A report released Tuesday by the Kenyan Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) names President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto as having contributed to human rights abuses that took place after the 2007 election. The report alleges the two officials helped fund and plan violence. Kenyatta and Ruto have already been charged with [...]
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved S. 744 , an immigration reform bill. The bill, entitled the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, is intended to help create a 13-year path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million current undocumented immigrants, contingent upon strengthening security along the Mexican border. The bill also [...]
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday signed the country’s new constitution into law, clearing the path to pivotal elections later this year. The new constitution limits future presidents to two five-year terms. The provision limiting presidential terms will not apply retroactively, so the 89-year-old Mugabe will be able to run in the next election and [...]
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Arizona law banning abortions at 20 weeks violates women’s rights, making it “per se unconstitutional.” The opinion, authored by Judge Marsha Berzon, focused on balancing fetal viability and a woman’s right to medical autonomy. The state defended the statute by arguing that it [...]
The House of Commons of the UK Parliament voted 366-161 on Tuesday to approve the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill . The legislation was introduced in January and will effectively extend the application of the Marriage Act of 1949 to same-sex as well as opposite-sex couples. The bill allows for an exception for any religious [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has no legal obligation to release photos of Osama bin Laden after his death. The decision was in response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking to have more than 50 photographs released which show [...]
Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera signed into law Tuesday a constitutional amendment that will allow President Evo Morales to run for a third term. The Bolivian Constitution only allows a president to serve two terms. However, last month the Bolivian Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the two consecutive term limit should not be applied retroactively, [...]
The Guatemala Constitutional Court on Tuesday overturned the genocide conviction of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt and ordered the trial to resume from the point that it was stopped on April 19. Earlier this month Rios Montt was found guilty of the genocide, torture and rape of 1,771 indigenous Ixil Mayans during his 1982-83 rule. The [...]
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and UN Women on Monday urged Afghanistan’s government to fully respect and defend the fundamental rights of women and girls by ensuring the implementation of and respect for women’s rights legislation. This call comes in response to the Afghanistan parliament, which blocked legislation on Saturday that would have [...]
The US Supreme Court declined Monday to review an Alaskan village’s claims that greenhouse gas producers should be held accountable to the village for pollution that threatens its vitality. Kivalina, a village of Inupiat Eskimo natives, filed suit against 22 corporations in 2009 for damages caused by greenhouse gases that reduced sea ice, increasing flooding, [...]
