The Human Rights Law Centre published a report Wednesday accusing mining giant Rio Tinto of human rights violations on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. The mine was abandoned by Rio Tinto in 2016 without any effort to assist in the cleanup or closure of the mine. The open mine, which is located [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that a petitioner who fled Ghana to the US after he was assaulted and threatened by his father and neighbors for his sexuality is eligible for asylum. Petitioner had been in a same-sex relationship with a friend, and when his father and neighbors found [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday announced a proposal to lift Venezuelan sanctions if the country adopts a new transitional government. According to Pompeo, “his framework calls for the establishment of broadly acceptable transitional government to administer free and fair presidential elections and a pathway to lifting Venezuela-related sanctions.” The plan requires Nicolás [...]

The National Election Board of Ethiopia announced Tuesday that it would postpone Ethiopia’s upcoming general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The board had planned to conduct the election in August. The planned elections marked a transition towards democratic stability in Ethiopia. Ethiopia experienced a period of ethnic tension and unrest throughout 2016 and 2017. The [...]

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, issued a statement on Tuesday in response to recent measures Hungary has taken to further consolidate power in the hands of its prime minister, Viktor Orbán. While not calling out Hungary by name, the statement from the EU leader condemns exploiting emergency situations to undermine democratic [...]

Singapore’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code criminalizing homosexual activity between men. Three gay men challenged the law’s constitutionality following India’s victory in legalizing same–sex intercourse in September 2018. The High Court reasoned that it was bound by the Court of Appeal’s 2014 decision that Section 377A was constitutional and [...]

Lawmakers in Hungary’s Parliament voted 137-53 Monday to grant Prime Minister Viktor Orbán extensive powers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite protests from the opposition parties, the bill did not limit the powers to a specific time frame. The bill allows Orbán’s government to suspend the enforcement of some laws and permits deviation from legal [...]

The Canadian legislature passed emergency legislation on Wednesday that will allow the Minister of Health to circumvent patent laws for supplies that are necessary to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency. The bill requires payment of renumeration for the patentees in the “amount that the Commissioner considers to be adequate renumeration in the circumstances.” “These [...]

The Hague District Court ordered the Dutch state on Wednesday to pay compensation to the relatives of 11 men executed by Dutch soldiers in South Sulawesi in 1946 and 1947. The Indonesian War of Independence took place between 1945 and 1949. As a result of Dutch soldiers’ misconduct during the war, 11 men were killed in [...]

The Singapore Ministry of Health enacted stay-at-home and social distancing regulations on Thursday amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The penalty for violating the regulations is a fine up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to six months or both. All travelers coming back to Singapore, including citizens and permanent residents, will have to go into quarantine for [...]