AI report: Nepal government should deliver justice for disappearances News
AI report: Nepal government should deliver justice for disappearances

[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called on [AI report] Nepalese authorities to bring justice to the individuals responsible for the disappearance of the “Dhanusha Five” [OHCHR backgrounder, PDF] during the armed conflict in Nepal between 1996-2006. The report notes more than 1,300 people are believed to have disappeared during the conflict, and no suspects have been brought to justice in criminal court for violations of international law. The report comes on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances [UN report] on August 30, which prompts a number of family members of the disappeared to gather in Nepal to demand the government reveal the fate and whereabouts of the victims of forced disappearances.

The push towards some form of amnesty for Nepalese war crimes has been ongoing and perpetually controversial. In April, Nepalese lawmakers passed legislation [JURIST report] that could grant amnesty to former Maoist rebels and security forces accused of committing various war crimes, including torture and murder, during the nation’s civil war. The bill established two bodies for addressing the alleged commission of war crimes: a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission on the Disappeared. Earlier that month, several human rights groups urged [JURIST report] the Nepalese government to reject the aforementioned amnesty legislation, stating that it would contravene international law based on its inclusion of certain amnesty provisions carried over from a former executive order granting blanket amnesty.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.