Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 9 May 2014

The mass kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls continues to hold world attention. The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has now weighed in, saying; "Such acts shock the conscience of humanity and could constitute crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC". A group of UN and African human rights experts has urged the government to take all necessary measures to ensure the girls' safe return, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has condemned the actions of Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group behind the crime, whose attacks have been causing a humanitarian crisis in the northeast of the country. Meanwhile, parents are looking for clues in "a trail of hair ties and scraps of clothing" the kidnapped girls may have left to aid rescuers. An ICC team has arrived in the Central African Republic, in their first visit to the country to investigate ongoing atrocities there. Satellite images provide some of the latest evidence of the devastating destruction wreaked on Muslim communities in the country. Tens of thousands of Muslims have fled the country in fear for their lives - despite the presence of international forces.  The ICC has not, however, been tasked with looking at the Syria situation. Not yet, anyway. But the UN Security Council now appears close to voting on a long-awaited resolution to refer it to the Court. The US seems to have dropped its reservations, though the risk of a Russian veto remains. The draft resolution could be distributed as early as next week.  With the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre around the corner, China is intensifying its crackdown to make sure no one is allowed to mark the occasion.