<p>Britain has urged Israel to cease the expansion of settlements on the West Bank, stating that it was opposed to international law and “counterproductive”.</p> <p>This statement from the Foreign Office follows the defence of Israeli settlements by the United States on Monday.</p> <p>In their statement the Home Office stated;</p> <blockquote><p> “The position of the UK on settlements is clear […] They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the viability of a two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt its counterproductive settlement expansion.” </p></blockquote> <p>Read Reuter’s reporting <a href="http://Britain speaks against illegal Israeli settlements">here</a>.</p>

<p>Leaked documents have revealed British commanders, as well as the British government, have attempted to conceal evidence that British soldiers were engaged in the murder of children and torture of civilians whilst in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p> <p>This information has been uncovered through a year-long investigation by The Sunday Times and the BBC Panorama programme. According to their reporting, there was evidence of “murders by an SAS soldier and deaths in custody, beatings, torture and degrading sexual abuse of detainees by members of the Black Watch”. There was further evidence of falsifying documents which could lead to the prosecution of senior officers.</p> <p>According to The Times, this was evidenced through two war crimes inquiries but both were ended in 2017 by the defence secretary at the time, Sir Michael Fallon, before reaching trial.</p> <p>According to investigators, this was due to political motivations. One reporter stated that;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> “Key decisions were being taken out of our hands […] There was more and more pressure coming from the Ministry of Defence to get cases closed as quickly as possible.” </p></blockquote> <p>Lord Macdonald, a former director of public prosecutions, has described the actions of these politicians as “absolutely reprehensible”.</p> <p>The Times further reports that under international law British forces could be called in front of the International Criminal Court to answer for their breaches of the Geneva conventions.</p> <p>Freedom from Torture, a UK charity set up to support survivors of torture seeking protection, have condemned the British government for allegedly attempting to hide its use of torture abroad.</p> <p>In her statement, Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive of Freedom from Torture, criticised the government both for the cover-up as well as pushing forward a bill that would block prosecutions for war crimes committed over ten years ago.</p> <p>In her statement she maintained</p> <blockquote><p> “Survivors and the families of anyone who died deserve justice, and the British people deserve the truth”. </p></blockquote> <p>She further called on the British government to take a more active role in championing human rights and not turning a blind eye to abuse.</p> <p>Sceats concludes stating;</p> <blockquote><p> "Soldiers, like everyone else, must be held accountable for their actions. No one is above the law". </p></blockquote> <p>Read The Times reporting <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/army-covered-up-torture-and-child-mu…">here.</a></p> <p>Read Freedom from Torture’s full statement <a href="https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/news/freedom-from-torture-responds-t…">here.</a></p>

^{Photograph: @BehrouzBoochani}

Behrouz Boochani, the Kurdish journalist who gained prominence for his correspondence from Manus Island, the Papua New Guinea immigration detention centre where he was incarcerated by Australia, has been released after six years, upon being granted asylum by New Zealand.

Earlier this year Boochani won one of Australia’s most prestigious literary awards for his book No Friend But the Mountains which was composed one text message a time from Manus Island.

 

A Sri Lankan guy is close to deportation. They took him into custody 2 days ago & to POM yesterday. So barbaric after four years suffering.

— Behrouz Boochani (@BehrouzBoochani) August 29, 2017

 

Boochani was a regular correspondent to international media, reporting the horrors he witnessed in detention, including the murder of fellow detainees, and drawing attention to Australia’s draconian asylum policies.

Among those Boochani reported about were Tamil asylum seekers who faced deportation to Sri Lanka. In October 2017 a Tamil refugee was found dead on the island which authorities reported as a suicide.

Shares in the British security firm G4S have been blacklisted by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund over concerns about the firm’s human rights violations against its workforce in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Norway’s Council of Ethics, which monitors investments in the country’s £860bn Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), said there was an “unacceptable risk of the company contributing to systematic human rights violations”. Up to 30,000 staff, mostly working in security and construction, could be affected.

G4S has come under fire in the UK for alleged abuses at an immigration detention centre it ran, over which a public inquiry was launched this month.

Witnesses may be compelled to give evidence on claims that inmates were assaulted, humiliated and verbally abused by officers.

See more here and here.

<p>Hamas has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israel for committing a war crime in an airstrike that killed eight people.&nbsp;</p> <p>On Wednesday, a family of eight were killed in an Israeli airstrike which were aimed at ‘terror targets’. Israel has denied knowledge of any civilian presence.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ghazi Hamad, Hamas spokesperson said, “ the Israeli occupation forces attacked they house with previous knowledge that civilians are living there, even Israel did not alert them before attacking, so they could leave the house, in which caused the killing of innocent children and women.”</p> <p>The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said that they were going to investigate the attack as they are not able to confirm that their target, Islamic Jihad commander, was inside the house.&nbsp;</p> <p>The family of eight are among 34 Palestinians killed by Israeli air raids over the Gaza Strip during the cross border fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad.</p>

 

Catalonia’s parliament has passed a non-binding motion expressing the will to exercise self-determination despite previously warning from Spain’s Constitutional Court.

Spain’s Constitutional Court had warned that there will be legal consequences if the motion passes. 

This follows the imprisonment of several pro-independence Catalan leaders who staged a referendum in October 2017 on Catalan independence, which the Spanish court’s deemed to be illegal. They were sentenced to 15 years under charges of sedition. 

Read more here: Catalan separatist leaders get up to 15 years in jail

This announcement was met with fierce opposition from Catalonians who protested against the judgement.

Read more here: Catalan separatists protests block major Spain-France road

A spokesman from Catalan’s parliament has said that whilst this motion has no legal effect, it does call for political action. 

The motion expresses Catalan’s parliament “will to exercise in a concrete way the right of self-determination and to respect the will of the Catalan people”.

Read Reuters’ reporting here.

 

The United States has called for a de-escalation of violence in Hong Kong following a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

During the protests, a Hong Kong shot and critically wounded a protester and another man was set on fire. Carrie Lam, leader of Hong Kong, responded to this by denouncing protesters as “enemies of the people”. 

Morgan Ortagus, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, insisted that Being needed to respect its commitments to Hong Kong, that the region should ‘enjoy a high degree of autonomy’ and that the people of Hong Kong will enjoy human rights the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly”.

The US condemned the “unjustified use of deadly force” however insisted that “police and civilians alike have a responsibility to de-escalate and avoid violent confrontations”.

In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to China with a mandate of “ one country, two systems,” which permitted Hong Kong wide-ranging freedoms not available on the mainland.

Ortagus further stated the need of the Hong Kong government to “build on its dialogue” and the urgent need address “ underlying concerns driving the protests”.

 

Read Reuters here.

A lawsuit accusing Myanmar of genocide for its treatment of the Rohingya people has been filed at the International Court of Justice.

The case was filed at the highest UN court by Gambia on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

“It is clear that Myanmar has no intention of ending these genocidal acts and continues to pursue the destruction of the group within its territory,” the lawsuit said, adding that the government “is deliberately destroying evidence of its wrongdoings to cover up the crimes.’’

Read more on the New York Times.

<p>Hundreds of pro-independence Catalonian protesters gathered on the AP-7 highway, a major traffic link between Spain and France, which could cost the Spanish economy 15 million euros on a daily basis, reports the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport, spokesperson, Dulse Diaz, approximately said 20,000 trucks cross the border at La Jonquera every day in both directions. Following this protest, they have been diverted into smaller roads whilst protesters set up concrete barriers as well as stages for concerts.</p> <p>This protest follows Spain’s recent parliamentary elections and civil unrest caused by the imprisonment of Catalonian separatist leaders who staged an illegal independence referendum in 2017. In the recent elections, the Spanish socialist party was able to claim victory but there was a significant surge in the far-right with the far-right party Vox, becoming the third-largest party in parliament. Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, criticised the protest calling the road blockage “unacceptable”.</p> <p>During this protest, there was a heavy presence of Catalan regional police as well as French local police.</p> <p>Read Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-catalonia/catalan-ind…">here</a>.</p>

<p>Former Congolese rebel leader, Bosco Ntaganda, will appeal the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) 30-year sentence, issued on Thursday, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.</p> <p>Ntaganda was leading figure for the Union of Congolese Patriots and its militia, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) during the conflict in the early 2000s. Specifically, his charges related to his conduct from 2002-2003, in the mineral-rich region of Ituri. Ntaganda is subject to 18 charges includes crimes of sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers. He is also charged with ordering his soldiers to massacre civilians. He has been nicknamed the “Terminator”.</p> <p>His legal defence has maintained that the court’s ruling “contains many errors of law and fact”, insisting that they will appeal this decision. His defence has also insisted that he has been unfairly represented by the “the trial judgement and sentencing judgement”. He maintains that the nickname “Terminator” does not describe him.</p> <p>Al Jazeera notes that Ntaganda is one of the five Congolese figures brought before the court and was the fourth sentenced. Thomas Lubanga, his former commander, was given a jail sentence of 14 years in 2012.&nbsp;</p> <p>This trial follows a setback for the ICC with Ivory Coast former leader Laurent Gbagbo being released free of charge earlier this year due to lack of evidence.</p> <p>Read Al Jazeera’s piece <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/congolese-rebel-chief-bosco-ntag…">here.</a></p>

<p>Amnesty International has denounced the imprisonment of journalists in Turkey under charges of “assisting a terrorist organisation”.</p> <p>Nazli Ilicak and Ahmet Altan were sentenced to 10 and a half years and 8 years and 9 months respectively after having spent three years detained pre-trial. Their legal representatives are currently having their cases retried following the decision against them by the Supreme Court of Appeals in July 2019.</p> <p>Amnesty has condemned what they describe as a “politically motivated prosecution”.</p> <p>Sara Hall, Deputy Regional Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International, has said on the matter&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> “This is a yet another dark day for freedom of expression and for justice in Turkey which increases the country’s suffocating climate of fear”. </p></blockquote> <p>She further stated;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> “What should have been an opportunity to undo a wrong and dismiss this politically motivated prosecution, has only exposed the broken nature of Turkey’s justice system. More than a year after lifting the state of emergency and despite the promise of ‘reform’, Turkey’s judiciary remains in a downward spiral.” </p></blockquote> <p>Amnesty notes that Mehmet Altan, an academic and journalist, who was held for similar reasons was acquitted, three other defendants have received lengthy sentences. Fevzi Yazici, Yakup Simsek and Sükrü Tugrul Özsengül have been ordered by the courts to continue their detention for allegedly being “membership in a terrorist organisation”.</p> <p>Read Amnesty International's full statement&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/11/turkey-a-dark-day-for-pr…">here</a>.</p>

<p>Chile has been forced to withdraw from hosting two international summits as the government is rocked by mass uprisings and mounting allegations of human rights violations.</p> <p>With at least 18 people dead and 7000 arrested and allegations of police torture, Chile’s president Sebastian Piñera, who is facing legal action by civil society groups who accuse him of crimes against humanity, announced that he had taken the “painful” decision to cancel two high profile summits due to take place in the capital Santiago.</p> <p>The first of the two summits, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting was set to take place November 16 and 17 and would have brought 20 world leaders to Santiago, including the presidents of the United States and China who had been expected to take steps toward ending a trade war at the meeting.</p> <p>The UN’s Climate Change Conference or COP25 was also due to take place in the city from December 2 to 13. The conference will now take place in Madrid, Spain.</p>

<p>The Dutch government has admitted that a bomb dropped by a Dutch -16 fighter killed 70 civilians in an airstrike in Northern Iraq.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a letter to parliament, the Dutch Defense Ministry&nbsp; wrote that an airstrike targeting an alleged Islamic State (IS) bomb factory in northern Iraq&nbsp;killed about 70 people, including IS fighters and civilians.&nbsp;</p> <p>On June 2 2015, a bomb&nbsp;dropped by a Dutch F-16 fighter hit the bomb factory in Hawija,&nbsp;near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq,&nbsp;on the night of June 2, 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>Defense Minister, Anna Bijleveld-Schouten, wrote that "intelligence available to the Netherlands did not anticipate civilian&nbsp;deaths because there were no civilians living in the area near the target."</p> <p>The Defense Ministry said that Dutch F-16s flew about 2,100 raids over Iraq as part of the anti-IS coalition between October 2014 and 2018.</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/netherlands-admits-killing-up-to-70-civilians-in-…">here</a> and <a href="http://IS conflict: Dutch air strike killed about 70 people in Iraq in 2015 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50286829">here</a>.&nbsp;</p>

Speaking at a campaign launch, Adam Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru, has said in the run-up to the UK general election, Dec 12, that Wales may forge its own independence from the United Kingdom and remain a member of the European Union.

When Plaid Cymru was initially formed in 2017, a call for independence was very much in the backdrop with the primary focus being on defeating the dominant Conservative and Labour parties. Since then, however, a greater focus has been on independence with the current instability in British politics. Price also drew inspiration from the Scottish National party, stating that they had lessons to learn from the SNP. SNP leader and first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has called for a second Scottish referendum.

Read more here: “It is time for Scotland to be an independent country” – Nicola Sturgeon

Price took aim at the “toxic” political culture in Britain and the staunch divisions in Westminster.

During his speech he joked;

“In calling the third election in just four years, the Westminster parties certainly have given the people the worst Christmas present ever”.

Price insisted, however, that his campaign would not be focused on the negatives but rather Wales’ potential. The campaign slogan for Plaid is “Wales, it’s us”.

During his speech he explained;

“It’s us, the people of Wales, that hold the key to the nation’s future … an independent Wales".

He further stated; 

“Now is the time to focus on the future, not the past. I believe like never before the best days for Wales are ahead of us, and 12 December [election day] can be a day on which we declare a new Welsh spirit of independence and optimism and hope by refusing to put our faith in the Westminster parties and instead voting for a future that we ourselves will shape".

There has been fierce political opposition to calls for independence with Britain’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson recently stating that he would not permit Scotland a second independence referendum. He claimed that the 2014 referendum was a  "once-in-a-generation" vote and settled the matter.

Nicola Sturgeon has challenged Johnson stating she would request a "section 30 order" - which would permit a Scottish referendum within 12 days of the general election. Opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn has stated would grant a section 30 order if he were to become the Prime Minister.

Read the Guardian here and BBC here.