UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan Aristide Nononsi on Wednesday called for the Sudanese government to protect civilian rights in Darfur . Since 2003 the region has faced civil unrest from conflict between the government and rebel groups. Thousands of people are currently in displacement camps as a result [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday released its Annual Report 2016/17 , a summary of an international human rights survey that discusses the role “rhetoric of fear, blame and hate” have played in rolling back human rights around the world. AI analyzed major political leaders that identify as anti-establishment, such as US President Donald Trump and [...]
The Supreme Court of Thailand on Thursday upheld the sentence of a former magazine editor who published stories criticizing the royal family. The court did curtail the sentence , so that Somyot Pruksakasemsuk would be released in 2018. The editor was convicted under Thailand’s controversial lèse majesté legislation. The law makes it illegal to defame [...]
The Trump administration on Wednesday revoked the Obama-era guidelines regarding transgender students. The previous guidelines were a joint effort by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) that required federally funded schools to treat gender identity as a student’s sex for purposes of Title IX . A federal district court had [...]
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday that female soldiers will be allowed to wear headscarves along with their uniforms. The regulation, a break in the nation’s attempt to protect its secularism , is the latest institutional policy allowing head coverings in government settings. Coverings must be worn under a cap or beret and must [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin filed suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Wednesday alleging that the Milwaukee Police Department discriminates against black and Latino men in its stop-and-frisk program. The complaint states that the policies of the police department violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights [...]
The Brazil federal senate on Wednesday confirmed President Michel Temer’s nominee for the vacant Supreme Court seat, Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes, a 49-year-old lawyer, professor and current justice minister, was approved by a vote of 55-13 in the senate. The seat had been open since the January 20 death of former justice Teori Zavascki. Zavascki [...]
The German state of Bavaria on Tuesday approved a ban on full-face veils in certain public spaces, including universities, schools, government workplaces and while driving. Asserting that facial expressions are important to communication, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann stated in support of the bill that “ forms the foundation of our interpersonal relationships and is [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in Kindred Nursing Centers Limited Partnership v. Clark , wherein the court will once again be asked to decide whether binding arbitration agreements are permissible. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that arbitration agreements signed by legal representatives of nursing home residents were invalid, unless the ability to [...]
A Hong Kong Court on Wednesday sentenced Donald Tsang, the former Chief Executive from 2005 to 2012, to 20 months in prison for his failure to disclose personal conflicts of interest when his cabinet was considering a broadcasting license application by a Chinese property developer. Tsang faced up to a seven-year sentence and his conviction [...]
