Articles Tagged with Africa

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14230, which had targeted the law firm Perkins Coie LLP with sweeping federal penalties. In a 102-page opinion, Judge Beryl Howell condemned the order as a flagrant abuse of executive power and an unconstitutional [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday condemned the violence against civilians in Syria as well as Israel’s violations of Syria’s sovereignty, following airstrikes near the presidential palace in Damascus. Through a statement from spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief expressed concern over the violence in the suburbs of Damascus, including assassinations of local administration figures. [...]

Amnesty International (AI) urged India on Friday to immediately “implement a clear, inclusive and time‑bound plan for the safe and voluntary return of communities” displaced by two years of ethnic violence in Manipur. As of Thursday, more than 58,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from both the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki‑Zo communities remain housed in [...]

Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday criticized Polish legislation suspending the right to asylum applications for migrants crossing the border from Belarus. According to AI, the law effectively codifies the unlawful forced return of migrants by authorizing border guards to disregard asylum applications without properly considering a person’s individual’s circumstances. AI alleges that the legislation, enacted [...]

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned on Thursday that the Trump administration’s attacks on the judiciary are “not isolated incidents,” but are designed to intimate the judiciary and “impact more than just the individual judges who are being targeted.” Justice Jackson further warned that the threats and harassment of the judiciary are an attack [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday filed lawsuits against Hawaii, Michigan, New York, and Vermont over “unconstitutional” and “burdensome” climate change initiatives. The lawsuits fit into two categories. First, the DOJ filed suits against the states of New York and Vermont over their “climate superfund laws.” In 2024 both states passed legislation that aims [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday announced that the economic indicator in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index has fallen to an unprecedented critical low, prompting the global state of press freedom to be classified as in a “difficult situation” for the first time in the Index’s history. Of the five metrics RSF tracks, the [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Friday of the significant risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to press freedom, noting that states increasingly “weaponize” AI to restrict the flow of information. In conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, which revealed increasing media repression, Türk stated: AI-based algorithms often dictate what we [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Friday of the “unremitting violence” being committed against civilians in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war despite an active ceasefire that began in the wake of the March 28 earthquakes.  Türk noted that the Myanmar military, or the Tatmadaw, is reported to have launched at least 243 [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday issued a 59-page report stating that the US should repeal the Alien Enemies Act. HRW emphasized that US obligations under international law have drastically changed since the Alien Enemies Act was enacted. The organization stated: “he US is party to numerous human rights treaties that oblige the government to [...]