Full Coverage: Arms & military

28.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 28 (OneWorld) - Rights watchdogs seized on Thursday's anniversary of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal to complain of a lack of accountability for the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody, and to warn that problems which came to light there merely were ''the tip of the iceberg.''

28.04.2005 The last Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon on Wednesday, ending nearly three decades of military and political domination. Top intelligence officials are resigning and two UN teams are going to Lebanon to assess the withdrawal, and to investigate who assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February.

28.04.2005 To date, 400,000 people have died in Darfur as a result of the government-sponsored genocide, says Africa Action. The Washington D.C.-based group is collecting 400,000 signatures for its petition calling on President Bush to assert U.S. leadership to prevent the mounting death toll. Here is how to sign on.

26.04.2005 June 26 is the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Sign up now to plan actions and activities in your community or at your school. Show solidarity with victims of torture and take action to stop these heinous abuses.

25.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 25 (OneWorld) - The U.S. government should name a special prosecutor to look at Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's possible role in the torture and abuse of Iraqi and other prisoners by U.S. troops, a leading human rights group has demanded.

23.04.2005 NEW YORK, Apr 22 (IPS) - A humanitarian aid worker's death in Iraq last week is spurring calls for a public accounting of civilian casualties by the United States government and more attention to the issue by the U.S. media.

19.04.2005 Redirecting 2 days of global military spending would create the annual funds necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of universal education. A damning report from the Global Campaign for Education ranks the United States as bottom of a league table which assesses donors for quantity and quality of education aid.

18.04.2005 The Presidency of the European Union, the Embassies of the USA, NATO and the Office of High Representatives in B&H (OHR) condemned the events at the military barracks in Manjaca and in Bileca, when the March class of recruits of the RS Army pledged their allegiance to the Republic of Srpska, and not Bosnia and Herzegovina.

15.04.2005 The only remaining rebel group in Burundi said this week it would join the peace process ahead of elections scheduled for later this month. In the Congo, one militia group announced an end to its armed struggle while another sent the last of its conscripts to hand in their weapons. Meanwhile, Ivorians are waiting to see if their president will accept mediator Thabo Mbeki's ruling that the main opposition candidate should be allowed to stand in elections later this year.

12.04.2005 The UNHCR has signed an agreement with Nepal under which it will send observers to monitor respect for human rights in Nepal, where both government forces and Maoist rebels have been accused of widespread abuse.

08.04.2005 More than 20,000 boys and girls have been abducted from their homes and forced to become soldiers in Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army over the past 19 years. Thousands of these children have found refuge at World Vision rehabilitation centers, receiving food and medical care and, most importantly a safe place to stay.

07.04.2005 Atrocities committed by the Indonesian military in East Timor in 1999 remain unpunished. The terms of reference of a new Commission on Truth and Friendship established jointly by the Indonesia and East Timor governments have been criticised by local NGOs for not contemplating any prosecutions.

07.04.2005 Authors, activists, scholars and soldiers brought the truths of the Iraq war home to U.S. audiences recently on the fortieth anniversary of the first anti-war teach-in during the Vietnam War era.

05.04.2005 In early April, the U.S. Senate will decide whether or not to allocate an additional $82 billion for the war in Iraq. The best way to support the troops is to bring them home safely and make sure their veterans' benefits aren’t slashed, says Global Exchange. You can weigh in as well.

04.04.2005 U.S. Army reservist Aiden Delgado spent a year in Iraq, fixing humvees and working at Abu Ghraib prison. He makes new revelations about war crimes committed there and elsewhere and graphically depicts atrocities undertaken by U.S. soldiers who have been instilled with an unwavering and unquestioned hatred for Muslims, whom they call "ragheads" or "hajjis." "I want to let the American people know what they’re signing on for when they say they support the war," Delgado says.

04.04.2005 Many of Israel's high school students are preparing to get letters drafting them into the country's army--military service is mandatory for all. Many could end up in jail for opposing their country's occupation of Palestine or refusing to take part in what they consider to be human rights violations perpetrated by the army against civilians. They are asking for citizens of their closest ally--the United States--to write letters defending their commitment to peace and justice.

01.04.2005 After the U.S. was assured that none of its soldiers would be indicted, the world's leading political superpower finally agreed Thursday to allow war crimes suspects from the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan to be brought before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. More than six months ago, the U.S. called the situation in Darfur "genocide," but little international action has been taken since.

01.04.2005 Eleven years ago the world folded its arms as a genocide unfolded, leaving 800,000 Rwandans dead. Some 400,000 Sudanese are estimated to have died already as a result of what's been described as genocide in Darfur. As Washington, D.C.-based Africa Action prepares for next week's White House vigil--to commemorate Rwanda and call for more intense international action to save Darfur--OneWorld asked the group to explain the past, present, and future for Darfur.