The Hong Kong government on Wednesday released an official document that proposes to establish a registration system for same-sex couples who were married or whose marriages are registered overseas. This document, released by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, mandates that both partners must be of the same sex and at least 18 years old. [...]
On Thursday, Amnesty International called upon the new regime in Syria to provide support to people who were detained and subjected to torture in its military prisons. Survivors of Syria’s detention system face severe mental and physical consequences due to the torture they experienced and lack adequate support. Bissan Faikh, a campaigner at Amnesty International, [...]
On his first Sunday address from the Vatican before an audience of approximately 10,000 at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV called for “never again war” across the world and for a “lasting peace” to be brokered. The pope also made specific references to the Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine and India-Pakistan conflicts. Bishop Robert Francis Prevost was [...]
UN experts called on Suriname to address structural racial discrimination against people of African descent, a legacy of their history of enslavement and exclusion, commenting on a report released Wednesday. The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent published the report after 10-day visit to the South American country. The experts stated: Suriname [...]
On Monday, Amnesty International urged Central Asian and EU nations to focus on actively protecting human rights and civil society space during the upcoming EU-Central Asia Summit. The summit will be held on April 3 and 4, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: If Central Asian governments [...]
Amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law that came into effect on February 17 fail to adequately protect women’s right to equality before the law and leave them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a release on Monday. Various changes and retentions made by this amendment have been criticized. For instance, [...]
A UN report released on Wednesday found that armed groups operating in the Haut Oubangui region of the Central African Republic (CAR) have been carrying out attacks against Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees, resulting in human rights violations. The report, prepared by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in [...]
The UN and several Arab states condemned Israel on Monday for blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, calling its actions a violation of human rights and international law. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called Israel’s decision “alarming,” given that it reverses the progress made so far and breaches international humanitarian law. [...]
Kenya’s High Court of Garissa ruled on Wednesday that the Kenyan government’s refusal to issue identification documents to ethnic Somali Kenyan nationals was unconstitutional and infringed on their rights. Kenyan NGO Haki-na-Sheria issued a statement on Wednesday welcoming the judgment on its official X account. The NGO stated that the High Court ordered the Kenyan [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the European Union (EU), its member States, and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex to make urgent efforts to save lives at sea in an essay published on Tuesday, Judith Sutherland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, commented on this issue by saying, “Now more than ever, [...]
