Tag - rights

 
 

RIGHTS

South African officials speak ahead of the International Court of Justice's ruling on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 27, 2024
South Africa invokes Mandela's legacy with case against Israel
To many South Africans, the country’s outspoken advocacy on behalf of Palestinians has become a point of national pride.
New research estimates that nearly 65,000 pregnancies have resulted from rape in the 14 states that imposed total abortion bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2024
Post-Roe America’s national shame: 65,000 forced pregnancies
New data has been filling in the picture of what access to reproductive health care looks like in the U.S. And the image forming is increasingly grim.
International calls for a cease-fire to spare civilians have been unsuccessful, with Israel vowing to continue until Hamas has been destroyed and all hostages have been freed.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2024
U.S. sets up channel with Israel seeking answers on civilian casualties
The channel has been set up following concerns about the "constant" reports of Israeli strikes that have resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths.
International rules governing the ethical conduct of war prohibit the direct targeting of civilians but permit striking military targets, even when it is known that the strikes will kill some civilians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024
The killing of innocents in the Israel-Gaza conflict
Unmasking the true horrors in Hamas' raid into Southern Israel and the Israeli response in Gaza.
Three plaintiffs are set to file a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday, seeking compensation over claims of racial profiling by police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2024
Foreign residents to file landmark suit alleging racial profiling by police
Three men are to file a lawsuit over claims that they have been repeatedly questioned by police because of their ethnicity or appearance.
Outlawing the second-most popular party in Germany would be democratically questionable and could have negative consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024
Should Germany’s AfD party be banned?
Germany's democratic values should be upheld by engaging with disgruntled voters in the voting booth, rather than seeking a legal ban.
Ethnic Uyghurs protest against China in Istanbul on July 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2024
China to face rare scrutiny on rights record in U.N. review
The Universal Periodic Review is an examination all 193 U.N. member states must undergo every four to five years to assess their human rights record.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2024
Supreme Court may review judgement against benefits for same-sex partner
The review would mark the first time the Supreme Court makes a decision regarding the issue of public benefits for a same-sex partner.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in the March on Washington for Gaza rally in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD
Jan 14, 2024
U.N. says Gaza war 'staining humanity' on eve of 100th day
In Israel, concern grew for hostages held in Gaza as they approach their 100th day in captivity.
Demonstrators march as they protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in London on Dec. 9. Huge demonstrations against the Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza have been taking place in the U.K. and elsewhere.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 9, 2024
Europe rattled by Israel-Hamas war
Attempts to establish a peaceful international order after two world wars have been greatly shaken by recent conflicts.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing on espionage charges in Moscow on Oct. 10.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2024
Remember the world’s political prisoners. One could be you.
Hostage diplomacy and arbitrary arrests by autocratic governments are a growing threat.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears for his court hearing in Moscow on Jan. 28, 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2023
Russia moves opposition leader Alexei Navalny to Arctic prison
Temperatures at the 'Polar Wolf' colony, one of the toughest prisons in Russia, are set to drop to around minus 28 degrees Celsius over the next week.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks after a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 23, 2023
A world leader on Ukraine, the U.S. is now isolated over Gaza
With the year drawing to a close, the United States finds itself diplomatically isolated and in a defensive crouch over the Israel-Hamas war.
LGBTQ activists take part in a protest in Moscow.
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2023
LGBTQ+ Russians ask: Should I stay or should I go?
Rights activists fear the ruling could open the door to arrests and prosecutions.
Ukrainian refugees who were flown to Japan by the Foreign Ministry arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in April 2022. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023
Moving beyond ‘checkbook diplomacy’: Japan’s changing refugee policy
Japan's stance on admitting refugees appears to be changing amid greater global engagement by Tokyo.
Children dressed as Chinese Red Army soldiers in front of a statue of Mao Zedong at the Revolution Museum in Jinggangshan, China, in 2021
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023
The CCP equates its ideology with patriotism
A new law on patriotic education will take effect in China in 2024, forcing a narrow, jingoistic interpretation of nationalism.
The day after the Fukuoka District Court dismissed her lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Japan's dual nationality law, Yuri Kondo, 76, was in high spirits as she drove to see family and friends.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2023
Japan-born U.S. national Yuri Kondo continues dual citizenship fight
The dismissal of her lawsuit over the dual nationality ban has implications for tens of thousands of people, and Kondo says she'll keep fighting for them.
North Korea has tightened its borders further over the past few years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 8, 2023
Up to 600 North Korean defectors deported by China 'vanish,' report says
The defectors may face imprisonment, torture, sexual violence and execution in the isolated state, the report warned.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greets Rwandan President Paul Kagame at Downing Street in London on May 4.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2023
Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill seeks to waive some human rights law
Deportation plan to deter asylum-seekers from France is one of his key pledges to U.K. voters ahead of polls that he must call in 14 months.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori attends a trial as a witness at the navy base in Callao, Peru, on March 15, 2018. Picture taken through a window.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023
Peru’s top court orders Fujimori released from prison
Fujimori’s lawyer told reporters that the former president would most likely be released from prison Wednesday.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.