Ex-interior minister surrenders to Rwanda genocide tribunal News
Ex-interior minister surrenders to Rwanda genocide tribunal

[JURIST] Callixte Kalimanzira, Rwanda's acting interior minister during the 1994 genocide [BBC backgrounder], has surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [official website], the court announced [press release] Tuesday. According to the tribunal, Kalimanzira is "charged with genocide, in the alternative complicity in genocide, and with direct and public incitement to commit genocide" for allegedly helping to coordinate the genocide. Specifically, the ICTR alleges that Kalimanzira made inflammatory speeches calling for the elimination of all Tutsis, distributed weapons to be used in the massacre, supervised the killings of thousands of Tutsis, and personally beat to death some Tutsis. IRIN has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.