UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Saturday condemned Israeli and US strikes across Iran and Iran’s subsequent retaliatory attacks, warning that the escalation risks a wider regional conflict and reiterating that international law requires the protection of civilians and accountability for violations. In a statement delivered in Geneva, Türk said he “deplore the military [...]

On Saturday morning, February 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes on Iran, hitting targets in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom and other cities across 24 provinces. Iran’s Red Crescent reported at least 201 people killed and 700 injured. US President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” and openly urged regime change. Iran retaliated [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Pakistan authorities on Thursday to quash the conviction of Junaid Hafeez, who was sentenced to death in 2019 under the country’s blasphemy provisions after being arrested in March 2013. The rights group described his prolonged detention and years in solitary confinement as “emblematic of the unjust and abusive nature” of [...]

UN human rights experts on Thursday condemned acts of “extreme violence” committed by the Movement du 23 Mars (M23) armed group against human rights defenders in North and South Kivu provinces of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that activists documenting abuses face escalating reprisals. According to the Office of the UN [...]

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced Friday that the government has conditionally approved a request by Google to export globally 1:5,000 scale high-precision digital map data of the country’s national territory, resolving a policy dispute that has persisted since 2007, according to local media sources. The decision was issued by an [...]

A group of UN experts on Friday called for the United Kingdom to guarantee that the current reviews of statutory guidance under the Equality Act 2010 align with international human rights standards and provide the equal enjoyment of rights for women and girls, including the transgender community. The group of experts expressed appreciation of the government’s [...]

A US federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) from withholding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding from 21 states and the District of Columbia based on their refusal to turn over personal data on SNAP applicants and recipients. Writing for the US District Court for the [...]

The US Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it has filed lawsuits against Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey for not providing voter registration records. The Department had previously sued 24 states and the District of Columbia for allegedly refusing to cooperate with such record production. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated: [...]

Since January, Pakistan’s Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has remained the focal point of an ongoing humanitarian and political crisis. Rumors of a counterterrorism operation against the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) escalated into one of the country’s most severe winter emergencies, with tens of thousands of civilians still displaced as of late February. [...]