On April 24, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Jesner v. Arab Bank that foreign citizens cannot sue foreign corporations for civil damages in U.S. federal courts for serious violations of international law, such as torture or extrajudicial killings. See Jesner et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC, No. 16–499, slip op. (April 24, 2018). The case was brought against
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), two United Nations special rapporteurs, and one UN working group recently condemned Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s decision to issue a humanitarian pardon on December 24, 2017 to former President Alberto Fujimori, who was convicted and sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for murder, kidnapping, and crimes against humanity during his
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Civil Society On Wednesday, to mark International Women’s Day, women demonstrated around the world for equality. [Reuters] On Tuesday, in Argentina tens of thousands joined in a march protesting job cuts and other policies initiated under President Mauricio Macri. [Al Jazeera] On Monday, Israel passed a law denying entry visas to foreign nationals who support boycotts against Israel or its
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Civil Society On Wednesday, four protesters were arrested in the United States while protesting the Dakota Access pipeline at a bank in Chicago. [Chicago Tribune] On Wednesday, human rights groups in Israel petitioned a high court to block a law that enables the seizure of private Palestinian land for Jewish settlements. [Washington Post] Following recent mass protests in Romania, the
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Civil Society This week hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated across Romania in response to an emergency ordinance that decriminalizes certain cases of misconduct of allegedly corrupt officials. [Guardian] Two human rights activists who were arrested last month and charged with terrorism for organizing peaceful protests to support Anglophone rights in Cameroon continue to be imprisoned, and may face the
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Civil Society Academics and activists warn that the “global gag rule,” which prohibits funding for organizations that provide abortion services and was implemented by United States President Trump on Monday, will have a chilling effect on civil society programs in Latin America offering family planning, contraception, HIV/Aids, and abortion services. [Guardian] This week, United Nations experts called for the release
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Civil Society In Jordan this week, a military court arrested and charged eight activists with “insulting the King,” and “incitement to spread chaos,” through social media posts. [Al Jazeera] On Wednesday, Turkish authorities denied entry to New York Times correspondent Rob Nordland allegedly based on Nordland’s prior coverage of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. [Al Jazeera] In Mexico, environmental and land
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Civil Society On Thursday, Human Rights Watch launched its World Report 2017, a 687-page report that chronicles the situation of human rights and identifies impediments to human rights protections, such as the rise of demagogues. [Human Rights Watch] In Israel, Palestinian citizens launched a nationwide strike in response to government demolitions of Palestinian homes on Tuesday. [Al Jazeera] This week,
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Civil Society In Argentina this week, human rights advocate Milagro Sala, and other members of the organization Tupac Amaru, were sentenced to 2-3 years probation, or suspended prison, for “aggravated damage” after participating in a protest. [Telesur] A United Nations agency condemned the murder of journalist, Larry Que, of the Phillippines, and called for an investigation into the death as
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Civil Society Two girls in Morocco are facing charges of homosexual conduct after they were seen kissing. [Guardian] Thousands protested this week against the United Nation’s peace proposal to end the conflict in Yemen. [Al Jazeera] Several UN experts called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to put an end to the ban on protests that has been in
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