4 h. ago UN human rights chief ‘deeply worried by fundamental shift’ in US

Volker Türk alarmed at growing power of ‘unelected tech oligarchs’ and warns gender equality is being rolled backThe UN human rights chief has warned of a “fundamental shift” in the US and sounded the alarm over the growing power of “unelected tech oligarchs”, in a stinging rebuke of Washington just weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency.Volker Türk said there had been bipartisan support for human rights in the US for decades but said he was “now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally”. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, says top rights lawyer

Council of Europe’s Michael O’Flaherty urged leaders not to give in to populist rhetoric over migrationEurope’s most senior human rights official has said there is evidence of asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, as he urged mainstream politicians not to concede to populists on migration.The commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, told the Guardian he was concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers at the EU’s external borders in Poland and Greece, as he warned against a “securitisation response” that goes too far. Continue reading...

Events

12 h. ago The CIA Book Club by Charlie English review – chapter and verse as a weapon of war

A gripping study of the CIA smuggling operation to get banned books behind the iron curtainIn March 1984 Polish customs officers noticed a suspicious truck. It had arrived on an overnight ferry from Copenhagen, docking at the Baltic port of Świnoujście. The truck’s interior was smaller than its exterior. Workmen broke through a walled-off inside panel. To their surprise, they found a cache of books – 800 of them – and illicit printing presses. And forbidden walkie-talkies. “Oh shit! Reactionary propaganda!” the officer exclaimed.The shipment was to be delivered to the Polish opposition movement Solidarity. The country’s communist leader, Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski, had banned Solidarity three years earlier. The forbidden books included critiques of the socialist system and pamphlets on human rights. Other works smuggled behind the iron curtain included Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, philosophical texts by Albert Camus and Hannah Arendt, and copies of the Manchester Guardian Weekly. Con...

Events

41 h. ago Outrage as convicted paedophile, 44, who moved to the UK is allowed to STAY as judge rules blocking him would violate his human rights

The 44-year-old criminal, named only as OS, was convicted for a sex attack on a girl aged under 16 in the US in 2009 but has now been allowed to stay in the United Kingdom by a judge.

Events

69 h. ago Alabama governor commutes death sentence of man convicted for 1991 murder

Kay Ivey says Robin ‘Rocky’ Myers will serve life in prison after jury claimed lack of physical evidence at crime sceneThe Alabama governor, Kay Ivey, on Friday commuted the death sentence of Robin “Rocky” Myers to life in prison after noting questions about his case.Ivey said Myers, who was facing execution this spring, will instead spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. She noted that was the sentence jurors at his 1994 trial had recommended. A judge overruled that recommendation and imposed a death sentence, a maneuver that has since been outlawed in Alabama, according to the human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago A Myanmar online news site says its jailed journalist is tortured for revealing abuses of prisoners

An independent online news agency in Myanmar is alleging that one of its journalists arrested two years ago has been subjected to daily physical and mental abuse after exposing human rights violations in the country’s main prison where he is being held

Events

3 d. ago America must not surrender its Democratic values | Bernie Sanders

Together, we must fight for our long-held values and work with people around the world who share themFor 250 years, the United States has held itself up as a symbol of democracy – an example of freedom and self-governance to which the rest of the world could aspire. People have long looked to our declaration of independence and constitution as blueprints for how to guarantee those human rights and freedoms.Tragically, all of that is changing. As Donald Trump moves this country towards authoritarianism, he is aligning himself with dictators and despots who share his disdain for democracy and the rule of law.Bernie Sanders is a US senator and a ranking member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Sussex to launch UK’s first climate justice undergraduate degree

University announces new BA, after survey found most 14- to 18-year-olds want more rigorous climate change educationThe University of Sussex will introduce what it says is the UK’s first undergraduate degree focused on climate justice.The BA course, called “climate justice, sustainability and development”, will begin in 2026. The university says it will equip students with a blend of expertise in climate politics, activism and environmental human rights. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago US lawmakers warn on China’s planned London embassy ahead of Starmer

Letting Beijing build largest embassy in Europe seen as inappropriate reward given its human rights record

Events

5 d. ago Dozens of Nobel laureates urge Trump to help release Belarusian political prisoners

Around 1,400 political prisoners – including doctors, journalists and scientists – are jailed in the country, according to human rights groups

Politics

6 d. ago Military contractors linked to controversial Blackwater want civilian army and detention camps to run Trump’s deportation plans

Civil rights groups condemn ‘industrial-scale human suffering’ proposed by Erik Prince-backed group

Events

6 d. ago Ministers ‘committed’ to working with equalities body on single

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has contacted the Scottish Government following a high profile employment tribunal centred on the issue.

Politics

6 d. ago Migrant, 35, who 'used human rights law' to stay in the UK was later jailed for a string of offences

A migrant who was allowed to stay in the UK has been jailed for having sex with a teenager. Reform MP Rupert Lowe (pictured) said migrants who commit crimes should be sent home.

Events

7 d. ago M23 militia’s advance in eastern DRC has killed 7,000 since January, UN told

DRC prime minister tells human rights council fighting has left about 450,000 without shelter after camps destroyedAbout 7,000 people have died in fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels started renewed advances in January, the DRC’s prime minister has said.At a high-level meeting of the UN’s human rights council in Geneva on Monday, Judith Suminwa Tuluka also said the war had left about 450,000 people without shelter after the destruction of 90 displacement camps. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago UN chief Guterres says human rights are being suffocated by autocrats and warmongers

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says human rights are being “suffocated” around the world

Events

7 d. ago UN ‘gravely concerned by rising violence’ in West Bank; Gaza ceasefire in doubt as first phase nears end – Middle East crisis live

Israeli tanks in West Bank for first time in more than two decades amid tensions over ceasefire agreement with HamasThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has been speaking at the UN human rights council in Geneva.“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Guterres said, as he urged for the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel to remain intact.The ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates warns of the Israeli occupation army’s deployment of heavy tanks around Jenin, viewing it as a prelude to expanding its crimes against the Palestinian people – particularly in the northern West Bank and its refugee camps. This escalation comes as Israeli ‘defence’ minister Israel Katz boasts that the Israeli occupation army will prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes and has ordered an extended military presence in the area. Israeli occupation forces have al...

Events

8 d. ago George Clooney shares initial concerns he had about wife Amal after realising one thing

George Clooney swiftly realised he didn't need to be doubtful after all, with the actor going on to marry human rights lawyer Amal Clooney in 2014

Politics

1 week ago 'Concerned' equalities watchdog intervenes in NHS Fife transgender row involving Dr Beth Upton

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to NHS Fife and Health Secretary Neil Gray

Politics

1 week ago Equalities regulator ‘concerned’ by reports of Government transitioning guide

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it wants to meet with Scotland’s Health Secretary, Neil Gray.

Politics

1 week ago Gen Z believe internet access is a human right and 'can't imagine life without it'

A recent poll reveals that most 18- to 28-year-olds believe constant internet access is as vital as clean running water

Politics