Tomas Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said Wednesday that although there has not been any improvement in the human rights situation in the country, these rights should continue to be an “essential” part of any strategy aimed at building a lasting peace [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar presented a report to the UN General Assembly Wednesday criticizing Myanmar’s languishing path to a democratic transition. Special Rapporteur Lee Yanghee’s report criticized the government’s record and ongoing efforts to restrict freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the right to assemble and religious [...]

Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory called Wednesday for the international community to enforce annexation provisions of international law against Israel to halt their occupation of the West Bank. Lynk expressed concern about the continuing economic and social collapse of Gaza, stating: The United Nations stated in 2012 [...]

Four immigrant rights organizations filed suit in federal court in the Pacific Northwest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday alleging that ICE has been singling out immigrant activists in particular for deportation. Northwest Detention Center Resistance (NWDC), Detention Watch Network, The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the Coalition of [...]

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against election officials of Waller County, Texas, accusing them of voter discrimination. The LDF claims that officials refused to provide any early voting location on the campus of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a historically black university, during the first week [...]

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Hartford Courant Tuesday in a lawsuit seeking the release of documents related to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The Hartford Courant requested documents created by the perpetrator, Adam Lanza, through Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (FOI). When the state denied the request, the Hartford Courant brought this suit. [...]

Members of the EU Parliament approved a draft bill Wednesday to ban single use plastics by 2021. According to the European Commission, single use plastics make up 70 percent of marine litter and include items like plastic cutlery, straws and take out containers. Overall, 80 percent of Marine litter is plastics. While single-use plastic is [...]

Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, expressed grave concern on Tuesday regarding the treatment of human rights defenders, as more than 1,000 have been killed between 2015 and 2017. In the latest report on the situation of human rights defenders issued earlier this year, Forst praised the work that has been done [...]

A New Hampshire judge on Monday granted an injunction to block a requirement that voters have proof of residence when registering to vote on election day. The New Hampshire legislature passed the law in 2017, largely along party lines. The League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, who brought the suit, argue that the law [...]

Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Madagascar of an “unjustified, excessive, prolonged and otherwise abusive use of pre-trial detention.” The law in Madagascar allows pre-trial detentions to last as long as 5.5 years for adults and 2.75 years for children. In the second quarter of 2017, 45 percent of minors that were released from pre-trial detention [...]