[JURIST] The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) [official website] in Afghanistan said Tuesday that ballots from about 10 percent of polls need to be recounted because of allegations of fraud in last month's presidential election. Canadian head of the ECC Grant Kippen said that ballots from about 2,500 polling places [AFP report] with clear and convincing evidence of fraud will be recounted. A recount could mean that President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who currently has more than 54 percent of the vote, could be forced into a runoff election if the recount gives him less than 50 percent of the vote. A spokesperson for Karzai's main rival, Abdullah Abdullah [BBC profile], said that the recount was a step in the right direction but that the fraud is much more widespread [NYT report]. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday that the European Union (EU) is urging a further probe [AP report] into allegations of fraud.

Last week, the ECC invalidated ballots [JURIST report] from certain polls in Kandahar, Ghazni, and Paktika [press releases, PDF] provinces. The ECC also ordered the Independent Election Commission (IEC) [official website] to conduct a partial recount [JURIST report] of votes from polling stations with high irregularities. The IEC said earlier this month that it is conducting its role faithfully and impartially [JURIST report] in an attempt to reassure the Afghan public amid allegations of voter fraud, mainly in response to the more than 100 complaints [JURIST report] filed with the ECC by Abdullah's campaign alleging ballot stuffing, inflated vote counts, and intimidation at the polls by Karzai supporters. Election observers also reported at least two instances of voters fingers, marked with indelible ink to avoid voter fraud, being cut off by Taliban insurgents [Los Angeles Times report].

[JURIST] Both Israel and Palestine committed war crimes that may amount to crimes against humanity during December and January's Operation Cast Lead [Global Security backgrounder] in the Gaza strip, according to a report [text, PDF; press release] released Tuesday by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict [official website] headed by Richard Goldstone. The report found that Israel regularly impermissibly disregarded the welfare of civilians and even targeted civilians during the conflict in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention [texts]. The report also found that Israel failed to look into alleged misconduct by its soldiers and used white phosphorous [Global Security backgrounder] in violation of international law. The report accused Palestinian fighters of firing mortars indiscriminately into civilian areas and mistreating prisoner of war Gilad Shalit [JURIST news archive] in violation of the Third Geneva Convention [text]. Israel dismissed the report [MFA press release] as prejudiced and one-sided, citing the large number of countries that did not support the fact finding mission. The report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council September 29, recommends that the UN Security Council [official websites] order Israel to investigate allegations of war crimes and prosecute any offenders. The report also recommended that a copy be sent to the International Criminal Court [official website] and that signatories of the Geneva Conventions begin to use universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder; JURIST news archive] where possible to investigate and prosecute grave violations of the Conventions.

Last month, a separate report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] concluded [JURIST report] that Israel's Operation Cast Lead violated international law as well as Palestinian rights. The mission began its field operations in Gaza in June, entering Gaza through Egypt's Rafah crossing after Israel announced that it would not cooperate with the investigation because it doubted the mission's objectivity, and concluded hearings [JURIST reports] in July. Goldstone was appointed to head the investigation [JURIST report] in April, amid strong criticism [JURIST report] from Israel. The probe follows a previous report [text, PDF; JURIST report], authored by UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk, which criticized Israel for failing to take adequate precautions to distinguish between civilians and combatants in their offensives in the region. Both Israel and the US criticized [DOS briefing] the report, calling the rapporteur's views "anything but fair." In April, an internal Israeli military investigation found that war crimes had not been committed [JURIST report] in the offensive despite individual reports by Israeli soldiers [Haaretz report]. Israel has already disputed [JURIST report] a previous report to the UNHRC that accused it of human rights violations.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] announced Tuesday that it has approved [decision, PDF] the release of former Bosnian president Biljana Plavsic [ICTY materials; BBC profile]. Her sentence was commuted after she served only two-thirds of her 11-year sentence for persecution. In giving the reasons for the commutation, the judge wrote:

I note first that she appears to have demonstrated substantial evidence of rehabilitation. Although previously taken into consideration at the time of her sentencing, Mrs. Plavsic's guilty plea indicates that she accepted responsibility for her crimes from an early stage of the proceedings. At the sentencing hearing, Mrs. Plavsic expressed her remorse and accepted that "[t]he knowledge that I am responsible for such human suffering and for soiling the character of my people will always be with me. In her statement in support of her motion for a change of plea it was also stated: "By accepting responsibility and expressing her remorse fully and unconditionally, Mrs. Plavsic hopes to offer some consolation to the innocent victims [ ... ] of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[JURIST] The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US president George W. Bush was released from prison Tuesday. Muntader al-Zaidi [BBC profile] was originally sentenced to three years on charges of assaulting a foreign leader but later had his sentence reduced [JURIST reports] to one year on a lesser charge of insulting a foreign leader. He was released after serving only nine months because of good behavior. Upon his release, al-Zaidi claimed that he was beaten with pipes and steel cables and that he received electric shocks during his first days in custody.

The shoe-throwing incident occurred at a December 14, 2008, joint news conference [transcript] at which Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) [text, PDF; JURIST news archive] governing the future US military presence in the country. Al-Zaidi, who had allegedly suffered brutality first hand in Iraq having been kidnapped and released by Shiite militiamen in 2007 [WP report], testified before a three-judge panel that his actions were meant to restore Iraqi citizens' pride.

[JURIST] A Niger opposition leader who opposed a constitutional referendum [JURIST report] to allow President Mamadou Tandja [BBC profile] to remain in office said Monday that he had been charged with financial crimes. Mahamadou Issoufou, leader of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) [party website, in French], claims the corruption charges are politically motivated [BBC report]. The charges against Issoufou come after three former lawmakers and a parliament official were jailed [AFP report] last week for embezzlement and 30 former lawmakers were arrested for embezzlement [JURIST report] earlier this month. Issoufou, who was barred from leaving the country [AFP report] last week, has been released on bail.

The Niger opposition has pledged to oppose [JURIST report] Tandja's new constitution. Among the constitutional changes is the abolition of a presidential two-term limit, allowing Tandja to remain in office for three more years [AFP report] and to run in any subsequent elections. The new constitution also allows the president to appoint one third of the members [CBC report] of a newly-created Senate, and establishes a media-monitoring position that would have the authority to jail reporters thought to present a threat to the country. In June, opposition leader Bazoum Mohamed of the PNDS accused Tandja of committing a coup d'etat [JURIST report] by annulling the West African country's Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court ruled in May that plans to hold a referendum on allowing a third term were unconstitutional. Tandja responded to the ruling by dissolving parliament and assuming emergency powers.

[JURIST] The US officially took its place on the UN Human Rights Council [official website] for the first time Monday. In an address [text] to the council, US Assistant Secretary for the Organization of International Affairs Esther Brimmer [official profile] discussed four themes the US sees as key to its role on the council: the universality of human rights, the importance of dialogue between countries, the application of fundamental principles of human rights, and the need for truth and honesty in confronting human rights violations. Brimmer acknowledged that the US had made mistakes regarding human rights in the past but noted the progress of the US in correcting those lapses. The US's term on the council will expire in 2011.

Last month, several human rights organizations criticized [JURIST report] the council's election process, alleging vote trading and a lack of effective candidates. The US was among 18 countries elected [JURIST report] to the council in May. In April, the US State Department [official website] released [press release; JURIST report] its commitments and pledges to human rights in anticipation of May election. The US announced its intent to seek a seat on the council [JURIST report] in early April, hoping to affect more change by working from inside the council than by boycotting the effort. The UNHRC was created [JURIST report] in 2006 to replace the much-criticized Committee on Human Rights, at which time the Bush administration declined to seek a Council seat or participate in its proceedings due to a perceived anti-Israeli sentiment by the UNHRC.