Roland Friedrich, director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for the West Bank, said on Wednesday that Israel’s ban on the agency’s activities in East Jerusalem is a serious threat to the right of 800 Palestinian children to education. Friedrich expressed serious concern about consequences that the termination of the agency’s activities in [...]

The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) issued a report Wednesday on the phenomenon of enforced disappearances in Colombia, and provided recommendations to support the state’s efforts in combating this crime. The committee’s report concluded a 15-day visit to Colombia, during which it held meetings with government authorities, victims, and civil society organizations. The CED [...]

A Vermont judge ordered a detained Palestinian Columbia University student to be released from federal custody on Wednesday, more than two weeks after he was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship. Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Vermont resident and green card holder of nearly a decade who was raised in [...]

A report released by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) on Tuesday noted a significant deterioration in Haiti’s human rights situation since January, emphasizing the alarming impact of escalating gang violence on the civilian population. The report detailed widespread killings, abductions and sexual violence in the country. The BINUH emphasized the particular vulnerability [...]

Sharon Basch is an Israeli American who lived in Israel before starting her JD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she is currently a 3L.   Familiar blue and white flags flutter from balconies across Tel Aviv today, marking Israel’s 77th Independence Day. The smell of barbecues, a Yom Ha’atzmaut staple, drifts on [...]

Egypt’s First Circuit of the Criminal Court in Damanhour sentenced a 78-year-old school administrator to life imprisonment, equivalent to 25 years under Egyptian law, for the sexual abuse of six-year-old Yassin, a student enrolled at a private school in the Beheira Governorate. In today’s initial hearing, the court approved a request by the child’s legal [...]

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk on Tuesday appealed to global leaders to take proactive measures in preventing the destruction of critical life-saving support in Gaza. The deadly wave of Israeli attacks that continues to take the lives of innocent civilians, many residing in temporary shelters, and health facilities have posed an obstacle for [...]

Amnesty International called for Turkish authorities to lift the ban on May Day (also called Labor Day) gatherings in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Wednesday. Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake, said the ban was “based on entirely spurious security and public order grounds and fly in the face of the 2023 Constitutional [...]

The Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Tuesday after she was arrested and charged last week for obstructing immigration authorities. The Court said Dugan is “temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin,” effective immediately and until a further court [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a dispute over Medicare reimbursements paid to hospitals. The 7-2 decision effectively limits the number of patients for whom hospitals can receive federal reimbursement.  Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance to elderly and [...]