The Connecticut Senate on Saturday voted 20-16 to pass a bill that provides protection for gender identity under the state’s existing anti-discrimination laws. An Act Concerning Discrimination alters existing law by including “gender identity or expression” as a protected trait for all persons with regard to employment, public accommodations, the sale or rental of housing, [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday expressed concern regarding the escalation of violence in Syria and called for end to the repression by security and military forces. Ban cited 70 deaths in the last week, disturbing reports of the deaths of children under torture, live ammunition and shelling in his statement. The statement calls for [...]
The UN Security Council on Friday released a statement demanding the removal of Sudanese troops from Abyei, the disputed oil-producing region between North and South Sudan. Sudanese troops invaded Abyei in May and have occupied the area since, causing an estimated 45,000 residents to flee the embattled area. The troops have looted and ransacked much [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on Friday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging a new state voting law. The suit was filed by the ACLU in conjunction with the voter’s rights group Project Vote , and it seeks to block implementation of [...]
The US State Department (DOS) urged the Chinese government on Friday to release protesters arrested for the peaceful protests in Tiananmen Square in June 1989. Friday marked the twenty-second anniversary of the suppression of the protests in Tiananmen Square. The DOS also asked the Chinese government to provide an account of those missing, detained or [...]
The UN warned in a report Friday that government restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression on the Internet impinge on human rights. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights outlines the types of restrictions that would be considered breaches of party states’ obligations to guarantee the right [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Thursday rejected a prisoner’s attempt to have new crack cocaine sentencing guidelines applied retroactively to reduce his sentence. The three-judge panel found that it could not infer congressional intent to apply the Fair Sentencing Act to prisoners already convicted and serving the prior mandatory minimum. The [...]
A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson on Friday condemned Qatar’s extradition of rape victim Eman Al Obeidi to her home country of Libya . UNCHR spokesperson, Adrian Edwards, said that Qatar violated international law by deporting Al Obeidi after she was ruled a refugee by the UNHCR and in its custody. Al [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday held a hearing to determine whether he should reconsider a ruling he issued last week striking down a ban on corporate donations to federal political candidates. US prosecutors said they failed to cite key precedent related to campaign finance, therefore [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided Thursday there is no conflict with the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) and that it can rule on two challenges to the health care reform . Last week, the court requested briefs from all parties in Liberty v. Geithner and Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius explaining whether [...]
