20 h. ago Why El Salvador President Bukele's foreign agents law is fueling democratic concerns

Human rights organizations, politicians and experts have sharply criticized a law approved by El Salvador’s Congress this week that seeks to limit foreign influence and corruption

Politics

7 d. ago ‘Very disturbing’: Trump receipt of overseas gifts unprecedented, experts warn

White House remakes foreign policy under pay-for-access code that critics say could violate US constitutionFormer White House lawyers, diplomatic protocol officers and foreign affairs experts have told the Guardian that Donald Trump’s receipt of overseas gifts and targeted investments are “unprecedented”, as the White House remakes US foreign policy under a pay-for-access code that eclipses past administrations with characteristic Trumpian excess.The openness to foreign largesse was on full display this week as the US president was feted in the Gulf states during his first major diplomatic trip abroad this term, inking deals he claimed were worth trillions of dollars and pumping local leaders for investments as he says he remakes US foreign policy to prioritise “America first” – putting aside concerns of human rights or international law for the bottom line of American businesses and taxpayers. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago We are human rights lawyers. Our new report is clear: Israel perpetrates apartheid | Sandra L Babock, Susan M Akram, Thomas Becker and James Cavallaro

We conclude that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including mass killing, arbitrary detention and torture, meets the legal threshold for the termWe are university professors and human rights advocates who teach and write about Palestine and Israel. We have collectively taught thousands of classes on human rights law, international law and government repression. We have defended death row prisoners in Malawi, documented forced labor in Brazil, helped women seeking gender equality in Burma, chronicled the struggle of the Sahrawi people for self-determination in Western Sahara, and advocated on behalf of families of disappeared immigrants in the United States. As human rights defenders, our job is to expose government abuses of power where we find them. And that includes Israel.It has never been easy for scholars in the United States to publicly criticize Israel. Now, anyone who does so risks professional suicide. The Trump administration deliberately conflates criticism of the gove...

Politics

3 w. ago Does human rights law really stop the UK controlling migration? No – and Keir Starmer knows that | Jamie Burton

It would be wrong for Labour to collude in the attack on the European convention. It’s fuelled by myths and false narrativesHere’s a recent quote from a Downing Street source: “We have to be able to say something on this that isn’t just defending the status quo.”The aide was discussing the European convention on human rights (ECHR), a postwar treaty to protect the freedoms of people in Europe, ratified by the UK in 1951. Although it was also central to Keir Starmer’s entire pre-political career, his government is looking to water down some of the key provisions.Jamie Burton is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. Finnian Clarke, also a barrister at Doughty Street, co-authored Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago The uniting theme of Trump’s presidency? Ineptitude | Robert Reich

From deportations to human rights to the economy, the president’s actions have resulted in mayhem. Here’s a samplingSome Democrats fear they’re playing into Donald Trump’s hands by fighting his mass deportations rather than focusing on his failures on bread-and-butter issues like the cost of living.But it’s not either-or. The theme that unites Trump’s inept handling of deportations, his trampling on human and civil rights, his rejection of the rule of law, his dictatorial centralization of power, and his utterly inept handling of the economy is the ineptness itself.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Why is Yale University implicitly endorsing Israeli extremist Ben

Shabtai, a Jewish society based at Yale, hosted the extremist far-right politician convicted of supporting terrorism. Why did Yale allow this?Let me start with a statement that should be obvious: deliberately starving 2 million people – half of whom are children – is indefensible. It is not complicated, it is not a nuanced situation that requires a PhD to parse. It is not an unfortunate and unavoidable part of war. It is quite simply indefensible. I would say that it is also very much prohibited by international human rights law, but that doesn’t seem to exist any more, does it?As I write this, no food, water or medicine has been allowed into Gaza for almost two months. It is impossible to know just how bad the situation really is because Israel has imposed a media blackout on the region. However, aid organizations have said: “The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months” since the war began. Thousands of children are malnourished. Childhood mal...

Politics