Austrian lawmakers on Thursday voted by a large majority to approve a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under 14, a move that is now facing criticism from experts and human rights groups. The only party to oppose it was the opposition Green Party, which argued that the law is unconstitutional. The ban was [...]
Human Rights Watch urged French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to treat human rights as an integral part of France’s broader policy with China. Rather than treating them as distinct from economic and political priorities, the group says France should take concrete measures to uphold human rights in Sino-French relations. Macron is visiting China from [...]
A UN expert on Wednesday urged increased efforts to promote the implementation of laws to protect people with albinism in Portugal, ensuring their equitable access to education, health, and employment. Independent Expert Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond elaborated in her report that Portugal lacks specific legal provisions on albinism. Though the UN expert recognized that Portugal has implemented [...]
The General Court of the European Union ruled on Wednesday that US retail giant Amazon must comply with Europe’s strictest online-platform rules following the company’s designation as a “Very Large Online Platform” (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Amazon claimed that its VLOP designation infringed on fundamental rights guaranteed under the Charter of Fundamental [...]
UN experts expressed alarm Monday over the repression of the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers (BAHRL) by the Minsk government, denouncing its designation as an extremist group. On August 18, the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus designated BAHRL as an “extremist formation” and categorized its members as individuals “involved in extremist [...]
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged Turkish authorities Wednesday to investigate the recent shooting of a journalist for possible motives and links to the victim’s work. Nafiz Koca was shot in the leg with a shotgun outside one of two newspapers he owns. The attack, captured on video, shows the assailant immediately flee the [...]
UN experts on Monday urged Belarus to lift current restrictions that restrict women convicted of extremism from contacting their children. Women in these circumstances are denied direct communication with their children and are allowed to correspond only every two to three months. In-person visits and phone calls are systematically prohibited. Experts emphasized that these limitations [...]
Nearly 100 countries on Wednesday rejected a draft of an international treaty to end plastic pollution, a day before its August 14 deadline, with some describing the text as “unambitious” and “inadequate.” Luis Vayas Valdivieso, committee chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution, presented the draft treaty to all 184 UN member [...]
The Spanish government ordered the town of Jumilla to drop its ban on religious gatherings in public sports centers on Monday, asserting that the measure disproportionately affects the town’s Muslim community, which has long used the facilities to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The government gave the town’s council one month to formally respond [...]
