The Supreme Court of Justice of Panama on Friday dismissed a constitutional challenge against the candidacy of prominent presidential candidate José Raúl Mulino, resolving a source of uncertainty just two days before the May 5 election. In a press release, the court informed that it found the Second Resolutive Point of Plenary Agreement 11-1 of [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Kenya’s government of not proactively addressing nationwide flash floods. The rights group called upon the state to fulfill its obligation to safeguard vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those residing in high-risk areas, from the adverse impacts of the ongoing floods. Citing evidence from [...]

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released on Saturday a statement regarding unspecified threats towards the office and its officials, calling for such attempts to impede or influence its investigations to “cease immediately.” The OTP is an independent organ of the ICC, and its mandate involves “examining situations under the jurisdiction [...]

The state of Manipur in India deported 38 individuals back to Myanmar on Thursday in a bid to address the influx of refugees fleeing the political turmoil in Myanmar. This latest round of deportations brings the total number of deportees to 77 since March 8, marking the completion of the first phase of repatriation efforts. [...]

A coalition of rights groups led by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP filed a lawsuit Friday challenging four provisions of Alabama Senate Bill 1, Act No. 2024-33 (“SB 1”), which criminalizes absentee ballot assistance. The case is in the Southern Division of the Northern District of Alabama. Two of the challenged provisions were [...]

The Parliament of the Australian state of Queensland passed a bill on Thursday to decriminalise sex work. The Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 also includes new offences against child prostitution and coercion to perform sex work. The Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath stated that “sex workers should not have to [...]

The Parliament of Georgia cancelled their plenary session on Thursday for a highly controversial “foreign agents” bill amid widespread protests as well as criticism from the EU and US, local media reported. Parliament stated that the cancellation was due to damage caused to the parliamentary building as a result of mass protests against the bill. [...]

US Congressman Henry Cuellar, who has served as a Democratic representative of Texas for nearly two decades, was indicted on Friday with his wife on charges of bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering. In announcing the indictment, the US Department of Justice stated the couple is accused of having accepted about $600,000 in bribes [...]

As the international community marked World Press Freedom Day on Friday, advocacy groups and officials around the globe sounded the alarm over increased violence and threats against journalists. Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday released its annual World Press Freedom Index, warning that a marked surge in political oppression across the globe remains a [...]

Inadequate protections by the de-facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan continue to leave the Shia-Hazara community at risk and contribute to their plight, according a report released Friday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report highlighted that endless conflict in the country continues to affect the lives of many marginalized communities in the country, particularly Hazaras [...]