Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday defended an Iraqi Supreme Court decision finding that several independent agencies must be placed under the control of the government. Among the agencies affected are the Central Bank of Iraq, the Supreme Commission of Human Rights, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the Integrity Commission , the Financial [...]
Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council on Monday rejected a proposed referendum that would have extended the presidency of Nursultan Nazarbayev until 2020. According to the council, the proposal, which entailed cancellation of elections scheduled for 2012 and 2017, was inconsistent with the constitution . In an address to citizens on Monday after the council’s decision was announced, [...]
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on Saturday that his country’s president violated its new constitution when he made a series of judicial, financial and legal appointments without consulting him. President Mwai Kibaki announced on Friday the appointments of chief justice, top prosecutor, attorney general and budget chief. The appointments were made in an effort [...]
African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Jean Ping said on Saturday that International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is guilty of double standards by targeting citizens of African states for prosecution. The comments come in the wake of a vote by Africa’s foreign ministers, who on Friday supported Kenya’s bid to defer the trials [...]
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday told members of the African Union (AU) that a recount of November’s Ivory Coast presidential runoff election results would be a “grave injustice and unfortunate precedent.” Speaking before a high level meeting on the situation in the Ivory Coast, Ban reiterated the UN’s pledge to help resolve the [...]
Belarusian officials on Saturday released seven people, including one presidential candidate, who were taken in to custody last month following protests surrounding the country’s presidential election . The release comes amid speculation that the European Union (EU) will reimpose a visa ban on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other government officials in response to their [...]
Joshua Rosenzweig : The past several years have been frustrating ones for those who hoped that growing international engagement with China would result in improvements in human rights in that country. While there is no question that economic and social development have brought substantial improvements in living standards for many Chinese, it is also clear [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor L. Ali Khan, Professor of Law at Washburn University says the people’s revolutions of Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt are in response to sham democracies and their peoples’ desire to enforce their rights and liberties, but the US’s role remains unclear… The peoples’ revolution is brewing in Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt. These nations, [...]
The Arizona House of Representatives and Senate on Thursday introduced bills challenging the right to US citizenship for the children of legal and illegal immigrants born in the state. The proposed legislation, House Bill 2562 and Senate Bill 1308 , are proposals to amend Title 36, Chapter 3 of the Arizona Revised Statutes . The [...]
The US Embassy in Pakistan on Saturday demanded the prompt release of a US man who it believes has been illegally arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis, arguing the man qualifies for diplomatic immunity. On Thursday, the diplomat was reportedly confronted by two armed men on motorcycles, who minutes earlier had [...]
