Since the Constitution’s ratification in 1789, the power to go to war has steadily shifted toward the President. In the 21st century, the President is far more powerful than George Washington was at the start of the constitutional journey and is more empowered to commit the US armed forces to unnecessary, even dangerous, wars with [...]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, while overhauling the legal framework courts have used for four decades to evaluate minority voting rights claims under the Voting Rights Act. The 6-3 decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, will make it significantly harder for plaintiffs to challenge redistricting [...]

Attacks against national human rights institutions (NHRIs) weaken their ability to fulfill their mandates to protect human rights and hinder access to justice and accountability for all, UN experts warned Monday, noting an increase in reported attacks. The experts said, “NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles play a critical role in the promotion and protection of [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee determined Monday that Sweden violated the rights of a child with severe disabilities by deporting him to Albania without ensuring access to essential medical care. The finding concerned E.B., an Albanian national diagnosed with multiple complex and life-threatening conditions, including autism, grave developmental disorder, spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, and [...]

Several UN rights experts raised serious concerns on Monday in a joint statement over the increasing use of intrusive surveillance technologies globally and their normalization in everyday life, calling for the urgent strengthening of human rights safeguards ahead of the RightsCon summit on human rights in the digital age, to be held in Zambia from [...]

Human Rights Watch warned Monday that the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup risks unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement, threats to media freedom, and discrimination, releasing a 79-page reporter’s guide documenting human rights conditions across all three host countries ahead of the tournament’s June 11 opening. The guide, titled “Reporter’s Guide for the [...]

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that the ongoing restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan could result in a shortage of more than 25,000 women teachers and health workers by 2030, urging authorities to lift the ban on secondary education for girls. In a new report titled “The Cost of [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday reversed a district court ruling that had blocked Texas’s 2025 congressional map as a likely racial gerrymander, allowing the Republican-drawn districts to stand for the 2026 midterm elections. The unsigned one-paragraph order cited the Court’s own 2025 decision in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens as controlling, [...]

A group of 15 rights organizations sent a joint letter on Sunday to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concerning her government’s proposed anti-espionage law and foreign agents registration act. The organizations caution the government to ensure the laws are consistent with legal obligations, writing: While we recognize that protecting national security and tackling the unlawful [...]

Victor Qiu is a JURIST correspondent and practicing lawyer based in Washington, DC, United States. Last week, I attended the first oral argument of the US Supreme Court’s April sitting, Sripetch v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case that could clarify the scope of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) disgorgement authority and its relationship [...]