Non-governmental organizations championed by Human Rights Watch released a letter on Monday addressed to the United Nations-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, urging that the Commission look into the killing of Lebanese civilians, including the journalist Issam Abdallah, by the Israeli military in October 2023. Abdallah was [...]
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Amnesty International urges US to provide humanitarian aid to Rukban
Amnesty International on Monday called on the US to provide urgent humanitarian aid to more than 8,000 displaced Syrians in the Rukban camp, a remote area in southeast Syria that borders Jordan and Iraq. Rukban became one of the crossing points for Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war in 2011. However, due to security [...]
Amnesty International calls for global investigation after deadly explosions in Lebanon and Syria
Amnesty International on Friday called for an international investigation into simultaneous explosions across Lebanon and Syria which killed at least 37 people, including 12 civilians, and injured over 2,931. The rights group highlighted that the use of explosive devices in civilian areas constitutes an indiscriminate attack, breaching international humanitarian law. Amnesty International deputy director for [...]
Sweden indicts woman over genocide and crimes against humanity in Syria
Swedish prosecutors indicted a 52-year-old woman for crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes over accusations of enslaving Yazidi women in Syria between August 2014 and December 2016. The defendant, Lina Ishaq, has denied the charges. The indictment comes 10 years after the so-called Islamic State (IS) attacked the Yazidi people, which the UN says [...]
HRW claims detonating communication devices violates international law following Lebanon explosions
Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Wednesday that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of communication devices across Lebanon and Syria violated customary international law. Thousands of pagers exploded on Tuesday, killing 12 and injuring more than 2,000 people. Walkie-talkie explosions on Wednesday killed an additional 25 and injured at least 600. The devices were evidently [...]
Rights groups call on Iran to revoke Kurdish activist's death sentence
Over 26 human rights organizations, including the Kurdistan Human Rights Network and Center for Human Rights in Iran, issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for the immediate revocation of the death sentence imposed on Kurdish women’s rights activist Pakhshan Azizi. This sentence, handed down by the Iranian judiciary, has sparked international outrage, with the [...]
Cluster Munitions Monitor report details civilian harm caused by prohibited weapon
The Cluster Munitions Coalition released its annual report on Monday detailing the use and transfer of these munitions alongside the policies and practices of countries regarding their use, and their implications on the international treaty banning cluster munitions. The 2024 report’s primary focus is on developments and challenges concerning the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the [...]
Lebanon and Cyprus violate refugees' human rights with EU funds: HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Lebanon and Cyprus of violating the human rights of Syrian refugees with indirect financial support from the European Union (EU) in a report released Wednesday. HRW detailed how both countries intercepted and forcibly returned refugees to Syria in a coordinated effort to prevent them from seeking asylum in Europe. According [...]
Explainer: American Socialists Accused of Russian Propaganda in ‘Free Speech Trial of the Century’
The trial of four American socialist activists began this week in Florida in a case that echoes the ideological tensions of the Cold War era. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused these individuals of instigating social unrest in the US at the behest of the Kremlin. This case pits allegations of Russian misinformation against [...]
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised on Monday to speed up deportations and pursue more stringent regulation on knife access following a terror attack that took place Friday in the German city of Solingen, killing 3 and wounding 8. Speaking to reporters, Scholz said Germany had to ensure that such attacks never happened again, and promised [...]