Sri Lanka’s cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal to ban all kinds of face veils, including burqas, in public places due to threats to “national security.” The approval comes a month after the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution “to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.” Based on a UN report [...]

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law published a 26-page report and six-page annotated proposal Wednesday addressing why 18 USC § 242 makes it difficult to prosecute police, federal agents, and probation and correctional officers who engage in civil rights violations. The foreword to the report states that the Brennan [...]

Greek Member of the European Parliament for the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn Ioannis Lagos was arrested in Brussels on Tuesday after a 658-24 vote of the European Parliament to lift his immunity with 10 abstentions. This came following a request for the waiver of his immunity by the Prosecutor at the Supreme Court of Greece [...]

A report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Tuesday found that the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failing to pay fines or appear at court proceedings is ultimately counterproductive to collecting money owed. The organization is recommending that state and local governments stop imposing such restrictions. The majority of US states suspend driver’s [...]

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Malawi ruled Wednesday that the imposition of the death penalty is unconstitutional and contrary to the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution of Malawi. It further ordered the re-sentencing of all convicts facing execution. The ruling comes following an appeal by Charles Khoviwa, who, despite having no prior convictions, [...]

UN human rights experts expressed serious concern for the independence of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Tuesday, following the recent appointment of new members to the Commission in a process that is seen to be inconsistent with international standards. The statement follows the adoption of an ordinance by the president of Nepal in December, [...]

Protests over President Iván Duque Márquez’s proposed tax reforms erupted in Colombia Wednesday. Thousands of protesters lined the streets of Bogotá, Medellin, and Cali answering the call from the county’s largest unions in protest against the controversial tax reform. The proposed reformation by the Colombian government would introduce a suite of taxes on individuals and [...]

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster rejected bids on Wednesday to publicly release bodycam footage in the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. The ruling is accompanied, however, by an order for the sheriff to allow Brown’s immediate family members and lawyers to view the footage independently. Under North Carolina law, while anyone may request [...]

A commission of human rights experts asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the pattern of systemic police violence against Black people in the US. This comes shortly after the commission released a 188-page report detailing the crimes against humanity committed by police and prosecutors in the US. Commissioners [...]

A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to impose more sanctions on the military regime that has taken over Myanmar. The letter was signed by senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ed Markey (D-MA), and addressed to Treasury Secretary [...]