A Volkswagen (VW) executive pleaded not guilty in the wake of VW’s emissions scandal. Oliver Schmidt, the former general manager of VW’s environmental and engineering office, was arrested in Miami last month and charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and wire fraud in the US District Court [...]
UN human rights experts are called on global leaders Friday to take urgent action on air pollution to ensure world citizens enjoy what the UN calls “the human rights to life and health in environments free from contamination.” The experts stated that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) , approximately seven million deaths are [...]
The UN Special Rapporteur for North Korean human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana , is urging the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN member states to bring human rights violations committed by North Korea before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and address “the grave human rights situation” in the country. In a detailed report [...]
The Illinois State Board of Education voted on Thursday to approve a settlement of a lawsuit claiming discriminatory school funding. The vote resolved litigation over the Chicago Urban League’s (CUL) 2008 lawsuit claiming that the state’s funding model had a “demonstrable, disparate and adverse impact” on minorities. The settlement provides that the board will cap [...]
North Carolina lawmakers filed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday aimed at breaking the impasse over the state’s so-called “bathroom bill” (HB2) that requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate. The bill (HB186) would repeal HB2 while also permitting cities to pass nondiscrimination ordinances with 30 [...]
The US Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit on Thursday ruled that Texas can enforce a 2015 state law that criminalizes the harboring of illegal immigrants. Texas officials had claimed the law, known as House Bill 11 , was primarily aimed at human traffickers and smugglers, but its critics were concerned that it would also [...]
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on Wednesday dismissed charges against Im Chaem, a Buddhist nun suspected of playing a role in the Khmer Rouge regime. The judges in the case said they lacked jurisdiction to decide Im Chaem’s case as she was “neither a senior leader nor … one of the [...]
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Fayetteville city ordinance 5781 broadening nondiscrimination laws to include sexual orientation or gender identity is invalid under § 14-1-403 of the Interstate Commerce Improvement Act (Act 137) . This state statute prohibited cities from adopting or enforcing “an ordinance, resolution, rule, or policy that creates a protected [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to IMDb , a popular website that posts information about all things Hollywood, blocking enforcement of law meant to combat age discrimination. The injunction temporarily prevents the enforcement of AB 1687 , a California law designed [...]
The French National Assembly approved a law on Tuesday that would make French parent corporations liable for human rights violations committed by their subsidiary companies located anywhere in the world. Parent corporations subject to the law will be held to a higher standard of oversight for the actions taken by their subsidiaries. The law seeks [...]
