The French Cour de Cassation, on Friday, annulled an arrest warrant against the former president of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, holding that sitting foreign leaders are immune from prosecution. On the question of whether an exception would exist in the event of crimes against humanity and war crimes, the court rejected both the argument that an [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged a rights-based approach in a letter on Friday to the newly appointed African Union (AU) Special Envoy for the Sahel, Burundi President H.E. Évariste Ndayishimiye.  HRW welcomed President Ndayishimiye’s appointment as Sahel envoy, and emphasized several regional and country-specific human rights concerns, stating that human rights, civilian protection, accountability and the [...]

US President Donald Trump’s administration released on Friday the previously frozen over $6 billion in funding to schools nationwide, which supports English language learning, after-school care for working parents, adult literacy, and other programs. The School Superintendents Association (AASA) welcomed the news, expressing gratitude that the funds would be distributed to schools. According to a [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing Balakrishan Rajagopal called on Friday for Guatemala to immediately suspend its “violent and inhumane” evictions, citing concerns that they violate international law. Specifically, the UN expert is concerned that during the forced evictions, houses are burned down, as well as the “food crops and private possessions [...]

The Epping Forest District Council in England’s Essex County unanimously passed a motion on Thursday urging the UK government to immediately and permanently close the Bell Hotel, which is currently being used to house asylum seekers. The council called upon local members of parliament (MPs) to support its initiative, and a public petition has been launched [...]

President Donald Trump’s administration filed a complaint against New York City, its Mayor Eric Adams, and other officials on Thursday over its sanctuary city laws, charging that they are unconstitutional and violate federal immigration enforcement statutes. Specifically, the Trump administration is challenging New York City Administrative Code §§ 9-131, 9-205, 14-154, and 10-178, as well [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday convicted two Anti-balaka militia leaders, Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between 2013 and 2014. Yekatom was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Ngaissona received a 12-year sentence. The ICC found that Yekatom and [...]

Columbia University announced that it will pay a settlement of $200 million over three years to the federal government to restore its access to grants cancelled during federal investigations into antisemitism on campus, in a statement released on Wednesday. The university will also pay $21 million to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The [...]

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk cautioned on Thursday that the UK government’s decision to list the activist group Palestine Action under terrorist legislation may contravene international standards. Türk noted that under international standards, acts of terrorism should be limited to “criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury” with the goal of “intimidating [...]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday that he has sent a bill to the country’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada, aimed at restoring the independence of anti-corruption agencies. The move comes amid nationwide protests and criticism from the European Union (EU) over a bill approved days earlier that removed the independence of these agencies. In his [...]