[JURIST] Leading Thursday's international brief, the first troops of the UN peacekeeping force assigned to Sudan [JURIST report] arrived in Khartoum Thursday to prepare the way for the more than 10,000 troops to follow. The 44 peacekeepers that arrived in the Sudanese capital were mainly staff officers sent to set up command and control elements for the next wave of peacekeepers. Bangladeshi UN Force Commander General Fazle Elahi Akbar, in charge of the military aspects of the entire peacekeeping operation, arrived with the staff officers and is planning to visit several different regions in Sudan [government website] to "assess ground preparation for UN troop deployment." JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. South Africa's News 24 has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The UN High Commission on Refugees [official website] announced Wednesday that thousands of Rwandans fleeing to neighboring Uganda [government website] were claiming that they were escaping from 'arbitrary arrests' in Rwanda [government website]. The UNHCR noticed a higher level of refugees from Rwanda to neighboring countries such as Uganda and Burundi beginning in March. While the UN refugee agency has not released an official statement of what is behind the increase in refugees, workers in the area said that many of the refugees are fleeing the Gacaca courts [backgrounder] that began operation in March. The Gacaca courts are traditional, tribal judicial bodies that are being used to help try individuals suspected of participating in the 1994 genocide [Rwanda government backgrounder] between the Hutu and Tustsi. IRIN has more.
  
  
• Former Nepalese Foreign Minister Prakash Man Singh, a member of the Dueba cabinet removed by royal mandate [JURIST report], was arrested Thursday by officials from the Royal Commission for Corruption Control at his home in Chhetrapati. Singh had previously refused to appear before the Commission to testify, saying that the RCCC's creation by royal decree [JURIST report] was unconstitutional. Family and supporters of Singh reportedly scuffled with the RCCC security officials and the plainclothes officers arresting the former minister. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal. Kantipur Online has local coverage.
  
  
• South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun [official profile] called on prosecutors Wednesday to voluntarily give up some of their powers of office in order to restore public trust in the Ministry of Justice [government website]. Roh said that the state prosecution agency still had authoritarian powers that created a mistrust of the agency by the general public. Roh warned that if prosecutors failed to give up power voluntarily, the government would take steps to officially remove those powers. Roh also urged the state prosecution agency to work effectively on a current discussion on how to properly limit the independent investigatory powers of the national police. Chosun Ilbo has local coverage.