The UN Human Rights Committee on Thursday released its observational findings on human rights abuses in Russia , concluding that Russia must repeal laws that limit free speech and permit discrimination based on sexual orientation and race. The report noted significant violations of the 1976 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights , as well [...]
Indiana’s Republican legislative leaders announced Thursday that they are proposing an amendment to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in an attempt to remedy the perception that the act permits discrimination based on sexual orientation. State Senate President Pro Tem David Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma will introduce the proposal, which bars service providers [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Govern, of Ave Maria School of Law, considers the ramifications of the recent Arab League agreement to form a joint force in the context of historic efforts on joint defense and economic cooperation … JURIST recently noted the 22-member League of Arab States (a/k/a Arab League) formation of a voluntary but [...]
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced Wednesday that the country’s military government will lift martial law in place since May and replace it with a new security order. The new order has garnered significant criticism to the almost unlimited power granted to the already powerful Thai military. Article 44 of the interim constitution , which [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in two bankruptcy cases. In Harris v. Viegelahn the court must decide “whether, when a debtor in good faith converts a bankruptcy case to Chapter 7 after confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan, undistributed funds held by the former Chapter 13 trustee are refunded to the debtor [...]
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Wednesday urged Tanzania to enforce its international obligations to prevent discrimination against women. The call comes after two women brought suit arguing that customary laws enforced in their communities contravened Tanzania’s constitution and its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against [...]
The Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of deaf and hard-of-hearing prisoners alleging that the state and prison officials had failed to adequately accommodate the prisoners’ heightened communication needs. The complaint , filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan , identifies problems such as [...]
There was an “alarming rise” in death sentences around the world in 2014, Amnesty International (AI) reported Tuesday. AI said there has been a 28 percent rise in death sentences from 2013—at least 2,466 compared to 1,925— and that an increased number of countries used capital punishment to deter crime, terrorism and domestic instability. AI [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed concern Tuesday over the rising civilian death toll in Yemen as Saudi-led airstrikes continue. Almasirah TV reported on the latest Saudi airstrike, which attempted to protect the port city of Aden from Shiite rebel forces Wednesday. Doctors Without Borders reported that more than 550 [...]
A military court in Thailand Tuesday sentenced a businessman to 25 years in prison for posting messages critical of the Thai royal family on Facebook. Theinsutham Suthijittaseranee was found guilty of five counts of of lèse majesté , with each count garnering a 10-year sentence. The sentence was reduced by half as a result of [...]
