human rights

Rights groups demand FIFA overhaul amid leadership crisis

A coalition of human rights organizations led by Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on FIFA to implement sweeping governance reforms, arguing that the world football body's ongoing leadership crisis exposes…

Mexico files criminal complaints in U.S. over 17 migrant deaths

Mexico's government has begun filing criminal complaints with U.S. state prosecutors and the Department of Justice over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals in immigration custody or during enforcement operations, escalating what had been a diplomatic dispute into a legal…

FIFA allows rainbow flags at World Cup despite Iran, Egypt objections

FIFA has confirmed that fans will be permitted to bring rainbow flags into Seattle Stadium for Friday's World Cup match between Iran and Egypt, rejecting requests from both nations' football federations to restrict LGBTQ+-related displays at what local organizers have…

China defends right to target people abroad under new ethnic unity law

China asserted its right to target people beyond its borders under a new ethnic unity law set to take effect on July 1, with a senior official on Wednesday dismissing foreign criticism of the provision as "legally unfounded." The declaration…

Israeli envoy clashes with UN officials over child violations report

Nearly 25,000 children caught in armed conflict suffered a record number of grave violations in 2025, and for the first time in three decades of United Nations monitoring, government forces — not armed groups — were responsible for the majority…

Over 200 groups demand halt to AI in military kill chains

Access Now, Amnesty International, and more than 200 civil society organizations issued a joint statement on June 14 calling on governments and technology companies to immediately halt the use of artificial intelligence systems in military targeting, warning that AI-accelerated warfare…

Police fire tear gas as protesters clash outside World Cup opener

Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Azteca Stadium on Thursday as Mexico hosted the opening ceremony and first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, clashing with riot police in chaotic scenes that underscored deep social tensions in the host country.

African fans rallied behind Mexico in World Cup opener over xenophobia anger

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off Thursday at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, a campaign spreading across African social media urged football fans on the continent to support Mexico over South Africa — turning the opening match into a…

Marjane Satrapi, ‘Persepolis’ author, dies at 56

Franco-Iranian graphic novelist, filmmaker, and illustrator Marjane Satrapi, whose autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis became one of the most celebrated works of comics literature, has died in Paris at the age of 56. Her family announced her death on Thursday, June…

Cuba publishes names of 2,000 pardoned prisoners

Cuba on Monday disclosed the identities of more than 2,000 prisoners pardoned under a sweeping amnesty first announced in April, publishing their names in the country's official government gazette for the first time since the decree was signed nearly two…

Drone strike kills 28 at crowded market in Sudan

A drone strike hit a bustling market in the town of Ghabesh in Sudan's West Kordofan state on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and wounding dozens more, according to local rights monitors.

All 46 Council of Europe nations adopt migration declaration

All 46 Council of Europe member states adopted a political declaration on migration on Friday at a meeting in Chișinău, Moldova, setting out a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights that could make it easier to deport…

UN demands answers after Taliban detains three journalists

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on Thursday expressed "serious concern" over the detention of at least three journalists by Taliban authorities on unspecified charges, calling for clarity on the legal basis for the arrests and urging due process…

ICC-wanted senator flees Philippine Senate after gunfire

Philippine Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, escaped the Senate building early Thursday after a dramatic standoff that saw gunfire erupt inside the legislative chamber, sending journalists and staff…

Brazilian flotilla activist returns home alleging torture by Israel

Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila returned to São Paulo on Monday after being deported from Israel, where he alleged he was tortured and witnessed abuses of Palestinian prisoners during 10 days in custody following his arrest aboard a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla.

Bahrain arrests 41 over alleged links to Iran’s IRGC

Bahrain's Interior Ministry announced on Saturday the arrest of 41 individuals it described as members of a network linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, escalating a security crackdown that human rights groups say has disproportionately targeted the country's Shia…

Amnesty urges FIFA chief to reject repression at World Cup

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to kick off on June 11, two of the world's leading human rights organizations are sounding alarms about the conditions awaiting fans, players, and journalists — particularly in the United States, where 78…

Algeria sentences Kamel Daoud to 3 years over Goncourt-winning novel

French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud announced on Wednesday that an Algerian court has sentenced him to three years in prison and fined him 5 million Algerian dinars — roughly $38,000 — for his novel "Houris," winner of France's most prestigious literary…

France calls IOC’s Olympic gender testing a ‘backward step’

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced a sweeping new eligibility policy that bars transgender women and most intersex athletes from competing in women's events, effective at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The decision reinstates genetic testing that the IOC…

Iran women’s soccer captain withdraws asylum bid in Australia

Zahra Ghanbari, captain of Iran's women's national soccer team and the country's all-time leading female goal scorer, has withdrawn her asylum application in Australia and is preparing to return to Iran, state media reported on Sunday. Her decision makes her…

Panahi tells Stewart he’ll return to Iran after Oscars despite prison sentence

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi told Jon Stewart on The Daily Show that he plans to return to Iran immediately after the Academy Awards on March 15, even though a one-year prison sentence awaits him. During the interview, which aired March…

Oscar-nominated screenwriter released from Iran prison on bail

Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer of the Palme d'Or-winning film "It Was Just an Accident," was released from prison in Iran on Tuesday after 17 days behind bars, according to multiple reports. The Oscar-nominated screenwriter was freed on bail alongside two other…

Activists urge Olympics, World Cup ban after Iran executes athletes

Prominent human rights activists and former Iranian sports officials are urging FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, and global sports federations to ban Iran from international competitions following the regime's execution of thousands of protesters, including dozens of athletes.

‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ gets record 24-minute ovation at Venice

"The Voice of Hind Rajab," a film recounting the harrowing story of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2025, receiving a record-breaking 24-minute standing ovation—the longest in…

Mark Wallinger debuts anti-fascist work Jungle Gym at Glastonbury

Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger has unveiled a new anti-fascist installation titled "Jungle Gym" at Glastonbury Festival's Terminal 1 stage, as part of a group exhibition called "No Human is Illegal" that confronts rising authoritarianism and anti-immigrant rhetoric worldwide, according…