The Federal court of Australia has upheld a ruling allowing US-based genetic testing company Myriad Genetics to retain its patent for genetic material (DNA and RNA) it has isolated from human cells. Patient advocacy...

A senior UN human rights official said on Monday that the death toll in Ukraine has risen above 3,000, and pleaded for peace to spare more bloodshed. Ivan Simonovic , the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human...

The UN General Assembly on Monday met to discuss "the responsibility to protect" adopted by world leaders in 2005, with UN officials stressing the urgency of this responsibility as crises rage around the world. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile;...

Amnesty International (AI) said Sunday that both Ukrainian militia and separatist forces may be responsible for war crimes , with all sides of the conflict showing disregard for civilian lives. AI Secretary General Salil Shetty called...

Soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been sexually exploiting and assaulting Somali women, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Monday. The abuses have allegedly occurred on two AMISOM military bases...

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used torture methods beyond waterboarding on suspected terrorists, according to a report published by the Telegraph Sunday. The UK-based news outlet spoke to an unnamed "security source" who alleged that...

A group of Thailand human rights activists denounced the country's state of martial law on Monday, accusing the ruling military junta of imposing a judicial "twilight zone." The rights group has called for an end...

Newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called Monday on the international community to work to end the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In his first speech before the UN Human...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused militias in Libya of committing war crimes during a battle that has been ongoing since July. Libya Dawn Alliance, led by militias from Misrata, and a coalition of...

The League of Arab States approved a resolution on Monday to combat extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) . The resolution was issued separately from a more comprehensive statement on Arab affairs...