The European Parliament on Tuesday approved a landmark bill creating protections for cats and dogs. The bill, first proposed in December 2023, establishes regulations for “EU standards for the breeding, housing, traceability, import and handling of cats and dogs.” It was adopted on Tuesday with 558 votes in favor, 35 against, and with 52 abstentions.  The bill [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday on the Israeli government’s plan for settler transfers into the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, calling the decision a “clear statement of intent to commit war crimes.” The $334 million plan was adopted on April 17, proposing development by 2030. The government purports to make the small town of Katzrin [...]

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia unanimously upheld the criminal contempt conviction against Chief Dsta’hyl (Adam Gagnon) on Tuesday. He was found in breach of a court injunction by protesting against a pipeline project in the territories of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. At issue in the appeal is whether Chief Dsta’hyl can make a [...]

At a moment when the international system is being tested by the most brazen act of interstate aggression in Europe since World War II, the US House of Representatives has an opportunity—and a responsibility—to reinforce the rule of law. H.Res. 777, now before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, deserves immediate passage. The resolution, drafted with [...]

Since the Constitution’s ratification in 1789, the power to go to war has steadily shifted toward the President. In the 21st century, the President is far more powerful than George Washington was at the start of the constitutional journey and is more empowered to commit the US armed forces to unnecessary, even dangerous, wars with [...]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, while overhauling the legal framework courts have used for four decades to evaluate minority voting rights claims under the Voting Rights Act. The 6-3 decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, will make it significantly harder for plaintiffs to challenge redistricting [...]

Attacks against national human rights institutions (NHRIs) weaken their ability to fulfill their mandates to protect human rights and hinder access to justice and accountability for all, UN experts warned Monday, noting an increase in reported attacks. The experts said, “NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles play a critical role in the promotion and protection of [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee determined Monday that Sweden violated the rights of a child with severe disabilities by deporting him to Albania without ensuring access to essential medical care. The finding concerned E.B., an Albanian national diagnosed with multiple complex and life-threatening conditions, including autism, grave developmental disorder, spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, and [...]

Several UN rights experts raised serious concerns on Monday in a joint statement over the increasing use of intrusive surveillance technologies globally and their normalization in everyday life, calling for the urgent strengthening of human rights safeguards ahead of the RightsCon summit on human rights in the digital age, to be held in Zambia from [...]

Human Rights Watch warned Monday that the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup risks unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement, threats to media freedom, and discrimination, releasing a 79-page reporter’s guide documenting human rights conditions across all three host countries ahead of the tournament’s June 11 opening. The guide, titled “Reporter’s Guide for the [...]