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. [...]

A US federal district judge on Thursday ruled that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) violated the Internal Revenue Code by inappropriately handing thousands of taxpayers’ confidential information over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): he IRS violated the IRC approximately 42,695 times by disclosing last known taxpayer addresses to ICE through TIN Matching without confirming [...]

UN member states should do more to protect the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in an oral statement on Thursday at the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council. These calls for urgent action come amidst a recent decree enacted by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. The [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Siobhan Mullally, called Thursday for increased global efforts to combat trafficking of children and refugees in Chad, urging local authorities to prioritize law enforcement and address the root causes of this issue. She spoke during a press conference concluding her 10-day visit to the country. Mullally applauded the [...]