11 h. ago Trans doctor changing room case: does it amount to a bathroom ban?

Some businesses still waiting for final EHRC guidance while firms that moved early to exclude trans people show no sign of backtrackingOn Monday, a Dundee employment tribunal ruled a narrow win for Sandie Peggie, the nurse who complained about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor. But the lengthy judgment also takes on the pivotal question that has been challenging employers, lawyers and campaign groups since April – does a supreme court judgment mean that transgender people must now be excluded from same-sex facilities that align with their chosen gender? Does it amount to a bathroom ban or not?The supreme court ruled earlier this year that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Interim advice released by the Equality and Human Rights Commission soon after the judgment in effect banned trans people from using facilities according to their lived gender, and its official guidance is expected to closely reflect that advice. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Does the NHS trans doctor ruling mean there is no bathroom ban?

Some businesses still waiting for final EHRC guidance while firms that moved early to exclude trans people show no sign of backtrackingOn Monday, a Dundee employment tribunal ruled a narrow win for Sandie Peggie, the nurse who complained about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor. But the lengthy judgment also takes on the pivotal question that has been challenging employers, lawyers and campaign groups since April – does a supreme court judgment mean that transgender people must now be excluded from same-sex facilities that align with their chosen gender? Does it amount to a bathroom ban or not?The supreme court ruled earlier this year that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Interim advice released by the Equality and Human Rights Commission soon after the judgment in effect banned trans people from using facilities according to their lived gender, and its official guidance is expected to closely reflect that advice. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago Keir Starmer joins 26 European countries in demanding right to sign Rwanda

A total of 27 nations, including the UK, delivered a joint statement to a Council of Europe meeting on Wednesday to demand reform of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Politics

26 h. ago Kerry Kennedy honors late father RFK with impassioned plea for US to ‘do better’

Exclusive: ‘The Independent’ spoke with Kerry Kennedy at the 2025 RFK Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala, held to honor the legacy of her father, the late senator Robert F Kennedy

Politics

26 h. ago All of the suspected drug boat killings are murders | Kenneth Roth

There is no rule of law if the president can deem anyone an enemy combatant and order them summarily shotThe largely supine Republicans in Congress had no apparent trouble as Donald Trump and defense secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of suspected drug runners off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. But suddenly they are up in arms because the Washington Post reported on 28 November about one incident, a double-tap strike, in which the US military finished off two survivors of an attack.Tempted as I am to accept whatever it takes to spark some minimal scrutiny of these summary executions, I hope this unexpected opening prompts broader investigation of this entire series of murders, which have now claimed 87 victims in 22 attacks. As Democrats join in, there are some indications that this expanded scrutiny may be finally beginning.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Public and Internatio...

Events

27 h. ago UK joins call for Europe’s human rights laws to be ‘constrained’

Britain aligns with some of Europe’s hardline governments in calling for change to allow Rwanda-style migration dealsUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK has joined some of Europe’s hardline governments in calling for human rights laws to be “constrained” to allow Rwanda-style migration deals with third countries and more foreign criminals to be deported.Twenty-seven of the 46 Council of Europe members including the UK, Hungary and Italy have signed an unofficial statement that also urges a new framework for the European convention of human rights, which will also narrow the definition of “inhuman and degrading treatment”. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago Ministers back plans to look at European human rights treaty over migration

Work will begin to adopt the declaration in Moldova in May 2026 following a meeting of ministers in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Politics

30 h. ago European nations set to discuss a tightening of migration rules

European leaders are set to call for stricter migration policies, a move critics say caters to far-right pressures and harms human rights

Politics

32 h. ago UK: Change European human rights laws interpretation to tackle small boats

Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy are leading the UK push for changes to the way the European Convention on Human Rights is interpreted.

Politics

32 h. ago But what if they say no, Keir? Starmer begs European leaders to stop ECHR fuelling immigration crisis

Keir Starmer has issued a plea for reform to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) amid fury that the rules are being exploited to dodge deportation.

Politics

33 h. ago Starmer urges European leaders to reform human rights laws to tackle immigration and curb far right

The ECHR is seen by its critics as a major barrier to attempts to deport illegal migrants from the country.

Politics

41 h. ago Rights of protestors, migrant workers and disabled people being ‘failed’ by government, ECHR chief says

The new chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has urged ministers to “ensure rights are protected across the nation”

Events

43 h. ago Sir Keir Starmer urges Europeans to curb the ECHR to stop asylum seekers using it to stay in Britain

Ahead of a European summit on Wednesday the Prime Minister has urged fellow members to 'go further' in modernising human rights laws to protect their borders.

Events

45 h. ago Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to curb ECHR to halt rise of far right

Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect bordersWe must protect our borders to defend our democracies – here’s howKeir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Dozens killed in Haiti's capital as armed men break away from gang coalition in bid for power

A human rights group says dozens of people in Haiti’s capital have been killed in a clash between a powerful gang coalition and armed men who apparently broke away from it

Events

48 h. ago How will human rights loving PM & Hermer square it as UN committee savages Labour over Chagos deal?

It urged the UK and Mauritius not to ratify the agreement under which the UK would pay to lease back the strategically important Diego Garcia air base.

Economics

51 h. ago In this age of authoritarians, online abuse of women is soaring – and it’s leading to ‘real

Our UN report reveals the link between the online misogyny and offline crimes that are hounding women out of public lifeNetworked misogyny is now firmly established as a key tactic in the 21st-century authoritarian’s playbook. This is not a new trend – but it is now being supercharged by generative AI tools that make it easier, quicker and cheaper than ever to perpetrate online violence against women in public life – from journalists to human rights defenders, politicians and activists.The objectives are clear: to help justify the rollback of gender equality and women’s reproductive rights; to chill women’s freedom of expression and their participation in democratic deliberation; to discredit truth-tellers; and to pave the way for the consolidation of authoritarian power.Dr Julie Posetti is the director of the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve, a digital forensics lab founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa. She is also a professor of journalism and chair of the Centre for ...

Events

55 h. ago Is the internet a human right? Six out of 10 Brits say access is life essential

New research shows that nearly three-quarters of people (73%) believe internet access is now essential to modern life

Politics

55 h. ago Most people say access to the internet is now a basic human right

Work is ongoing to reduce the 'digital divide'

Politics

60 h. ago Trump has declared civilisational war on Europe. It won’t be easy – but here’s how to fight back | Paul Taylor

With democratic values under attack from populists within and former allies without, there are no simple solutionsThree decades after political philosopher Francis Fukuyama declared the End of History and the “universalisation of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government”, the democratic model is under attack in many parts of the world, not least here in Europe. Populists bent on weakening the rule of law, rolling back human rights protections, subjugating the judiciary and cowing independent journalism are amplified by anything-goes social media algorithms that promote anger and polarisation over rational discourse.They have now received a mandate from the Trump administration, which effectively declared civilisational war on the EU and its values in its National Security Strategy.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

Politics