State Dept. human rights staffer quits over Biden’s Gaza policy

A State Department official working on human rights issues in the Middle East resigned Wednesday in protest of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, the latest example of dissent among government personnel bursting into public view. Annelle Sheline, 38, stepped down after a year as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, … Read more

Human rights experts decry new evidence of torture of Ukrainian POWs by Russia

GENEVA — U.N.-backed human rights experts said Friday they have gathered new evidence of “horrific” torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by their Russian jailers, saying such practices could amount to war crimes. The Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said human rights violations have been widespread since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to … Read more

Ben Carson slams squatter’s rights after New York family home taken over — warns America will be ‘destroyed from within’ if law-abiding citizens aren’t protected

‘We’ve lost our minds’: Ben Carson slams squatter’s rights after New York family home taken over — warns America will be ‘destroyed from within’ if law-abiding citizens aren’t protected When you spend millions of dollars buying your dream home, you naturally anticipate the freedom to live in it. Yet, the gap between expectation and reality … Read more

E.U. Court of Human Rights backs encryption as basic to privacy rights

While some American officials continue to attack strong encryption as an enabler of child abuse and other crimes, a key European court has upheld it as fundamental to the basic right to privacy. The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights has no effect in the United States; only the 46 European countries that … Read more

France Is Voting to Enshrine Abortion Rights in Constitution

France is on track to become the world’s first nation to explicitly enshrine abortion rights into its constitution, pending a final vote from lawmakers on Monday evening, amid a rollback in reproductive rights in the U.S. and elsewhere. Members of Parliament have been summoned to Paris by President Emmanuel Macron for a special meeting at … Read more

France votes on adding abortion rights to constitution — a reaction to U.S.

PARIS — Women’s rights groups on Monday were gearing up to celebrate France becoming the first country in the world to explicitly enshrine abortion rights in its constitution — an effort galvanized by the rollback of protections in the United States. On Monday evening, French lawmakers will vote in a special meeting at Versailles on … Read more

UN rights chief urges end to ‘repression’ of independent voices in Russia after Navalny’s death

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief called Monday for a quick end to the “repression of independent voices” in Russia and expressed concerns about the “persecution” of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last month. Volker Türk, in a wide-ranging speech, also lamented dozens of conflicts around the world, widespread violations of … Read more

Violence and rights abuses threaten South Sudan’s stability, a UN report warns

JUBA, South Sudan — Mass violence and gross human rights violations in South Sudan continue unabated ahead of landmark elections due to take place in December, a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has warned. Patterns of violence, violations and entrenched impunity continue to blight the lives of an extremely … Read more

Indonesia’s likely next president made 4-star general despite links to alleged human rights abuses

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday awarded an honorary four-star general rank to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, a former high-ranking army officer who is linked to human rights abuses and who emerged as the apparent winner of the Feb. 14 presidential election. Widodo gave the honorary promotion to Subianto, 72, in front … Read more

Memorial human rights leader Oleg Orlov sentenced to prison

MOSCOW — Prominent Russian activist Oleg Orlov, a leader of the Memorial human rights organization that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday for denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Orlov, 70, a veteran human rights campaigner who worked as a hostage negotiator during the first Chechen … Read more