A UN human rights expert presented a report to the Human Rights Council Tuesday highlighting an increase in the use of anti-blasphemy and anti-apostasy laws to crack down on dissent. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, noted the increased threat to freedom of expression, writing, “Freedom of religion or [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Tuesday that the UN human rights office in Burundi was closed down on February 28. The closure comes at the behest of the Burundi government, which has been refusing to cooperate with the UN’s mission for two years. The office in Burundi has spent 23 years [...]

The US State Department said Monday that the Trump administration has decided to extend the suspension on Title III of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act for 30 days, but has agreed to allow US citizens to sue Cuban entities and others on Washington’s blacklist. Since its inception, every administration has suspended Title [...]

Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of Chinese technology giant Huawei, filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Canadian government, its border agency and federal police, alleging she was “detained, searched and interrogated” for three hours in violation of her constitutional rights. The suit alleges that members of Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Border [...]

UN housing crisis expert Leilani Farha on Monday criticized human rights leaders who have failed to hold themselves accountable for inadequate housing rights. The UN Special Rapporteur previously urged the leaders of the G-20 summit to address the global housing crisis. Following the summit, Farha presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, said Monday that air pollution contributes to six million deaths a year. Boyd put out a call for input that was received by over 30 civil society representatives and international organizations who participated in a public consultation in Geneva last October. In order to [...]

Thailand unanimously passed the Cybersecurity Act on Thursday that gives the government control over the internet. This act permits the National Cybersecurity Committee, led by Thailand’s military, “to summon individuals for questioning and enter private property without court orders in case of actual or anticipated ‘serious cyber threats.'” Another branch of the government can now search and seize [...]

Spain’s Council of Ministers on Friday approved national regulatory measures to guarantee expat Britons their right to residency and healthcare access in the absence of a Brexit deal. The temporary measures are intended to “Preserve the interests of citizens, Spanish and British, who exercised their right to free movement before the date of withdrawal and [...]

The High Court struck down the UK’s “right to rent” policy on Friday as incompatible with human rights law. The “right to rent” policy required private landlords to verify the immigration status of prospective renters. Under this policy, landlords who rented to undocumented tenants could face unlimited fines or prison time. This policy was a key [...]

Israel Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Thursday announced his intention to file criminal charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for one count of bribery and three counts of breach of trust.  The press release emphasized that before a final decision to file charges was reached, Netanyahu’s lawyer would be given a hearing before the Attorney General [...]