The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Bosnia violated the European Convention on Human Rights due to insufficient data protection laws with regard to legal professional privilege. The decision followed a lawyer’s complaint that his phone data had been indiscriminately collected and used in a criminal trial against him. The applicant, [...]

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) set out on Wednesday to work directly with Indonesia’s Palm Oil Industry in order to combat corruption in the country. This comes after the UNODC organized a workshop to bring together different private and public actors, such as the Indonesian Palm Oil Association and the national Corruption [...]

Last Thursday, October 17, the 142nd session of the UN Human Rights Committee was held in Geneva, to review the human rights record of Pakistan. A handful of students at the Geneva Academy, including myself, had the opportunity to attend the event at the invitation of our professor of human rights law, Hélène Tigroudja, one [...]

Over 40 human rights groups warned Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk against implementing his plan to temporarily suspend the right to claim asylum in an open letter on Monday. Among the groups are Amnesty International, several asylum law organizations, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The organizations stressed that the fundamental right to asylum is binding on [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Tuesday that attempts to bar two Syrian migrants from reaching Cyprian territory and their subsequent expulsion violated multiple provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judges unanimously found violations of Article 3 prohibiting torture and degrading treatment; Article 4 of the additional Protocol 4, [...]

The Bangkok Criminal Court ordered the extradition of a convicted political activist to Vietnam on Monday. Human rights groups, criticizing the move as “transnational repression”, warned that he likely faces threats to his life in Vietnam, which would render the extradition illegal under the principle of non-refoulement.  Y Quynh Bdap is currently imprisoned in Thailand [...]

The Jewish Community of Oporto on Thursday announced that the granddaughter of a Jewish Portuguese army officer has filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The complaint alleges that Portugal violated the European Convention on Human Rights after it wrongfully dismissed her grandfather from the army and failed to reinstate his [...]

France’s newly appointed interior minister Bruno Retailleau signalled a rightward shift for French interior policy on Monday at his first public speech in office. Addressing police unions at the Cour de l’Hôtel de Beauvau, he vowed to end “illegal” migration and “restore order” in the country. Concerning immigration, the senior senator with The Republicans (Les [...]

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Monday calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations (UN) to assist their armed forces in adhering to International Humanitarian Law and ensuring basic human rights for Russian civilians in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army has been conducting [...]

Hundreds protested religious intolerance in Brazil on Sunday, noting a recent rise in discrimination against minority religions. Prominent figures at the protest included recently appointed Human Rights Minister Macaé Evaristo. This year alone, complaints of religious intolerance in Brazil surged by 80% according to a government complaint service cited by local media. Religious freedom is [...]