Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan on Thursday, according to local media, with the Taliban flag being hung from the embassy in Moscow. Earlier this year, Russia removed the Taliban from a list of terrorist organizations, “citing the need for cooperation in combating drug trafficking and terrorism, as [...]

The US Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a pair of consolidated cases that could reshape the legal landscape for state-run transportation systems operating across state lines. The court granted limited certiorari to determine whether the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) qualifies as an “arm of the state” entitled to interstate sovereign immunity [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on UN member states Thursday to renew the mandate of the independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), emphasizing that the mandate remains a vital mechanism for protecting universal human rights. As the UN Human Rights Council prepares to vote on [...]

Too often we tend to think that the Declaration of Independence was a creature which sprang to life between June 7, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced his resolution calling for independence and Mr. Jefferson’s magnum opus which was voted on three weeks later. History teaches that the march towards independence was a [...]

New York City filed an amicus brief in a federal habeas corpus proceeding on Tuesday, supporting a former high school student who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after attending his mandatory immigration hearing in lower Manhattan. The city filed the brief in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New [...]

A coalition of human rights groups raised concerns on Thursday over FIFA’s decision to cancel “anti-racism and anti-discrimination messaging” in the lead-up to the 2026 Men’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. The statement followed a report by the New York Times‘ The Athletic blog revealing that FIFA has not displayed anti-racist or [...]

Amnesty International expressed outrage on Thursday over the violent crackdown on protests in Togo on June 26, citing the unjustified use of force by the police and security forces. The organization urged the Togolese authorities to stop the unlawful use of force and ensure the release of those detained, calling for an investigation into the [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday that Türkiye’s administrative court in the province of Kahramanmaraş should scrutinize whether the environmental impact assessment (EIA) sufficiently weighed the rights impact of a coal power plant’s expansion. HRW submitted an amicus brief with the court, a legal document filed by a third party to provide additional context or [...]

Amnesty International on Thursday called for an investigation into alleged abuses against detainees in Russia and Azerbaijan. In the statement, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers said: The authorities in both Russia and Azerbaijan have shown complete disregard for human dignity and open contempt for their human rights obligations. Torture [...]