Cultural rights in Belarus are still being eroded despite recent release of political prisoners, Special Rapporteur Nils Muižnieks said on Monday. Muižnieks welcomed the release of over 400 individuals, but said that the human rights situation has not improved, stating that “sustainable progress requires an end to politically motivated repression and accountability for past violations”. [...]

The UN on Monday welcomed the government of Sudan’s decision to keep the Adre border crossing with Chad open through September 30, though the organization warned of a rise in violence in the besieged city of El Obeid. The UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric commended the Sudanese government’s decision, highlighting that the Adre corridor remains critical [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Monday that Beijing has restructured Hong Kong’s governance in a way that reduces accountability and tightens social control. The new system answers to the Chinese Communist Party leadership rather than Hong Kong’s people, and builds on the existing “draconian” national security regime. Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW, stated: [...]

Human Rights Watch on Monday criticized insurgent armed groups, the Malian armed forces and allied militias, and Russian mercenaries, which have all committed “serious abuses of human rights against civilians” amid an insurgency fueled by long-standing ethnic tensions in the country. Commenting on the large scale of atrocities committed against civilians in Mali, senior Sahel [...]

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that his government was introducing legislation to strengthen the country’s ban on social media accounts for youth under the age of 16. Albanese praised the ban’s success, stating that it has led to the deletion of over five million social media accounts for youth under 16. He [...]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday filed an application to bring proceedings against Rwanda over decades of war crimes and violence perpetrated in the DRC’s east. The Congolese government filed the case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ principal court for disputes between states. The DRC accused Rwanda [...]

Amnesty International raised concerns Friday over an absolute blanket ban by the Turkish government on all protests in the capital Ankara ahead of the NATO summit that is to be held in the city this coming week. The statement also decried the pretrial detention of more than 100 people, including lawyers, academics and activists. Amnesty [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled on Friday that the police must transmit an expunged misconduct record to the prosecution if it is relevant in a criminal proceeding. Civil rights group welcomed the ruling, calling it a “big win for the rights of the accused and police accountability.” Justice Sheila Martin, penning the unanimous [...]

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association on Thursday urged the federal government to affirm the right to seek medical assistance in dying (MAiD) of patients whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness. The statement comes after Canada’s Parliament received a report from its special joint committee, suggesting an indefinite exclusion of patients with mental illness. [...]

Cambodia’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the treason convictions and 14-year prison sentences of journalists Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara, according to local media. The court rejected the journalists’ final appeal in a case that rights organizations and press freedom groups have claimed criminalizes reporting. The defense had asked the court to either dismiss the [...]