An Afghan child bride is recovering in hospital after being held captive and tortured for six months by her husband’s family. While her case is extreme, it is still often acceptable in Afghan culture for a husband to hit his wife.
President Barack Obama tours the University of Miami Industrial Assessment Center in Miami, Florida, Feb. 23, 2012. The IAC is where students learn how to become industrial energy-efficiency experts as they help small to mid-sized manufacturers reduce their energy costs. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) President Obama was in Miami today to talk […]
The United Nations and the League of Arab States announced this evening that they have appointed the former UN chief Kofi Annan as their Joint Special Envoy to deal with the crisis in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed as a result of the Governments ongoing crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising.
The annual United Nations report documenting conflict-related sexual violence around the world today for the first time names some of the military forces, militia and other armed groups that are suspected of being among the worst offenders.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the international community to heed the "cries for peace" of the Somali people and help them overcome decades of instability and build a more stable and prosperous future.
The United Nations food relief agency announced today its partnership with the producers of the upcoming film The Hunger Games, based on the best-selling science fiction novels, to raise awareness about hunger around the world.
The top United Nations envoy in Iraq has strongly condemned the series of deadly attacks carried out today across the country and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Tweet Widget Facebook Like Governments at the “Friends of Syria” meeting in Tunis on February 24, 2012, should enlist the support of Russia and China to push Syria to stop its indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods in the city of Homs. They should also press Syria to allow delivery of humanitarian aid and permit safe passage for all […]
Tweet Widget Facebook Like Yemen’s incoming president, Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi, should take immediate steps to ensure Yemen’s transition to the rights-respecting democracy that thousands of protesters have sought. (Sanaa) - Yemen’s incoming president, Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi, should take immediate steps to ensure Yemen’s transition to the r […]
If there had been any doubt about drones being used for aerial surveillance inside the U.S., those doubts were dispelled when Congress passed and the president signed a law requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to integrate drones into American airspace by 2015. In our recent report on domestic drones, we argued that protections must be put in […]
By Eric Hoffman As part of the ACLU's Taking Back Our Genes campaign, guest blogger Eric Hoffman, Policy Campaigner, Friends of the Earth, discusses the danger of gene patents. Most people are shocked to learn that 20 percent of the human genome has been patented by corporations and scientists, granting companies ownership and sole access to these funda […]
I spent this past New Year's Eve lying on the floor of a New England police station. Just hours before, I was enjoying sushi with my best friend Jamal; excitedly discussing his possible political appointment and promising career. On our way home, we were pulled over for driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. Jamal was directed to perform a sobriety test altho […]
Today, the White House released a new policy paper on consumer privacy which may mark an important turning point in the effort to return control over how our online information is handled. The report contains two main elements. The first is a detailed description about what the administration believes are the core principles that should underpin consumer pri […]
One of the more positive things to result from deteriorating state budgets across the nation is that some state lawmakers are looking to smart criminal justice reform as a way to trim budgets. Whether motivated by cost savings or human rights, these changes are an important step toward a more humane justice system. One such change began yesterday in Illinois […]
