More than 80 rights groups and individuals on Wednesday jointly called on British Columbia (BC) to recommit to implementing Indigenous rights. In the statement, the groups urged the government not to amend the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and the Interpretation Act, so as to preserve the reconciliation efforts that have [...]

Australia issued a Temporary Exclusion Order (TEO) on Wednesday to prevent an Australian citizen in detention in northeast Syria from returning home because of security concerns. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that the TEO has been issued under the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Act 2019 (Cth). Minister Burke stated: “I can confirm that one individual [...]

In his recent book, What is the Future of U.S. Democracy: Renewal or Decay? Fixing the Constitution and Reforming the Political Processes to Save U.S. Democracy, Rev. Dr. S. Wesley Ariarajah ventures beyond his established theological scholarship to offer a sweeping constitutional diagnosis of American democracy. Professor Emeritus of Ecumenical Theology at Drew University and [...]

President Bernardo Arévalo ended the nationwide state of siege in Guatemala on Monday, while maintaining joint military and police operations to combat organized crime and gangs. The move comes days before expiration of a 30-day emergency period imposed in response to deadly prison riots and attacks that left 11 National Civil Police officers dead. In [...]

UN experts on Wednesday expressed their disapproval of the acquisition and use by the National Police of the Irish Republic (Gardaí) of so-called “less-lethal” weapons such as “double-strength pepper spray” and tasers for crowd control purposes. Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, and Special Rapporteur on [...]

A US judge ruled Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia, as the time period for his removal period has expired and further detention would violate due process. Judge Paul Xinis for the US District Court of Maryland found that the government has a limited time period to detain someone [...]

The Congress of Peru on Tuesday approved seven motions of censure against the President of Congress and Interim President of the Republic of Peru, José Jerí, over accusations of corruption. During a plenary session, 75 members of Congress voted in favor of removing José Jerí from office, with 24 opposing and three abstentions. The approved impeachment [...]

A French appeals court on Tuesday rejected an appeal to enforce compensation for Nicaraguan banana plantation workers harmed by pesticides. The Paris appeals court released a judgment stating that “the sums awarded to each claimant… are manifestly disproportionate.” This confirmed the previous decision by the court of first instance. The case was first brought by [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday condemned the US for the transfer of 5,700 detainees with alleged ISIS affiliation from Syria to Iraq, where detainees face risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, and torture. The US transferred the detainees on January 21 as the Syrian government tried to gain control of Northeast Syria from the [...]

UN experts released a statement on Monday expressing concern over historic illegal intercountry child adoptions in Guatemala and allegations that Attorney General María Consuelo Porras had handled the transfer of at least 80 Indigenous children who were eventually sent abroad. Experts decried the current lack of transparency and investigatory process, stating: We are particularly troubled that [...]