UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday expressed alarm over the mounting toll on civilians from the escalating fighting in Ethiopia, urging the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) along with their respective allies to immediately de-escalate tensions to avoid a return to a full-scale war.  According to the [...]

A UN expert said Friday that states and other development actors should ensure individuals and communities can actively, freely, and meaningfully participate in economic development decisions by moving beyond symbolic consultations and sharing decision-making power, warning that development cannot be inclusive or sustainable without public participation. UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development Surya [...]

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released a report Friday finding that Israeli security forces forcibly displaced more than 33,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps in the occupied West Bank in January and February 2025. The OHCHR stated that the forces widely destroyed homes and infrastructure during Operation Iron Wall [...]

Turkish lawmakers approved a bill Thursday restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, according to state media. The bill, adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, amends the Social Services Law and several other laws. It provides that social network providers may not offer services to children under the age of 15, [...]

Amnesty International said Tuesday that Algerian authorities should immediately reverse the closure of the Algiers office of SOS Disappeared, a human rights group that has long advocated for truth, justice and reparations for families of people forcibly disappeared during Algeria’s 1990s internal armed conflict. The closure was ordered by the Algiers governorate on March 12, [...]

Senior UN officials told the Security Council on Friday that Syria’s fragile political transition has gained momentum following a landmark agreement between Damascus and Kurdish authorities in the northeast. Still, they warned that renewed violence in the south, Israeli incursions, and deep humanitarian needs continue to underscore the precarious path to stability. Briefing for the [...]

Hundreds of Danish veterans and supporters staged a silent march on Saturday from the historic Kastellet fortress to the US Embassy in Copenhagen as part of the “No Words” mobilization to protest recent US rhetoric that organizers said demeans Denmark’s combat contributions alongside American forces. Organizers also linked the march to the status of Greenland, [...]

 The South African Department of Defence on Friday announced an investigation into accusations that officials failed to follow President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instructions on Iran’s role in a multinational naval exercise. The ministry, led by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, said its authorized Board of Inquiry must establish what occurred and submit a report within seven days [...]

The Federal Court of Appeal of Canada on Friday ruled that the Canadian federal government’s 2022 invocation of the Emergencies Act was “unreasonable” and beyond the government’s legal authority. The ruling affirms the 2024 Federal Court decision by Justice Richard Mosley, who concluded the statutory threshold for declaring a public order emergency was not met. [...]

A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled that California’s restrictions on openly carrying firearms in the state’s more populous counties violate the Second Amendment. In Baird v. Bonta, a 2–1 panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment for California Attorney General [...]