Latest news with #UnitedNations-recognised
Al-Ahram Weekly
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Germany arrests Libyan war crimes suspect on ICC warrant - Region
Germany has arrested a Libyan militia leader accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes on an International Criminal Court warrant, German judicial officials and the ICC said on Friday. Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, who was arrested on Wednesday, allegedly served as a senior official at the notorious Mitiga prison near Tripoli, the ICC said. "He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence" between February 2015 and early 2020, the court said in a statement. Der Spiegel news magazine first reported that Hishri, 46, was arrested at Berlin airport as he sought to fly to Tunis, on the basis of an ICC warrant that was issued on July 10. A spokesman for the Brandenburg regional prosecutor's office confirmed to AFP that the Libyan was arrested at the airport on Wednesday morning. ICC registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler thanked Germany and said such cooperative moves were "essential steps for proceedings to move forward and for victims to see justice delivered". Oil-rich Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict and political chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The country remains split between a United Nations-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east. Italy frees war crimes suspect Human rights investigators have long decried the abuses suffered by thousands of detainees, many of them irregular migrants, in crowded and unsanitary detention facilities, including Mitiga. Earlier this year, the Italian government sparked a heated debate over its decision to release and expel another Libyan war crimes suspect involved in running Mitiga, Osama Almasri Najim. Najim, the head of Libya's judicial police, was arrested in Turin on January 19 on an ICC warrant, only to be released and flown home to Tripoli two days later on an Italian air force plane. Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio defended his release, saying the ICC warrant for his arrest had been poorly written. ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said in May that the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity had accepted the court's authority to investigate alleged war crimes despite not being party to the Rome Statute, the court's founding treaty. Khan also called on Libya's prosecutor general Al-Seddik al-Sour to arrest Najim "and surrender him to the ICC". Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Nimisha Priya case and the vulnerability of Indian migrant workers in conflict zones
Indian nurse Nimisha Priya of Kerala is to be executed in Yemen on July 16, 2025. Her case, shrouded in controversy and prosecuted by the de facto regime allegedly led by the Houthis, instead of the internationally recognised judicial system of Yemen, has brought the critical plight of Indian migrant labourers overseas into the open, particularly those who find themselves in legal black holes where due process is discretionary and consular protections mostly unavailable. Nimisha Priya was accused of killing her business partner in 2017. She says she was acting in self-defence following months of physical and sexual abuse. India has no embassy operating in rebel-held northern Yemen. The United Nations-recognised Republic of Yemen, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE's Southern Transitional Council support and backing, has gone one step further in distancing itself from the legal process, claiming that it was never ratified by the official President. As a consequence, an Indian citizen is being put to death under a quasi-legal framework with very little international supervision. Nimisha Priya's case is representative of a broader systemic failure to safeguard Indian migrant workers, and particularly women, in jurisdictions where human rights norms, the rule of law, and consular access are tenuous at best. Gulf states, Yemen among them, host millions of Indian workers who construct, clean, serve, and care, but who are legally invisible and politically disposable. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990), one of the most important human rights treaties, provides such vital protections as the right to a fair trial, access to legal aid, and freedom from arbitrary detention or expulsion. But here's the bitter reality: The majority of Gulf and West Asian nations, Yemen being one of them, are not signatories to it. India has not acted on this Convention either. This lacuna in the law results in workers such as Priya continuing to be stateless in spirit, albeit not in law. One can refer to the case of Qatar's death row prisoners, most of whom are foreign workers found guilty in allegedly opaque trials. It's now well known that migrant workers are often denied interpretation, lawyer access, or even the right to communication via consuls, contravening the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). Article 36 of the Convention requires consular access and assistance upon arrest or detention. But it is powerless without the support of enforcement mechanisms or political will. In 2024, the Overseas Workers (Welfare) Bill, 2024 was tabled in the Parliament, which provides for the establishment of a Register of Overseas Workers, social security agreements between two countries, and schemes for welfare, including insurance, repatriation of mortal remains, and legal aid overseas. Notably, Clause 4 requires studies to determine the access of Indian workers to legal recourse and human rights in foreign legal systems – this is what Nimisha Priya did not get. Primarily, the Bill authorises the Indian government to draw up bilateral agreements with foreign countries to protect Indian workers — an approach much more realistic than awaiting the ratification of multilateral conventions. Had there existed such an agreement with Yemen or its de facto leaders, Nimisha Priya would not have had to turn to non-state actors and crowdfunding to beg for her life. The issue, however, is not just legal lacunae. It is also ethical. The Indian government has to determine if it appreciates the millions of Indians who remit billions of dollars every year as economic contributors or as citizens who are entitled to protection, dignity, and justice, even if they work in foreign lands that are hostile to them. The path ahead is complicated. Yemen is a broken state. India has little influence over the Houthi rebels. For Nimisha Priya, time is running out. But her story must become a catalyst for institutional change. India needs a comprehensive migrant worker protection regime, one that functions not just on paper, but on principle. A government that guarantees that no Indian, whether far from home, is left to die unseen, unheard, and unprotected. The writer teaches at Jindal Global Law School
Euronews
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
EU and Greece to press Libya on migrant crossings as numbers surge
The European Union's commissioner for migration says Europe will take a "firm" approach with authorities in Libya following a spike in illegal migration across the Mediterranean. Commissioner Magnus Brunner plans to travel to Libya next week with government representatives from Greece, Italy and Malta, seeking tougher measures from Libyan authorities to stop boats carrying migrants from leaving for Europe. "That is actually a question which bothers us quite a lot at the moment. Libya is, of course, at the top of the agenda and we're traveling together to Libya next week because we have to be fast, I think, and firm," Brunner said at a conference in Athens on Tuesday. Brunner, who discussed the upcoming visit at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said the delegation would meet with representatives from both the United Nations-recognised government in western Libya and the rival authority in the east. Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Greece recently announced plans to send warships to international waters in the region following a surge in crossings from Libya to the southern Greek island of Crete, a more perilous route than the more frequently used passage between Turkey and nearby Greek islands. In 2023, hundreds died when the fishing trawler Adriana, carrying migrants from Libya to Italy, sank in waters off Greece. Libya is a key departure point for dangerous sea crossings to Europe and severe human rights abuses of refugees and migrants, including torture, have been widely documented in the country. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said that in 2021, 32,400 refugees and migrants had made the crossing from Libya to Europe, more than twice as many as in 2020. In April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to increase staffing for Frontex, the EU's external border and coastguard agency, by 30,000, a number that could provide a significant boost in its mission to secure Europe's external borders.
Middle East Eye
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Trump envoy Massad Boulos to visit Libya amid rising tensions, sources say
US envoy Massad Boulos is set to make his first official visit to Libya next week amid rising tensions in the capital city of Tripoli and neighbouring Sudan, a US official and an Arab source told Middle East Eye. Boulos, who is Trump's senior advisor to Africa, was supposed to travel to Libya earlier this year, the sources said, but Egyptian officials complained, saying they wanted him to visit Cairo first. Boulos met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Hassan Rashad, in May. Egypt is one of the main external powers in Libya. Ties between Egypt and the US have become strained over Washington's reassessment of military aid to Cairo and Trump's call earlier this year for a forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, MEE previously reported. In Libya, Boulos is expected to visit Tripoli first, home to the United Nations-recognised government, and then travel to Benghazi in eastern Libya, which is controlled by a parallel government backed by General Khalifa Haftar and his sons. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Boulos's office did not respond to MEE's request for comment. The envoy's visit comes as Libya's powerful militias and politicians jostle for power. In May, Tripoli was convulsed by fighting between rival militias that killed at least eight people. The clashes started after the 444 Brigade loyal to Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah killed the leader of a rival group. The 444 Brigade then launched attacks on a Salafist militia called the Rada Deterrence Force, which controls Tripoli's main airport. Dbeibah was appointed president in 2021 as a consensus candidate with a mandate to usher Libya into elections. The vote never took place. There have been regular protests against Dbeibah. Boulos has been in discussions with Dbeibah's top advisor about unlocking billions of dollars in sanctioned frozen wealth funds, MEE was the first to reveal. The two sides discussed putting some funds into investments with US companies in Libya. NBC later reported that in exchange for releasing the funds, the Trump administration pressed the government to accept up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli assault since 7 October 2023, after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. Saddam Haftar comes to the fore The instability in Tripoli has allowed Khalifa Haftar's family to lobby for support. Khalifa Haftar is 81 years old. His son Saddam is being cultivated as a likely successor, US and Arab officials tell MEE. Libya and Trump administration discussed sharing billions of dollars in frozen funds, sources say Read More » Saddam's stock is rising with the new Trump administration, especially in national security circles, the US official and Arab source told MEE. Saddam made a high-profile visit to Washington in April, where he met Boulos at the State Department. More importantly, he held a meeting with several senior US intelligence officials in Washington, the sources told MEE. That meeting has not been previously reported. Saddam has also been making overtures to countries traditionally closer to the government in Tripoli. He has visited Qatar and Turkey for support. This week, he visited Italy. Libya has been divided since the Nato-led removal of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The civil war became a proxy conflict with Russia, the UAE, Egypt, and France backing Haftar and Turkey supporting the government in Tripoli. In 2019, Trump gave his tacit approval for the elder Haftar's bid to take over Tripoli. The attack failed when Turkey intervened. The battle lines in Libya have become more convoluted in recent years. Sudan spillover A case in point is the competing interests among external powers in Sudan. Although Egypt and the UAE both support Haftar's government, they are backing opposing sides in the Sudanese civil war. Egypt has thrown its support behind Sudan's army along with Iran and Turkey, while the UAE is backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Haftar has facilitated the shipment of arms to the RSF. 'You made a mistake trying to leave': Crossing enemy lines in the heart of Sudan Read More » Boulos has been trying to mediate a ceasefire between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Egyptian officials want Boulos to make progress on preventing a spillover of the Libyan and Sudanese conflicts, an Egyptian official told MEE. However, following their May meeting, the Egyptians assessed that his influence would be limited, the source said. Politico reported in May that Trump has curbed Boulos's influence. The US and Arab sources told MEE that expectations for Boulos's trip were low on all sides. The RSF said on Wednesday it seized a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya. The announcements came a day after forces loyal to Haftar launched a cross-border attack alongside the RSF, the first allegation of direct Libyan involvement in the Sudanese war. The attack is likely to strain ties between Haftar and Egypt.
NDTV
27-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Have Decided To Remove 'Terror Thorn' From India": PM Modi's Vow In Gujarat
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday targeted Pakistan over continuing support for cross-border attacks, accusing it of using terrorism as a weapon and "waging war" against India and declaring "we have decided to remove the 'terror thorn' from India". "Terrorism is not a 'proxy war'... it is your strategy. You are waging war on us," Mr Modi said in his home state of Gujarat. The PM pulled no punches in his Gandhinagar rally, throwing criticism also at political rivals - i.e., the Congress, although he did not name the party - who "tolerated proxy wars for 75 years". "For 75 years... tourists, pilgrims, civilians... wherever they (Pak-sponsored terrorists) found a chance, they attacked. Tell me, should we keep tolerating this?" he asked the raucous crowd. "'Ya goli ka jawab gole se dena chahiye' (Or should we respond to bullets with bullets)?" India believes in peace, Mr Modi declared, but will not hesitate to strike back when provoked repeatedly. In that case, he said, "India has to remind the world this is also a land of warriors." The PM"s sharp attacks on Pakistan follow heightened India-Pak tensions after the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed. A proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a United Nations-recognised terrorist group operating out of Pakistan claimed responsibility. Islamabad, however, firmly denied any knowledge of Lashkar's presence, despite New Delhi having provided substantial evidence to connect the dots. After a raft of non-military measures, including suspending the critical Indus Waters Treaty that irrigates nearly 80 per cent of Pak's farmlands, India launched Operation Sindoor, a precision military response that destroyed four terror camps in Pak and five in Pak-occupied Kashmir. Op Sindoor was a 25-minute tri-service mission (the first since the India-Pak war of 1971) that began and ended in the early hours of May 7. Ignoring a warning to lay low, Pak fired drones and missiles at Indian armed forces and civilian centres that night. A military conflict raged for the next 100 hours and India responded with more precision strikes, this time targeting Pak air force bases and air defence radars. Eventually Islamabad sued for peace and a ceasefire was announced on May 12. Mr Modi and opposition politicians have praised the Indian armed forces for their response to the Pahalgam terror strike and successfully neutralising Pak's missile attacks. In his speech in Gandhinagar today, the Prime Minister said Op Sindoor had sparked a "wave of patriotism" in the country. "I have been here for two days. Yesterday I visited Vadodara, Dahod, Bhuj, and Ahmedabad... Everywhere it felt like the roaring sound of a saffron sea." "The fluttering tricolour and immense love for the motherland in every heart..." On Monday the PM accused Pak of 'living on hatred for India' and reached out to the people of the country, asking them what decades of conflict with their neighbours had given them. "I want to ask the people of Pakistan... what have you gained from terrorism? ... free Pakistan of this disease of terrorism. 'Sukh chain ki zindagi jio, roti khao. Varna meri goli to hai...'," he said, which translates as 'live a peaceful life, eat your bread, else my bullets are there'.
