The UN Human Rights Council released a report on Friday on the human rights situation in Belarus during and after the country’s presidential election in 2020. It concludes that the crime against humanity of persecution may have been committed in Belarus. The report, which is the advance unedited version, presents evidence on a wide range [...]
Search Results for: discriminate
India Supreme Court to take up petitions challenging controversial citizenship laws
The Indian Supreme Court announced Friday it will take up a batch of petitions on Tuesday, which seek to challenge the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and the recently introduced Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. The CAA is an Indian law that fast-tracks citizenship for persecuted minorities from neighboring countries. Also, the Indian government introduced [...]
Japan high court hold same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
Japan’s Sapporo High Court affirmed on Thursday that the country’s current ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. This ruling from the High Court upholds the Sapporo Lower Court 2021 decision that found the ban unconstitutional. However, Thursday’s rulings are the first time a High Court in the country has gone as far as to declare [...]
Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, does not shy away from tough questions. Though many in a position such as his might shy away from argument, Rae seems to relish the opportunity to engage in some intellectual sparring. It was in this context that I requested an interview as Canada grapples with multiple [...]
Belgium court sentences prominent far-right activist Dries Van Langenhove to prison
Dries Van Langenhove, leader of the Belgian far-right movement Schild & Vrienden, was sentenced on Tuesday to one year in prison and fined €24,000 ($26, 249 ). The Ghent Correctional Court issued its verdict in the case against Van Langenhove and six other defendants who were all charged with violations of racism and negationism laws, including Holocaust [...]
In the Halls of Brazil's Senate: Unpacking the Legacy of the US Constitution
To date, America’s greatest contribution to the world has been its Constitution. The importance of this document far surpasses such other cultural achievements as the Moon landing, the telephone, GPS, rubber vulcanization, and Henry Ford’s mass production lines. It is more important, even, than Gone With the Wind, and the hamburger — even though this [...]
Breaking Barriers: A Global Review of Legislative Reform on Women's Rights
The plight of women’s rights in various countries reflects a complex interplay of legal, cultural and societal norms that significantly disenfranchise women and girls, threatening their human rights and dignity. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Nigeria present challenging environments where women’s rights [...]
UK allocates £117M to enhance security for Muslim communities
The UK government announced Monday its commitment of over £117 million in protective security funding to the Muslim community over the next four years. It follows the Prime Minister’s recent pledge last month to allocate over £70 million to the Jewish Community Security Trust over the same period. The funding will be directed towards safeguarding [...]
India unveils rules to implement controversial legislation amending citizenship laws
The Indian government unveiled Monday the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (CAR), in accordance with the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which aims to amend the laws governing citizenship in India. The CAA helps persecuted religious minorities gain access to Indian citizenship but specifically excludes Muslim immigrants. The government also stated that the application procedure under the [...]
UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, released a report Friday on International Women’s Day alleging that more than 230 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), an increase of 30 million or 15 percent compared with [...]