The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued election code violation notices Thursday to India’s two largest political parties, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC). The notices are issued for violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the star campaigners of both parties, including [...]
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India Central Bureau of Investigation launches land grab and sexual assault case in West Bengal
The India Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a case on Thursday in response to allegations of land grabs and sexual assaults involving five influential individuals located in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, according to an official’s statement to the Press Trust of India (PTI). This follows a court-monitored investigation of the situation, which was previously ordered [...]
North Carolina federal judge finds felony disenfranchisement law is unconstitutional
A federal judge in North Carolina found on Monday that the state’s 147-year-old voting law is unconstitutional. US District Judge Loretta Biggs found that the since-amended state law, which prevented convicted felons from casting a vote, violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The [...]
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. [...]
Oklahoma House passes controversial immigration bill criminalizing 'impermissible occupation'
The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed House Bill 4156 on Thursday by a vote of 77-20, which proposes the creation of the criminal act of impermissible occupation, targeting individuals who willfully enter and remain in Oklahoma without legal authorization to be in the United States. Under the provisions of HB 4156, impermissible occupation is defined as [...]
Dr. Ganna Yudkivska is a force to be reckoned with in the world of international law and human rights. Her impressive career trajectory originated in a newly independent Ukraine and has since spanned continents and venerable institutions. She is a partner at Equity Law Firm, Vice-Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, [...]
US House of Representatives reauthorizes controversial surveillance law
The US House of Representatives passed on Friday a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law that had been stalled earlier in the week. The passed bill extends a contentious provision called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA. Wiretapping for national security investigations involving Americans or individuals within [...]
Explainer: Why is Scotland's New Hate Crime Legislation So Controversial?
This week in Scotland, a hate crime law that ranks among the world’s strictest entered into force. The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 (Hate Crime Act) aims to modernize and consolidate protections while broadening the scope of recognized hate crimes to encompass a wider range of individuals and circumstances. In other words, the [...]
Canada Supreme Court finds collective Indigenous rights supersede individual Charter rights
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) upheld a rule on Thursday, requiring members of a Yukon First Nation to live in its community if they wish to serve on its council. Cindy Dickson, a Canadian citizen and member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN), challenged a residency requirement imposed by the VGFN Constitution. The [...]
IACHR orders Peru to compensate victims of lead poisoning living near mine
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) conducted the notification of the judgment in the case of Residents of La Oroya v. Peru this Friday, addressing the Peruvian State’s responsibility for the damage suffered by 80 residents of La Oroya and ordered the payment of compensation to the victims for the damage incurred. In December [...]