Spanish protesters rallied in Madrid on Saturday in opposition to a law that would relax restrictions on abortions. Protesters adopted the slogan "Every life matters" and former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar spoke in support of the protesters. Estimates claim that between 250,000 and two million protesters attended, but no objective count was made. [...]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon established an investigation committee on Friday to look into possible human rights abuses by Guinean soldiers on September 28. The Guinea junta on Saturday also appointed a mixture of doctors, lawyers, and judges to a National Commission for an Independent Investigation, with similar goals. A spokesperson for Ban said: The Secretary-General [...]

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution Friday endorsing the final report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict , which recommends that both Israel and Hamas should conduct credible investigations into alleged human rights violations that took place during Operation Cast Lead , or face referral to the International [...]

Proceedings against Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party treasurer and deputy agriculture minister-nominee Roy Bennett were delayed Saturday, after his lawyers requested more time to develop their defense. Bennett faces charges under Zimbabwe's Public Order and Security Act for unlawfully possessing weapons and provoking others "to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage." The weapons charges [...]

Michelle McCluer : "Congress appears ready to enact changes to the 2006 Military Commissions Act . After the opening days of the Obama Administration, it feels strange to be writing about the future of military commissions, but it seems that military commissions will continue plodding along. While I would have preferred to have seen military [...]

This week's trials of those involved in the deadly July riots in Urumqi , the capital of China's Xinjiang province, failed to meet Chinese and international fairness and due process standards Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday. HRW alleges that defendants were not allowed access to the lawyers of their choice due to veiled government [...]

A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia refused Friday to force the Department of Defense (DOD) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to release non-redacted versions of documents that allegedly describe the torture and abuse of 14 Guantanamo Bay detainees. Judge Royce Lamberth denied a request made by the American Civil [...]

Taiwan's Constitutional Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by former president Chen Shui-bian , who faces a life sentence on corruption charges. Chen's appeal was based on a claim that his constitutional rights were violated when judges were replaced during the proceedings against him. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) , previously led by Chen, has [...]

A British High Court ruled Friday that previously redacted text regarding the alleged torture of former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed should be publicly disclosed. The text in question relates to Mohamed's allegations that, while being held in Pakistan, he was tortured by Pakistani agents and interrogated by US and UK agents who were complicit in [...]

Irish President Mary McAleese on Thursday signed the European Union (EU) reform treaty, known as the Treaty of Lisbon , completing the country's ratification process. Ireland has become the 26th nation to ratify the treaty, leaving the Czech Republic as the only one of the 27 member nations that has not yet done so. Irish [...]