The Parliament of Gambia voted Monday to maintain a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) by rejecting a controversial bill which sought to reverse the prohibition and legalize the practice of female circumcision. The Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024, introduced in March 2024, aimed to repeal the ban and introduce the option of “consent” for [...]

The Swedish Armed Forces on Saturday issued a statement after a Russian military aircraft violated their airspace the previous day.  Commander of the Swedish Air Force, Jonas Wikman, called Russia’s act ‘unacceptable’ and said that the aggravated act showed a lack of respect for Sweden’s territorial integrity. The Russian SU-24 fighter plane is accused of [...]

UN Special Adviser of the Secretary on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Nderitu warned on Friday that hate speech continues to significantly threaten global peace and security. It also frequently targets the most vulnerable in society. In a briefing to the UN Security Council, Nderitu said that as well as inciting violence, hate speech also [...]

A group of UN experts Monday called for all countries to recognize the State of Palestine, to promote peace in the Middle East and to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The group, comprising nearly 30 top UN independent experts and Special Rapporteurs including Palestinian rights Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, is asking for states to [...]

US Congressman, Michael McCaul, said at a press conference Monday in Taipei that the weapons Taiwan had ordered were on their way. The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told reporters that the war games from China on Monday, were an “intimidation tactic” to punish democracy and that deterrence was key. He told [...]

The European Union (EU) announced Monday that they will be ending their Military Partnership Mission in Niger (EUMPM), citing the “grave political situation” in the junta-led nation.  The EUMPM was established in December 2022, to enhance the capacity of the Niger Armed Forces to fight against terrorist groups while maintaining adherence to norms of human [...]

Over 50 civil society organizations urged the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a Wednesday open letter to ensure that any forfeited assets from its landmark case against construction materials company Lafarge are directed to support victims and survivors of atrocity crimes associated with Syria. The letter expressed grave concerns that money from the case [...]

Amnesty International UK criticised the House of Lords on Wednesday for their failure to strike down clauses in a vote earlier in the week, which strip away human rights protections for prisoners. They have warned of a “sinister trend” of human rights being “switched off, ” with prisoners being the latest group to be targeted. [...]

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologized “wholeheartedly” to every victim of the country’s infected blood scandal after the final report of an inquiry into contaminated blood transfusions was released Monday. He cited the report’s conclusions that British authorities, including successive governments and the National Health Service (NHS), were guilty of a “catalogue of failures” and [...]

The High Court in London ruled in favour of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Monday, allowing him to appeal against his contentious extradition to the US for alleged espionage associated with the publication of  US classified documents while he . He will remain in the UK for the time being. Outside the High Court, under uncharacteristically [...]