Human Rights News and Updates

News Update…

• A Legal Analysis of UN Expert Findings on Systematic Epstein Sexual Exploitation February 18, 2026
   The Epstein Files and the Threshold of Crimes Against HumanityThis article examines the February 2026 determination by independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council that the allegations contained in the Epstein Files may satisfy the legal threshold for crimes against humanity under international criminal law. Drawing upon the experts' statement, the Rome […]
• Director of the UAE's Permanent Committee for Human Rights had repeated contact with Epstein February 9, 2026
  Emails released in the Epstein files reveal repeated contact between UAE diplomat Hind Al-Owais and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2012. The messages show Owais arranging meetings for Epstein with herself and her sister, months before her appointment as Senior Advisor to the UAE President’s Office at the United Nations in 2015.Epstein’s calendar […]
• When Majority Rule Undermines Human Rights February 4, 2026
   The Democratic ParadoxThe recent resignations of Human Rights Watch's entire Israel-Palestine research team expose a profound tension at the heart of contemporary human rights advocacy—one that reveals how democratic systems, when reduced to pure majoritarianism, can become instruments of oppression rather than liberation. Omar Shakir and Milena Ansari stepped down after HRW leadership blocked their […]
• Human Rights and Politics--The Human Cost of Western Sanctions January 15, 2026
  In a landmark editorial published in The Lancet Global Health in August 2025, researchers led by Francisco Rodríguez delivered a sobering verdict on one of the most widely used tools of Western foreign policy: economic sanctions. Their analysis reveals that U.S. and European Union sanctions were associated with an estimated 564,258 excess deaths per year […]
• UN Experts Condemn “Unprecedented” US Military Aggression Against Venezuela January 9, 2026
  In a rare and forceful rebuke, a coalition of United Nations human rights experts has condemned what they describe as a large-scale military assault by the United States on Venezuela, including the bombing of Caracas and other cities, and the forcible abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.Calling the actions “a grave, manifest and […]
• Over 12,000 Palestinian children forcibly displaced amid Israeli raids on occupied West Bank January 6, 2026
  The UN agency UNRWA reports that more than 12,000 Palestinian children have been forcibly displaced in the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s repeated military operations. Since January 2025, Israel’s “Operation Iron Wall” has swept across northern West Bank cities and villages, including Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, bringing homes and livelihoods to […]
• The Illusion of Liberation and the Fate of Political Prisoners in Syria December 22, 2025
  How Political Change in Syria Reveals the Hollow Promise of Human Rights RhetoricIn December 2024, as jubilant Syrians stormed the notorious prisons of the fallen Assad regime, many hoped they were witnessing the dawn of justice. Instead, they stumbled into a grim repetition: the same cells once filled with victims of Bashar al-Assad’s tyranny are […]
• ICC slams US sanctions on judges as assault on judicial independence December 19, 2025
  The International Criminal Court condemned recent US sanctions on two of its judges, calling the move a “flagrant attack” on the independence of an impartial judicial institution. The measures target Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.In a statement, the ICC warned that threatening judges for carrying out their legal duties […]
• Bahrainis and Saudis lick their wounds as they mark Human Rights Day December 10, 2025
  Today marks the Human Rights Day. It is the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the UN in 1948 and is a reminder of the global pledge to uphold dignity, freedom and equality for all. People of Bahrain are marking it in their own ways, given the regime’s crackdown against the […]
• UN Committee Against Torture Condemns Israel’s “De Facto State Policy” of Organized Torture December 1, 2025
  In a landmark report issued on November 28, 2025, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) delivered a scathing condemnation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees, asserting that the country maintains a “de facto state policy of organized and widespread torture.” The findings come amid mounting international alarm over systemic human rights violations in the […]
• UN Committee Against Torture Censures Bahrain Over Systemic Use of Torture and Repression of Dissent November 26, 2025
   In its latest concluding observations released on November 28, 2025, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) issued serious concerns regarding Bahrain’s persistent failure to uphold its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT). The report paints a troubling picture of a justice system that not only tolerates but relies on confessions extracted through […]
• Testimony of freed Palestinian prisoners November 14, 2025
  Testimony of recently freed Palestinian captive Khaled Barakat from Sde Teiman prison camp, as documented by the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Rights:– “I spent 130 days in the camp blindfolded, with my hands and feet shackled, and police dogs attacked us daily.” – “We were held in metal cages, each containing 130 detainees. We were monitored […]
• Gaza--Where the Dead Are in a Better Place Than the Living November 10, 2025
  Even if you were to ask any AI platform, not just an an average person in the Western world, whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza, the answer will likely equivocate. This isn't a reflection of the real world, but of the limitations inherent in AI algorithms and the data they are trained on. AI doesn't […]
• Netanyahu calls Palestinian prisoner abuse leak worst PR crisis in Israel's history November 2, 2025
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the leak of footage showing ostensible abuse of a Palestinian prisoner at Sde Teiman “caused enormous reputational damage to Israel, to the IDF, and to our soldiers.” “It is perhaps the most serious public-relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding — I cannot recall one so concentrated and intense,” […]
• France and Spain renew push to curb UN veto power October 31, 2025
  France and Spain have renewed calls to limit the use of veto powers at the UN Security Council, arguing the mechanism has repeatedly paralyzed global action in the face of humanitarian crises like Gaza. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the council must be restructured to reflect current geopolitical realities, advocating permanent seats for African […]