The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on the Government of Bahrain on Friday to investigate the deaths of five protesters that occurred during a security operation last week. The protesters were killed and 286 individuals were arrested when Bahraini security forces were conducting an operation concerning a sit-in held [...]

Eric Schneiderman , New York’s top prosecutor, accused ExxonMobil in a court filing Friday of misleading investors about climate change risks and demanded the corporation turn over internal documents. Schneiderman, Attorney General for New York, said in the filing that he had evidence of “potential materially false and misleading statements by Exxon” that could have [...]

Family members of human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong said Friday that police have informed them of his formal arrest and his decision to dismiss all legal counsel. The legal activist disappeared in November after publicizing the plight of families of human rights lawyers and activists that have been detained in an effort to stifle opposition [...]

The Kansas legislature approved SB 235 on Thursday exempting state mental hospitals, community mental health centers and the University of Kansas Health System‘s hospitals from a previously passed law allowing people to carry concealed firearms in such facilities. The bill was written in response to a National Rifle Association (NRA) backed law passed in 2013. [...]

Japan’s lower house of parliament passed a bill Friday allowing Emperor Akihito to step down and calling for a debate on women emperors in the male-dominated monarchy. Emperor Akihito, who has been on the throne for nearly 30 years, would be the first abdication in almost two centuries. Akihito, 83, who has had heart surgery [...]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law Thursday night that significantly loosens voter identification requirements. Senate Bill 5 is intended to salvage portions of a 2011 law that was found to be discriminatory against minority voters by a federal judge in April. The bill allows voters who lack a photo ID to produce other documents [...]

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pledged Thursday to hold a referendum on a new controversial constitution that he has proposed. Maduro’s pledge to rewrite the national charter has led to two months of protests in which at least 62 people have been killed. Maduro’s pledge came after criticism from opponents that his plan to rewrite the [...]

The Trump administration filed a petition Thursday asking the Supreme Court to temporarily lift injunctions that block the president’s executive order suspending visa issuance to individuals traveling to the US from six Muslim-majority countries. The move is appealing an injunction the Fourth Circuit upheld last month. The administration is also seeking to place on hold [...]

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted without debate Thursday to remove criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The purpose of the legislation is to reduce time spent on small possession drug cases, allow police and courts to spend more time on serious crime and to reduce penalties for those possessing [...]

The UN Working Group on business and human rights on Thursday urged Canada to address human rights abuses resulting from business activities, both domestic and international. The experts, after a 10-day trip to Canada, specifically referred to human rights abuses taking place in countries where Canadian corporations practice business and the usage of indigenous people’s [...]