Search Results for: disability

The US Department of Justice determined that Nebraska is violating the civil rights of residents with serious mental illnesses by unnecessarily segregating them into institutional settings. The case emerged from complaints by Nebraskans that the state was improperly subjecting mental health patients to segregation from general society, in violation of Title II of the Americans [...]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday assented to the Preventing and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, which criminalizes the offenses of hate crimes and hate speech in the country. According to the president’s office, under the new law, a hate crime is found “if a person commits any recognised offence under [...]

A class action complaint filed this week accuses New York prison officials of holding disabled inmates in solitary confinement in violation of state law. Solitary confinement has been a core feature of the US penal system since the 18th century — dating back to the earliest state prisons, where the inmates seen as most depraved [...]

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) released a 67-page report Tuesday detailing its findings from monitoring the 2022 US midterm election and showcasing strategies to combat racial inequality during upcoming election cycles. The report, entitled Democracy Defended, specifically focused on voter experiences in seven of the nation’s southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Kenya’s government of not proactively addressing nationwide flash floods. The rights group called upon the state to fulfill its obligation to safeguard vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those residing in high-risk areas, from the adverse impacts of the ongoing floods. Citing evidence from [...]

A coalition of rights groups led by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP filed a lawsuit Friday challenging four provisions of Alabama Senate Bill 1, Act No. 2024-33 (“SB 1”), which criminalizes absentee ballot assistance. The case is in the Southern Division of the Northern District of Alabama. Two of the challenged provisions were [...]

Messaging app Telegram restored access to a number of chatbots used by Ukrainian security agencies to gather information about Russia’s military actions after their short-term suspension, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security said on Monday. Telegram messenger blocked a number of official bots on Sunday that opposed Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, including [...]

The US Department of State released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Monday, amidst the seventy-fifth anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or UDHR. The report emphasized “several new commitments, including to renew investments around the world in democracy and human rights, to help protect human rights defenders online, [...]

Recent Afrobarometer survey data (Round 8, 2019-2021) paints a stark picture with 86% of Kenyans and 93% of Ghanaians expressing intolerance towards the LGBT community. This high level of intolerance exists despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteeing non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. Furthermore, across Africa, laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity remain commonplace. [...]

California officials filed suit against the city of Huntington Beach Monday after it passed Measure A, a voter identification law. The ballot measure would “authorize, but not require, the City to; verify the eligibility of Electors by voter identification…” and “monitor ballot drop boxes located within the City for compliance with all applicable laws.” California’s [...]