Washington, United States - Amal Clooney helped the International Criminal Court weigh evidence that led to the decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders, the human rights lawyer said Monday. The high-profile British-Lebanese barrister posted a statement on the website of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she founded...
Ahead of COP27, Germany criticizes Egypt for its human rights record
The German government's human rights commissioner, Luise Amtsberg, urged summit host Egypt to release jailed dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah, currently on hunger strike, and his lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer. Fattah's relatives have said he could die as he is due to stop drinking fluids from Sunday, the opening day of COP27.
Calls for WC worker compensation fund a publicity stunt: Qatar
Human rights groups accuse Qatar of under-reporting deaths. The government strongly disputes reports that thousands have died on construction site accidents or from heat-related illnesses in the country's searing summer temperatures.
Amnesty urges ICC probe of possible Gaza war crimes
The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, expected to focus in part on possible war crimes committed during the 2014 conflict in Gaza. The probe is supported by the Palestinian Authority, but Israel is not an ICC member and disputes its jurisdiction.
Qatar pressed on safety of women travelling to World Cup
Five women are suing Qatar Airways and the state-run Qatar Civil Aviation Authority after they were removed from flights for non-consensual gynecological examinations in October 2020.Egypt court cuts sentence of Ismail Alexandrani, security expert
Advocacy groups say there are currently about 60,000 political prisoners in the country, an issue that rights groups hope to raise at the United Nations COP27 climate summit, which will open on November 6 in Egypt.
Social benefits and wages should rise with inflation: UN expert
"As with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is once again the most vulnerable that are paying the price of world events. Combined crises are expected to throw an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year alone," Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and...Moroccan dissident on new hunger strike over travel ban
Known for his criticism of the authorities, Monjib was sentenced in January last year to 12 months in prison, after a trial opened in 2015 and was repeatedly postponed.Qatar denounce ‘smear campaigns’ against its human rights record
European newspapers and rights groups have put a spotlight on Qatar's record in the runup to the tournament that starts November 20 and is expected to attract more than one million fans.Freed Iranian singer appears in video for first time
The singer, who rose to fame for his song "Baraye", denied any links to any "movement or organization outside the country" and said his song was only meant to "express solidarity with the people".
Month before COP27, host Egypt faces heat over rights, climate action
Cairo voiced disappointment that King Charles III, a long-time champion of the environment, cancelled a plan to attend and speak at COP27 after Britain's Prime Minister Liss Truss reportedly objected. "We hope this does not signal Britain stepping back from the global climate change movement" after it chaired last year's...UN calls on Iran to refrain from ‘disproportionate force’ against protests
In a bilateral meeting last week during the UN General Assembly, Guterres "stressed to President Raisi the need to respect human rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising fatalities, including women and children, related to the...Iran vows decisive action on wave of women led protests
Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations that have spread to scores of cities since unrest first broke out after Amini's death on September 16.Foreign mothers struggle in KSA for custody of children
Out of 150,000 marriages registered in 2020 in Saudi Arabia, some 4,500 were unions involving a Saudi and a foreigner, which require a special permit, according to the Saudi statistics authority.
Reformers call for an end to Iran’s mandatory dress code
Calling for an end to the mandatory Islamic dress code for women in force since 1983, the Union of Islamic Iran People's Party, the country's main reformist party, appealed to the authorities to wind down the activities of the morality police charged with enforcing the dress code.‘One man chose this war. One man can end it’
"Defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is about much more than standing up for one nation’s right to choose its own path, fundamental as that right is. It’s also about protecting an international order where no nation can redraw the borders of another by force," he adds.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi faces lawsuit in US for his role as judge
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi is the target of the complaint for his role as a judge in the 1980s when thousands of people were sentenced to death in the country. A group of Iranian dissidents and ex-prisoners filed a civil suit in New York against Raisi while he attended the...US again approves most aid to Egypt despite rights concerns
President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday approved most military aid to Egypt for a second straight year despite concerns on human rights, pointing to limited progress, officials said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken finalized a package of $1.17 billion for Egypt, which has been one of the largest recipients of...Six migrants including two babies die at sea after Greek pushback: Turkey
Another 73 migrants were also rescued off Mugla province in the southwest, the coastguard said. The migrants were pushed back to Turkish waters by Greek forces in four boats, according to the coastguard, who cited a detailed interview with the migrants.GCC countries hail national reconciliation in Sri Lanka
Abdulmohsen bin Khuthaila in his speech on the sidelines of an official debate on human rights in Geneva, said that the GCC backs all open and effective dialogue in Sri LankaPalestinian killed in Israel West Bank raid: Palestinians
Human rights activists say Israel's policy of demolishing the homes of suspected attackers amounts to collective punishment, as it can render non-combatants, including children, homeless.Sudanese journalists form union to safeguard press freedom
The journalists' syndicate held elections on Saturday, the first since ousted president Omar al-Bashir dissolved independent unions after rising to power in 1989.Amnesty says Iran, Turkey ‘forcibly’ pushing out Afghan migrants
The NGO cited numerous cases of "unlawful killings, pushbacks by shooting and other unlawful returns, arbitrary detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of Afghans at the hands of both Iranian and Turkish officials."Outgoing UN rights chief urges Putin to stop attack on Ukraine
Bachelet, who steps down at the end of the month, marked the six months since the February 24 Russian invasion by insisting on accountability for serious rights violations in the conflict, some of which may amount to war crimes, she said. Her office has so far documented 5,587 civilians killed...
Over 2,000 Tunisian minors reach Italy in 2022: rights group
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) said the minors were among a total of 10,139 Tunisian migrants to have made it to Italy since the start of 2022. More than 14,700 migrants, including many from sub-Saharan African nations, have been intercepted and turned back over the same...
Libya digs up ‘mass grave’ with seven bodies
Mass graves were initially discovered in Tarhuna in June 2020 following the withdrawal of forces of Khalifa Haftar, an eastern Libya-based military chief who had spent a year trying to seize the capital Tripoli, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Tarhuna.
Gaza women seek outdoors escape on summer nights
Fifteen years into an Israeli-led blockade on Gaza, residents of the densely populated territory endure regular power cuts amid stifling summer heat.
After six months of war, what’s next for Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces on February 24, 2022 a "special military operation" to protect the Russian-speaking self-declared separatist republics of Lugansk and Donetsk in the east, whose independence he has just recognized. He says he wants to "de-Nazify" Ukraine, a former Soviet state, and demands a guarantee it will...
Israel troops raid Palestinian rights group offices
The military said soldiers and police officers "closed seven institutions and confiscated property" in the overnight raids.
US envoy to travel to Gulf to strengthen Yemen truce
Tim Lenderking will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia starting August 11, while members of his team travel to Jordan, hoping to secure an expansion of the UN-mediated truce between Yemen's warring parties. The efforts aim to "pave the way for a permanent ceasefire and an inclusive,...UN rights chief calls killing of Palestinian children ‘unconscionable’
Of the 360 Palestinians reported injured, nearly two-thirds were civilians, including 151 children, 58 women and 19 older people, OHCHR said.
Turkish drone strike kills 4 in northeast Syria
Ankara has launched successive military offensives in Syria. Most have targeted Kurdish militants that Ankara links to a group waging a decades-long insurgency against it.
Turkish court rules against release of pro-Kurdish politician
Tugluk was arrested for her activities with the Democratic Society Congress , an organization considered by the Turkish authorities to be linked to a "terrorist" organization by Ankara and its Western allies.Ebrahim Raisi to attend UNGA session despite US sanctions
The USA has alleged Ebrahim Raisi was involved in mass execution of detained leftists in 1988 while he was chief prosecutor of the Tehran revolutionary court. However, Raisi has denied the allegations on two occasions -- in 2018 and 2020.UN experts slam Israel for harassment of rights defenders
The special rapporteurs insisted such harassment must stop, and said residents of Masafer Yatta continue to be threatened by the risk of forcible transfer, including mass forced evictions and arbitrary displacement. Israeli authorities' hubris is proving without limits, the four experts said.Saudi women DJs strum a new tune
Standing behind her control tower with headphones around her neck, Saudi DJ Leen Naif segues smoothly between pop hits and club tracks for a crowd of business school graduates noshing on sushi.Women of Gaza struggle to break free
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said 38 percent of women in Gaza faced physical or psychological violence from their husbands in 2019, but Alwakil estimated the true figure to be far higher.Israeli strike kills three soldiers near Damascus: Syrian ministry
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor.Iran film-maker Panahi must serve six-year sentence: judiciary
Award-winning dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, arrested last week in Tehran, must serve a six-year sentence previously handed to him in 2010, the judicial authority announced Tuesday.
Tunisia coastguard says rescued 455 migrants in one night
National guard units in the north, center, east and south thwarted 37 attempts to cross, Tunisia's maritime borders, the National Guard said in a statement.
German lawmakers recognize the 2014 Yazidi ‘genocide’
Germany, home to a large Yazidi diaspora, is one of the few countries to have taken legal action against IS.Largest Hajj of Covid era ready to begin in Mecca
The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly mask less worshippers expected to circle Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia's Mecca.Israel to examine bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist
Israel is to conduct a ballistics test on the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Israeli army said Sunday, a day after the Palestinian Authority handed the bullet to US experts.
Relief and concern in Sweden after NATO deal with Turkey
The agreement, which ends Ankara's veto of their membership bids, was signed by Finland, Sweden and Turkey in front of news cameras.Taliban and US to discuss release of frozen funds after quake
The United States and the Taliban plan talks Thursday in Qatar on unlocking some of Afghanistan's reserves following a devastating earthquake, officials said, with Washington seeking ways to ensure the money goes to help the population.
AU urges probe into deaths of Africans at Spain-Morocco border
The African Union Commission chief has voiced his shock at the "violent and degrading" treatment of African migrants trying to cross from Morocco into Spain after 23 people died, and called for an investigation in the incident. About 2,000 migrants stormed the heavily-fortified border between the Moroccan region of Nador...
Amnesty appeals to Egypt to release prominent activist
Amnesty International has called for the release of prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who on Saturday marks 1,000 days of "unjust detention".18 African migrants die in mass attempt to enter Spain’s Melilla
Around 2,000 migrants approached Melilla at dawn Friday and more than 500 managed to enter a border control area after cutting a fence with shears.UN warns Internet shutdowns can have deadly consequences
Many governments refuse to acknowledge that they ordered any interference in communications, and sometimes put pressure on telecommunications companies to prevent them from revealing why communications are blocked.Aid groups appeal UN to renew Syria cross-border aid resolution
Dozens of aid groups Tuesday urged the United Nations Security Council to renew a resolution allowing aid deliveries to millions in war-torn Syria via Turkey, ahead of its expiry next month. The Bab al-Hawa crossing on the border between northern Syria and southern Turkey is the only one through which UN...
Amnesty demands Morocco probe ‘assaults’ on 5 Sahrawi activists
Human rights group International Friday urged Moroccan authorities to investigate urgently allegations that security forces last month assaulted five women activists who support independence for disputed Western Sahara.Two of the women reported that they were sexually assaulted, Amnesty said.
