UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday urged Bangladesh to make a significant effort to prevent extremists from targeting writers, publishers and other potential victims. Zeid stressed that civilians should not feel threatened to exercise their right of free expression. He concluded that the government is obligated to prevent violent [...]

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda gave a statement to the UN Security Council (UNSC) Thursday suggesting that peace and stability could soon be achieved in Libya. Bensouda credits the UN-facilitated dialogues towards establishing a Libyan Government of National Accord and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for the progress being made towards [...]

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday that same-sex divorce is legal within the state. In a 5-4 decision, the high court granted the divorce order citing to the recent US Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges as the main legal authority. The case was brought by Lauren Beth Czekala-Chatham who sought a divorce from [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that a Florida state law that bars retailers from imposing surcharges on credit card purchases is unconstitutional. Under the Florida statute it is a second-degree misdemeanor if a business imposes a surcharge on a customer who uses a credit card. The circuit judges ruled [...]

A group of book sellers and publishers filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a new Louisiana criminal law that requires websites to implement age-verification systems to protect material that may be harmful to any minor. HB 153 , passed in June of this year, states, “Any person or entity in Louisiana that publishes material harmful [...]

The Constitutional Court of Colombia on Wednesday ruled that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. In a 6-2 decision, the court said that allowing same-sex couples to form a family upholds equality and is in the best interest of children and teens. The two dissenting judges said that the court’s emphasis on the rights of [...]

The Egyptian Court of Cassation on Thursday postponed the retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak regarding his complicity in the killings of hundreds of protestors in the 2011 demonstrations that ousted his regime. Judge Anwar Gabri of the Egyptian Court of Cassation ordered a retrial for former president Hosni Mubarak in June, which overturned his [...]

The Syrian government’s widespread and murky policies of disappearances have spawned a thriving market of bribery and exploitation, according to a report released Thursday by Amnesty International (AI) . AI explained that tens of thousands of people in Syria have disappeared since 2011. These individuals were reportedly arrested, detained or abducted by the state or [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Thursday for countries to develop stronger international laws governing incendiary weapons. The report provides a five-year review of the developments surrounding incendiary weapons discussing, among other things, instances of its recent use in several countries including Syria, Libya and Ukraine. The report also discusses the gradual changes in governmental policies [...]

Several independent UN human rights experts said Wednesday that a recent Brazilian draft law may infringe upon civil rights in its efforts to counteract terrorism. The bill was approved by the Brazilian Senate last month. The legislation broadly defines a terrorist act as one which “infringes upon persons, through violence or serious threat, and is [...]