Human rights body says Russia not meeting standards News
Human rights body says Russia not meeting standards

[JURIST] The Council of Europe [official website], the continent's top human rights watchdog, has rejected overtures by Moscow to stop monitoring Russian compliance with the Council's code of ethics, citing the nation's continued lack of respect for human rights. COE Secretary General Terry Davis, beginning a three-day visit to Russia Monday [COE press release], said in particular that Russia had reneged on its promise to ban the death penalty; while Russia had declared a moratorium on capital punishment upon joining the COE, it never formally banned the practice, and certain groups and legislators in Russia have recently advocated capital punishment for terrorists in the wake of the Beslan school hostage crisis. AFP has more. COE also posts its human rights goals for its 46 member nations.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.