California Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed Senate Bill 1383 , which sets new state goals for cutting pollutants like methane, hydrofluorocarbons and soot, also referred to as black carbons . While comparing the fight against climate change to Noah’s ark, Brown said that reducing this “short lived” climate pollution will help the battle. The [...]

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated to the press on Monday that there will be referendum for Bosnian Serbs regarding a disputed holiday in their autonomous region. The referendum will take place on September 25 and will ask residents of the Srpska region if the mini-state’s statehood day should remain on January 9. This vote [...]

UN representatives stated Monday that the organization needs access to Syrian refugees in order to better document war crimes. The remarks were made during an interactive dialogue between the UN Human Rights Council and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic . Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry, [...]

Kenyan representatives said Monday in a preliminary hearing that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has no part in their dispute with Somalia over borders. The dispute, Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean) , centers around the boundary between the two countries and under which sovereignty oil deposits in the Indian Ocean fall. Githu Muigai, [...]

The Romanian High Court is expected to rules Tuesday on whether to recognize the marriage of a same-sex couple. US citizen Claibourn Robert Hamilton and Romanian activist Adrian Coman were married in Belgium and have sued to have their union recognized in Romania . The couple is represented by Iustina Ionescu, long time board-member of [...]

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on Friday to withdraw a lawsuit in which the state sought a judgment declaring that the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act , also known as House Bill 2 (HB 2), did not violate federal law. HB 2 prevented cities and counties from enacting [...]

Ahead of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on Monday, UN experts are urging states to protect women and girls in the movement of refugees and migrants by adhering to international human rights conventions and standards, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Convention on [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called upon Pakistani authorities Monday to stop the execution of Imdad Ali, a mentally disabled man, which is scheduled for Tuesday. HRW expressed its belief that “executing people with mental health conditions is an affront to decency and serves no criminal justice purpose,” and violates Pakistan’s international legal obligations. The report [...]

An Egyptian court on Saturday froze assets of five notable human rights activists and three NGOs for allegedly accepting foreign funds without governmental authorization. Though a criminal proceeding has yet to take place, this order likely spells criminal indictments for those groups and individuals for “pursuing acts harmful to national interests.” If found guilty, the [...]

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon , world leaders meeting at the United Nations will focus heavily upon the Syria conflict, refugees and the environment on Monday. Particularly, the Secretary General said the talks need to facilitate “progress in resolving protracted conflicts and rising tensions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East” and [...]