Amnesty International on Friday condemned Thailand’s charges against activist and conscientious objector Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, who is facing trial on September 9 for refusing military conscription. The group demanded that Thailand drop all charges, warning that the prosecution violates international human rights law. Netiwit, a former Amnesty International Thailand board member, risks three years in prison [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday warned of a deteriorating rights situation in Mali amid a growing atmosphere of repression. The high commissioner urged the military junta to promptly rescind legal changes that have “slammed the door shut” on a return to democratic rule, and called for the immediate and unconditional [...]
UN human rights and environmental experts on Thursday welcomed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision to veto 63 provisions of a sweeping environmental licensing bill, calling the move a decisive step in protecting human rights, Indigenous communities, and the planet. The vetoes, announced earlier this week, were applied to some of the most [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged the Zambian government to act punitively against mining firms that are violating domestic environmental laws and worsening lead pollution. HRW detailed the impact of the South African firm Jubilee Metals Group on Zambia’s Kabwe municipality, one of the 10 most polluted sites globally. HRW asserted that Article 36 [...]
Amnesty International stated on Thursday that the oil company Shell bears responsibility for cleaning up and remedying historic oil pollution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, despite the company’s divestment of its Nigerian subsidiary. The organization’s statement follows a letter sent two months ago by seven UN Rapporteurs on Human Rights to Shell and other oil companies, [...]
The Nepalese government on Thursday instituted a widespread block on major social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), restricting access to 26 platforms across the country. The decision, enforced by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), follows the platforms’ failure to comply with the directive requiring registration with the Ministry of Communications [...]
Washington DC filed suit against the Trump administration on Thursday over the deployment of the National Guard in the city without consent from local leaders. The lawsuit accuses the president of violating the Constitution and federal law. DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the suit in US District Court for the District of Columbia. The [...]
The Trump administration filed suit on Thursday against the city of Boston, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and the Boston Police Department, challenging an ordinance that restricts cooperation by the local police force with federal immigration officials. The Trump administration’s complaint centers around the doctrine of preemption, which holds that federal law may displace state law if [...]
A UN rights report released Friday declared that all parties to the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, possibly rising to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner [...]
South Korea’s foreign ministry announced Friday that it is sending personnel to a US Hyundai-LG battery plant where more than 300 Korean citizens were detained in an immigration raid the previous day, according to local media. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said South Korea voiced concerns to the US embassy in Seoul and called on US [...]
