France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly , approved a bill on Tuesday which extends marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. The bill was approved by a vote of...

Bangladesh's cabinet on Monday approved changes to war crime laws to allow plaintiffs to appeal verdicts delivered by Bangladesh's crimes tribunal. The amendment permits appeals against "inadequate sentence" in war crimes cases. According to Cabinet Secretary Musharraf...

Three independent UN human rights experts on Monday called for the immediate release of two key opposition leaders and their family members in Iran. Former presidential candidates Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein Mossavi have been confined to...

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Monday refused to reconsider an August ruling that Italy's ban on screening embryos for diseases before they are implanted in a womb violates parents' rights. The...

A Milan appeals court on Tuesday sentenced Niccolo Pollari, the former Italian spy chief, to 10 years in prison for his role in the kidnapping of a terror suspect as part of the US Central Intelligence Agency ...

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona on Friday overturned a state law last that would have blocked funding for Planned Parenthood clinics because the organization also performs...

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday signed a memorandum extending government benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel that were previously available only to spouses. Some of the benefits now extended to...

A UN independent expert on human rights in Sudan, Mashood Adebayo Baderin, on Sunday expressed concern regarding the arrest and detention of political opposition figures by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). According to...

If Scotland became independent it would have to reapply for European Union (EU) membership, according to a report released Monday by the HM Treasury , the UK's economic and finance ministry. A referendum on...

The UN International Labor Organization (ILO) on Friday released a report urging greater efforts to end forced labor. The ILO estimates that 21 million people are subject to forced labor, which often includes human trafficking...