The Republic of Croatia on Friday reintroduced compulsory military service following fears over the escalating Russia-Ukraine war and destabilization in the Balkans. With an 84-to-11 vote, the Croatian parliament, the Sabor, approved changes to the country’s Defense Act and Armed Forces Service Act, reintroducing basic military training. The new system consists of two months of basic [...]

UN Special Rapporteur Pedro Arrojo Agudo on Friday urged global action on the democratization of water governance and the protection of human rights concerning access to water sources. According to the report submitted to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, noted [...]

A group of 78 rights organizations on Friday issued a joint statement condemning US sanctions on three Palestinian human rights organizations, raising concern over implications in the enforcement of international law. Signed by major rights groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the statement said that the [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called for the European Union member states to vote on whether Hungary is breaching EU treaty values, following what HRW called “erosion of the rule of law.” According to the statement, Victor Orban’s government in Hungary has escalated its attack on judicial independence and civil liberties, threatening the rights [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday condemned the killing and injuring of scores of civilians in El Fasher, following attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a statement,  Türk noted that the repeated calls to the RSF on protecting civilians have not been upheld by the paramilitary group that instead [...]

A federal judge in Oregon on Saturday ordered a temporary restraining order preventing the deployment of the National Guard to Portland by the Trump administration. Karin J. Immergut, the US District Judge on the case, noted that the matter between the State of Oregon and the President of the United States involves “the intersection of [...]

The United Kingdom’s Home Office introduced new police powers on Sunday to deal with protests in the country, authorizing local police forces to take into account the history of previous demonstrations when deciding whether to impose restrictions. According to the statement, police forces will now be allowed to evaluate “cumulative impact,” or the overall effect [...]

The American Bar Association (ABA) has waded into a politically charged dispute over Justice Department independence, releasing a statement condemning the use of government power to threaten political opponents and officials “who were doing their job.” The move underscored the organization’s increasingly visible advocacy role. In the statement issued Friday, the national professional organization for [...]

A UN expert called Friday for Mali to remain in the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the country announced plans to withdraw last week. On September 22, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced their joint withdrawal from the Rome Statute, accusing the ICC of selective justice, inability to handle proven war crimes, and being a [...]

The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada on Sunday recognized the State of Palestine in an effort to advance support for a two-state solution and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted that the decision comes in the wake of escalating violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, [...]