The UK announced on Thursday that it will transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, now ruled as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control. A joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth hails the accord as a “historic political agreement [...]
A coalition of human rights organizations on Wednesday called on United Nations member states to refrain from voting for Saudi Arabia in the upcoming Human Rights Council election, scheduled for October 9. The joint appeal was led by groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Service for Human Rights. They have cited [...]
Amnesty International called on Cameroonian authorities Thursday to immediately release three supporters of a youth organization — Moustapha Tizi, Mohamadou Ballo, and Ibrahim Oumarou — and their relatives. Tizi, Ballo, and Oumarou were allegedly arrested on September 9 in Figuil, Cameroon, for wearing shirts with the name of the organization they supported, Pouvoir au Peuple [...]
A coalition of environmental, human rights, and indigenous groups has called on the EU to designate Malaysia’s Sarawak state as “high risk” under its new anti-deforestation law. This comes as the EU prepares to implement the Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) in January 2025, which aims to curb imports linked to deforestation and human rights abuses. [...]
Failed Fijian coup leader George Speight and six others were released from prison on Thursday after being granted a pardon by President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, who acted on the advice of Fiji’s Mercy Commission. The president approved Speight’s release after the Mercy Commission recommended a pardon based on his behavior in prison and the length [...]
Amnesty International on Wednesday urged the Lesotho government to investigate allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings committed during the Lesotho Defence Forces’ (LDF) campaign to confiscate illegal firearms from gang members, dubbed Operation Hard Fist. The operation was launched earlier this year in response to escalating violent crime in Lesotho, and the proliferation of illegal [...]
The Special Prosecution of Kosovo announced Wednesday that it has indicted 45 individuals for terrorism and other serious crimes related to an attack in the northern village of Banjska in September 2023. The charges follow an extensive investigation into an armed incursion by ethnic Serbs that resulted in the deaths of four people, including a [...]
Over 26 human rights organizations, including the Kurdistan Human Rights Network and Center for Human Rights in Iran, issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for the immediate revocation of the death sentence imposed on Kurdish women’s rights activist Pakhshan Azizi. This sentence, handed down by the Iranian judiciary, has sparked international outrage, with the [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Lebanon and Cyprus of violating the human rights of Syrian refugees with indirect financial support from the European Union (EU) in a report released Wednesday. HRW detailed how both countries intercepted and forcibly returned refugees to Syria in a coordinated effort to prevent them from seeking asylum in Europe. According [...]
Tunisia’s Administrative Court reinstated former minister Mondher Znaidi on Thursday as a candidate in the October 6, 2024, presidential election after upholding his appeal, according to local news. The court’s decision overturns an earlier ruling by Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), which had disqualified Znaidi’s candidacy over alleged insufficient voter signatures. This ruling [...]
