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The accident occurred on Thursday in a remote village in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, northwest of the capital Juba.
Image used for representational purpose only.
JUBA: Eleven children were killed and one injured in an accident involving unexploded ordnance in South Sudan, the spokeswoman for the UN mission in the violence-wracked country (UNMISS) said on Friday.
The accident occurred on Thursday in a remote village in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, northwest of the capital Juba, spokeswoman Linda Tom told Radio Miraya, a station owned and operated by UNMISS.
"As many as 11 children died and one is still receiving medical treatment," Tom said.
"The scale of this drama is immense, we convey our deepest condolences to the families of the victims," she added.
South Sudan was plunged into a brutal civil war in 2013, two years after achieving independence from Sudan.
The conflict lasted five years and killed nearly 400,000 civilians before the warring leaders Salva Kiir and Riek Machar agreed to lay down their arms.
Landmines and unexploded bombs still cover large areas of the world's youngest country, posing yet another threat to a population already grappling with armed violence, natural disasters and hunger.
Globally, "every year, large numbers of civilians are killed and injured by 'explosive remnants of war' – unexploded shells, grenades, bombs, etc. left behind after a conflict," according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In June 2022, the United Nations Office for Refugees said that experts from the United Nations Mine Action Service had destroyed more than one million explosive devices in South Sudan, including "40,121 mines, 76,879 cluster bombs and 974,968 other unexploded devices".
The order came after observing the State of Kerala and its authorities being an 'utter failure' and rampantly violating the statutory solid waste management rules and orders of the Supreme Court.
The National Green Tribunal.
KOCHI: The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal has imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 100 crore on Kochi corporation for its failure in waste management resulting in a major fire at the Brahmapuram waste dump yard.
The order came after observing the State of Kerala and its authorities being an 'utter failure' and rampantly violating the statutory solid waste management rules and orders of the Supreme Court.
The Bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel issued the order on the suo motu proceedings based on the media report of a serious environmental emergency caused due to fire at the Brahmapuram waste dump site as a result of the utter failure of the state authorities in performing their inalienable basic duties of providing pollution-free environment.
It directed to deposit the amount with the Chief Secretary, Kerala within one month for necessary remediation measures, including dealing with the public health issues of the victims.
"It is self-evident that good governance in the matter of waste management is being neglected for a long time to the detriment of the environment and public health and no one has taken moral responsibility for the such gross failure of rule of law and damage to public health. It is difficult to understand what is the value of citizens’ right to life and safety with such an attitude of total neglect by authorities in Government. This calls for soul searching and also high-level enquiry to determine culpability in the larger public interest," said the Bench.
The Bench also flayed the government for not fixing responsibility for flaws.
"No accountability for such serious failure has been fixed and no senior person has been held accountable so far. Except for giving future plans, no fixing of accountability is proposed even now which is a matter of regret. No prosecution has been launched against the guilty for criminal offences under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and also under relevant provisions of IPC nor action taken for violation of the Supreme Court orders," said the Bench.
The attitude of State authorities is a threat to rule of law. The Bench expressed hope that the situation is remedied at the higher level in the State such as the DGP and the Chief Secretary to uphold the Constitution and the mandate of environmental law.
It directed the Chief Secretary, Kerala to fix the accountability of concerned officers for such gross failures and initiate action under criminal law as well as by way of departmental proceedings, following due process and placing the same in the public domain within two months.
Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Vladimir Putin could ever end up in the dock.
Both warrants are related to children's rights. (File)
The Hague: The International Criminal Court on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights, on similar charges.
Moscow dismissed the orders as "void." Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Putin could ever end up in the dock.
War-battered Ukraine welcomed the ICC announcement, with President Volodymyr Zelensky hailing the "historic decision."
The court's shock notice came hours after other news with the potential to significantly impact Russia's war on Ukraine, including a Moscow visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and more fighter jets for Kyiv's forces.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told AFP that Putin was now liable for arrest if he set foot in any of the court's more than 120 member states.
He said the arrest warrants were "based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what's been said by those two individuals".
"The evidence we presented focused on crimes against children. Children are the most vulnerable part of our society," said Khan.
The ICC said judges found there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect Putin's criminal responsibility and grant Khan's application for the warrants, which were made back on February 22.
ICC President Piotr Hofmanski said the execution of the warrants "depends on international cooperation".
'Historic decision'
During a meeting with Putin in mid-February, Lvova-Belova said she adopted a 15-year-old child from the devastated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
"Now I know what it means to be a mother of a child from Donbas -- it is a difficult job but we love each other, that is for sure," she told Putin.
She added that "we evacuated children's homes into safe areas, arranged rehabilitation and prosthetics for them and provided them with targeted humanitarian assistance."
The arrest warrant for Putin, a sitting head of state of a UN Security Council member, is an unprecedented step for the ICC.
Set up in 2002, the ICC is a court of last resort for the world's worst crimes, when countries cannot or will not prosecute suspects.
Prosecutor Khan launched an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine just days after Russia's invasion.
Khan recently posted pictures from a visit to Ukraine alongside empty cots in an empty children's care home, and said that investigating alleged child abduction was a "priority".
"It's poignant," he said. "One sees empty cribs and empty beds juxtaposed with paintings by those children on the walls."
Zelensky, who met Khan on his visit, welcomed the arrest warrants for his nemesis in Moscow.
"A historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's Western allies also hailed the move.
US President Joe Biden said the warrant was "justified," and "makes a very strong point," while noting that the United States is not a member of the ICC.
"There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable," a State Department spokesperson said. "The ICC Prosecutor is an independent actor."
Britain called the decision "welcome" and the European Union said it was "just the start." Human Rights Watch said it was a "big day for the many victims" of Russian forces.
'Void'
The Kremlin dismissed the warrants.
"Russia, just like a number of different countries, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court and so from a legal point of view, the decisions of this court are void," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev compared the warrants to toilet paper, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said they "have no meaning" for Russia.
The ICC's Khan however said there were "so many examples of people that thought they were beyond the reach of the law".
"Look at (Slobodan) Milosevic or Charles Taylor or (Radovan) Karadzic or (Ratko) Mladic," he said, referring to a series of war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, and former Liberian president Taylor, who have faced justice.
Earlier in the day, Beijing and Moscow announced that Chinese leader and strategic ally Xi would be in Russia next week to sign accords ushering in a new era of ties.
The United States has accused China of mulling arms shipments to support Russia's campaign -- claims Beijing has strongly denied.
The arrest warrants come a day after UN investigators said Russia's forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounts to a war crime.
The investigators said parents and children had spoken of youngsters being informed by Russian social services that they would be placed in foster families or adopted.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, but Kyiv has accepted the court's jurisdiction and is working with Khan's office.
Russia denies allegations of war crimes by its troops. Experts have said it is unlikely it would ever hand over any suspects.
With fighting still raging in Ukraine, Kyiv welcomed the news Friday that Slovakia will donate 13 MiG-29 warplanes.
Ukraine has long requested fighter jets from Western allies, although it is seeking primarily modern US-made F-16s.
