The Ecuadorian government’s financial crimes agency froze the bank accounts of several Indigenous and environmental groups, using secret intelligence information in an apparent effort to silence protests, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, commented that the measures in question constitute a misuse of anti-money laundering mechanisms, which [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Tuesday that Tunisian authorities have arrested three prominent activists following a “sham trial.” The organization urged authorities to immediately overturn the “unjust convictions” and release those detained. Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, highlighted the political significance of the detentions: The arrests of prominent [...]

UN anti-racism experts on Tuesday raised “grave concerns” about ethnically motivated human rights violations in Sudan. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) urged Sudan to act to put an end to these violations and prevent further escalation. The committee issued this decision under “early warning” and “urgent procedures” mechanisms. The experts are [...]

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday announced a regional state of emergency following a wave of coups and attempted coups that have destabilized several member countries on the western region bloc. The declaration was made during the 55th session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria by the [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a 20-year prison sentence on Tuesday to former Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was found guilty of 27 counts, including murder, rape, torture, persecution and pillaging. [...]

Indonesia repatriated two Dutch nationals, one of whom had been on death row, to the Netherlands on Monday, following a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries. Both were convicted of smuggling illegal substances and had been serving lengthy sentences under the Indonesian drug laws before their repatriation. The two men were facing health problems, [...]

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 1312 into law on Tuesday, establishing protections that limit civil immigration enforcement activities across multiple public settings throughout the state. This new legislation includes Article 5, known as the Illinois Bivens Act, which establishes the right of individuals to sue for constitutional violations during civil immigration enforcement, with courts [...]

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to end its six-month federalization of the California National Guard, ruling the deployment lacks legal justification. US federal law (10 USC § 12406) permits the president to federalize National Guard troops only when the nation faces invasion, rebellion, or the president is unable to execute federal [...]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed an executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a foreign terrorist organization. The executive order, an unprecedented step at the state level, cites a supposed connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as the primary justification for the designation. The Florida order specifically targets CAIR [...]

Amnesty International said Wednesday that the new Australian law prohibiting children and young people under 16 from using social media is an “ineffective quick fix” that will not prevent online harms. The criticism was issued by Amnesty International’s technology division in response to a Australian law, effective December 10, which mandates that social media platforms [...]