Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma on Saturday again blocked a bill that would have legalized abortion in the country. The Safe Abortion Act of 2015 passed with broad support in parliament in December would repeal the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 , which only allows for abortion when the mother’s health is [...]

The UN Security Council passed a resolution Friday to increase protections against sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. The resolution was almost unanimously passed with only one country, Egypt, abstaining. The resolution would require the country where the abuse occurs to handle the issue through its own criminal justice system. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban [...]

A Sierra Leone security official said Friday that Moinina Fofana, a former militia leader convicted of war crimes, was re-arrested for violating the terms of his early release. Fofana was convicted in 2007 on charges of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishment for his role in Sierra Leone’s civil war and sentenced to a [...]

The Virginia General Assembly on Friday approved a bill that will allow for the implementation of the electric chair if lethal injection drugs are not readily available. Virginia has faced issues with obtaining lethal injection drugs as some pharmaceutical companies have declined to supply the necessary materials. According to the new bill, the Virginia Department [...]

A judge for Ohio’s Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on Friday granted an emergency order allowing 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the November election to vote in the Ohio primary next week. The case arose after Secretary of State Jon Husted released a voting manual in December stating that 17-year-olds could no longer [...]

Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Friday signed a bill into law making Oregon the first state to remove coal from its power supply. Senate Bill 1547 not only not only requires the elimination of coal fired resources but also creates limits on neighboring states as well. Senate Bill 1547 requires electric companies to remove all [...]

Cooperation among judges is vital to combating terrorism and upholding the rule of law around the world, UN officials said Thursday. In an effort to “ counter-terrorism measures within the human rights and legal frameworks,” the UN brought together Supreme Court justices from around the world at an event sponsored by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive [...]

West Virginia and South Dakota on Thursday enacted controversial laws limiting abortions. In West Virginia, lawmakers overrode Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto and passed a law preventing the dilation and evacuation abortion procedure, widely held to be the safest second-trimester abortion method. Tomblin vetoed the bill citing patient health concerns and worries that the law [...]

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), comprised of Syrian opposition groups, stated Friday that they will attend peace discussions with the Damascus government facilitated by the UN that will begin on Monday. The HNC seeks a transitional government with full executive powers, and no role for President Bashar al-Assad or his associates. These peace negotiations will [...]

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) on Friday released a report describing a multitude of atrocious human rights violations taking place in South Sudan as part of the South Sudan Civil War . This report describes “in searing detail” violations including “a overnment-operated ‘scorched earth policy,’ and deliberate targeting of civilians for killing, rape and [...]