A UN expert on Tuesday urged the Guatemalan government to “take decisive steps to eliminate the instrumentalisation of its justice system once and for all,” ahead of the upcoming judicial appointment process for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Constitutional Court, and Prosecutor General. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, stressed the [...]
The California Republican Party filed an emergency petition to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday asking for a temporary injunction against Proposition 50, a ballot initiative passed by California voters in November to redistrict the state’s congressional map outside of its typical process. The appeal to Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees emergency petitions in the [...]
UN experts called on member states to include gender apartheid in the drafting of the treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity on Monday. The experts particularly referred to the situation in Afghanistan, urging the states to ensure meaningful women’s participation in the drafting process. The Working Group on discrimination against women [...]
Amnesty International on Monday demanded that the Cuban government immediately release seven prisoners held for political reasons, and permanently cease political detentions. The rights group listed the names of each prisoner, demanded their release, and denounced the country’s political-prisoner release process, criticizing its “opacity” and “absence of clear criteria and use of arbitrary conditions.” Advocating [...]
The Australian Parliament passed a package of new gun control and expanded hate crime legislation on Tuesday, seen as measures to combat antisemitism, extremism and gun violence following last month’s Bondi Beach shooting. The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism laws realize leadership promises to enact tougher laws on firearms and hate-motivated violence. The combined acts establish [...]
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, UN agencies warned on Monday that escalating hunger and displacement crises worldwide threaten global economic stability, urging governments and business leaders to take action. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) noted that nearly 318 million people worldwide were facing a crisis-level hunger, with many living in famine [...]
Multiple US media outlets reported Tuesday that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and three others, received subpoenas from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over alleged interference with the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement actions in that state. Others subpoenaed include St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, Minnesota Attorney General Keith [...]
Amnesty International published a report on Tuesday, warning about rising authoritarian practices in the US and detailing numerous ways how the rule of law and human rights are being threatened. The report, entitled Ringing the Alarm Bells: Rising Authoritarian Practices and Erosion of Human Rights in the United States, identifies twelve areas where Amnesty International [...]
Uganda police on Sunday denied reports that the country’s main opposition presidential candidate, Bobi Wine, had been arrested following last Thursday’s election, in which President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, won his seventh term. Opposition officials from the National Unity Platform (NUP) said security forces, including a helicopter, were deployed near Wine’s [...]
The UN Human Rights Office raised alarm on Monday of a “sharp hike” in the number of executions globally in 2025. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk articulated the office’s key concerns, stating: My Office monitored an alarming increase in the use of the capital punishment in 2025, especially for offences not meeting [...]
