Equality and Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Russia to pay Georgia over €250 million for violations committed after the brief war between the two countries in 2008. Russia has stated that it will not comply with the decision of the ECHR. The Court decided on Tuesday 14th October that Russia had stopped people from crossing freely into Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgian regions that Moscow recognised as independent after the 16-day war. According to the Court, Russia committed violations including excessive use of force, ill-treatment, unlawful detention and unlawful restrictions on day-to-day movement across the administrative boundary line between Georgian-controlled territory and the Russian-backed breakaway regions.

Twenty-five years ago, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, which recognised what women around the world had long demonstrated through their actions: that peace cannot be built without them, and that gender justice is essential for true security. Resolution 1325 recognised that women must be included in peace processes, and that conflict affects women and girls differently. Over the years, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has produced an extensive body of rhetoric: national action plans, reporting frameworks, new Security Council resolutions and regular open debates.

The 20-point American plan for Gaza seeks to take Hamas out of the Gaza equation. This is necessary but not easy. Hamas has become part of the Gaza fabric. It will reinvent itself as many Islamist movements have done elsewhere. But its leaders must go, after they released all the hostages they still kept from the 7 October attack. Then the process of building a new Gaza must start: infrastructure, institutions, and more importantly, the spirit and soul of the Palestinian people. Israel's plans for the annexation of Gaza are out, as is the talk of resettling Palestinians elsewhere. Gaza is, and will remain, Palestine. One can see that rebuilding the infrastructure will happen quickly. Establishing security can also happen if countries contribute forces, and if the international force has a clear mandate. Institutions will take longer, and much will depend on what is happening in the wider Palestinian spectrum, and Israel’s readiness to honour its part of the deal. It is unlikely that Hamas will hand power to anyone but the Palestinian Authority, and this is one of the points that will have to be negotiated. Rebuilding the Palestinian spirit will take years, and healing the trauma of the last two years will be difficult, will take time, but is doable. The American plan has some interesting ideas, but the US must be ready to work with diverse partners, especially in the Middle East, the Muslim world, and Europe. The plan misses one vital point. It does not commit to a two-state solution. Apparently, the Israelis opposed this. The plan, in article 19, says: “While Gaza re-development advances, and when the PA (Palestinian Authority) reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people”. Not good enough! But for the moment the world, and more importantly the Palestinian people, must accept the American plan, and make the most of it.

Uzbekistan is set to begin a pioneering education and infrastructure initiative funded by previously confiscated assets. On 1 October 2025, the country will launch a $20 million “Modelling Climate Resilience and WASH in Schools” programme, aimed at renovating rural schools with climate-adapted water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) systems, energy upgrades, and governance reforms.

Women displaced by ethnic violence in Tambura, Western Equatoria, continue to live under a cloud of uncertainty, reports Africa News. Since conflict erupted there in 2021 between rival community-based armed groups, thousands of civilians, particularly mothers and widows, have been forced into makeshift camps, where basic safety, access to food and services, and hope for the future remain elusive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is contemplating a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, and was to meet senior security officials on Tuesday 5 August to finalize a new strategy in the 22-month war. It was unclear, however, whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages. Mediation between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has collapsed despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

More than 1,100 people, most of them Druze fighters, civilians and government security personnel, have been killed in clashes erupted on July 13 in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. Clashes between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralled and drew in Syrian government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult.

This week, a team of Japanese professionals conducted a landmine detection training programme for Ukrainian demining teams using equipment supplied by Japan. This initiative is intended to support Ukraine's ongoing efforts to clear explosive remnants of war in the context of Russia's ongoing invasion.