The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged Russia to rescind arrest warrants issued against senior judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC judges, who are tasked with investigating and trying individuals charged with significant crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime…
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last week adopted five new resolutions and submitted one to the General Assembly. One key development was the extension of the UN’s mandate in Burundi, which came in the wake of the recent expiration of the UN’s mandate in Ethiopia. The resolution related to the “Situation of human…
The Wisconsin State Assembly moved to limit transgender youth rights on Thursday, passing three bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors and restrict transgender participation in sports. To transform these propositions into governing law, they require advancement through the State Senate and subsequent approval from Governor Tony Evers. However, Governor Evers has publicly declared his…
Armenia formally submitted a request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanding provisional measures against Azerbaijan, alleging acts of “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region. According to an ICJ document, Armenia charges Azerbaijan with breaching its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The…
A Colorado jury has convicted Randy Roedema, one of two former Aurora, Colorado police officers, in the death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died after being restrained and injected with ketamine. However, the jury acquitted officer Jason Rosenblatt. Sheneen McClain, Elijah’s mother, expressed her frustration with the decision to convict one officer…
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) declared that “strong measures” have been enforced upon eight UN peacekeepers due to “serious misconduct”, related to sexual exploitation allegations. In his daily press briefing, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric disclosed that the peacekeepers in question were part of the MONUSCO, stationed at a…
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has recently given permission to a dismissed teacher, Toffee Tam Yuk-fun, to apply for a judicial review. Tam’s charges arise from her having made allegedly improper Facebook posts during the 2019 anti-government protests. She was dismissed by Secretary for the Civil Service, Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan, back in…
Recently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared that Germany will ban the public endorsement of pro-Palestine group, Samidoun, among the rising tensions between Israel and Hamas. Addressing the Bundestag, Scholz announced that the Interior Ministry would enforce prohibitions on both Hamas and Samidoun within Germany’s borders, accusing the latter of openly supporting Israeli terrorism. The decision to…
In an effort to mitigate the disbursement of illegal content and misinformation, social media platform X recently announced strategic measures targeting hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts. This development can be traced back to extensive criticisms by Europe’s top tech regulator, Thierry Breton, who currently holds the position of Internal Market Commissioner of the European Commission. Read…
The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), an organization lead by noted anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the law firm Perkins Cole, following changes to the firm’s diversity fellowship program. The announcement came in the wake of Perkins Cole’s statement which opened applications to all students rather than…
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was indicted on charges of acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government, as reported by US prosecutors. This indictment is a new development in addition to previous bribery charges related to similar incidents involving Menendez. According to the indictment, Menendez allegedly procured hundreds of thousands of dollars in…
Prominent Australian journalist Cheng Lei was released on Tuesday by Chinese authorities and reunited with her family in Australia, after being detained in China since August 2020. Lei was formally arrested in 2021 following allegations by Chinese officials that she had been illegally supplying Chinese state secrets overseas while working as a news anchor for…
On Wednesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council established an independent international fact-finding mission in Sudan according to a resolution they issued. This resolution is a response to almost six months of continuous armed conflict in Sudan between two military factions: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In September, more than…
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a report alleging that Rwandan authorities have been infringing civil and political rights, including freedom of speech, with these violations extending to Rwandans living in foreign countries. HRW detailed the various tactics used by Rwandan authorities to suppress dissent, including assassinations, kidnappings, physical assaults, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detention….
On Wednesday, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) held a special meeting to address the political disruption surrounding the presidential transition in Guatemala. César Bernardo Arévalo de León, who was elected president in August in what was largely viewed as a landslide victory, has seen his transition effort hampered by actions…
In a recent development, an appeal from Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, who has been held for over six months on espionage allegations, has been dismissed by a Russian court. This decision implies Gershkovich will remain in pre-trial detention. As reported by Russian state-affiliated news outlet TASS, the court examined the appeal against the…
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued an order granting a rehearing for the abortion case United States of America v. State of Idaho. This action, in effect, postpones the enforcement of Section 18-622 of Idaho law, which criminalizes those who perform or attempt to perform an abortion unless carrying the…
The Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, dismissed a class action lawsuit Wednesday against the French government for alleged racial profiling practices amongst French police in identity checks against people of African and Arab origins. You can read more here. The Council of State defended its dismissal, stating that the administrative court has no authority…
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case involving racial gerrymandering claims against South Carolina’s congressional map. The case is an appeal from a three-judge panel decision in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina Columbia Division, which found that South Carolina’s Republican-led legislature’s design of the state’s…
In a recent ruling, the UK High Court supported the Home Office’s decision to return asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge. The Home Office had initially evacuated this barge in August due to a legionella bacteria contamination in its water supply the UK Home Office announced. Local councillor and Portland mayor Carralyn Parkes sought…
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Tuesday that require the state’s public universities to adhere to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 (the Repatriation Act). The Act necessitates that state-funded agencies provide a process for identifying and repatriating Native American remains and cultural items to the appropriate tribes. The…
On Tuesday, a Delhi official approved the prosecution of Booker prize-winning author, Arundhati Roy, on charges of sedition, confirming reports on the topic. Alongside Roy, three co-defendants have also been indicted: the late Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, a previous lecturer at Delhi University, the late Kashmiri separatist leader Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, and Sheikh Showkat…
A UN independent committee stated on Tuesday that there is “already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed” in the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Gaza. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory emphasizes that all parties who have violated international law “must be held accountable…
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has recently ordered that UK police enhance scrutiny on displays of support for Palestine amidst the escalating Hamas attack on Israel. Braverman sent a letter to the Chief Constables in England and Wales, reminding them that the UK government has designated Hamas as a terrorist group. Consequently, under UK law,…
A UN special advisor expressed deep concern over the escalating threat of genocide and its associated crimes in Ethiopia. UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, drew attention to the unending tussles between government military forces and local militias, emphasizing the urgent need to address grave human rights violations…