• The UN and Interpol discussedtransnational organized crime in West Africa, including illicit drug trafficking and the proliferation of illegal arms, as well maritime piracy in Lyon, France on Monday.
• An anti-homosexuality bill is being once again resurrected by the Parliament in Uganda with…

• Tens of thousands of people took part in rallies across Europe on Saturday to protest against an international anti-piracy agreement they fear will curb their freedom to download movies and music for free and encourage internet surveillance.
• Pro-Europe politician Sauli…

• Human Rights Watch alleged that authorities in Iran are intimidating and arresting relatives and friends of Persian-language journalists working abroad on Friday; while American spy chiefs told Congress that they believed Iran’s leaders are now more willing to attack the US in…

• A Pentagon legal official refused to extend an important deadline to file motions for defense lawyers of the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners charged in the September 11^th attack on Friday. Dozens of riot police cleared the last remaining Occupy encampments in the…

• Officials in China clamed separatist plots to attack police and public buildings for clashes that recently led to Tibetan deaths on Wednesday; while residents of a small southern village held a symbolic election that…

• The West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) will be launching its new book, “Election Dispute Management Practice Guide for West Africa” on February 14^th, 2012 at the Grand Mensvic Hotel, in East Legon, Accra, Ghana at 9am. The keynote speech at the launch will be delivered by Sierra Leone’s Chair of the Electoral…

• The Council of Europe Commission for Human Rights warned this week of rising racism and xenophobia in Europe amid the current economic crisis, with austerity budgets undermining social rights and putting vulnerable groups at greater risk.  On Wednesday, British PM Cameron…

• The Guardian ran a special report on the mistreatment of Palestinian children locked in Israel’s military justice system; allegations that many vehemently denied. Last Wednesday, an Israeli military court ordered Hamas MP Aziz Dweik, the speaker of…

• The Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council adopted proposals to strengthen the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday. Included in the non-binding proposals were three recommendations that threaten the reach and independence of the Special Rapporteurship.
• Last Monday, security forces in Mexico…

• The African Union summit in Addis Ababa ended in deadlock after the group failed to chose a new chairman for the executive commission. A new election was then scheduled to be held in June or July, though they managed to elect President Boni Yayi of Benin as the new…

• On Saturday, the Sunni-backed bloc suspended its participation in Iraq’s Parliament after accusing PM al-Maliki’s Shi’ite led government of concentrating power. On Sunday, the last of the US combat troops in Iraq crossed the border into Kuwait after nearly nine years of war, and…

• The trial of Breanna (nee Bradley) Manning, the soldier allegedly responsible for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret state documents to WikiLeaks began this week in the United States. Manning is charged with 23 counts, including…

• Relatives of inmates on a hunger strike in Kyrgyzstanpicketed a pretrial detention centre on Wednesday to demand their relatives’ demands be met. The protesters are calling upon reviews for the inmates’ cases, who they claim have been sentenced for crimes they didn’t commit. On Tuesday, the Kyrgyz Parliament…

Hello, hope all is well!

This week’s conflict reports will be a little thinner than usual, as I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple days and haven’t been reading as extensively as normal. Please be sure to add anything I have missed in the comments below or send via email to apeaceofconflict@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Rebecca

• The New…

• Fatima Bensouda was formally elected as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Monday. Bensouda was the only candidate running for the election and will take over from Luis Moreno-Ocampo in June.
• The UNDP has released its 2011 Human Development Report. This report projects a…

• The EU is set to restrict the sale of the main active substances needed for lethal injections to the United States. By Friday, the export of sodium thiopental will only be possible with special permission.
• French President Sarkozy said that there are now clearly “two Europes”…

• The Atlantic published an article highlighting the 10 biggest Middle East Stories of 2011.
• American Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich again spoke out against Palestine this week,…

Hello all! Hope all is well!

I would like to appeal to readers to direct me to any English news sites from Latin America to help make this section better. If you know of any good news sites, blogs or organizations that profile human rights, conflict or peace issues from South or Central America, please write to me at apeaceofconflict@gmail.com or leave me the details in the comments below.

Thanks in advance,

Rebecca

• Occupy Wall Street protesters in…

• A US citizen was jailed by authorities in Thailand for translating excerpts of a locally banned biography of the King and posting them online. On Friday, the former PM was being questioned by police in connection with a deadly military crackdown on the “Red Shirt” mass opposition protests that…

• Transparency International’s new report concluded that police forces in eastern Africa are perceived as the most corrupt body among the six institutions surveyed; the police, judiciary, customs, registry and permit services, land services, medical services, tax revenue, utilities and education systems. According to the report, 54% of people surveyed reported to have paid a bribe in the past year.
• The…