A UN children’s rights expert on Monday stated that Syria’s continued infliction of harm on children is a “brutal abdication of human rights obligations they have committed to respect.” Benyam Dawit Mezmur , Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child , released the statement criticizing Syria, as well as Russia, for [...]

Thailand on Monday opened a specialized corruption court in hopes of finalizing cases more quickly and possibly expanding the reach of the cases that can be tried. Government corruption was one of the rationales provided for the military coup two years ago, and this dedicated court is one route to implementing Prime Minister Gen Prayut [...]

Five men accused of murdering Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov went on trial Monday in a Moscow military court. The five defendants, previously identified as Anzor Gubashev, Shagid Gubashev, Zaur Dadayev, Ramzan Bakhayev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, are ethnic Chechens and could face up to eight years in prison. The men allegedly confessed to the crime [...]

Polish women participated in a nationwide strike on Monday in protest of a new law that would completely ban abortion. The women wore black and waved black flags in symbolism of mourning the potential loss of reproductive rights. Under the new law, women could face up to five years in prison for having an abortion, [...]

Two Tunisian men have come forward with claims of previously unreported accounts of torture at the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) , according to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday. Ridha al-Najjar and Lotfi al-Arabi El Gherissi were reportedly arrested in Pakistan in 2002, detained by the CIA for [...]

The Palestinian high court in Ramallah on Monday amended a previous ruling, holding that municipal elections can take place, but only in West Bank and not in the Gaza Strip. The court had previously held that the election, once scheduled for October 8, would not proceed after Hamas disputed party lists drawn by Palestinian President [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition to rehear United States v. Texas , further stalling implementation of the Obama administration’s immigration policy. The case represents a challenge to the administration’s policy creating a program centered on deferred action, wherein around four million immigrants would be allowed to work legally and remain in [...]

A court in El Salvador will reopen an investigation related to the Mozote Massacre of 1981 which occurred during the country’s Civil War, according to human rights lawyers on the case Saturday. Lawyers from the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and other human rights groups requested the investigation on behalf of victims last [...]

Low voter turnout has invalidated the referendum from Sunday in which Hungarian citizens voted to oppose any EU mandatory placement of refugees. The proposed plan sought to share 160,000 asylum seekers throughout the 28-member bloc through imposition of mandatory quotas. The Hungarian government had opposed the imposition of the plan, along with other countries, and [...]

Colombian voters on Sunday narrowly rejected the peace deal negotiated between President Juan Manuel Santos and Timoleon Jimenez, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The deal, rejected by 50.2 percent of voters, would have established an official end to the guerrilla warfare that has been plaguing the country for more than [...]