UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday called for the international community to stand with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after states have recently begun leaving the institution. The commissioner urged the international community to remember there is not yet any alternative in place to ensure the implementation of the [...]

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) enacted new regulations on Tuesday requiring a reduction in the amount of natural gas wasted through release to the atmosphere through venting, flaring and leaks during oil and natural gas production on federal and Indian lands. The rule is meant to reduce the amount of natural gas used [...]

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday that charges are being filed against the officer who shot Philando Castile during a Minneapolis traffic stop in July, which was broadcasted on Facebook. After months of protests, Officer Jeronimo Yanez was charged with second-degree murder and felony discharge of a dangerous weapon. The attorney’s office believe that [...]

The Israeli parliament on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to the Formalization Bill, which would legalize settlement outposts in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had planned for the bill to be delayed in efforts to avoid US support for a UN resolution against the settlement outposts. However, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously approved [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of a case involving the 2014 botched execution of Clayton Lockett, a death row inmate in Oklahoma. Lockett’s brother filed suit against the state of Oklahoma , through named state officials, in October 2014. The case was dismissed due to qualified-immunity [...]

The Governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an open Christian, has been named by police as a suspect in a blasphemy investigation . The announcement follows increasing protests calling for the governor’s arrest as he has been accused of disrespecting the Koran on his campaign trail . If convicted, Purnama could receive up to [...]

Egyptian legislators on Monday approved a bill regulating the work of non-government organizations (NGOs), a move that many human rights organizations believe will severely curtail their ability to work within the region. The 89-article bill requires that NGOs achieve compliance under the law within six months or face strict penalties. Some of the modifications include [...]

US authorities are using excessive force against protesters in North Dakota who are trying to halt a proposed oil pipeline project, according to a UN human rights expert on Tuesday. According to Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, about 400 people have been detained in [...]

Russia’s Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Alexei Navalny on Wednesday. Navalny runs the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which investigates the Russian government. In a verdict condemned by the EU and US, Navalny was convicted of embezzlement of timber from the Kirovles State Timber Company in 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison. In February, the [...]

In an 11-2 vote on Tuesday the District of Columbia Council approved a “Death with Dignity” bill that would allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a physician’s help. Under the bill, a patient that is terminally ill, a resident of DC, at least 18 years old and still capable of rendering [...]