http://www.choike.org a portal on Southern civil societies http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1450.html 15 May 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian “Nakba,” the “catastrophe” that led to the forcible displacement of more than half of the population of Historic Palestine. For 60 years, the Palestinian refugees have been denied their internationally guaranteed right to return to their homes. While the State of Israel is celebrating its independence, the fate of the Palestinian refugees and those subsequently expelled over the course of Israel’s 40 years of occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remains unresolved. http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/4092.html Over the last two decades, awareness has grown regarding the importance of weapons control and disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration in peace processes, both during the negotiation of peace agreements and in their implementation. Experience gained during this period has demonstrated that the way these issues are handled can significantly influence the outcome of peace-building efforts and contribute to their success or failure. http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/73.html "Justice for Darfur" is a campaign supported by human rights organisations worldwide, calling on the international community to ensure the prompt arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Court of the persons charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Sudan. The campaign is launched on the first anniversary of the issuance of the arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC). http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1042.html On April 28, 2008 the Security Council will discuss Iraq and receive a report from the US on the Multinational Force (MNF). In anticipation of this debate, Global Policy Forum and International Federation for Human Rights call for greater attention to the extrajudicial and arbitrary detention of large numbers of Iraqis held by the MNF, including some 20,000 held in a vast prison camp in the southern desert. http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1283.html In January 2005 the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Sudan ended Africa’s longest civil war. But the peace is fragile and doesn’t encompass the entire country. Politically, the country remains divided and violence is still part of daily life in many areas, foremost in Darfur, but also in Kordofan. Deadly incidents continue to occur regularly in the South. Oil is a principal factor in Sudanese politics. It is the government’s main source of income and the oil sector is driving economic growth. Meanwhile, the oil industry is poorly managed and highly politicized. Rather than contributing to an environment of peace and equitable development, it remains a source of strife and division. http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/5448.html On the eve of the examination of the human rights record of the Philippines under the newly established mechanism of Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in cooperation with its national member, the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), and with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), make public a report which highlights that torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are common practice in the Philippines in the context of the “war on terror”.