The Vaucluse criminal court in Avignon, France, convicted 51 men including the main defendant Dominique Pelicot in a rape trial on Thursday. The case sparks debates on adding the consent element to the current definition of rape under the French Criminal Code. Dominique admitted to drugging and raping his now ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot, and inviting [...]

The United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) issued findings Wednesday regarding Benin, Egypt, Peru and Seychelles’ adherence to the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. The findings come shortly after the committee concluded its 39th session. In its evaluations, the [...]

A joint report released Wednesday by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) revealed a pattern of arbitrary detention in South Sudan as well as human rights abuses committed by both government security forces and organized armed groups. The report, which covers the [...]

The Supreme Court of Ghana on Wednesday dismissed constitutional challenges launched against a bill that criminalizes LGBTQ+ expression and advocacy. In a televised ruling, Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson spoke for a unanimous court and cited the constitutional separation of powers between the judiciary, president and legislature as the primary reason for dismissal. She provided that the bill [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised serious concerns Wednesday regarding Guatemalan Attorney General María Consuelo Porras, who is accused of conducting politically motivated prosecutions against members of President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration. According to HRW, Porras has initiated at least 17 investigations against high-ranking officials, often based on dubious evidence. Since Arévalo took office in January, these [...]

Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia were awarded the EU’s prestigious Sakharov Prize on Tuesday in recognition of their unwavering fight for democracy and human rights in the South American country. The prize, regarded as the EU’s highest tribute to defenders of freedom, was presented during a ceremony at the European [...]

Serbian authorities installed spyware on the phones of dozens of journalists and activists, Amnesty International said in a report on Monday. In the document entitled “A Digital Prison: Surveillance and the suppression of civil society in Serbia,” the human rights organization cited digital forensic evidence and testimonies from activists who said they were hacked in recent [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Egyptian government on Tuesday to revise the draft of the new asylum bill, known as the Law Regarding the Asylum of Foreigners (LRAF), and urged the government to consult with civil society and the United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to ensure that the bill aligns with international [...]

Legal and structural obstacles persist in bringing justice by victims of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers, the International Peace Institute (IPI) reported Tuesday. The report emphasizes the need for a more unified and victim-centered approach to address sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and sexual harassment (SH) within UN peace operations. While SEA committed against host [...]

The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have been committing mass sexual violence and perpetrating sex slavery in South Kordofan state since September 2023, according to a report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday. The findings expose a grim pattern of targeted violence, predominantly against women and girls, that HRW says [...]