World news in a short time: Terror-Crime Link Alarm, childish in Australia, judiciary in Maldives, protection of the civilian population

In recent years, criminals and terrorist groups have used “every” opportunity by using increasing instability for “shift, expansion and escalation” in their opening speeches to the Commission for Crimes and Criminal Justice in Vienna in Vienna.

Challenges such as human and drug trafficking, smuggling of cultural and commercial goods as well as environmental crimes are on the agenda during the four-day conference, which focuses on the “development and development” of forms of organized crime.

Emerging threats

The world faces a “fundamental challenge for security, prosperity and the rule of law,” said the executive director, with the connection between criminal and terrorist groups becoming a growing concern.

While the new technology serves as an enabler for criminal networks, justice systems around the world will “starve” the resources and conditions they need to ensure the same access to the judiciary.

She said that criminal threats developed that it was certainly not the time to scale the global investments in the contraception of crime and criminal justice both politically and financially, and emphasized the importance of multilateral cooperation.

Australia Justice System in the spotlight about the reform of the children's offenders

To Australia, where the best independent rights experts have given concerns about proposed legal reforms that could increase the penalties for children.

In most Australian states, criminal responsibility begins at 10, so that young people can be imprisoned for a large number of crimes if convicted.

According to the rights experts Jill Edwards and Albert Barume, already disproportionately many children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are still being arrested in Australia.

The special rapporteurs, who are appointed and report by the Human Rights Council – have insisted that “many new or proposed” laws across the country with the rights of the child are incompatible.

Queensland suspicion

This includes the so -called legal reform “adult, adult time” in the state of Queensland.

If they are adopted later this week, this can lead to children for dozens of crimes to serve longer prison sentences.

“The first goal should always be to keep children away from prison,” said the rights experts. They emphasized the excessive effects of the law on indigenous children in Queensland and the risk of creating “a future subclass of Australians”.

Discharge of the judges of the Supreme Court by Maledives raises concern, warns the UN right of rights

The United Nations' Human Rights Office warned on Monday that the dismissal of the Maldives authorities of two judges of the Supreme Court could endanger the independence of the judiciary.

The South Asian island station started in both judges in February 2025.

At the same time, the Parliament of the Maldives passed a legislative template to reduce the size of the Bank of the Supreme Court of Seven to five judges.

A judge of the third Supreme Court also resigned, while a fourth judge – the supreme judge – has retired since then.

The investigation against the judges raises questions about the implementation, said the UN human rights office in Ohchr in an explanation.

Judicial independence

“We commemorate the authorities of their obligation to maintain and protect an independent judiciary in accordance with the constitution of the Maldives and international human rights obligations,” said the spokesman for Ohchr, Jeremy Laurence.

“Checkings between the different branches of the state, including a strong and independent judiciary, play an important role in ensuring loyalty to the rule of law of all government branches and the effective protection of human rights,” added Laurence.

Previously, the independent Rights expert Margaret Satterthwaite made a concern that lawyers of the judges of the Supreme Court of Maldives, who were examined, “were not given the opportunity to speak in the disciplinary procedure and not publicly”.

Ms. Satterthwaite reports to the Human Rights Council on the independence of judges and lawyers; She is not a UN employee.

The protection of the civil population week will deal with the “culture of impunity”

Over 50,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. In Sudan, the number has been around 18,000 and in Ukraine in the past two years, the total amount since Russia's full invasion.

During the protection of the civil population week from May 19 to 23, these avoidable deaths and shifts will be the focus of the United Nations, their member states and civil society associated companies in order to discuss opportunities to prevent future armed conflicts.

The eighth annual POC week, which is coordinated by the office for the coordination of humanitarian matters (OCHA), Switzerland, the conflict center for the civilian population and the International Committee of the Red Cross, will concentrate on the topic “Instruments to promote the protection of civilians”.

International guarantees, national violations

The international humanitarian and human rights law determines clear guidelines that protect civilians in armed conflicts.

However, Ocha found that there is increasingly a “culture of impunity” in relation to the enforcement of these laws, whereby the spread of them and the use of them have increasingly politicized.

“Despite clear protective measures under international humanitarian and human rights law, civilians continue to suffer from the main burden of conflicts,” said Ocha and outlined the coming week.

This applies in particular to the increase in civilian deaths. In the past ten years, the world has experienced an increase in armed conflicts and disrupted a decline of 20 years.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of civilian deaths rose by 72 percent according to UN estimates.

Throughout the week, individual Member State missions also organize a large number of informal consultations. The calendar for the week is here.