The UN’s top political affairs official and the deputy emergency relief coordinator briefed ambassadors in the Security Council on Thursday, saying that Syrians have made tangible progress over the past year but warning that the country’s recovery remains fragile and uneven since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Head of UN political [...]

UN experts on Friday expressed concern over the eviction of more than 400 migrants from the Badalona 9 (B9) informal settlement in Catalonia on December 17, calling the move “a serious violation of the right to adequate housing” and warning it could amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Only around 30 residents were expected [...]

A federal jury on Thursday found Wisconsin circuit court judge Hannah Dugan guilty of felony obstruction charges stemming from her supposed interference in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) courthouse arrest of an undocumented immigrant. The immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had appeared in her courtroom on state charges when ICE agents arrived to arrest him. After [...]

Austria’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Meta’s personalized advertising model practices violate EU data protection law, which requires a company to obtain consent with “clear and plain language,” about how one’s personal information is used—something Meta has failed to do. The court held that Meta cannot rely on “contractual necessity” under the General Data Protection [...]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to accelerate the reclassification of marijuana, a move that would ease decades-old restrictions that have classified the drug alongside heroin as having no accepted medical value. The US Controlled Substances Act ranks drugs along a five-tier spectrum based on their potential for abuse and recognized medical value. [...]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday her intention to approve the state legislature’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (MADA), which will allow terminally ill patients to request a medically assisted death. Hochul praised the bill as an advancement of individual liberties and recalled her own experience with her mother, stating: New York has long [...]

A UN human rights expert on Wednesday welcomed the recent release of several prisoners convicted in connection with protests following Belarus’ disputed 2020 presidential election.  They also cautioned that the move should not be read as a broader improvement in the country’s human rights situation. Nils Muižnieks, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights [...]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday expressed concern over the recent escalation in hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia, and the danger posed to civilians. “I am alarmed by reports that areas around villages and cultural sites are being struck by fighter jets, drones, and artillery,” Commissioner Volker Türk said. Earlier in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overruled a lower court ruling on Wednesday, allowing US President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard in Washington DC to continue for now. The three-judge panel reversed US District Judge Jia Cobb’s November 20 decision, which disallowed Trump from deploying troops to DC to [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) welcomed on Thursday the news that significant progress has been achieved globally towards strengthening children’s rights. HRW praised various measures adopted by in several countries to protect children’s right to education. However, it stressed that an international treaty remains necessary to complement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [...]