Two days of meetings on Myanmar ’s violent political crisis began Thursday in the Thai capital Bangkok, the latest in a long series of regional talks that have made no headway in restoring peace to the war-torn Southeast Asian nation.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced that his office is starting to resume its activities in Venezuela, despite past clashes with the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

High Commissioner Volker Turk made the announcement on December 13 at a meeting with the UN Human Rights Council, where he reiterated his concerns about conditions in Venezuela, particularly after its most recent presidential race.

The UN human rights office had previously established a presence in the country in 2019.

Authorities in two states in southern Mexico arrested more than 100 local police officers Monday for various abuses and offenses, adding to the long list of police corruption scandals in the country.

In the largest of the two incidents, 92 municipal police officers in the southern state of Chiapas were arrested after they tried to stop state authorities from assuming command of a police surveillance camera office.

More than 700 people have been killed in el-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur state since May, the United Nations human rights chief has said, imploring the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to halt a siege of the city.

The siege and “the relentless fighting are devastating lives every day on a massive scale,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement on Friday.

“This alarming situation cannot continue. The Rapid Support Forces must end this horrible siege.”

Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned "atrocities" committed against civilians by Mali's army, the Russian mercenary group Wagner, and Islamist armed groups since UN peacekeepers withdrew a year ago.

Mali's ruling junta pushed the United Nations stabilization mission (MINUSMA) to leave last December amid deteriorating relations and as the crisis-wracked country battles jihadist and separatist violence.

MINUSMA had previously maintained around 15,000 soldiers and police in the West African nation, and was in part tasked with protecting civilians and human rights.

On December 2 to 6, 2024, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Assembly of States Parties—the court’s management oversight and legislative body—held its 23rd session in The Hague. As in previous years, ICTJ took an active part, and its experts joined many of the discussions sharing their knowledge and insight. ICTJ organized two side events, one focusing on Syrian victims and another on reparations for victims in Northern Uganda.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime after 53 years of authoritarian rule marks a significant moment in the pursuit of justice, peace, and human rights. While this transition opens the door to new possibilities, it also underscores the immense obstacles and responsibilities that lie ahead.

Drawing from data and testimonies of Syrians both inside the country and in the diaspora collected by civil society organizations, this report looks at the justice needs of Syrian victims of human rights violations in the context of ongoing debates on refugee returns. It critically examines forced returns and the legal frameworks enabling them and recommends a path forward to address the justice needs of Syria’s many victims and advance accountability, truth, and reform.

Police in South Korea are in the process of raiding the presidential office in Seoul, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's abortive attempt to impose martial law last week. 

Police say while they have gained access to the civil service offices, however, they are unable to enter the main building of Yoon's office, which is blocked by security guards, according to AFP.