Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday condemned Brazil’s Congress for advancing the General Environmental Licensing Bill, calling on lawmakers to support negotiations at COP30 and ratify the Escazú Agreement. The bill contains controversial provisions that would simplify environmental licensing requirements through developer self-certification and revoke protections for human rights defenders. Brazil’s Senate is scheduled to [...]

The Game Over Israel organization, with support from Athletes 4 Peace, a collective of professional athletes, issued a letter on Tuesday urging the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel over its human rights violations against Palestinians. The letter was signed by more than 70 prominent sports figures, including footballers, cricketers, and boxers. [...]

UN experts on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a landmark declaration promoting development and peace by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The move came at the 47th ASEAN Summit, held October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development Surya Deva praised the declaration, calling it an “affirmation [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Laotian government on Friday to implement key recommendations regarding enforced disappearances and violations of fundamental civil and political rights. The recommendations include ratifying effective legal measures to prevent enforced disappearance, eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in education, and applying international human rights instruments. After criticizing the [...]

UN experts warned that Israel’s offensive on Gaza will be “apocalyptic” for civilians, particularly persons with disabilities, who face aggravated consequences in the besieged enclave. The experts stressed, “eople with disabilities in Gaza are totally exhausted and traumatised. They face extreme difficulties fleeing – some people with mobility impairments are forced to crawl through rubble [...]

Amnesty International has condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of Jalal Labbad, who was accused of crimes allegedly committed when he was a minor. Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Middle East campaigner, said: “Saudi Arabia’s execution of Jalal Labbad is deplorable and underscores the devastating toll of the authorities’ ruthless use of the death penalty in complete disregard [...]

Canada’s federal government has ordered Air Canada flight attendants back to work after a breakdown in collective bargaining talks between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and chief of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, announced the decision on Saturday, citing the [...]

A UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls has commended Zimbabwe for its constitutional commitment and legislative initiatives to advance gender equality, while urging stronger action to eliminate barriers that hinder the rights and opportunities of women and girls. The UN Working Group visited Zimbabwe and assessed progress and challenges in ensuring gender [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday convicted two Anti-balaka militia leaders, Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between 2013 and 2014. Yekatom was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Ngaissona received a 12-year sentence. The ICC found that Yekatom and [...]

El Salvador’s most prominent human rights organization officially ceased operations in the country Thursday due to increasing repression against civil society groups. The organization, Cristosal, cited the “criminalization of human rights defenders, the imposition of Russian-style Foreign Agents Law (LAEX), and the weakening of institutional independence” as key reasons for its decision. While operations in [...]