew the crimes were going to be committed and did nothing to stop them, the AFP news agency reports.

800,000 Tutsi's were killed in just 100 days during attacks by Hutu militants backed by the Rwandan government.

Senior Pakistani officials have denied claims by a senior leader of the Pakistani Taliban that the government is engaged in talks with them.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik dismissed the claims as ‘unfounded’.

Mr Malik said no prisoners have been released and there will not be any talks with militant groups until they lay down arms and denounce violence.

In further indication of splits within Pakistan’s Taliban became apparent when several senior commanders denied that talks were ongoing.

Maulana Dadullah, a commander for the militants called journalists on Sunday to deny the claims made by deputy leader Maulvi Faqir Mohammad.

Dadullah said Mohammad may have spoken in his personal capacity but not as a representative of the Taliban.

The Taliban will not hold talks with the Pakistani government until Islamic law is implemented by the state, Daddullah added.

UN High Commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, once again urged the Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for the state's brutal clamp down of anti-government protest.

The UN estimates over 5000 people have been killed.

Highlighting the systematic and widespread attack on civilians, Pillay asserted that the state's actions "constituted crimes against humanity".

Addressing a closed session of the UN Security Council on Monday, Pillay said,

"I encouraged this Council (last August) to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. Four months later, the situation in Syria has deteriorated and gross violations have been committed with impunity. The need for international criminal accountability has acquired ever greater urgency,"

"It is based on the evidence and the widespread and systematic nature of the killings, the detentions and the acts of torture that I felt that these acts constituted crimes against humanity and I recommended that there should be a referral to the International Criminal Court,"

"Inaction by the international community will embolden Syrian authorities, and ensure perpetrators go unpunished."