Tanzania Pressures Burundian Refugees to Leave: Daily Brief
Tanzania pressures Burundian refugees to leave; good news from New York; rights defender imprisoned in Algeria; Central African Republic's militia leaders to be tried by the ICC; potential legal responsibility of European arms companies in Yemen's war; Yemen's new Riyadh agreement ignores rights abuses; and US state of Ohio proposes extreme abortion ban.
The fear of violence, arrest, and deportation is driving many of the 163,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Tanzania out of the country.
Good news from New York, where the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos is now banned. Governor Andrew Cuomo defended children, workers, and the environment by directing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to ban it on December 10.
Algerian authorities should immediately release Kaddour Chouicha, a prominent rights defender arrested on December 10 (election eve). Chouicha was sentenced to one year in prison on charges related to his criticism of military and political authorities, and his participation in a political protest.
Yesterday, the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court confirmed charges against the Central African Republic's anti-balaka leaders Edouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom. This means that the case is set to go to trial.
A group of international NGOs is asking the International Criminal Court to investigate the legal responsibility of European arms companies that are producing the bombs used in Yemen's war.
Also in Yemen, a new agreement merging the Yemeni government and Southern Transitional Council (STC) security forces fails to address serious human rights issues.
And the US state of Ohio proposes an extreme abortion ban.