Authorities in the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia have decided to ban public gatherings and impose a curfew in the capital city of Nouméa following violent protests against a law project amending the electoral system, according to a statement published on Tuesday. The statement specifies that due to public order problems in Nouméa [...]
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ICC Prosecutor Office calls for threats against the court and its officials to cease
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released on Saturday a statement regarding unspecified threats towards the office and its officials, calling for such attempts to impede or influence its investigations to “cease immediately.” The OTP is an independent organ of the ICC, and its mandate involves “examining situations under the jurisdiction [...]
Kenya ministry calls for regulation of TikTok rather than outright ban
Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communications urged legislators to regulate the social media platform TikTok rather than ban it outright, the ministry told Reuters on Thursday. According to the ministry, the state should require TikTok to screen content to guarantee it complies with Kenyan laws. The ministry also said the social media company should be [...]
Legislating Identity: A Critical Analysis of the Anti-LGBT Bills in Kenya and Ghana
Recent Afrobarometer survey data (Round 8, 2019-2021) paints a stark picture with 86% of Kenyans and 93% of Ghanaians expressing intolerance towards the LGBT community. This high level of intolerance exists despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteeing non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. Furthermore, across Africa, laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity remain commonplace. [...]
Mexican authorities announce killings of two mayoral candidates
Mexican authorities announced Friday the killings of mayoral candidates Noé Ramos, who was running for re-election as mayor of El Mante (Tamaulipas), and Alberto García, the ruling party’s candidate for the mayorship of San José de Independencia (Oaxaca). These two deaths add to the numerous assassinations of candidates amidst the 2023-2024 electoral process that is [...]
Russia watchdog labels 'LGBT public movement' as terrorist organization
A Russian state financial watchdog labelled the “LGBT public movement” as a terrorist organization on Friday, as reported by Russian state media outlet TASS. This development comes three months after the Supreme Court of Russia ordered the LGBT+ movement to be declared as extremist. The Federal Service for Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring) added the LGBT+ movement to [...]
Hong Kong Legislative Council unanimously passes new national security bill
The Hong Kong Legislative Council unanimously voted in favour of the new Safeguarding National Security Bill on Tuesday. The bill will be gazetted and come into effect on March 23. The bill consists of nine parts. It criminalises several national security offences that are listed in Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law but [...]
Human Rights Watch urged President Nana Akufo-Addo on Tuesday to “unequivocally reject” The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 and refuse to sign it. The bill was passed last month by the parliament making it illegal to identify as LGBTQ+ in Ghana. Under the passed bill, anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ [...]
HRW: increase in human rights abuses by governments outside their nations' borders
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report Thursday detailing an increase in countries sanctioning human rights abuses outside their borders. Normally this would take the form of a former citizen of the nation who had either been exiled or forced to flee being harassed or worse by their nation of origin. These breaches have occurred [...]
Democratic Nullification of Criminal Cases: A Case for Imran Khan — and Possibly Donald Trump
Can a country’s citizens nullify the criminal cases that a popular leader faces by handing them an electoral victory in the general elections? This question raises issues that could prove pivotal to the political processes in Pakistan and the US, pertaining respectively to their former prime minister Imran Khan and former President Donald Trump. Its [...]