UN experts on Friday welcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s ratification of the 1989 International Convention against Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. The experts praised the signing of what amounts to a new anti-mercenary legislative package, calling it an essential step toward protecting human rights and upholding international legal obligations. Colombia has experienced a [...]
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from designating the artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” and banning federal contractors from using its technology. US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco ruled in favor of Anthropic, halting a presidential directive that ordered all federal agencies to cease using the [...]
Belarus has freed 250 political prisoners following sanctions-relief negotiations with the United States, a move human rights organizations cautiously welcomed, while warning that true justice has yet to be served. President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the mass release on Thursday. The decision was the result of direct negotiations with the Trump administration, which agreed to lift [...]
Prominent Iraqi women’s rights defender Yanar Mohammed was killed outside her Baghdad residence on March 2 by two unidentified gunmen. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered an investigation into the killing. International human rights organizations are urging authorities to identify the perpetrators and halt a [...]
Indonesia announced on Friday a new policy banning social media and online platforms for children under the age of 16, aiming to protect youth from online abuse. Under the new regulation, existing accounts belonging to users under 16 will be deactivated starting March 28. Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid stated that the restriction [...]
An Athens appellate court on Wednesday upheld the 2020 convictions of the leadership and senior members of far-right party Golden Dawn, confirming the party’s designation as a criminal organization. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias welcomed the decision and described it as “a historical milestone for the Greek justice system and the rule of law.” Golden Dawn, founded [...]
A UN expert called attention to the critical role of local Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) volunteers in delivering life-saving aid amid a brutal war in Sudan on Friday, stressing f0r more support. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has raged for approximately three years, marked by [...]
North Korea opened the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea on February 20, signaling a tightening of control over youth and access to information. A key focus of the Party Congress was the current state of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “five-point strategy for building the party in the new era,” as [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) on Friday nullified the result of last spring’s federal election in the riding of Terrebonne, overturning a single-vote victory by Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste, due to an addressing error by Elections Canada. The SCC ruling leaves the Montreal-area seat vacant and sets the stage for a high-stakes by-election. In [...]
Marie Struthers, Eastern Europe and Central Asia director at Amnesty International, criticized Russian authorities for blocking and slowing down the Telegram messaging app, undermining people’s ability to communicate freely and securely. Amnesty International criticized the restriction, stating: These restrictions appear to be part of a broader tightening of state control over online communication in Russia, [...]
