UN Security Council urges South Sudan to protect civilians News
UN Security Council urges South Sudan to protect civilians

The United Nations Security Council [official website] on Thursday urged [UN press release] the South Sudan government to protect its civilians from the deteriorating conditions within the country. Although there has been a ceasefire, the country is experiencing ongoing violence. Last month, armed men wearing uniforms of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army entered the UN Mission site housing civilians, where they killed and injured [UN News article] approximately 50 individuals. The Security Council, in an effort to finalize a seven-month-old peace deal, has set out a five step plan in the hopes of bringing stability to the area.

The conflict in South Sudan has taken more than 50,000 lives and has displaced over one and a half million people. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] last week urged [JURIST report] the African Union to establish a hybrid court to prosecute members of the South Sudan government for war crimes committed in the Western Equatoria region. Last month the United Nations Mission in South Sudan strongly condemned [JURIST report] the violence that took place between Shilluk and Dinka youths at one of its Protection of Civilian sites in South Sudan. The OHCHR reported in January that “shocking crimes” have been committed [JURIST report] in the war-torn South Sudan.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fyodor Dostoevsky sentenced to death

Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death on November 16, 1849 over his involvement in the progressive Petrashevsky Circle of intellectuals. Dostoevsky and his codefendants were scheduled to be executed on December 22 of that year, but their execution was stayed by Tsar Nicholas I after the execution ritual had been carried out. Dostoevsky was sent to Siberia instead to serve a four-year sentence. Learn more about the mock execution of Dostoevsky.

Canada executed Metis leader for treason

On November 16, 1885, the Canadian government executed Metis leader Louis Riel for high treason in the wake of the "Northwest Rebellion" that had pitted the Metis (descendants of French traders and native tribes) in what is now Saskatchewan against Canadian troops. Although Riel has lately been rehabilitated as an Indigenous francophone patriot of the Canadian West, his trial and execution remain sore points between English and French Canada.

US President Nixon signs Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act

On November 16, 1973, US President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act into law. In addition to creating an oil pipeline across the state, the Act also quashed all environmental-legal challenges regarding its construction.