TUNIS: Tunisia has said it is withdrawing from the human rights court of the African Union, as rights groups denounce another rollback on freedoms in the increasingly authoritarian North African nation.
Tunisia announced in a declaration circulated by activists since Thursday “the withdrawal of its recognition of the competence of the (African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights) to accept cases from individuals and non-governmental organizations.”
The statement did not provide a reason for the government’s withdrawal from the Arusha-based court, which is tasked with enforcing the AU’s human rights charter.
The Tunisian foreign ministry did not respond to AFP’s requests to comment.
Tunisia had granted its citizens and NGOs the right to petition the court in 2017 after it emerged as the only surviving democracy from the Arab Spring of 2011.
Kais Saied was elected president in 2019 but in 2021 he staged a sweeping power grab and human rights groups have since raised concerns over a rollback on freedoms.
A number of his leading critics are currently behind bars.
Some are being prosecuted in an ongoing mass trial on charges of plotting against the state. Human rights groups have denounced the case as politically motivated.
In May 2023, the relatives of four detained opposition figures, including Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi, filed a case with the African court demanding their release.
In August, the court ruled against Tunisia, urging authorities to stop preventing the detainees from accessing their lawyers and doctors.
The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) denounced Tunisia’s withdrawal from the court as a decision “taken secretly.”
It said the move was “a dangerous step backwards and an attempt to withdraw from independent judicial institutions capable of fighting impunity and guaranteeing justice.”
Tunisian human rights group, the CRLDHT, said the withdrawal “nullifies a historic commitment” to the court and was “a shameful renunciation” of Tunisian pledges to protect human rights.
“This decision now deprives Tunisian citizens and human rights organizations of the ability to bring cases directly before the African court to challenge state violations,” it said.
Tunisia quits African Union rights court
https://arab.news/z7269
Tunisia quits African Union rights court
- The statement did not provide a reason for the government’s withdrawal from the Arusha-based court
- The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) denounced Tunisia’s withdrawal from the court as a decision “taken secretly“
Israel’s security cabinet approves independence for 13 West Bank settlements
JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their neighboring communities, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday.
The settlements will ultimately be recognized as independent, he posted on X about the move, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of housing units across the West Bank.
“We continue to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing – we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said, using Israel’s term for the West Bank.
Israel’s opposition to ceding control of the West Bank has been deepened by its fears of a repeat of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. Its military says it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and targeting suspected militants.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized the approval of the separation of the neighborhoods and their recognition as independent settlements as disregarding international legitimacy and resolutions.
Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza, condemned the move in the West Bank, describing it as a “desperate attempt to impose realities on the ground and consolidate colonial occupation on Palestinian lands.”
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, land Israel captured in 1967 during the six-day war. Most countries consider Israel’s settlements on territory seized in the war to be illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Israel’s pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of US President Donald Trump.
Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party and a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, has for years called for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.
He noted that until now the 13 settlements were formally considered part of their parent communities, in some cases for decades, which he said caused significant difficulties in their daily management.
“Recognizing each of them as an independent settlement is an important step that will greatly assist in their advancement and development,” Smotrich said.
Lebanon state media reports Israeli strike on south
BEIRUT: An Israeli drone targeted a car in a southern Lebanese town on Sunday, state media reported, a day after the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire.
“An Israeli drone carried out an airstrike this morning, launching a guided missile targeting a car in the town of Aita Al-Shaab” near the border with Israel, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said, reporting an unspecified number of casualties.
Paramilitary shelling kills 3 in Omdurman after Sudan army gains: medic
KHARTOUM: Three civilians including two children were killed Sunday in an artillery attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Omdurman, part of the Sudanese capital, a medical source told AFP.
Eyewitnesses in the area reported seven rounds of shelling rocking residential neighborhoods controlled by the army, which in recent days regained most of central Khartoum’s government district from the RSF.
“Two children and a woman were killed and eight others injured in the shelling,” said the medical source at Al-Nao hospital, one of the city’s last functioning health facilities, requesting anonymity for their safety.
Since April 2023, the RSF has battled Sudan’s regular army in a war that has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
The army and allied groups on Friday recaptured the country’s presidential palace, launching a clearing operation to push the RSF out of central Khartoum’s administrative and financial district.
On Saturday, they claimed several strategic state institutions that had been overrun by paramilitaries, including the central bank, state intelligence headquarters and the national museum.
RSF fighters remain stationed in parts of central Khartoum including the airport, as well as the capital’s south and west.
From their positions in western Omdurman, they have regularly launched strikes on civilian areas.
In February, over 50 people were killed in a single RSF artillery attack on a busy Omdurman market.
Despite the army’s advances in the capital, Africa’s third largest country remains effectively split in two, with the army holding the east and north while the RSF controls nearly all of the western region of Darfur and parts of the south.
Turkish court jails Istanbul mayor Imamoglu pending trial
- Ruling likely to stoke tensions after four days of protests
- The court said Imamoglu and at least 20 others were jailed as part of a corruption investigation
ISTANBUL: A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Sunday pending trial, state media and other broadcasters said, in a move likely to stoke the country’s biggest protests in more than decade.
The decision to send Imamoglu — who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival — to prison comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticized the actions against him as politicized.
The court said Imamoglu and at least 20 others were jailed as part of a corruption investigation. A separate ruling on a terror-related investigation has yet to be issued.Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on Sunday that he will not bow down after court ruled to jail him pending trial over corruption related investigation.
"We will, hand in hand, uproot this blow, this black stain on our democracy... I am standing tall, I will not bow down," Imamoglu said in a post on X.
Israel military says it intercepted missile from Yemen
- The Houthis said early on Saturday they had “targeted Ben Gurion airport” with a ballistic missile
- United States began launching heavy strikes against Yemen’s Houthis last week
Jerusalem: Israel’s military said early on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across the country.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (Israeli Air Force) prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
The latest interception is part of an escalation between Israel and the Houthis after the Iran-backed group claimed a series of missile launches this week.
The Houthis had threatened to escalate attacks in support of Palestinians following Israel’s renewal of attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which began on Tuesday.
The Israeli military also said late on Friday it had intercepted another missile launched from Yemen.
The Houthis said early on Saturday they had “targeted Ben Gurion airport” with a ballistic missile, calling it the third launch in two days.
Israeli airspace would remain unsafe “until the aggression against Gaza stops,” the group said in the statement.
The United States began launching heavy strikes against Yemen’s Houthis last week.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Houthis “will be completely annihilated” and warned Tehran against continuing aid for the group.
