A group of independent UN human rights experts on Friday urged Thai authorities to reverse all measures affecting basic human rights and to restore democratic rule in the country. Human rights issues in Thailand have become an issue as political unrest has resulted in the suspension of the Constitution and the military assuming power of [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday expressed alarm over reports of rights abuses in Iraq as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) forces have seized control of several cities. Pillay is concerned by reports of extrajudicial killings and summary executions, as well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands [...]

Central African Republic (CAR) President Catherine Samba-Panza has requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate crimes committed within ICC jurisdiction since August 21, 2012. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda issued a statement Thursday describing the context of the referral to the ICC and mentioning that all of the crimes that have been committed in the [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday confirmed charges against former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo , referring him for trial. Gbagbo faces four charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and persecution. After reviewing evidence, including statements from more than 100 witnesses and 22,000 pages of documents, the pre-trial chamber concluded that there [...]

West African governments should decriminalize drug use and treat it as a public health issue, according to a report published Thursday by the West Africa Commission on Drugs . The report also recommends that governments try to confront corruption so that traffickers cannot exploit corrupt officials. The report, commissioned by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, [...]

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal on Thursday signed into law two bills dealing with abortion. HB 388 requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Opponents claim that this law will force three of the state’s five abortion clinics to close . HB 305 bars abortion providers from instructing or distributing [...]

The criminal division of the UK Court of Appeal on Thursday declared that some coverage of the trial of two terrorism suspects from London will be held in open court, but core aspects of the trial will remain confidential. The case is Guardian News and Media Ltd v AB CD and it is on appeal [...]

Italy’s Constitutional court ruled Wednesday that an Italian law that annuls a marriage once a partner undergoes a sex change operation is against the national interest because the couple may desire to stay together. Wednesday’s ruling overturns a judgment from a lower court in Bologna in the case of 43-year-old Alessandra Bernaroli , who underwent [...]

Pakistan’s Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday lifted a travel ban that had prevented former president Pervez Musharraf from leaving the country. Opponents will have 15 days to challenge the ruling, and Musharraf will not be allowed to leave the country during that time. Musharraf has expressed a desire to visit his sick mother in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that police must obtain a warrant to get a person’s cell phone location history from the cell phone provider. Police conducting a robbery investigation had obtained four people’s cell phone location histories after getting a “D-order” from a federal magistrate judge. The standard for [...]