The UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice on Monday called on the government of Tunisia to adopt stronger constitutional measures to combat gender inequality and discrimination, while accelerating the participation of women in all aspects of society. The working group stated that it “remains concerned at the persistence of [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday condemned the human rights record of people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling on the international community to make efforts to improve the situation. Pillay expressed concern that the international community is almost exclusively focused on North Korea’s nuclear program and not [...]

The government of Georgia freed 190 people considered by parliament to be political prisoners on Sunday under an amnesty agreement. The amnesty was opposed by President Mikhail Saakashvili and has intensified a power struggle within the country. Many of the prisoners who were released were arrested in May 2011 during anti-Saakashvili protests . Approximately 3,000 [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday urged Sudan to end its crackdown against political and cultural groups. In December Sudanese authorities shut down four organizations in Khartoum that promoted cultural diversity, democracy and human rights. The government shut down these groups based on alleged national security concerns. In the press release, HRW’s Africa director Daniel [...]

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday signed an order to remove Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake from office for alleged corruption and bribery. The president’s action comes just two days after the Sri Lankan Parliament voted with an overwhelming majority to impeach the chief justice and drafted an official motion urging the president to remove [...]

An Egyptian appeals judge on Sunday overturned former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s conviction and life sentence and ordered a retrial for the former president on the charge of failure to prevent the killing of more than 800 protestors last year. The judge did not give his reasons for ordering the new trial, but the reasons [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in six new cases on Friday. In Salinas v. Texas the court will consider the boundaries of the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent prior to arrest. Genovevo Salinas was suspected of being involved in a murder. He consented to a search of his home, where police found a [...]

Greece’s Hellenic Parliament approved new tax legislation on Saturday so that the country can pay back loans so that it can continue receiving financial aid. The new legislation would bring the new top-tier tax level to 42 percent for individuals earning more than $56,000 a year, a drastic change from the previous top rate, which [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday called on the Venezuela government to end its censorship and intimidation of media that challenge official reports regarding President Hugo Chavez . Chavez supporters are trying to keep details about his condition and treatment secret, with government agents going so far as to confiscate the computers of a blogger [...]

Mali interim president Dioncounda Traore , while under pressure from Mali’s military, declared a state of emergency on Friday after Islamist rebels on Thursday captured the town of Konna. Traore called for Mali to engage in a general mobilization to defend against the rebel’s advance. France’s President Francois Hollande issued a statement saying that France [...]