The Canadian government on Wednesday released more than 40 redacted e-mails sent by former diplomat Richard Colvin to then-foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay raising concerns about the torture of detainees who were transferred to Afghan prisons by Canadian authorities. The e-mails, which Colvin alleges were sent in violation of instructions to avoid written communication, were [...]
The Honduran National Congress on Wednesday voted 111-14 not to reinstate ousted president Manuel Zelaya who was removed by a military coup earlier this year. The vote was held in accordance with the Tegucigalpa/San Jose accord , brokered in October, which gave Congress the power to decide whether to allow Zelaya to serve out the [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that Deputy Attorney General David Ogden will resign from his position to reenter the private sector. Ogden outlined his reasons for leaving, citing his original goal to assist in a smooth transition from the previous administration, and highlighted the changes that have occurred in the DOJ during [...]
Susannah Sirkin : "As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) was alarmed and deeply disappointed by a Department of State spokesperson's pronouncement on November 24 that President Obama does not intend to sign the landmark 1997 treaty banning the egregious weapon. However, an apparent reversal of [...]
The Quebec Superior Court began hearing arguments Wednesday on the pivotal issue of Canadian torture victims' right to sue foreign governments and foreign officials on Canadian soil. The case was brought by Stephan Hashemi, son of slain Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi , against the Iranian government and three officials for their role in the 2003 [...]
Albania is willing to accept additional Guantanamo Bay detainees, Prime Minister Sali Berisha told reporters on Wednesday, calling closure of the prison a "human rights issue." Berisha said that he will not accept Chinese Uighurs due to concerns for preserving positive relations with China: Naturally, I have said that we can not accept Yughurs, because [...]
The US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Wednesday approved the Financial Stability Improvement Act to address various economic dangers posed by large financial institutions. The bill seeks to increase regulation and to allow government regulators to control the collapse of large financial firms to lessen any potential economic strains. This would allow for [...]
Current US immigration detention and transfer policies unnecessarily interfere with individual detainees' rights to counsel and procedural fairness, according to two reports released Wednesday urging reforms to the system. According to a report by the Constitution Project , the government should: improv access to counsel for immigration detainees and, more generally, for all non-citizens in [...]
The Australian Senate on Wednesday voted against legislation aimed at reducing carbon pollution. The Senate voted 41-33 against the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 and ten related bills that would have established a cap-and-trade system. The scheme, similar to the current European system, would have been implemented by July 2011 and aimed to increase [...]
The New York Senate rejected legislation Wednesday that would have legalized same-sex marriage . The sponsors of the bill, supported by New York Governor David Paterson , were unable to marshal the votes required to pass the bill out of the state senate, where the Democratic Party holds a single seat majority. Despite earlier suggestions [...]
