The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Nebraska and the Nebraska law firm Koenig | Dunne on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging Nebraska’s exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Nebraska , was drafted in representation of seven couples who [...]
The UN General Assembly on Tuesday urged the Security Council to call on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate allegations against North Korea for crimes against humanity. The vote came after the release of a report in February by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, which detailed numerous and “unspeakable” [...]
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson on Tuesday requested an emergency stay postponing same-sex marriage in the state. The request comes after the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit refused to block same-sex marriage in the state. Wilson requested that Chief Justice Roberts issue a stay and that “the stay last while the [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern on Wednesday over alleged human rights violations occurring in Yemen in recent months. The UN Human Rights Office in Yemen documented violations committed by all sides including the killing and arbitrary detention of civilians and the recruitment of children to control armed [...]
The Kansas Supreme Court decided Tuesday to allow same-sex marriage licenses to be issued in the most populous county in Kansas. Johnson County had begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in October and was challenged in state court. A federal court decision earlier in November declared the same-sex marriage ban in Kansas unconstitutional. A [...]
A UK judge on Wednesday ruled that Yunus Rahmatullah , a Pakistani man held and detained for 10 years by UK and US forces in Afghanistan, could take legal action against the UK. The British Defense Ministry denied involvement with the case, arguing that the British courts did not have jurisdiction to try the issue [...]
Slim Chiboub, son-in-law of former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison for gun possession. Chiboub fled the country during the revolution, and has since been residing in exile in United Arab Emirates. He was convicted of two counts of gun possession in absentia by a Tunisian [...]
Approximately 36 million people in the world live in a form of modern slavery, the Global Slavery Index (GSI) reported Monday. For the purposes of the study, GSI defines modern slavery as involving “one person possessing or controlling another person in such as a way as to significantly deprive that person of their individual liberty, [...]
Top UN officials on Tuesday warned the world of the growing crisis of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and urged the international community to take action in helping the Iraqi government transition towards democracy. The UN officials provided a report assessing the on the ground violence committed by IS in Iraqi communities, causing a large [...]
A US military lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay detainee argued Monday that the detainee, who is described as an al Qaeda commander, may be classified as a soldier according to international war rules and thus exempt from prosecution. The lawyer asked a judge to dismiss the charges against Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi, who is accused [...]
