A national dialogue panel in Senegal has proposed holding elections in early June, the first such proposal since President Macky Sall attempted to push the February 25 elections till December.

In early February, Sall, who is serving his second term and has said he would not run again, announced the postponement of the elections. But Senegal’s highest election authority, the Constitutional Council, rejected that move and ordered the government to set a new election date as soon as possible.

Ghana’s parliament has voted to pass a controversial bill to severely restrict LGBTQ rights, in a move that has been condemned by rights activists. A coalition of religious and traditional leaders sponsored the legislation that is favored by most lawmakers and that passed in parliament on February 28.

The bill would punish those who take part in LGBTQ sexual acts, as well as those who promote the rights of gay, lesbian, or other non-conventional sexual or gender identities with time in prison.

Applauding Colombia’s firm commitment to the 2016 historic peace accords, Security Council members on February 22 took measure of the demands of building peace and ensuring transitional justice in that country as observed during their recent visit. The council visiting mission was in Colombia from February 7 to 11 at the invitation of its government.

Anti-Muslim hate speech in India rose by 62 percent in the second half of 2023 compared to the first six months of the year, a Washington-based research group said on February 26, adding the Israel-Gaza war played a key role in the last three months.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on February 26 that he hopes to have a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza start by March 4 as the warring parties appeared to close in on a deal during negotiations in Qatar that also aim to broker the release of hostages.

The presence of both sides for so-called proximity talks—meeting mediators separately but in the same city—suggested negotiations were further along than at any time since a big push at the start of February, when Israel rejected a Hamas counter-offer for a four-and-a-half-month truce.

The United States on February 23 unleashed its most extensive package of sanctions on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine two years ago, targeting Russia’s financial sector and military-industrial complex in a broad effort to degrade the Kremlin’s war machine.

A Tunisian court sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia on February 23 on charges of assaulting the state security and inciting Tunisians against each other, a judicial official said.

This is the second prison sentence against Marzouki, who resides in Paris, after a judge sentenced him in 2021 to four years in absentia. Marzouki, who was president from 2011 to 2014, is a fierce critic of President Kais Saied.

As part of its mandate, Colombia's Commission for the Clarification of Truth carried out 68 processes of acknowledgment led or supported by a specialized team. These processes sought to acknowledge victims and the harms they suffered, as well as individual or collective responsibilities. This report systematically examines 10 of these experiences and offers lessons learned for future processes. 

ICTJ’s partner Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO) recently opened a new virtual museum and database dedicated to Afghan victims of conflict and human rights abuses. “The Afghanistan Memory House” not only preserves the memory of these victims but helps pave the path for truth and justice. To launch the virtual museum, ICTJ and AHRDO cohosted a panel discussion on memorialization, moderated BBC journalist Lyse Doucet, in ICTJ’s office in New York this past December. 

Armed groups in Tripoli have agreed to leave the Libyan capital and to be replaced with regular forces, the country’s interior minister said, after a spate of deadly clashes.

“After a month of consultations, we came to an agreement with the security groups that they will leave the capital soon,” said Imad Trabelsi, a member of Libya’s internationally recognised government, on February 21.