What’s Happening Today?

World Day for International Justice. It is an international day celebrated throughout the world on July 17, as part of an effort to recognize the emerging system of international criminal justice. July 17 is the date of the adoption of the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. On 1 June 2010, at the Review Conference of the Rome Statute held in Kampala, Uganda, the Assembly of State Parties decided to celebrate 17 July as the Day of International Criminal Justice.

World Emoji Day. World Emoji Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on 17 July. The day is deemed a "global celebration of emoji". Celebrated annually since 2014, NBC reported that the day was Twitter's top trending item on 17 July in 2015. Since 2017, Apple has used each World Emoji Day to announce upcoming expansions to the range of emojis on iOS.

Constitution Day (South Korea).  Constitution Day in South Korea is observed on 17 July, the day that the South Korean constitution was proclaimed in 1948. The date was deliberately chosen to match the founding date of 17 July of the Joseon dynasty.

What Happened Today?

1. In 1976, the opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal was marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New Zealand's participation. New Zealand was deemed to support apartheid in South Africa because it had continued participating in South African sporting events despite other white countries boycotting them. These African countries wanted the International Olympic Committee to exclude New Zealand from the games.

2. In 1998, President Yoweri Museveni proposed a single continental army and government for Africa with headquarters in Kampala. The idea for a single continental army was supported by Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gadhafi, though he was not quite comfortable with the idea of an African government being headquartered in Kampala.

3. In 1998, a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

Birthdays

1. 1941 – Namirembe Bitamazire, Ugandan politician and former minister, most famous for her stint as Minister of Education from 2005 to 2011.

2. 1954 – Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany who has been in office since 2005.

Sources: Wikipedia, bornglorious.com and timelines.

Picture credit: Britannica