UN joins rights group in criticizing new security measures in Thailand News
UN joins rights group in criticizing new security measures in Thailand

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Committee [official website] joined Thailand's National Human Rights Commission [official website] in opposing new security powers [JURIST report] given to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [profile]. A cabinet decree now allows the government to impose curfews, censor news, ban public gatherings, tap phones, and hold suspects without bringing charges. Christine Chanet, chair of the UN Human Rights Committee, said the law is "absolutely not in conformity" with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [text], a cornerstone of international human rights law. Reuters has more.

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.