An unofficial UK-based tribunal Thursday concluded that China has carried out acts of genocide against the Uyghur people in its western province of Xinjiang. The Uyghur Tribunal is an independent people’s tribunal formed last year to investigate ongoing atrocities and allegations of genocide against the Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Turkic Muslim populations in western China. [...]
The city of Columbus, Ohio, Thursday reported that it had struck an agreement to pay $5.75 million to 32 plaintiffs who claimed that members of the city’s police division injured them and violated their constitutional rights during social justice protests in the summer of 2020. Following the killing of George Floyd last year, the plaintiffs were [...]
Continuing a continued effort to infuse human rights into its foreign policy, the US Department of State Friday designated 12 officials of foreign governments for their gross violations of human rights or corruption. US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced the sanctions in a press statement coinciding with International Human Rights Day, 2021. The designations [...]
The European Commission Thursday published draft guidance outlining workers’ rights for online companies such as Uber and Deliveroo. The set of measures aims to help grow digital labor platforms by ensuring workers are afforded the same labor rights as typical EU “workers” by establishing if these platforms are “employers.” The measures will include language setting out [...]
The Switzerland Federal Court overturned the conviction of a Geneva doctor who helped a healthy elderly woman in an assisted suicide so that she did not outlive her terminally ill husband. Originally found guilty in 2019, Pierre Beck was sentenced to 120 days suspended jail sentence for breaking federal law. He administered a lethal dose [...]
The Supreme Court on Friday refused for a second time to block Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8), which bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, in what may seem like a misleading 8-1 vote in favor of abortion providers’ attempts to challenge the law. The reason the 8-1 vote is misleading stems from [...]
The US Department of the Treasury Friday sanctioned 15 people and 10 entities under new executive orders in a move denouncing human rights abuses. The Department also restricted investments in a Chinese company that uses surveillance technology. Leaders of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China have been sanctioned because of alleged human rights abuses. [...]
A British appellate court Friday overturned a lower court decision that barred Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from being extradited to the United States. In July 2020, the United States requested the extradition of Mr. Assange based on charges of illegally receiving and publishing classified information. Mr. Assange claims his extradition is barred by the Extradition [...]
The New York City Council Thursday voted to grant certain noncitizens the right to vote in municipal elections, making it the largest city in the United States to extend the vote to lawful permanent residents and non-citizens authorized to work in the US. The municipal legislation, Int. 1867 grants the vote to noncitizen “municipal voters,” defined as [...]
The EU Commission Thursday adopted new rules for open-source software distribution. The move is intended to facilitate the Commission’s transmission to make its software source code publicly accessible for the benefit of public services, companies and citizens, within a shorter time period and with less paperwork. The adoption of new rules comes close on the [...]
