The amnesty law would shield security forces from accountability for human rights abuses during Peru’s internal conflict. Peruvian President Dina Boluarte celebrates Peru's Independence Day on July 28 [Martin Mejia/AP Photo] President Dina Boluarte has blasted the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for its opposition to a recently passed bill that would grant amnesty to soldiers, police officers and other security personnel involved in Peru’s internal conflict from 1985 to 2000. On Thursday, Boluarte asserted that the international court had overstepped its authority by seeking the law’s suspension. “We are not anyone’s colony,” she said,  posting  a snippet of her speech to social media. “And we will not allow the intervention of the Inter-American Court that intends to suspend a bill that seeks justice for members of our armed forces, our National Police and the self-defence committees that fought, risking their lives, against the insanity of terrorism.” Since passing Peru’s Congress in July, the amnesty law has been awaiting Boluarte’s approval. She can either sign it into law, allow it to take effect automatically or send it back to Congress for revisions. But the bill has prompted international outcry, not least because it is seen to shield security forces from accountability for the atrocities that unfolded during Peru’s war. The legislation would also offer “humanitarian” amnesty to perpetrators over age 70 who have been convicted of wartime crimes. Some 70,000 people were killed in the internal conflict, the majority of them from rural and Indigenous communities. Soldiers and police officers were ostensibly tasked with combatting armed uprisings from rebel groups like the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. But the conflict became infamous for its human rights abuses and massacres of civilians with no ties to any rebel group. Francisco Ochoa was 14 years old when residents in his Andean village, Accomarca, were slaughtered by soldiers. He  told Al Jazeera earlier this week  that he and other survivors felt “outraged and betrayed” by the new amnesty law. International organisations have likewise denounced the law as a step backwards for Peruvian society. Nine human rights experts with the United Nations signed a statement on July 17 expressing “alarm” at the bill’s passage through Congress. They called on the government of Peru to veto the bill. “The proposed legislation would prevent the criminal prosecution and condemnation of individuals who committed gross human rights violations during Peru’s internal armed conflict,” they said. “It would put the State in clear breach of its obligations under international law.” A week later, on July 24, the president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Nancy Hernandez Lopez, ordered Peru to “immediately suspend the processing” of the bill. She ruled that the legislation violated previous rulings against such amnesty laws in the country. “If it is not suspended, the competent authorities refrain from enforcing this law,” she said. She noted that a session would be convened with survivors, Peruvian officials and members of the  Inter-American Commission on Human Rights  (IACHR). In previous rulings, the Inter-American Court has found that amnesty laws and statutes of limitations are unlawful in the case of serious human rights violations like forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. It also declared that age is not a disqualifying factor for suspects accused of grave human rights abuses. Such exemptions, the court said, are only acceptable under international law for lesser or nonviolent offences. The National Human Rights Coordinator, a coalition of humanitarian groups in Peru, estimates that the country’s latest amnesty law could overturn 156 convictions and disrupt more than 600 ongoing investigations. A previous amnesty law implemented in 1995, under then-President Alberto Fujimori, was later repealed. Still, President Boluarte on Thursday sought to frame her government’s actions as in line with international human rights standards. “We are defenders of human rights, of citizens,” she wrote on social media, while emphasising that her government was “free”, “sovereign” and “autonomous”, apparent jabs at the Inter-American Court’s decision. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protest President Javier Milei's reforms in Buenos Aires, January 2024 ©Shutterstock On the grounds of a former naval academy in a Buenos Aires neighborhood, a pearl gray Skyvan PA-51 sits parked on a concrete walkway.  It appears to be an ordinary plane. But between 1976 and 1983, it was  used as an instrument of murder  by Argentina's military dictatorship. Up to 30,000 people are believed to have been "disappeared," or murdered.  Anyone deemed to be an enemy of the state could be ordered aboard the Skyvan to take a "death flight:" to be flown out over the Atlantic Ocean and pushed out at 10,000 feet. For decades, the planes used to commit these murders were thought to still exist but had never been found.  But an Argentine journalist, Miriam Lewin, tracked an aircraft down and decoded its flight logs, revealing its round trips out to the middle of the ocean.  Lewin used the logs to learn the fate of 12 women, including two French nuns, who had been "disappeared" by the state in December 1977. She discovered they had been killed on one of these death flights. In a 60 Minutes interview, correspondent Jon Wertheim asked Lewin why the military would resort to such a cruel method of murder. "Death flights allowed them to disappear the bodies of the disappeared," Lewin said.  "No trail, no clues whatsoever that could incriminate them." Argentina's military regime adopted another inhumane practice during this period: babies of pregnant mothers held in captivity were given to military families that wanted to adopt. 60 Minutes spoke with Guillermo Pérez Roisinblit, who was separated at birth from his biological mother Patricia while she was detained, and then raised by a family with connections to the military. Wertheim asked Roisinblit how it felt to learn that the family who had raised him for 20 years, had abducted him and were not his biological parents. "It's a very, very confusing time… it's like all the ties that you have at that moment are cut and you're absolutely alone," he said.  The former naval academy in Buenos Aires, La Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada, or ESMA, was used as a detention and torture facility during the military dictatorship. Lewin herself was once held prisoner there. Through processes known as Truth, Memory and Justice, ESMA was transformed into a museum and became a home for human rights organizations and government agencies who document and educate the public about the dictatorship's crimes.  In September 2023, ESMA was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The National Archive of Remembrance, where primary source documents related to the dictatorship are catalogued and used as a valuable resource for criminal prosecutions, is located at ESMA. ESMA is also a base for Madres de Plaza de Mayo and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, human rights organizations led by the mothers and grandmothers of those who had been disappeared by the dictatorship. Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo uses DNA testing to identify stolen or missing children from the dictatorship era. They say they've found 139 children so far, and estimate hundreds more are waiting to be found.  The president of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo is Estela de Carlotto. After decades of searching, she found her grandson. Her daughter Laura gave birth to him in captivity and was later killed.  Carlotto told Wertheim in an interview, just before the current president Javier Milei took office, that government subsidies, that they have received for decades, are critical for their operations. But President Milei campaigned on sweeping promises of austerity and budget cuts to right the Argentine economy.  Starting this past December, human rights workers in government agencies, museums, research and investigative organizations were laid off.  According to a union representative for state employees, roughly half of the workers in the Human Rights Secretariat were laid off or fired.  At the National Archive for Remembrance, half of the investigative staff has been laid off. One employee remains in document conservation, and two people are left in digitization. State agencies, including the Central Registry for Victims of State Terrorism and the National Identity Commission (CONADI), that help investigate the dictatorship's crimes, and even the ESMA museum itself also saw staff cuts. An entire facility with staff that promotes human rights through the visual arts, the Haroldo Conti Cultural Center, has been shuttered indefinitely for "restructuring," according to then-National Human Rights Secretariat Alberto Baños, who is now the Human Rights Undersecretary. In January, thousands of protestors rallied at ESMA to protest the layoffs and the closing of the cultural center. One of those protestors was Miriam Lewin.  "We organized lots of activities to support the ex-ESMA, to support the cultural center, to support the archives, to support the workers that were fired," she told 60 Minutes Overtime. "We had this huge rally, with lots of young people, with the participation of musicians, dancers, writers, poets, and lots of human rights activists, lots of students, lots of survivors. [And] we had, of course, the Grandmothers and the Mothers for Plaza de Mayo." Lewin was at the protest that night when candles were lit. She looked around to see crowds surrounding the Skyvan used for the "death flights."  "And it's [there] and can be seen as a symbol and a proof of state terrorism… so it was very, very moving," she told 60 Minutes Overtime.  The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have not received any subsidies from the Milei government, and their questions about the status of the funds remain unanswered. In early January, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona wrote on X that he had cut off all government funding to the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, calling them a "con." 60 Minutes Overtime reached out to Minister Libarona to ask about the status of these subsidies, but did not receive a response. 60 Minutes Overtime also reached out to then-Human Rights Secretariat Alberto Baños. He too did not answer questions about the layoffs. The Milei government has continued to lay off workers and cut funding for human rights in recent months.  In April, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona said the Ministry of Justice cut funds designated for ESMA, saying they would initiate an audit and suspend all payments "until there is transparent accounting." In May, the Milei government downgraded the Human Rights Secretariat to an undersecretariat, and 30% of employees will be laid off as a result.  And earlier this month, the executive director of the Museum and Site of Memory at ESMA, Mayki Gorosito, was fired. "If I could talk to President Milei and Vice President Villarruel, I would ask them to stop this policy of destruction," Lewin told Overtime. "We have grandmothers looking for their grandchildren." "I would ask them for empathy… 'please, have some empathy.'" Copyright ©2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

FILE -President Donald Trump listens as Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe speaks during a event with Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, June 27, 2025, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, watch. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) By Ignatius Ssunna and Gerald Imray KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda on Tuesday became the third African nation to agree to accept deportees from the United States under the Trump administration’s plans to send migrants to countries they have no ties with to get them off American soil. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told The Associated Press in a statement that the East African country would accept up to 250 deportees from the U.S., with “the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement” under the agreement. Makolo didn’t provide a timeline for any deportees to arrive in Rwanda or say if they would arrive at once or in several batches. She said details were still being worked out. The U.S. sent 13 men it described as dangerous criminals who were in the U.S. illegally to South Sudan and Eswatini in Africa last month and has said it is seeking more agreements with African nations. It said those deportees’ home countries refused to take them back. The U.S. has also deported hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama under President Donald Trump’s plans to expel people who he says entered the U.S. illegally and are “the worst of the worst.” Rwanda attracted international attention and some outrage when it struck a deal in 2022 with the U.K. to accept migrants who had arrived in the U.K. to seek asylum. Under that proposed deal, their claims would have been processed in Rwanda and, if successful, they would have stayed there. The contentious agreement was criticized by rights groups and others as being unethical and unworkable and was ultimately scrapped when Britain’s new Labour government took over. Britain’s Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the deal was unlawful because Rwanda was not a safe third country for migrants. The Trump administration has come under scrutiny for the African countries it has entered into secretive deals with to take deportees. It sent eight men from South Sudan, Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan in early July after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for their deportations. They were held for weeks in a converted shipping container at an American military base in Djibouti as the legal battle over their deportations played out. South Sudan, which is tipping toward civil war, has declined to say where the men are being held or what their fate is. The U.S. also deported five men who are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini, where the government said they will be held in solitary confinement in prison for an undetermined period of time. A human rights lawyer in Eswatini said the men are being denied access to legal representation there and has taken authorities to court. Eswatini is Africa’s last absolute monarchy, and the king rules over government and political parties are effectively banned. Both South Sudan and Eswatini have declined to give details of their agreements with the U.S. Rwanda, a relatively small country of some 15 million people, has long stood out on the continent for its recovery from a genocide that killed over 800,000 people in 1994. It has promoted itself under longtime President Paul Kagame as an example of stability and development, but human rights groups allege there are also deadly crackdowns on any perceived dissent against Kagame, who has been president for 25 years. Government spokesperson Makolo said the agreement with the U.S. was Rwanda doing its part to help with international migration issues because “our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation.” “Those approved (for resettlement in Rwanda) will be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade,” she said. There were no details about whether Rwanda had received anything in return for taking the deportees. Gonzaga Muganwa, a Rwandan political analyst, said “appeasing President Trump pays.” “This agreement enhances Rwanda’s strategic interest of having good relationships with the Trump administration,” he said. The U.K. government estimated that its failed migration deal with Rwanda cost around $900 million in public money, including approximately $300 million in payments to Rwanda, which said it was not obligated to refund the money when the agreement fell apart. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Escalating attacks in Cabo Delgado are taking place amid major cuts in international aid. A new outbreak of violence occurred in northern Mozambique, which has large offshore natural gas reserves [File: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP] Nearly 60,000 people have fled Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province in two weeks, a United Nations agency has said, amid a years-long rebellion by fighters affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) . The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that escalating attacks that began on July 20 had displaced 57,034 people, or 13,343 families. Chiúre was the hardest-hit district, with more than 42,000 people uprooted, more than half of them children, the IOM said. “So far, around 30,000 displaced people have received food, water, shelter, and essential household items,” Paola Emerson, who heads the Mozambique branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the AFP news agency. Emerson said OCHA was preparing to step up its assistance in the coming days. “The response, however, is not yet at the scale required to meet growing needs,” she said, in a context of cuts to international aid by the United States and other countries. “Funding cuts mean life-saving aid is being scaled back,” she added. The UN’s 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mozambique has so far received only 19 percent of the pledges requested. The organisation also stressed that the lack of safety and documentation, and involuntary relocations, were compounding protection risks. The Southern African nation has been fighting a rebellion by a group known locally as al-Shabab,  though with no links to the Somali fighters of a similar name, in the north for at least eight years. Rwandan soldiers have been deployed to help Mozambique fight them. More than 6,100 people have been killed since the beginning of the insurrection, according to conflict tracker ACLED, including 364 last year, according to data from the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. Cabo Delgado has large offshore natural gas reserves, and the fighting caused the suspension of operations by the French company Total Energies in 2021. The French fossil fuel giant has said it hopes to re-ignite the $20bn gas project this summer. Human Rights Watch last month said the armed group had “ramped up abductions of children”, using them as fighters or for labour or marriage. The group said recruiting or using children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities constitutes a war crime. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network

Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Global President, Isōko Centre for Humanity, Kigali, Rwanda. Former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu (2025)   Alice Wairimu Nderitu is the Global President, Isōko Centre for Humanity.   She served previously as United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide from November 2021 to November 2024. She prioritized translation of the concept of genocide prevention as an international, regional and national norm to a practical reality implemented at the community level. This was backed by new policy documents including   Combating Holocaust and Genocide Denial: Protecting Survivors, Preserving Memory, and Promoting Prevention  (first UN document to recognize the IHRI definition) The  Plan Of Action for Women in Communities to Counter Hate Speech and Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Genocide and Related Crimes (War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity)  (The Napoli, Plan of Action) The Declaration of Sudanese Women on Implementing the Napoli Plan of Action , The Plan of Action for Traditional Leaders and Actors to Counter Hate Speech and Prevent Incitement to Violence that lead to Genocide  (Abuja/ Muscat Plan of Action) Guidance Note on Persons with Disabilities and Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanit y.   The Plan of Action for Media Stakeholders in Preventing Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence that could lead to Genocide  (The Nyamata, Plan of Action)  Other policy documents included the Policy Guidance for Dialogue and Mediation in Situations at Risk of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity (2024)   Preventing Ethnic Genocide: A Policy Guidance Note   She prioritized development of educational policy materials and curricula on the prevention of genocide with the aim of integration into national educational programs.  Specific curricula include: Comprehensive Training Manual on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) and its Implementation   Course curriculum on atrocity prevention for undergraduate students for the Asia-Pacific region piloted at the University of Gadjah Mada in Indonesia and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand (2022). Teacher’s guidebook and course curriculum on atrocity prevention for undergraduate students for South-East Asia piloted in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand (2022). Course curriculum on atrocity prevention for African scholars (2023). Worked with Keene State College to develop a dedicated graduate certificate on applied genocide prevention, with a thematic module on hate speech within the programme (2024) Addressing Hate Speech through Education: A Guide for Policy-Makers  ((With UNESCO, in follow up to the October 2021 Global Education Ministers' Conference on education as a tool to tackle hate speech),    She operationalized the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech  through: The first United Nations online course on countering and addressing hate speech by UN staff. Policy documents such as:    A Comprehensive Methodology for Monitoring Social Media to Address and Counter Online Hate Speech . A Conceptual Analysis of the Overlaps and Differences between Hate Speech, Misinformation and Disinformation     Countering and Addressing Online Hate Speech: A Guide for Policy Makers and Practitioners    The Game Plan: Implementing the Plan of Action to Counter Hate Speech through Engagement with Sport .   She also institutionalized many partnership arrangements aimed at amplifying the collective capacity to prevent and gave visibility to Champions of Prevention  who often operate in challenging environments.   Ms. Nderitu previously headed the Human Rights Education and Capacity-Building Programme of the  Kenya National Commission on Human Rights , was a Commonwealth Exchange Fellow on education at the  South African Human Rights Commission , served as Director of Education for Social Justice at the non-profit organization Fahamu   (Oxford, UK) and as Commissioner of the  National Cohesion and Integration Commission  (NCIC) in Kenya. At NCIC, she headed the education department and co-founded the Uwiano Platform for Peace in 2010, a conflict-prevention agency that pioneered mobile technology linking early warning to early response. She also supported the Myanmar government in 2015 to set up a similar platform.   She has contributed to defining the role of women mediators of armed conflict, as one of the few women mediator signatories to peace agreements. This includes; (a) as the only woman in the 16-month mediation leading to the 2012 peace agreement involving 100 elders resulting in the Nakuru County Peace Accord signed by 10 ethnic communities in Kenya (b) as lead mediator in the yearlong peace process in Kaduna State, Nigeria leading to the Kafanchan Peace Declaration, signed by 29 ethnic communities (c) as lead mediator in the one and a half year long process leading to the Southern Plateau Inter-Communal Peace Declaration, signed by 56 ethnic communities in Plateau State, Nigeria. She founded Community Voices for Peace and Pluralism, a network of African women professionals preventing and/or transforming violent, ethnic, racial, and religious conflicts worldwide. She served as a member of the African Unions Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (Fem-Wise), and Global Alliance of Women Mediators and the Concerned Citizens for Peace, a group of Elders facilitating peace confidentially between African leaders at the highest levels. With the Women Waging Peace Network, she worked to foster dialogue in the Bangsamoro, Mindanao, Philippines.   She has served as an  Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities  instructor, as Summer Course faculty member at SIT Graduate Institute, Vermont, Brattleboro, USA, and as lecturer of the Socio-Economic Rights course at Pretoria University’s Centre for Human Rights, South Africa. She has also served as facilitator of the Senior Mission Leaders Course at the International Peace Support Training Center, Kenya and the Rwanda Military Academy, Rwanda.   Ms. Nderitu is a Transitional Justice Fellow of the  Institute for Justice and Reconciliation  (IJR), South Africa (2011),  Woman Peace Maker of the Year of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice ,  University of San Diego  (2012), Aspen Leadership scholar (2015), inaugural Global Pluralism Awardee for commitment to conflict prevention and an innovative approach to mediation by the  Global Centre for Pluralism  – awarded by His Highness the Aga Khan  and the Government of Canada (2017),  Jack P. Blaney Awardee for using dialogue to support conflict resolution by the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue,  Simon Fraser University , Canada (2018), Diversity and Inclusion Peace and Cohesion Champion (2019). She was also named 5 th  in the 2023 Avance Media's 100 Most Influential African Women.   She is widely published and has authored, among others, Conflict Transformation and Human Rights: A Mutual Stalemate ? Berghof Conflict Research (2009), "7 myths standing in the way of women's inclusion"  with Jacqueline O'Neill , Inclusive Security (2013), Beyond Ethnicism: Exploring Ethnic and Racial Diversity for Educators  (2015),    African Peace Building: Civil Society Roles in Conflict , with Pamela Aall and Chester A. Crocker (eds) (2016), Catherine Ndereba: The Authorised Biography of a Marathon World Record holder (2016), Kenya : Bridging Ethnic Divides, A Commissioner’s Experience on Cohesion and Integration (2018),  Women Peace and Security as a political movement, with Swanee Hunt , The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security. New York: Oxford University Press (2018), Mukami Kimathi – Mau Mau Woman Freedom Fighter (2019) and the Companion for Women Mediating Armed Conflict  (2020) She has also been a columnist with  The EastAfrican  newspaper.   Ms. Nderitu holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Keene State College, USA, a master’s degree in Armed Conflict and Peace Studies and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Nairobi.

The Democratic Republic of Congo held a national day of remembrance this weekend for what it calls the “Genocost” – a term used to describe mass deaths linked to the exploitation of the country’s natural resources. Civil society workers participate in a burial of civilians killed during the clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the Genocost cemetery, in Goma, North Kivu, on 2 September 2024. REUTERS - Arlette Bashizi President Félix Tshisekedi used the occasion to call on parliament to adopt a resolution recognising the violence in eastern Congo as genocide. "I solemnly call upon both houses of parliament to examine as soon as possible the adoption of an official resolution proclaiming the recognition of genocide committed on our territory," Tshisekedi said on Saturday. He said the deaths of thousands of civilians in the east of the country meet the legal definition of genocide under the 1948 UN convention. He also promised to take the campaign for recognition to international forums. The annual Genocost commemoration takes place every 2 August. It was first held three years ago. This year, a new memorial was opened near the National Museum in Kinshasa. Repeated conflict Eastern Congo, rich in minerals and bordering Rwanda, has faced repeated conflict since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Violence has escalated again since early 2025. The term “Genocost” was first used in London in 2013 by a member of the Congolese Action Youth Platform ( CAYP ). It followed the UN’s Mapping Report , which documented large-scale crimes in eastern Congo dating back to 1996. The report said several neighbouring countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, shared responsibility. For CAYP France , the creation of a national remembrance day is a major step. Gloria Menayame, a legal expert with the NGO, told RFI it was a “victory” but said more needs to be done. But, she also said that it "feels unfinished". "The adoption of the Genocost campaign is something we welcome," she said. "What we didn’t want was this partial appropriation that only takes what suits the authorities. There’s a lot of talk about international responsibility or the creation of an international tribunal. But they forget to put in place mechanisms to address crimes at the national level. We believe our government has the means, but lacks the will." Long road to recognition The idea of the Genocost began gaining support after 2013, as calls for reparations grew. Civil society groups pointed to a long history of resource-driven violence going back to colonial times. Supporters of the campaign renamed a square in Kinshasa “Genocost Square” and began holding events there every 2 August. The date marks the start of the Second Congo War in 1998. But the government only adopted the term officially in late 2022, after the M23 rebel group returned to action and tensions with Rwanda increased. One key aim of the campaign is the creation of an international criminal tribunal for the DRC. Tshisekedi also said he would raise the issue at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Theoretical issues Some legal experts say the Genocost concept remains controversial. Ithiel Batumike, a researcher at the Congolese think tank Ebuteli , told RFI the term is based on real anger and frustration over decades of violence, but it still needs to be defined more clearly in legal terms. "All Congolese believe it is time to stop this spiral of violence," he said. "The big questions all Congolese are asking themselves: 'Until when?' and 'Why does the international community act as if it doesn't see everything that is happening in Congo, when it is paying sustained attention to other crises where it has actually intervened to stop the massacres?'" Another issue is the role of Congolese leaders and military officials in the conflict. Menayame said some members of the Congolese government have been named in UN reports as being involved in crimes committed in the country. These include several generals active in conflict zones. She said their actions should not be ignored. © 2025 Copyright RFI

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand had already been suspended after a leaked phone call that many say showed her selling out her country. The New York Times By Sui-Lee Wee and Muktita Suhartono August 2, 2025 Ms. Paetongtarn last month. In a leaked phone call, she appeared to disparage her country’s military and to take a deferential tone with Cambodia’s de facto leader, Hun Sen. Credit. Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press Nearly two thousand Thais rallied in Bangkok on Saturday for the second time in over a month to denounce their suspended prime minister, who they say sold out the nation and betrayed the army in a leaked phone conversation with Cambodia’s de facto leader. The turnout appeared to be lower than on June 28, when a coalition of antigovernment groups organized rallies that drew thousands of protesters. As of Saturday afternoon, more than 1,700 demonstrators had gathered at the Victory Monument, a war memorial in Bangkok, the police said. Still, Saturday’s demonstration added to the pressure on the suspended prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed temporarily by the Constitutional Court last month because of the phone call. The court is deliberating whether to evict her from office permanently. The protest was also colored by a deadly five-day clash between Thailand and Cambodia that ended with a cease-fire on Monday. The brief military confrontation was the worst conflict between the countries in decades. The truce appeared to be holding, but longstanding tensions between the two countries have not been resolved . In Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, thousands marched in a rally calling for peace and for the return of 18 soldiers who were captured by Thailand after the cease-fire. Video footage showed demonstrators flooding a main road in the downtown area. The government said 10,000 had attended the march. During the call between Ms. Paetongtarn and Cambodia’s de facto leader, Hun Sen, which was to discuss escalating tensions on the border, the Thai prime minister appeared to disparage her own country’s powerful military and to take a deferential tone with Mr. Hun Sen. Sawang Tamtarachai, 69, a retiree who attended the protest on Saturday wearing a ribbon in red, white and blue, the colors of the Thai flag, said, “Sovereignty is something that you can’t negotiate.” “This is something that we can’t forgive,” he added, referring to Ms. Paetongtarn’s conduct. Although such protests are closely watched in Thailand, where public demonstrations have precipitated the downfalls of previous governments, a bigger concern for Ms. Paetongtarn is the looming Constitutional Court decision. Last month, it moved quickly to suspend her after agreeing to consider a complaint filed by 36 senators claiming that she had violated ethics standards in her conversation with Mr. Hun Sen. Ms. Paetongtarn is set to submit her written defense to the court on Monday. Protesters stood in 93-degree heat and called for Ms. Paetongtarn to step down immediately without waiting for the court’s decision. The demonstrations had the same nationalistic flavor as a protest in June, with many attendees carrying Thai flags, expressing support for the country’s troops and calling on the government to defend its sovereignty. Ms. Paetongtarn has also come under criticism for failing to lift the Thai economy, which lags behind those of most of its neighbors in Southeast Asia. Many Thais feel that Ms. Paetongtarn, the 38-year-old daughter of a former prime minister, is not experienced enough to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of President Trump’s tariff policy. After the leaked call, Ms. Paetongtarn’s approval rating plunged to 9.2 percent, from 30.9 percent a few months earlier, according to a survey conducted from June 19-25 by the National Institute of Development Administration, a graduate school in Thailand. More than 80 percent of people polled said that she should either resign or dissolve the House of Representatives to pave the way for a new prime minister or a general election, according to a separate survey by the institute conducted from July 4-7. Notably, a majority of those polled said that they would like to see the return of a former prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha , a general who seized power in a 2014 coup . The next few months will be a politically perilous time for the Shinawatras, the most influential family in Thai politics. Ms. Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, is also facing legal challenges. On Aug. 22, a court is set to rule on a criminal charge against Mr. Thaksin of insulting the monarchy, a case that could send him to prison for up to 15 years. Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2006, made a stunning return to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years in self-exile. He had been convicted in absentia on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and was promptly sentenced when he was back But he never spent a day in prison; instead, he was detained for six months in a V.I.P. hospital suite because his doctor said that he had various chronic diseases. That treatment has now come under legal scrutiny. The Supreme Court has been investigating whether the hospital stay was justified or whether it was a way to keep Mr. Thaksin out of prison. That verdict could also be issued this month. Kloy Janprasert, 63, a protester who said that she had been at the demonstration site on Saturday since 5 a.m., said the Shinawatras “have never done any good for us.” “I hate this clan,” she added. “I want them to perish from Thai soil.” © 2025 The New York Times Company

The Varakashi are using anonymous and fake accounts to mock, delegitimize and threaten opposition to the ruling ZANU PF party. Emmerson Mnangagwa at a Zanu PF conference in Masvingo. Photo by AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / Alamy By Andrew Mambodiyami | New Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's brutal regime, under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is using social media, particularly X, to smear and silence mostly female anti-government political activists and human rights defenders in the country. President Mnangagwa's army of paid pro-government social media trolls is known as the Varakashi --propaganda stormtroopers--with some using names of prominent people to open fake X accounts without their knowledge. One ghost X account uses the name of Zimbabwe's former vice president, Joice Mujuru. Even President Mnangagwa's spokesperson, George Charamba - who is also a senior government employee - runs two toxic ghost X accounts - @Jamwanda2 and @dhonzamusoro007 - which he uses to attack and post completely fabricated and malicious information about female human rights defenders and political activists in Zimbabwe. The first of these accounts was suspended in 2022 but was reinstated after Elon Musk acquired Twitter and renamed it X. In the past year there has been a proliferation of toxic X accounts in the country and they are flourishing. At times, these X accounts incite physical and sexual violence against female political and human rights activists. In one post, a ghost X account threatened a prominent human rights activist that "[I'm] waiting to rape you." The post drew outrage from X users, and it was later deleted. And in a study published in 2023 , Constance Kasiyamhuru from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa said the Varakashi in Zimbabwe operate mostly on Twitter/X to "shut down" the political opponents of the governing Zanu PF party. "Through trolling, name-calling, threats, mocking, mobbing, labelling, ridicule, casting aspersions, delegitimation, disinforming, and other strategies, Varakashi seek to regulate, censure, and 'discipline' anti- musangano [anti-ruling party] online discourse," Kasiyamhuru wrote. Tendai Ruben Mbofana, a Zimbabwe based social justice advocate and writer, said the systematic deployment of online trolls - particularly targeting female human rights defenders and political activists - has become a chilling hallmark of repression in Zimbabwe. "These smear campaigns are not just personal attacks; they are part of a broader strategy to delegitimize our work, intimidate us into silence, and discredit our credibility in the eyes of the public," Mbofana said. He added that the abuse often takes on a deeply misogynistic tone, laced with gendered insults, threats of sexual violence, and false accusations designed to shame and isolate women. "It creates a climate of fear and forces many women out of digital spaces that should otherwise be used to amplify their voices and advocacy," he said. Sophia Gwasira, who was elected as the first female mayor for Mutare City in eastern Zimbabwe in August 2023, told Index on Censorship that the fear of being smeared and attacked on social media platforms by Zanu PF social media trolls was forcing many women to abandon opposition politics and activism. She said social media platforms were no longer safe places for women in opposition politics in Zimbabwe, with the attacks affecting both them and their families. "It's affecting us not only physically but emotionally too. We are trying to find ways of countering these attacks. But currently we don't have any protection from our own political parties or from the government," Gwasira said. But Gwasira said she will continue to fight for the people and, given the opportunity, she would contest the general elections slated for 2028. Gwasira and many other opposition mayors, MPs and councillors were recalled in late 2023 after her party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) was hijacked by President Mnangagwa's ruling party Zanu PF through its proxy, Sengezo Tshabangu. This forced the CCC leader Nelson Chamisa to abandon the opposition party and he took a sabbatical from party politics in January 2024. Promise Mkwananzi, spokesperson for opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change - which is still loyal to former leader Nelson Chamisa - told Index on Censorship that as opposition, they have been identifying and exposing some of these social media ghost accounts and to direct their members to counter the toxic narratives on X. "It must be noted also that these trolls are paid using taxpayers' money to denigrate women and bully voices of the alternative on social media," Mkwananzi said. But Mkwananzi was quick to add that his party will continue to fight and mobilise people for a better Zimbabwe. "We are also educating our members to be strong and to remain focused on recruiting mobilising, educating and radicalising the base." Although women are the main target, men critical of the ruling party are also targeted. "In my own experience, I have faced repeated, coordinated attacks on X, particularly from anonymous accounts believed to be run or supported by high-ranking government officials, including the president's spokesperson. These attacks are aimed at silencing dissent and discouraging public engagement. But we will not be silenced. If anything, these attacks only reinforce the urgency of our work," said Tendai Ruben Mbofana Mbofana. When President Mnangagwa seized power through a military coup from Zimbabwe's long-time dictator, Robert Mugabe in 2017, President Mnangagwa promised sweeping reforms; economic and political reforms, including upholding human rights and rule of law in the country. However, Zimbabwe has become worse under President Mnangagwa than Mugabe; political opponents to Zanu PF have been brutalised, tortured and killed and corruption is widespread. A recent report by Human Rights Watch said authorities in Zimbabwe have continued to restrict civic space and the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly and the human rights, political and economic situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate. Under the current constitution, President Mnangagwa's term of office - his second and last term - ends in 2028 but his party is now planning to amend the constitution to keep him in office till 2030. Meanwhile, Mnangagwa's Varakashi are flooding social media with messages in support of the extension of his term and touting his "achievements" so far. © 2025 New Zimbabwe

Workers constructing a temporary learning shelter for children in Myanmar's Sagaing region after a devastating earthquake in the region. © UNICEF/Minzayar Oo By Vibhu Mishra 31 July 2025 I Peace and Security As Myanmar reels from deadly floods, renewed fighting and widespread displacement, the United Nations warned on Thursday that urgent humanitarian needs are going unmet due to escalating violence and blocked access. Farhan Haq, UN Deputy Spokesperson, stressed the need for unimpeded relief operations and a peaceful path out of crisis. “ The UN remains concerned by ongoing violence in Myanmar, including aerial bombardment hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure, ” he said, at the regular press briefing in New York. “ Civilians and humanitarian workers must be protected. ” His remarks come as monsoon rains and flooding – worsened by Cyclone Wipha – swept through parts of the country, further straining regions already destabilized by conflict and a devastating earthquake in March. Millions forced to flee The crisis left more than 3.3 million people internally displaced, with another 182,000 seeking refuge abroad since the military coup  in February 2021, according to the latest UN figures. In addition, over 1.2 million – mostly members of the minority Muslim Rohingya community – were forced to flee the country, driven by waves of violence. The largest exodus took place in August 2017, when nearly one million Rohingya fled brutal violence and attacks by security forces, likened to a “ textbook example of ethnic cleansing ” by then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. Disasters and fighting has forced millions across Myanmar to flee their homes in search of safety. Many shelter in IDP camps like this one in central Myanmar. © UNICEF/Nyan Zay Htet Floods, landslides upend lives In the flood-affected areas of Bago, Kayin and Mon states, more than 85,000 people have been affected, with homes destroyed, roads cut off and emergency services overstretched. Relief partners report significant shortages of food, safe drinking water and medical supplies. In Taungoo district (Bago) alone, three flood-related deaths have been confirmed, while six more people reportedly died in a landslide in Shan state. “ The pathway out of the deteriorating situation in Myanmar requires an end to the violence and unimpeded access for relief workers and supplies, ” Mr. Haq stressed, noting that health systems are also under acute strain. Disease outbreaks rising A humanitarian bulletin  from the World Health Organization ( WHO )-led Health Cluster warns that floodwaters are driving spikes in acute watery diarrhoea, dengue and malaria. There are deep concerns over outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, and polio is increasing due to low immunization rates and poor hygiene conditions in overcrowded camps. WHO has verified 27 attacks on healthcare facilities so far this year, with other monitoring groups reporting over 140 additional incidents. Meanwhile, severe funding shortages – exacerbated by cuts in United States funding – have forced the suspension of services at 65 health facilities and 38 mobile clinics across Myanmar. Services at a further 28 mobile clinics have been scaled down. Hakha, the capital of Chin state in Myanmar. © OCHA/Eva Modvig Elections under military cannot be credible The political context remains grim. Since the February 2021 military coup, which overthrew the elected government and imprisoned top leaders  including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has seen a steady escalation of armed conflict and repression. The junta’s plans to hold elections have drawn deep concern, including from the UN. “ The Secretary-General reiterates his concern over the military’s plan to hold elections amid ongoing conflict and human rights violations, and without conditions that would permit the people of Myanmar to freely and peacefully exercise their political rights, ” said Mr. Haq. He recalled Security Council Resolution 2669, adopted in 2022, which called for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi; upholding democratic institutions and processes; and pursuing in constructive dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar. Commitment to stay and deliver Despite the volatility and access constraints, UN agencies remain committed to reaching affected populations. As of July, nearly 306,000 people had received health services in 59 earthquake-hit townships – just 67 per cent of the target population, reflecting the limited funding and security challenges faced by aid workers. “ The United Nations is committed to staying and delivering in Myanmar, ” Mr. Haq affirmed, “ and to working with all stakeholders, including ASEAN and other regional actors, to attain sustainable peace. ” © 2025 United Nations

Toys and flowers are laid in memory of those killed in an attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. © UNOCHA/Viktoriia Andriievska 31 July 2025 I   Peace and Security At least 11 civilians were killed and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, reported on Thursday.  Among the confirmed dead is a six-year-old boy. At least 10 of the injured were children, the mission said , and news reports indicate that figure is rising. City-wide damage Russia reportedly launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles during the night,  and despite air defences managing to destroy many of them, the damage across the capital was severe.   At least 27 locations across Kyiv were hit by the attack, with the heaviest damage seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, where UN rescue efforts are ongoing. In the Sviatoshynskyi district, a missile destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building. In the Solomianskyi district, a five-story apartment building was severely damaged, and at least two people were killed. UN Ukraine reported that witnesses described shock at the strike, which happened so quickly that they did not have time to seek shelter. “Homes, businesses and public buildings are being destroyed, and it may take years to rebuild them. And each new attack compounds the psychological toll on people who have to spend night after night in shelters,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. More than 100 buildings were reportedly damaged in the capital, including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities, according to news reports.   Unprecedented civilian toll This attack follows a wave of violence close and far from the frontline, including weekend assaults that killed at least 20 civilians and injured over 120, a prison attack on Monday  that killed 16 inmates, a hospital strike that killed three and the death of five civilians in the east on Tuesday. This violent pattern continues from June, when HRMMU reported that Russia launched 10 times more missile and loitering munitions attacks against Ukraine compared with June 2024, killing 232 and injuring 1,343. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, stressed on social media that “international humanitarian law must be respected. All efforts must be taken to protect civilians. They are not a target.”   © 2025 United Nations

Deusdedit Ruhangariyo Special to ICT Credit: House of uncontacted Ayoreo, discovered when road was bulldozed through their land. The next day the bulldozer returned and flattened the house. PARAGUAY: Shrinking Gran Chaco Deforestation in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco, driven by agribusiness and infrastructure projects, threatens the Indigenous Ayoreo people. Many live in isolation, at risk of losing their land and traditions while facing exposure to deadly diseases, experts warn,  Mongabay  reported on March 21. A global coalition of Indigenous rights advocates is urging the Paraguayan government and international community to take stronger action. In February, the International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact visited northern Paraguay to assess the situation. The findings were alarming.  “At any moment, our Ayoreo brothers and sisters in isolation are going to come out,” said Rocío Picaneré of the Ayoreo Native Council of Eastern Bolivia. “And why is this happening? Because we treat the forest like a supermarket, and the forest is being cleared every day.” The International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact, comprising 21 Indigenous and civil society organizations, focuses on threats to uncontacted peoples in the Amazon, Brazilian Cerrado, and Gran Chaco. The Gran Chaco spans about 65 million hectares (160 million acres) across Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia. It is South America’s second-largest forest and has experienced severe deforestation, losing 5.3 million hectares (13.1 million acres) from 2001 to 2021. The Ayoreo, living semi-nomadically in the Paraguayan and Bolivian Gran Chaco, are believed to be the last uncontacted people in South America outside the Amazon. Their last known contact with outsiders was in 2004, when 17 Ayoreo-Totobiegosode were forced from the forest due to encroaching cattle ranching. In 2021, some secretly met with relatives, expressing concern over rapid deforestation. The International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact warned that more Ayoreo may soon emerge unless deforestation stops. The territory they inhabit once exceeded 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) but has drastically shrunk. “We’re trying to defend the life and food of our brothers and sisters, who are still maintaining their natural way of life in the forest,” said Tagüide Picanerai of the Payipie Ichadie Totobiegosode Organization. “We’re calling attention to this and urge the authorities to help us.” The coalition urged Paraguay to reassess land-use policies and the impact of agrochemicals on Indigenous communities. Pesticides and fertilizers contaminate drinking water and harm wildlife. Additionally, road construction projects, including the 2,200-km (1,360-mi) Bi-Oceanic Corridor and a 220-km (137-mi) highway connecting Bolivia and Paraguay, could further disrupt the region. “The deforestation from construction is only a small part of the profound changes [roads] will bring,” stated the International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact. The uncontacted Ayoreo lack immunity to common diseases. In 1989, after missionaries forcibly brought several Ayoreo out of isolation, many died from a tuberculosis-like lung disease. Similar illnesses affected those who emerged in 2004. The International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact warned Paraguay lacks the resources to handle potential health crises if more Ayoreo make contact. The Paraguayan Indigenous Institute, responsible for Indigenous affairs, declined to comment. The Ayoreo began negotiating for land titles and protections in 2016 but abandoned talks in 2021 due to a lack of progress. That same year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urged Paraguay to halt deforestation and prevent outsiders from entering Ayoreo land. However, most measures remain unimplemented. The International Working Group for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact called for urgent action. “We raise our alarm at the magnitude of the loss of the Chaco forests and their cultures and call for urgent action to safeguard the rights of the Indigenous population and recover the lost forests.” © 2025 ICT News

By  Jon Wertheim ,  Aliza Chasan , Michael Gavshon, Nadim Roberts, Elizabeth Germino The Skyvan airplane is grounded at the former Navy School of Mechanics, or ESMA. Today, the British-made Skyvan airplane, now 50 years old, is grounded for good at the former Navy School of Mechanics, or ESMA, in Buenos Aires. The facility, once a death camp, is now a museum and a memorial to the 30,000 citizens tortured and murdered during Argentina's dictatorship.  The Skyvan, and other planes like it, was where many of the "disappeared" spent their last moments before being  thrown to their deaths . The Skyvan might have been lost in the contrails of history if not for the curiosity of Italian documentary photographer, Giancarlo Ceraudo. "It's very important for the memory for the next generation, you know? This is real. This is evidence," Ceraudo said. "This was an instrument of death, but now [it] is a witness." Searching for an instrument of death Ceraudo, on assignment in Buenos Aires in 2003, heard about the death flights of the 1970s. The flights were a key part of the Argentine military junta's campaign against dissidents and perceived opponents, including activists, union members and college students. If there were flights, Ceraudo reasoned, then there were planes, and surely there were pilots. But where were they? In his search for the planes and the pilots, he turned to one of Argentina's most well-known and intrepid journalists, Miriam Lewin. As a young student activist in 1977, Lewin was kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused. She was then taken to ESMA. Lewin had seen other prisoners taken to the basement there and given what they were told was a vaccine. Only years later did she learn that it was a sedative, and that those drugged prisoners were put on planes, flown over the ocean and stripped of their clothes before being flung to their deaths. "Death flights allowed them to disappear the bodies of the disappeared," Lewin said in an interview. "No trail, no clues whatsoever that could incriminate them." Lewin was among the few who survived Argentina's notorious death camps, though she never knew why. She later became a leading investigative journalist in Argentina, known for unearthing the crimes of the dictatorship.  When Ceraudo first contacted her about finding the death flight planes, she was skeptical. Lewin was focused on finding the people who went missing, not the tools used to make them vanish.  "And he said, 'I come from a different culture. In Rome, when they are digging a tunnel to extend the subway lines, they find a plate or a sculpture and they stop everything for, like, three years,'" Lewin said. By finding the plane, they could unearth an irrefutable piece of evidence from the horrors of Argentina's dictatorship.  How the infamous plane was found Lewin and Ceraudo began their search by poring over military records, hunting down sources and combing the internet for clues. They discovered that in the 1970s, the Argentine military purchased five Skyvans — workhorse planes used for transporting cargo and troops, and used for parachuting. Two of the planes were shot down by the British during the Falklands war. Argentina's surrender in that conflict ended the dictatorship in 1983.  The rest of the planes were sold off. One went to the United States, where it was used for skydiving excursions and for delivering mail.  Lewin and Ceraudo discovered the plane in Fort Lauderdale. The owner provided them with all of the plane's technical logs, which detailed every journey the plane had ever flown.  They brought the logs back to Argentina to decipher them. They asked experts for help, but even decades after the dictatorship ended, people were afraid. Lewin and Ceraudo eventually tracked down a source who explained the highly suspicious journeys in the logs, tracing a route over the middle of the ocean. The departure and arrival points were the same. "He looks at them and goes, 'Oh gosh. This is gold,'" Lewin said. It was the first time the death flights could be documented and proven. Finding bodies of the victims Finding the logs was one thing, but Lewin and Ceraudo were determined to solve one of the most notorious and heinous abductions of Argentina's dictatorship. The mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are a group of mothers who marched and protested outside the Presidential Palace demanding to know the fates of their missing sons and daughters. They became the most potent symbol of resistance against the dictatorship, and soon they became targets themselves. In December 1977, a group of 12 mothers and their supporters, including two French nuns, were meeting at the Holy Cross Church in Buenos Aires when they were hauled away and taken to ESMA. They were seen by fellow prisoners being tortured, then never seen again.  One of the mothers, Azucena Villaflor, had been searching in vain for her son. Villaflor's daughter, Cecilia de Vincenti, always hoped her mother would return. "In reality, we didn't know what happened. Every single day we thought she was coming back," de Vincenti said. "Every day we lived like this." Her mother was among those taken on a death flight.  Days after the Holy Cross kidnapping victims were last seen, a storm washed up six bodies some 250 miles from Buenos Aires. Authorities in the nearby town secretly buried the remains in a common grave, but a local doctor issued death certificates, noting the victims had suffered multiple blunt force traumas.  "This means that they were compatible with those bodies having fallen from height," Lewin said. In the years after democracy was restored in Argentina, forensic anthropologists began unearthing evidence of the dictatorship's crimes. In 2005, bodies in that common grave were exhumed and identified. Five were identified as victims of the Holy Cross kidnapping. Azucena Villafor was one of them.  "The mothers and the nuns fought death just as they fought when they were looking for their children," de Vincenti said. "The ocean brought them back as proof that the military was trying to disappear them." Uncovering damning evidence  Lewin and Ceraudo began building a timeline for the days after the 12 were kidnapped from the Holy Cross church. They looked at the plane logs and found a four-hour flight over the Atlantic the night of Dec. 14, 1977. What's more, the log contained the names of the pilots. For Lewin, this was the jackpot.  "I thought that no one would deny what happened back then," she said. "Seeing that proof, seeing that horrible proof of a group of women being thrown alive into the ocean, being mothers and nuns, right? Innocent people, completely innocent people." The pilots of those deadly flights were hiding in plain sight. Two of them were flying international commercial routes for Argentina's state airline.  Lewin and Ceraudo's investigation became critical evidence used by prosecutors in the arrest of the two pilots. In 2017, an Argentine court convicted 48 people linked to ESMA for crimes against humanity. The pilots who flew the Skyvan PA-51 death flights were sentenced to life in prison. Bringing the plane back to ESMA Forty years after the end of the dictatorship, many of the disappeared remain unaccounted for and many crimes remain unresolved. The Argentine government and human rights organizations estimate that between 15,000 to 30,000 people were killed or "disappeared" during the dictatorship. After finding the plane and the pilots, Miriam and Giancarlo still had one final goal: to bring the plane home to Argentina so it could serve as irrefutable evidence of the horrors of Argentina's dictatorship. "Questioning, denying, or even vindicating what happened in those years will lead us into darkness again," Lewin said. "We always said, 'never again.'" The plane used to make some of them disappear was brought back to Argentina in June of 2023.  Lewin, who knows she could have easily been a victim of the death flights, has always asked herself why she survived. Her investigation provided an answer. "There was a purpose to my survival," she said, "to get justice." 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