Two independent UN human rights experts noted Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday by calling on the international community to find solutions to the persistent exclusion of Roma denizens from larger society in all countries. “Pharrajimos” is observed each August 2 in remembrance of the approximately 3,000 Roma and Sinti who were killed on that [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday expressed concern about draft legislation that would criminalize homosexual behavior in Liberia . The bill provides for fines and imprisonment for up to five years for “seduc, encourag, promot another person of the same gender to engage into sexual activities” in what [...]

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on Friday criticizing the Syrian government for increasing its use of heavy weapons and calling on both sides of the conflict to stop fighting. The non-binding resolution, which passed by a vote of 133-12, also chastised the UN Security Council for failing to take decisive action to curb [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday urged Sudan to initiate an investigation into allegations of excessive force by government security forces against protesters in Darfur Tuesday resulting in eight deaths and more than 50 injuries. The OHCHR urged the government to “promptly launch an independent and credible investigation [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus brief on Thursday with the California Supreme Court arguing that undocumented immigrants should not be able to practice law in the US even if they passed a state bar exam. California’s high court sought the DOJ’s guidance in the pending case of an undocumented immigrant, Sergio [...]

A cousin of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic has admitted that he hid the accused war criminal in his house for five years, according to a local news agency. Branislav Mladic stated that he nursed his cousin for five years until he was arrested in 2011. Serbian authorities are considering what actions to [...]

The Colombia Ministry of Justice on Friday announced a new initiative to solve the problem of overcrowding in the nation’s prisons. INPEC , Colombia’s prison institute, has begun the transfer of 800 inmates from “La Modelo” prisons in Bogota and Cali to less crowded detention centers elsewhere in the country. Such transfers, along with house [...]

A federal court in Brazil on Wednesday ordered Chevron and drilling company Transocean to suspend all oil drilling in Brazil within 30 days in the wake of two oil spills off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A judge for Brazil’s Regional Federal Court of the Second Region ruled that each company must pay 500 [...]

An Iraqi court on Thursday rejected a US extradition request for Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq. The court also ruled that Daqduq should be released immediately from his house arrest. In May an Iraqi court had cleared all charges against Daqduq. The court stated that Iraq could not extradite someone whose charges were dropped. He [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Phelim Kine, Senior Researcher of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says that the increasing public challenges to the Chinese government’s authority will only continue until its policies reflect a basic respect for human rights and the right of the citizenry to publicly dissent…