Mr. Assange had been sought by US lawmakers after huge leaks of categorised materials by way of the WikiLeaks platform.
Alice Jill Edwards, Particular Rapporteur on torture and different merciless, inhuman or degrading therapy or punishment, instructed UN Information that “folks shouldn’t and may by no means be extradited to the place they could face a torture or different merciless, inhuman or degrading therapy of punishment”, together with penalties which are disproportionate to any alleged crimes that will have been dedicated.
“These crimes that have been uncovered by Mr. Assange have to be taken critically and correctly investigated and prosecuted in the US,” she mentioned. “Impunity for struggle crimes and different violations of the legal guidelines of struggle solely embolden actors to take issues into their very own arms.”
Till as we speak, Mr. Assange had been preventing extradition from jail in the UK to the US following the 2010 publication of secret army paperwork and diplomatic communications.
His reported deal includes a responsible plea to at least one rely of violating the US Espionage Act, with out serving further jail time.
Ukraine: ICC points extra arrest warrants in opposition to prime Russian officers
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for 2 senior Russian officers for alleged struggle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity dedicated in the course of the Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The 2 males – Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov – held prime positions throughout the Russian Authorities and army on the time of the reported crimes, which embody missile strikes on “quite a few” energy stations in a number of areas.
Civilian hurt
In an announcement, the courtroom mentioned that it was cheap to think about that the hurt to civilians and harm from the strikes from October 2022 to March 2023 “would have been clearly extreme to the anticipated army benefit”.
The courtroom additionally famous that each people face allegations that they “precipitated extreme incidental hurt to civilians” and have been liable for “inhumane acts” by both ordering the crimes to occur or via “failure to train correct management over the forces underneath their command”.
UN rights consultants: Cease criminalising homelessness and poverty
Impartial UN human rights consultants on Tuesday referred to as on governments to scrap “merciless and counterproductive” legal guidelines which are criminalising homelessness and poverty.
A new study printed by two UN Particular Rapporteurs – for enough housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, and on excessive poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter – paperwork rising proof displaying that individuals residing in homelessness and poverty are more and more being penalised merely for doing what is important for his or her fundamental survival.
This included fines and sanctions for actions resembling sleeping, washing, cooking, consuming, begging and dealing on the road.
“As a substitute of addressing the worldwide inexpensive housing and inequality crises, that are primarily liable for homelessness, governments are more and more turning to outdated and obscure vagrancy legal guidelines, a lot of which have their roots in colonial rule, to maneuver folks off the streets and make them disappear,” Mr. Rajagopal mentioned.
Symptom of failure
He added that homelessness was a symptom of political and social failure, rooted in coverage and institutional elements.
“These legal guidelines is not going to clear up homelessness or poverty. They’re in direct violation of worldwide human rights and should be urgently repealed,” he mentioned.
The examine finds that criminalisation solely pushes determined folks into additional poverty and homelessness.
“These legal guidelines lead to a double punishment,” argued Mr. De Schutter. “Persons are punished first when they’re pushed into homelessness and once more when they’re sanctioned. The [laws] are merciless, counterproductive and a disproportionate response even to any authentic security or public well being concern introduced by homelessness.”
Finish punitive method
The consultants urged governments to repeal blanket prohibitions in opposition to begging and reallocate assets away from police motion to handle the foundation causes of poverty and homelessness. Jail sentences for these that may’t afford to pay fines must also be abolished and promote non-custodial measures for minor offences of the homeless, they mentioned.
“Homelessness and poverty are rising due to political decisions which are making a good earnings and enough housing a distant dream for tens of millions,” Mr. Rajagopal mentioned. “This should be addressed. Counting on legislation enforcement is not going to clear up the issue.”
Defending justice techniques amid rising authoritarianism
In one other report back to the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, the unbiased UN professional safeguarding the independence of judges and attorneys warned that the position of unbiased justice techniques was coming underneath growing assault.
Margaret Satterthwaite mentioned some political actors have been seizing on a local weather of rising populism and authoritarianism to restrict or management justice techniques, together with via the criminalisation of prosecutors, judges and attorneys.
In her second report to the Council, the Particular Rapporteur highlighted how governments have been trying to subvert justice by curbing bar associations, wresting management from courts or attacking these working within the system in any respect ranges.
Basic values at stake
“Justice techniques promote and defend a elementary worth that undergirds participatory governance: the rule of legislation,” she mentioned. “This precept insists that every one folks, even State actors, are topic to the identical legal guidelines, utilized pretty and persistently.
“I name on Member States to do extra to revitalise public belief in justice establishments and to defend justice actors and their indispensable position in safeguarding democracy,” she added.
Particular Rapporteurs and different UN Human Rights Council-appointed rights consultants are unbiased of any authorities, obtain no wage for his or her work and serve of their particular person capability.
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