The Republic of Lithuania formally referred the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, a significant action reflecting its dedication to ensuring accountability for the alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko. The referral, submitted by Minister of Justice Ewelina Dobrowolska, invokes Articles 13(a) and 14 [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised concerns on Monday about an ordinance enacted by Niger’s military ruler, General Abdourahamane Tiani. The ordinance authorizes the creation of a database containing information on individuals, groups and entities suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, which HRW stated breaches the country’s obligation under the UN Convention on the Reduction of [...]

Amnesty International highlighted the failure of successive Iraqi governments to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the lethal crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen protests, in a report published on Monday. Titled “We hold them responsible for the blood of our youth,” the report reveals ongoing neglect and impunity five years after nationwide demonstrations led to [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 1047 on Sunday, concluding the bill was insufficiently broad in its regulation of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models, and lacked empirical support. Newsom viewed SB 1047 as premature and overly sweeping, noting that it “applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions” of AI, so long [...]

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement on Monday highlighted the disproportionate harm that children with disabilities in Gaza are suffering as a result of Israel’s violations of humanitarian law, which include military strikes against hospitals, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and the 16-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. HRW states that the unlawful conditions being imposed [...]

A group of Pakistani lawyers, including members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), penned a letter to the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday formally positioning themselves in opposition to a constitutional amendment that would give rise to a new federal constitutional court. Among the 52 proposed unpublished [...]

Amnesty International urges the international community on Monday to hold the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, accountable for violations of human rights. The group accused the DRC president of “ignoring the continuing deterioration of human rights under his own government” in his latest speech to the UN General Assembly [...]

The Supreme Court of Tasmania ruled on Friday that the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart was within its legal rights to bar men from attending a women-only art exhibit aimed at addressing gender inequalities. The exhibit, titled the “Ladies Lounge,” was designed to highlight the exclusion of women from male-dominated spheres [...]

Amnesty International reported on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has put to death over 198 individuals in 2024 so far, the highest toll in the country in decades. The group found the state to have “ramped up executions while routinely failing to abide by international fair trial standards and safeguards for defendants,” with many sentenced to [...]

Albania’s Court of Appeals upheld a one-year sentence on Thursday that will imprison opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ervin Salianji during the next election for falsely reporting a crime, after he alleged that the former Minister of Interior Affairs Fatmir Xhafaj had connections to drug trafficking. According to the former Minister of Justice Ylli Manjani, [...]