Burundi voters approve constitutional amendment extending presidential term limits
Burundi announced on Monday that voters had approved amending the nation’s constitution to extend presidential term limits from five years to seven. According to the election commission chief, 73 percent of voters supported changing the constitution. Nineteen percent voted against the amendment. The amendment gives Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza the ability to potentially stay in [...]
Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that members of Burundi’s security forces and ruling party youth league “killed, raped, abducted, beat, and intimidated suspected opponents in the months leading up to a constitutional referendum.” The referendum on whether Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, can hold office past the two-term limit (potentially allowing him to stay in [...]
Here's the international legal news we covered this week: A US federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former Liberian commander known as "Jungle Jabbah" to 30 years in prison for defrauding the US immigration authorities and lying about...
HRW: Burundi government engaging in violence against referendum opponents
The Burundi government has "killed, beaten, and intimidated perceived opponents of a constitutional referendum ... that would enable the president to extend his term in office," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday. This referendum could allow President Pierre...
High commissioner criticizes political leadership in report about global human rights concerns
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday released his annual report concerning global human rights in which he criticized global politicians for acting to further their own political ambitions "at the expense...
UN rights council calls for inquiry into recent events in Syria
The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Monday calling for the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic to "urgently conduct a comprehensive and independent inquiry into the recent...
Here's the international legal news we covered this week: The legal world is a busy place. The Philippines Office of the Ombudsman (OTO) has anti-graft and corruption charges Tuesday against former Philippines president Benigno...
ICC prosecutor authorized to investigate crimes against humanity, war crimes in Burundi
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday authorized prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate potential crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burundi. The decision of Pre-Trial Chamber III was the result of a preliminary examination...
JURIST Guest Columnist Pacifique Manirakiza of the University of Ottawa discusses the effectiveness of Burundi's withdrawal from ICC...On October 27th, 2017 Burundi became the first State Party to withdraw from the Rome Treaty creating the International Criminal Court (ICC), in...
Here's the international legal news we covered this week: The US Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved $51.35 billion in funding on Thursday for state and foreign appropriations , including $10 million to help fund the UN...
