Sources: Reuters via MSNBC
Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights group, says that it has documented allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine against civilians, including rape, summary execution, and looting of civilian properties. 2022-04-3
Leaked data from Credit Suisse exposes the identities of over 30,000 of the bank's clients whose anonymous numbered Swiss bank accounts, which collectively held over $100 billion, had allowed them to keep their identities secret. Its clients included heads of state (such as king Abdullah II of Jordan), human rights abusers, drug traffickers, intelligence officials, and individuals under sanctions or involved in financial crimes such as tax evasion or corruption, among others. The secret data from Switzerland's second largest bank was leaked about 1 year ago to the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and was analyzed by the non-profit Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and 46 other news organizations, including "The New York Times", "Le Monde" and "The Guardian". 2022-02-20
Rai News, "Domani", and "The Guardian" jointly allege Italian prosecutors wiretapped thousands of confidential conversations between human rights lawyers and clients. The claims relate to prosecutions against charity officials for running migrant rescue boats. 2021-04-9
Malaysian human rights advocacy group Lawyers for Liberty sues Singaporean Home Minister K. Shanmugam in Malaysian High Court after his office invoked the country's anti-fake news law to censor the group's criticisms of the death penalty there. The plaintiff argues that the move represents "an attempt by Singapore to encroach upon, stifle or crack down on freedom of speech in Malaysia". 2020-01-24
In "Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands", the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upholds a 2015 ruling that "protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change" is a human right, ordering the Dutch government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020 compared to 1990 levels. 2019-12-20
The Hong Kong High Court denies the lift of a travel ban imposed on pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, who was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom to receive a human rights award from the two houses of the British Parliament. The judge cites the risk of absconding and says he can remain in the city to help restore peace. 2019-11-21
European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker conclude talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The parties say they have been unable to agree on human rights issues but pledge to hold more talks. 2018-03-26
The United Nations General Assembly humanitarian committee adopts, by a 112–19 vote (with 50 abstentions), a resolution that condemns North Korea for gross violations of human rights and supports referring the country and its leaders to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The resolution will be sent to the full General Assembly, where it is expected to pass, given the committee vote. 2015-11-19
The United States announces plans to impose sanctions on the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and six members of his government, for alleged human rights breaches during the 2011 Syrian uprising. 2011-05-18
20 people are reported arrested in China over imprisoned human rights activist Liu Xiaobo's 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award. Liu's wife's whereabouts remain unknown after she was taken away by police with human rights group Freedom Now claiming she is in de facto house arrest. 2010-10-10