The Sudanese government has made a formal request to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to close their human rights office in Khartoum following accusations of worrying abuses and violations by their peacekeepers. This request is believed to stem from the strained relationship between UNAMID and Sudan after accusations surfaced of a mass [...]

Two men in Egypt were acquitted for charges relating to female genital mutilation (FGM) on Thursday. Since the law banning FGM was amended in 2008, this is the only case of FGM that resulted in trial. The charges stemmed from the death of a 13 year-old girl who died last year of an allergic reaction [...]

Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday released a report detailing its concern that people hoping to gain their land back under the Victims Land and Restitution Law in Colombia may face problems ranging from bureaucracy to intimidation, causing them to fail to receive their land. The report, entitled “Colombia: A land title is not enough: Ensuring [...]

UK’s commission on strengthening devolution, the Smith Commission , concluded on Thursday that Scotland’s parliament should have more independence in certain matters. The commission, which was set up by Prime Minister David Cameron , recommended that Scotland’s parliament should have the power to decide Scotland’s income tax rates, the voting age, welfare payments and should [...]

Two federal judges on Tuesday struck down same-sex marriage bans in Arkansas and Mississippi . The rulings overturned the voter-approved bans that had been in place for over a decade. US District Judge Carlton Wayne Reeves of Jackson placed his decision declaring the ban a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment on hold for two weeks [...]

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Wednesday suggested to the country’s parliament that new laws are needed to strengthen existing legislation to combat terrorism. Razak expressed particular concern about citizens returning home to Malaysia with extremist ideology after fighting alongside Islamic State (IS) militants in conflict zones of Syria and Iraq. Citing the 39 citizens [...]

The Utah Attorney General’s Office reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Tuesday over a controversial immigration law . The “Utah Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act” was criticized as encouraging racial profiling as it allowed police officers to stop individuals to verify their legal status or arrest them without a warrant, “when [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in four cases on Tuesday. In City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan the court has been asked to decide whether Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires law enforcement to accommodate a mentally ill, violent and armed suspect when taken into custody. The court will [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul on Tuesday urged the government of East Timor to reconsider the dismissing of international judges and prosecutors. Knaul believes that the audit and dismissal of judicial personnel puts the independence of the judiciary within the country in question. Since October the East [...]

A grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, decided Monday not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in August. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch released documents and evidence that were presented to the grand jury, including jury transcripts, witness interviews, forensic reports and photographs. As protesters take [...]