(2020-03-05). Could US face 'criminal liability' for torture program? ICC greenlights inquiry into Afghan war crimes. rt.com 
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has approved a probe into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by the US and other parties, potentially exposing Washington to legal repercussions for its nearly 20-year occupation. | Hailed as a landmark ruling, the panel of judges at The Hague reversed a decision by the court's Pre-Trial Chamber denying the ICC prosecutor's request to open a formal inquiry into crimes committed in connection with the conflict in Afghanistan. The previous decision not to pursue an investigation was reportedly influenced by the belief that the United States would not cooperate with…
(2020-03-05). Those Shoes Were Made by a Uighur Detainee. thenation.com Those Shoes Were Made by a Uighur Detainee…
(2020-03-05). Washington Hawks Are Softening Their Hard Line on Sanctions Against North Korea. thenation.com Washington Hawks Are Softening Their Hard Line on Sanctions Against North Korea…
(2020-03-05). Turkish official slams EU on killing of asylum-seekers. yenisafak.com A senior Turkish official has criticized harshly the European Union over the killing of several asylum-seekers as they tried to cross into Greece along Turkey's northwestern borders."The killing of unarmed, defenseless asylum-seekers by Greek soldiers has been a clear example of the grave consequences of moving away from humanitarian policies," Cagatay Ozdemir told an international Istanbul conference on Syria's Idlib."The European Union, which preaches human rights to the world, has shamelessly patted on the back of uniformed bandits who punctured plastic boats carrying children in rough seas," Ozdemir said.On W…
(2020-03-05). EU Brexit Chief Barnier Calls UK's Demand on Fishing Rights 'Impractical'. sputniknews.com Following the first round of the UK-EU trade talks, the bloc's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier stated on Thursday that there's a "serious divergence" between the two parties.
(2020-03-05). Escalating war in Idlib creates new refugee crisis. greenleft.org.au 
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 7600 Turkish tr…
(2020-03-04). Kaia Rolle, Handcuffed and Arrested at 6: How Many More, and for How Long Will This Happen in America? counterpunch.org While fretting over refugee children in freezing tents along Turkey's border, or Nargis Fazili's family fleeing Afghanistan across Asia to Europe, or lone migrant children caged in U.S. detention centers, we may barely register what happens to American children like Kaia Rolle; she's a 6-year-old student at a not unusual neighborhood school in Florida. I
(2020-03-04). Honesty Isn't Just a Campaign Attribute, It's a Prerequisite for Change. counterpunch.org Last week, after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' victory in the Nevada caucus, long time human rights activist Brian Concannon wrote: The Democratic candidates missed the opportunity last week in Nevada—a state with a 30 percent Latino population—to address the root causes of our immigration crisis. They predictably criticized the worst Trump administration immigration policies, such
(2020-03-04). Trump's Afghanistan Deal Prioritizes Bragging Rights Over Lasting Peace. truthout.org It's true that the Trump administration signed a "peace deal" with the Taliban — something that eluded both George W. Bush and Barack Obama — but a closer look at the agreement reveals it to be riddled with conditions that are fraught with obstacles. | The terms of the deal suggest that Trump is more interested in boasting that he's fulfilling his campaign promise to bring the troops home than he is committed to achieving real peace in Afghanistan. This fact has also been noted by Trump…
(2020-03-04). Chile: Total Arrests Rise to 283 After Day of Protests. telesurenglish.net The protests in Chile gained force on Monday, March 2, when the repressive forces of President Sebastian Piñera's government left 283 people in detention after 28 cases of "very serious" violence, according to local media. | RELATED: | During the protests, which took place in a town south of the capital, there were very violent episodes, clashes between demonstrators and security forces, barricades and attac…
(2020-03-04). Eyewitness Venezuela: Sanctions kill but Venezuelans stand strong. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – Over 40 people gathered March 1 to hear Brad Sigal and Sarah Martin talk about their experience at the third World Anti-Imperialist Congress in Venezuela. This Congress was attended by over 1500 delegates from 73 countries in January, included a delegation from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The delegates were able to bring their organizational and individual experience to Caracas to work with each other on resisting imperialism. | Since Nicolás Maduro was elected president, the U.S. has ratcheted up sanctions, currency manipulation, and backed coup attempts to destabilize Venezuela…
(2020-03-04). Palestine Slams Pompeo's Support of Illegal Israeli Settlements. telesurenglish.net Palestine on Wednesday slammed senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for remarks supporting settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. | RELATED: | During the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Monday, Pompeo said that the U.S. will take action against the UN Human Rights Council "blacklist" of the businesses working in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
(2020-03-04). Human rights defenders, too often left defenceless themselves — UN expert. news.un.org Human rights defenders working in conflict and post-conflict situations need to be given greater recognition, protection and support, an independent UN expert said on Wednesday, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
(2020-03-04). Counter-Terrorism Programs Violate Human Rights: Report. telesurenglish.net Counter-extremism programs in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) among other countries are violating human rights, a United Nations (U.N.) report submitted Wednesday to the Human Rights Council has found. | RELATED: | "Prevention is an important and necessary tool but it will only be effective when it is practiced in a way that protects and affirms rights," said Fionnuala Ni Aolain, U.N. Special Rap…
(2020-03-04). Violent extremism prevention 'only effective' if human rights are enshrined. news.un.org Many global programmes aimed at countering violent extremism have negative impacts on human rights and may even 'foster radicalization' rather than preventing it, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday.
(2020-03-04). UN Observer to Present Report on Colombia's Human Rights. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Michel Forst, presented his report on Wednesday regarding the human rights issues in Colombia. | The international organization's representative, who visited the South American nation in the late months of 2018 after a governmental invitation, highlig…
(2020-03-04). Child Rights — Britain Plunges from 11th to 170th in Just Two Years. globalresearch.ca Britain is circling the plughole. So many things are wrong on so many levels it's difficult to know where to start. After the banks crashed the economy, austerity followed. One £trillion was added to the national debt. Half was thrown …
(2020-03-04). From Monroe to Trump. US Sponsored Military Coups in Latin America. globalresearch.ca The current U.S. President again threatens military action against Venezuela and continues sanctioning governments and companies with ties to the Bolivarian Republic and Cuba | *** | More than 200 years have passed since James Monroe became the fifth president of the …
(2020-03-04). 'Absolutely Unconscionable': Hourslong Lines to Vote in Texas on Super Tuesday 'Point to a Bigger Systemic Problem'. commondreams.org After Texas voters waited in hourslong lines on Super Tuesday, voting rights experts and advocates highlighted the state's systemic problems with election administration, expressed concerns about the possibility of similar issues in November, and urged elected officials to make it easier—not harder—for Texans to get to the ballot box. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-03). People's World Black history event in Connecticut: Voting rights worth the fight. peoplesworld.org 
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—As the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala., brings the historic fight for voting rights to the fore, a movement is sweeping the country today to overcome white supremacist laws aimed at suppressing the Black vote and votes of people of color and low-income people in the 2020 elections. "Dump Trump" …
(2020-03-03). TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About. aclu.org This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case | that will have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive freedom and abortion | rights in America. It's the first time the Court has weighed those rights since | gaining a new conservative majority with the appointments of Justices Neil | Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And the stakes are high. | The case that the court will | hear, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, | is being argued by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CCR), and it involves a | law in Louisiana known as a "TRAP" — Targeted Restriction on Abortion | Providers. The detai…
(2020-03-03). World remains a 'violent, highly discriminatory place' for girls. news.un.org Twenty-five years after the historic Beijing women's conference in China — a milestone in advancing equal rights — violence against women and girls is not only common, but widely accepted, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday.
(2020-03-03). No country is free from child sexual abuse, exploitation, UN's top rights forum hears. news.un.org Child sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and the use of children in prostitution "are a reality in all parts of the world", the Human Rights Council heard on Tuesday.
(2020-03-02). Death Toll Rises in Iran, Middle East Epicenter of Coronavirus, Amid U.S. Sanctions & Gov't Negligence. democracynow.org 
The official coronavirus death toll in Iran, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, has risen to at least 54 — the highest number of fatalities outside of China, where the outbreak began. Experts say the real number of people who died from the disease may be as high as 200. This comes after Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, posted a video on social media last week acknowledging he contracted coronavirus. Just one day before, he seemed ill at a press conference, where he downplayed the spread of coronavirus in the city of Qom and said mass quarantines were unnecessary. Iran…
(2020-03-02). Refugee rights supporters rally for freedom outside detention hotel. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-02). Use of religious beliefs to justify rights violations must be outlawed says UN expert. news.un.org Laws underpinned by religious conviction that discriminate against women and the LGBT+ community should be repealed, and gender-based violence carried out in the name of religion by non-State groups must be addressed, an independent UN expert said on Monday in a report presented to the Human Rights Council.
(2020-03-01). Why are 1000s of Americans Being Detained for Dissent? dissidentvoice.org Author and civil rights attorney John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute joins Rick Sanchez to discuss the enduring effects of the PATRIOT Act and erosion of civil liberties in the US. He also explains "Operation Vigilant Eagle," a surveillance program to keep tabs on US veterans and track what they say online.
(2020-02-29). Protest demands reversal of decision in Chicago police torture survivor case. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – In an attack on the human rights movement to stop police torture in Chicago, a Cook County judge ordered a torture survivor back to prison for life on February 14. In doing so, Judge Thomas Hennelly ignored irrefutable X-ray evidence of Gerald Reed's torture at the hands of the infamous Jon Burge "midnight crew," flouted the findings of the governor-appointed Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission — which affirmed Gerald's claim of torture — and overturned the ruling of the judge formerly assigned to the case, who vacated Reed's original conviction before retiring. | In response to Hennel…
(2020-02-28). Weekend Read: 55 years after 'Bloody Sunday,' voting rights are still under attack. splcenter.org When they looked over the steel-arched crest of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, the voting rights activists knew there would be trouble.
(2020-02-28). How Kevin DeAnna Orchestrated the Alt-Right's Approach to Conservative Institutions. splcenter.org Months after the loosely bound white nationalist movement known as the "alt-right" began to coalesce around then-candidate Donald Trump, Kevin DeAnna won the attention he felt he long deserved.
(2020-02-28). Prominent Iranian physician clears up misconceptions about outbreak & impact of sanctions. iranian.com Prominent Iranian physician & member of the Health Ministry Minoo Mohraz has for her part defended the health ministry's data but has also said the number of people infected has been underreported because sanctions had blocked access to diagnostic kits: twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409214… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409467… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409591… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409679… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409919… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233410030… twitter.co…
(2020-02-27). Headlines for February 27, 2020. democracynow.org Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Grow as U.S. Cites First "Community Spread" of Pathogen, Trump Blames "Caronavirus" Fears on Democrats and Fake News Reporting, Trump Taps VP Mike Pence, Who's Blamed for Indiana HIV Outbreak, to Lead Coronavirus Response, Gunman Kills 5 at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Physicians Group Calls U.S. Migrant Family Separations "Torture", U.S. Drops Charge Against Scott Warren, Who Aided Migrants Crossing Desert, House Approves Emmett Till Act to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime, Feds Arrest Five Neo-Nazis for Threatening Journalists and Activists, ABC Suspends David Wr…
(2020-02-27). Defending Immigrants' Rights and Reproductive Freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court. aclu.org The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a number of cases this term that will have a crucial impact on civil rights and civil liberties — from LGBTQ equality to reproductive freedom and immigrants' rights. Earlier in the term, the ACLU had two cases asking whether workers can be fired for being LGBTQ. On March 2, we will be arguing a case on immigrants' rights, and we have filed or will file friend-of-the-court briefs in major cases involving reproductive freedom, contraceptive access, and religious freedom. | We sat down with David | Cole, the ACLU's national legal director, to discuss what's in store for the…
(2020-02-27). America's Iran Policy Backed Into a Corner By MEK in Albania. iranian.com Since well before President Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, the U.S. and Iran have been in a de facto state of non-military warfare with sanctions, economic sabotage, cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and social media attacks the weapons of choice. Both countries have exploited conflict in the region, especially after the rise …
(2020-02-26). Family Separation, Two Years After Ms. L. aclu.org When the ACLU filed
(2020-02-26). Stopping the Anti-Abortion Ordinances of East Texas. aclu.org Waskom. | Naples. Joaquin. Tenaha. Rusk. Gary. Wells. These names might sound unfamiliar | now, but you'll be hearing more about them soon enough. | They | are seven cities in East Texas that, within the last several months, each | passed so-called "sanctuary city for the unborn" ordinances — moves that are | blatantly unconstitutional. | Waskom, Texas was the
(2020-02-24). From Being Tortured in Sri Lanka to the U.S. Supreme Court. aclu.org 
On a frigid day in early February, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam | stands under an awning on a street corner in lower Manhattan along with one of | his attorneys, Celso Perez of the ACLU. Both are bundled in heavy winter | jackets. Perez is holding his phone up and squinting as he concentrates on the | tinny voice of a translator emanating from its speaker. | "I want them to be aware that you're traveling," Perez says | into the phone. | The voice on the other line translates what Perez said into | Tamil, the native language of Sri Lanka's largest ethnic minority. Thuraissigiam, | heavyset in his late 40s with a…
(2020-02-21). Weekend Read: SPLC files civil rights complaints as asylum seekers wage hunger strikes. splcenter.org …
(2020-02-20). We won a major victory for voting rights. splcenter.org …
(2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.
(2019-06-25). Peace Action Endorses Ilhan Omar for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 25, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Ilhan Omar for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …
(2019-06-24). Peace Action Endorses Kara Eastman for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 24, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Kara Eastman for Congress in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …