Myanmar President Thein Sein on Saturday signed into law a bill requiring some mothers to space the births of their children three years apart. The Population Control Health Care bill, passed by parliament last month, allows authorities the power to implement “birth-spacing” in areas with high rates of population growth. Though the bill has no [...]
Russian President Vladmir Putin signed a law on Sunday that allows for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or firms deemed “undesirable” on national security grounds to be sanctioned and banned from operation within the country. Further, the term undesirable is open to interpretation and not specifically defined within the statute. Under the law, Russian authorities would [...]
On Saturday Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by national referendum. The results showed that 62.1% of voters were in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. The traditionally conservative Catholic country surprised the international community and moved from criminalizing homosexuality to embracing same-sex marriage rights in a little over two decades. The Constitution [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday expressed concern over the human rights issues raised by EUNAVFOR MED, an EU implemented naval operation to identify, capture and destroy boats used by smugglers in the Mediterranean. The Council of the European Union agreed to create the program on Monday with the stated purpose of “prevent human tragedies [...]
The United Nations Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution which encourages increased cooperation in preventing the “illicit transfer, destabilizing, accumulation and misuse” of weapons, including small arms and light weapons. The resolution was adopted after a vote of nine in favor and none against. Six members, Angola, Chad, China, Nigeria, Russian Federation and Venezuela, [...]
The US Senate on Saturday blocked a House passed bill that would end the mass collection of phone records by the National Security Agency (NSA) in an after midnight vote of 57-42. Supporters of the measure were unable to secure the 60 votes needed to move forward, and no action was taken by the Senate [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Caroline Mala Corbin, of University of Miami School of Law, discusses whether filing paperwork in order to obtain a religious exemption is a substantial burden on religious liberty… Does filing paperwork in order to obtain a religious exemption from a law constitute a substantial burden on religious liberty? That is the question [...]
A military court in Israel on Thursday ordered Palestinian lawmaker, Khalida Jarrar, be released on bail. Under the terms of her release, she is to pay a 20,000-shekel (USD $5,000) bond with a third-party guarantee. She is to be held three additional days pending a possible appeal. Jarrar, a member of the Popular Front for [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Michigan on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of six Michigan transgender individuals against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson challenging a state policy that they claim makes it nearly impossible for transgender individuals to change the gender recorded on their driver licenses and other forms [...]
South Sudan government troops are committing human rights abuses , such as abusing civilians and lighting villages on fire amid ongoing fighting in the region, Amnesty International (AI) reported Thursday. AI has also received reports that South Sudan government troops have committed other atrocities while dressed in civilian clothing such as attacking villages with axes, [...]
