The US Senate Wednesday blocked a Washington DC criminal law reform bill. A joint resolution to disapprove of the bill passed the Senate in a vote of 81-14, with 33 Democrats and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) joining all Senate Republicans. During floor speeches before the vote, Democrats and Republicans debated the utility of the DC [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday announced a review of the Memphis Police Department’s (MPD) use of force and de-escalation policies following the January 7 killing of Tyre Nichols. The review will concentrate on the use of specialized police units like the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) unit in [...]

The US Department of Defense (DOD) Wednesday said it will release Gussan Abdullah Al Sharbi after 20 years in Guantanamo Bay. Al Sharbi, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, is set to be transferred the Kingdom for repatriation. Al Sharbi was captured in Pakistan in 2002 by the US military. He was accused of training al [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Wednesday criticised a British draft law that would require the deportation of anyone arriving in the UK by small boats. Türk said he was “deeply concerned” at the legislation and argued that it would violate international law. The new plans would ban asylum seekers who arrive illegally [...]

The Human Rights Watch Tuesday urged Kazakhstan to ensure the protection of women from family violence, including making domestic violence a standalone offense. Ever since the withdrawal of previous draft laws on domestic violence three years ago, the inadequacies in the remedial measures in this area are being attempted to be corrected by two new [...]

Hungary’s Justice Minister Judit Varga Wednesday promised that Budapest will defend an education law against criticism by the EU that it discriminates against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Varga filed a counterclaim with the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding her nation’s alleged breach of obligations initiated under [...]

President of France Emmanuel Macron Wednesday called for a law to include the right to abortion into the French Constitution. Macron made this announcement at an event to honour the late Gisèle Halimi, a renowned French-Tunisian lawyer, politician and tireless defender of women’s rights. The French National Assembly voted to add the right to abortion to [...]

Republican members of the Florida State House and Senate Tuesday proposed parallel bills further restricting the abortion ban in the state from 15 weeks of pregnancy to six weeks of pregnancy. The bills provide that physicians cannot perform abortions after six weeks of fetal gestation, tightening the state’s already existing 15-week ban, which was approved [...]

The Australian Human Rights Commission Wednesday renewed its call for Australia to adopt its own national human rights act, releasing a position paper detailing what the act might include. Stating that Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world that does not have a national act or charter of rights that explains what people’s [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday released a report which found that the Louisville County Metro Police Department (LMPD) and the Louisville County Metro Government engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations. The report comes as a result of a DOJ investigation into the LMPD and the Metro Government following the death of [...]