UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed grave concern on Friday at the rising death toll during the ongoing political chaos in Egypt, saying that Egypt’s draft constitution presents serious problems for human rights. Pillay complained that the draft constitution, which was approved last week , was passed without the participation of Christian [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of war crimes after a November aerial bombing raid killed 12 civilians in Gaza . According to HRW, the IDF planned and authorized the attack in pursuit of Mohamed Jamal al-Dalu, a suspected Hamas “terror operative” and low-ranking police officer. HRW claims that [...]

Michigan’s Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday, known as “Freedom to Work,” that makes payment of union dues voluntary and limits workers’ rights to strike and picket. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 58-52, over unanimous Democratic opposition . The Senate then approved the legislation by a vote of [...]

Rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday challenging Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s executive order preventing immigrants in a federal program from obtaining driver’s licenses. Brewer’s order denies driver’s licenses for immigrants participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DACA provides a two-year period [...]

Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) on Thursday announced that former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will be charged with murder for his role in the 2010 Thai military crackdown on anti-government protests that left more than 90 people dead and about 1,800 injured in Bangkok. In particular, Abhisit may have been liable for the death [...]

Officials from the International Criminal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Wednesday told the UN Security Council that they are making progress in completing their work, but continue to face a number of challenges requiring additional support. In his dual capacity as President of the ICTY and [...]

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire on Wednesday certified the results of Referendum 74 which has legalized same-sex marriage in the state. The referendum gave Washington voters the choice to accept or reject the state same-sex marriage legislation , which was signed by the governor in February. Opponents of the law conceded defeat last month after the [...]

A UN independent expert on Thursday praised a convention passed by the African Union (AU) to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs). The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) was passed in 2009 and came into full enforcement on Thursday. It is the world’s first set [...]

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that police do not need a warrant to search a suspect’s cell phone once the suspect been lawfully arrested. The defendant was arrested after police observed him participating in an apparent drug transaction, and, upon being booked the police seized his cell phone. From the defendant’s phone police [...]

The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, a non-profit corporation in Nevada which opposes same-sex marriage, petitioned the US Supreme Court on Wednesday to grant a writ of certiorari to determine “whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause requires Nevada to change its definition of marriage from the union of a man and a woman [...]