The UN committee responsible for social, humanitarian and cultural affairs adopted a draft resolution on a peoples' right to self-determination on Tuesday.

The draft resolution, entitled 'Universal Realisation of the Right of Peoples to self-determination' was written by Pakistan and co-sponsered by over 50 countries including China.

The resolution states,

"the universal realisation of the right of all peoples, including those under colonial, foreign and alien domination, to self-determination is a fundamental condition for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights and for the preservation and promotion of such rights."

It also calls upon states" to cease immediately their military intervention in and occupation of foreign countries and territories and all acts of repression, discrimination, exploitation and maltreatment, in particular the brutal and inhuman methods reportedly employed for the execution of those acts against the peoples concerned."

The committee, known as the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, focuses on a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues.

US soldier was convicted of three counts of murder, of conspiring to commit murder and other crimes, including assaulting a fellow soldier and taking fingers and a tooth from the dead, on Friday.

Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, sentenced to life in prison for his crimes, was the leader of the US army unit responsible for the killing of three Afghan civilians last year.

In all five soldiers have been charged with killing civilians. Some soldiers took pictures posing with the dead and took body parts as trophies.

Witnesses stated that Gibbs had orchestrated scenarios after the murders to give the impression of legitimate combat, by detonating grenades or planting weapons by the civilians.

See our earlier post: Leader of US ‘Kill Team’ begins trial (Oct 2011)

The United Nations has confirmed reports that Sudan has bombed a refugee camp in South Sudan after a flare up of tensions between the two nations, leaving twelve dead and more than 20 wounded.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for an “independent, thorough and credible investigation” and said,

“If indeed it is established that an international crime or serious human rights violation has been committed, then those responsible should be brought to justice.”

The bombings were denied by Sudan, who labelled them as “fabrications”.

This was strongly contested by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice who said that the denials were “outrageous” and Sudan had "blatantly lied". She went on to say,

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the aerial bombardment of targets by the north in South Sudan — including the most outrageous, which was the bombing of Yida refugee camp, housing 20,000 people, repeatedly by air over the course of several hours.”

The United States also pressed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a statement condemning Sudan’s government for the attack and claimed they had bombed at least two other targets in recent days.

Violence on the border between the two nations have increased since South Sudan declared independence in July.

A former Kosovo Liberation Army commander turned Member of Parliament, Fatmir Limaj, has pleaded not guilty to charges allegedly torturing and executing Serb prisoners during the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

See report by the Associated Press here.

Limaj is also the deputy president of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo and his case marks the first time a high-ranking KLA commander is being tried for war crimes before the local judiciary, chaired by British judge Jonathan Welford-Carroll.

He stands accused of running a detention centre on Klecka, where Serb prisoners of war were kept and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years if found guilty.

He was originally tried before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

There has been opposition to the trail from organisations such as the Veterans Association of the Kosovo Liberation Army who have accused the EU mission of "conducting a witch hunt" against the former rebels and trying to place them on par with the Serbian regime.

Nine other former KLA members also face trial alongside Limaj, all of whom pleaded not guilty.

See our earlier post: Senior Kosovo politician detained on suspicion of war crimes (Sep 2011)

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the Arab League to endorse the UN Security Council motion to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court on allegations of crimes against humanity. 

In a report,'We Live as in War', released on Friday, the Human Rights Watch said,

"Human Rights Watch believes that the nature and scale of abuses committed by the Syrian security forces across the country indicate that crimes against humanity may have been committed.

"The similarities in the cases of apparent unlawful killings, including evidence of security forces shooting at protestors without warning in repeated instances, arbitrary detention, disappearances, and torture, indicate the existence of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population which has the backing of the state."

“The Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating their agreement has consequences, and that it now supports Security Council action to end the carnage.”

The report also highlighted the difficulty in obtaining accurate information given the Syrian regime's efforts to prevent the truth from being exposed,

"Obtaining accurate information about events in Syria is challenging as the authorities put enormous efforts into preventing the truth from getting out.

"This report is based on interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch staff with more than 114 residents of Homs as well as a review of 29 interviews videotaped by Syrian activists.

"The government has refused Human Rights Watch access to Syria, so we conducted interviews with residents who had escaped to neighboring countries and over the Internet with witnesses inside Syria.

Photograph BBC news

Children lay poppies in Trafalgar Square, London

Across the world, nations remembered their war dead on Friday 11th November, Armistice Day.
 
The date marks the anniversary of Germany signing the Armistice agreement on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. 
 
In the UK, the Remembrance Day ceremony was held at the Cenotaph. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said,

"We stand together to honour the incredible courage and sacrifice of generations of British servicemen and women who have given their lives to protect the freedoms that we enjoy today."

"We stop to say thank you. And to remember those who are no longer with us but whose sacrifice and valour will be honoured long after we are gone. 

Observing Veterans Day, President Obama hosted a veterans breakfast at the White House, before laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Speaking at Arlington cemetry, Obama said,

“On behalf of a proud and grateful nation, we thank you.”

Urging Americans to recruit veterans, Obama stated, “They’ve earned their place among the greatest of generations.”

In Afghanistan, Philip Hammond, the new British defence secretary, laid a wreath during a service at Camp Bastion.

Hammond said,

"I regard it as critically important that we're here to show how important it is to us the sacrifice that is continuing to be made. 

"[Afghanistan] is now the only place in the world where British troops are in active daily danger and lives are being lost and I think it is a way of showing the value that we at home place on the sacrifice and the dedication and the commitment that people there are showing."

Although originally intended to exclusively remember those who had died during the World War I, the day, referred to as Remembrance Day within the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the US, is increasingly commemorated in memory of all soldiers who have died in conflicts since. Most recently, France has announced its decision to follow suit.

See Remembering for the future (Nov 2009)

The Russian foreign ministry has ruled out plans by the US, Britain and France to impose new sanctions on Iran following the release of a UN report that claims Iran may be trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Russian deputy foreign minister, Gennadi Gatilov, told Interfax news agency

“The world community will see all additional sanctions against Iran as an instrument of regime change in Tehran,”

“This approach is unacceptable to us, and the Russian side does not intend to consider such a proposal.”

In a statement the Russian foreign ministry called the report “a compilation of well-known facts that have intentionally been given a politicized intonation.”

The statement claims the report’s authors “resort to assumptions and suspicions, and juggle information with the purpose of creating the impression that the Iranian nuclear program has a military component.”

Russia’s dismissal of the report was “stronger than I would have expected,” said Cliff Kupchan, a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm, according to the New York Times.

“Russia has sought to stay in reasonable step with the U.S., and its reaction today sharply rebuts U.S. policy,”

“The Russian view is that this report revealed details, did not draw conclusions, alienated the sides from diplomacy and is not constructive.”

China on the other hand has been comparatively quiet, saying on Wednesday it is still studying the report and appealed to all sides to “facilitate dialogue and cooperation”.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of endangering world peace.

"The significance of the report is that the international community must bring about the cessation of Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons which endanger the peace of the world and of the Middle East”

"The IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] report corroborates the position of the international community and of Israel that Iran is developing nuclear weapons," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.

Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have expressed outrage at Commander Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, who is wanted by the Congolese government for his involvement in the 2010 mass rape commited in the Walikale area of eastern Congo, standing to represent the very same district in Parliament.

Between July to August 2010, Sheka, the leader of the Congolese rebel group Mai-Mai Sheka, led his troops through  13 villages in Walikale, raping hundreds of villagers, including children and elderly women. Over 116 people were reportedly abducted.

In a press statement, Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch, said,

“Congolese authorities should be arresting Sheka for mass rape whether he is running for office or not,”

“The failure to arrest someone who is out publicly campaigning for votes sends a message that even the most egregious crimes will go unpunished.”

According to Congolese law, Commander Sheka would be immune from prosecution if elected. However, Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, the most senior United Nations official in North Kivu Province said, “does not mean that he is not going to face justice at one point."

Elections are due to take place later this month amidst widespread violence and voter intimidation.

Following the release of a damning report on election violence, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said on Wednesday,

“The kind of intimidation, threats, incitement, arbitrary arrests and violence that we have documented is unacceptable,”

 

"We see the verdict as an amnesty,"

“To date, there have been just 30 convictions in response to an estimated 50,000 rapes during the years of war.

While it is a positive step that the War Crimes Court in Sarajevo has reached this verdict, the pace of justice for sexual violence survivors has been painfully slow.”

“Ultimately, their actions contribute to strengthening the rule of law in Bosnia as a whole. It is crucial that these and other witnesses are afforded full legal protection, and I trust that the relevant authorities will take all possible measures to ensure their safety.

“This case is yet another testament to the resilience of Bosnian women who have joined forces in their quest for justice, both within and beyond the courtroom.”

"We will investigate and reconstruct the movement of all war crimes suspects and see who helped them. More or less, Mladic's movements until February 2006 are known ... then, he disappeared.

"Now, we are reconstructing his movements from that period till his capture."

31 Hindus have been jailed for life for the killing of 33 Muslims during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

A mob burned down a house where a group of Muslims were sheltering from violence during riots that engulfed the Indian state of Gujarat.

41 others were acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence.

The riots started after a fire on a train that killed 60 Hindu pilgrims, was thought to have been an attack by Muslims. In the ensuing violence more than 2000 Muslims are thought to have died across northern India, with most deaths occurring in Gujarat.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi is alleged to have been aiding the Hindu mobs by calling off the police. A Gujarati police officer has accused Modi of instructing officials and police at a meeting to ‘go easy’ on the rioters and let them have their way.

An inquiry into complicity by state officials is yet to be made.

In 2005 a federal government inquiry concluded the fire was an accident, most probably caused by cooking in one of the carriages.

A former Somali colonel living in Ohio is to be prosecuted for torturing a human rights activist in 1988.

Abdi Aden Magan sought to have the case dismissed by a federal court by arguing it was filed in the wrong country and too long after the alleged abuse occurred.

Plaintiff Abukar Hassan Ahmed filed a case against Magain in 2010, alleging the colonel was responsible for his detention and torture.

US District Court Judge George Smith ruled Ahmed could sue Magan in the United States, relying in part on a motion passed by the US Department of State, saying Magan should not be able to claim immunity from the allegations.

 “I think that the case is a very strong one against these individuals because of the size and scope of the crimes that were committed.

There is documentary evidence that links them with the crimes on the ground, including publications of the Khmer Rouge, and including other documentary evidence.”

“witnesses, documents, audio, images, and historians that have researched the case.”

“I think it’s enough to go beyond reasonable doubt.”