UN experts on Wednesday called on select states to respect the human rights of migrants traveling in caravans from Central America towards Mexico and the US. In letters to the governments of Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the US, the experts voiced their concerns and urged the States to abide by international law. Since mid-October roughly 12,000 [...]
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday signed into law the National Minimum Wage Act, setting South Africa’s minimum wage at 20 rand (USD $1.45) an hour, equal to 3,500 rand per month. Such legislation is the first of its kind, as wages are generally set through collective bargaining in private sector councils or by [...]
The Trump administration on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to allow several cases challenging the president’s bar on transgender people serving in the military to bypass federal appeals courts. The policy, which blocks individuals with gender dysphoria from serving, has been subject to numerous suits. Federal district courts have entered injunctions against the ban, but [...]
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Mississippi’s restrictive ban on abortion, ruling that it violates the Constitution. The Gestation Age Act bans abortion after 15 weeks of gestation, except in the case of a medical emergency or a severe fetal abnormality. The law was signed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in March, but a court [...]
UN Human rights experts on Wednesday said Italy’s proposed tightening of immigration rules will have a serious impact on migrants’ lives and urged the government to reverse course. According to the experts, the proposed Decree-Law on Immigration and Security, which is likely to be passed later this month, lowers protection standards, infringes constitutional and human [...]
Lawyer Tom Goldstein on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to appoint Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as the acting Attorney General, replacing Matthew Whitaker. Goldstein claims that Whitaker was illegally installed as the temporary successor of former attorney general Jeff Sessions, and that Rosenstein is the legal and constitutional successor to Sessions. The motion argues [...]
Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging Maine’s ranked-choice ballots in his race against Democratic opponent Jared Golden. The suit claims Maine’s Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting (RVC Act), which replaced the single-election system used in Maine for 140 years, undermines an individuals right to vote, and vote effectively. The RVC Act altered [...]
Washington state voters on Tuesday approved initiative 1639 with 60 percent of the vote, significantly strengthening the state’s firearm laws. The measure will raise the legal age to buy semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. To obtain such firearms, potential gun owners will need to pass an enhanced background check, show proof that they completed [...]
A UN human rights expert said Monday that Paraguay’s prosecution of three Supreme Court judges undermines the independence of the judiciary and urged Paraguay to drop the suit. The judges are being tried for acquitting 11 peasant farmers jailed over the deaths of police officers during a violent eviction in the Curuguaty Massacre of 2012. The [...]
The Spirit Lake Sioux tribe on Tuesday filed suit against the state of North Dakota to ensure that eligible Native American voters residing on reservations in North Dakota will be able to cast a ballot in the 2018 midterm elections and in all future elections. Under current law, North Dakotans cannot vote unless they have [...]
