Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged Bangladesh to open its borders to hundreds of refugees fleeing sectarian violence in neighboring Myanmar . Escalating violence between Buddhists and ethnic Rohingya Muslims in the Arakan State of Myanmar has put residents in the region at risk and has left an unknown number dead. Earlier this month, [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday expressed its desire to start two Kenya trials simultaneously to avoid any appearance of bias in the March 2013 presidential election. Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo stated in a news conference that the office of prosecution wants to start the trials against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt Florida’s ongoing purging of voter rolls. The DOJ alleges that Florida’s policy violates the National Voter Registration Act (VRA) , which requires all voter roll maintenance to cease 90 days before the primary election, meaning all purging [...]
The office of prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) asked the court on Wednesday to sentence the convicted Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to 30 years of imprisonment. Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the court in the sentencing hearing that the prosecution will request a sentence in the name [...]
A referendum to overturn a new same-sex marriage law in Washington will appear on the ballots in November, the Secretary of State’s office announced on Tuesday. Voters will have the option to accept or reject the new law, which legalizes civil marriage for same-sex couples. Last week, Preserve Marriage Washington presented over 200,000 referendum signatures [...]
Lawyers for student organizations asked the Quebec Superior Court on Tuesday to suspend parts of an emergency law that restrict spontaneous protests until the law’s constitutionality is determined. The law, “An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the postsecondary institutions they attend” , was introduced and passed on May 18 to address the [...]
Prominent Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekeyev on Wednesday filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits the spreading “homosexual propaganda” to minors. Alekeyev alleges that the ordinance violates Article 10 and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights . Last month, [...]
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) held a hearing Tuesday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) , focusing on discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees across the country. Among the panel of witnesses attending the hearing was Kylar Broadus, founder of the Trans People of Color Coalition , [...]
Amnesty International (AI) called Tuesday for an end to the supply of arms to groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) . The report highlights the flaws in Congolese security, which AI says allow for violations towards civilians by armed forces and groups due to the availability and misuse of weapons and ammunition. Paule [...]
The administration of Florida Governor Rick Scott filed suit on Monday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against Department of Homeland Security and US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for banning the state from comparing names in the state voter system with those in the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements [...]
