The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Friday issued findings concerning human rights in Argentina, Niger, the Philippines, Portugal, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan, reviewing their performance under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report found a series of racial inequities throughout the countries reviewed. Argentina [...]

Pakistani police Friday raided the house of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and former Chief Minister of Punjab. At his residence in Lahore, 500 police and anti-corruption personnel attempted to arrest Elhai, but failed to do so after facing resistance from his supporters. Following the events of the raid, police registered [...]

Japan’s leadership would be vital in restarting a failing international response to the crisis in Myanmar, a UN-appointed independent rights expert urged Friday. Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur, spoke at the end of a 10-day official visit to Japan, calling on the country to work with global allies to weaken the capacity of Myanmar’s military [...]

A UN committee found Friday that Mexico failed to ensure inclusive education for a woman with an intellectual disability. Selene Militza García Vara brought a claim before the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the grounds that the Morelense Centre for Art had not appropriately secured inclusive access to tertiary education. The Committee [...]

An Illinois federal district judge Friday issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of Illinois’ Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) until there is a final determination as to the law’s constitutionality. The case is in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn issued the preliminary injunction [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Friday called on Thai authorities to release a 15-year-old student activist who was detained after allegedly defaming the nation’s monarchy. Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai was arrested in Bangkok on 28 March after police accused her of criticising the monarchy during a protest rally in October 2022. She was later charged with lèse-majesté [...]

The European Court of Human Rights on Friday ordered Russia to pay approximately 130 million euros ($143 million) in compensation to Georgia, almost 15 years after the war in the South Caucasus. The case concerned allegations by the Georgian government that administrative practices by the Russian Federation amounted to breaches of the European Convention on Human [...]

Abortion bans in Nebraska and South Carolina Thursday failed to pass state legislatures. Legislative Bill 626, known as the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, would have banned doctors from performing abortions after detecting a fetal heartbeat, with exceptions for a medical energy, an ectopic pregnancy, sexual assault, or incest. A fetal heartbeat typically occurs during the fifth [...]

Afghan women Saturday marched in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to urge the UN not to formally recognize the Taliban government at a UN summit scheduled for next week. Approximately two dozen women took to the streets despite the Taliban government’s increasingly strict crackdowns on women. During the march, protesters chanted that they would fight and die [...]

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte Friday signed into law a bill banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors in the state. Gianforte signed the bill, the Youth Health Protection Act, after the legislature banned Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the floor for speaking out against it. The Youth Health Protection Act claims to “enhance the protection [...]