Human Rights

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have launched their Annual Joint Report, their first since they took over their new roles in respect of Protocol Article 2. It outlines the joint work of the

There must be urgent action to tackle violence against women, human rights experts have said. Today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, an initiative that calls for action to end all forms of discrimination and gender-based violence against women and girls.

A prominent human rights lawyer jailed in Azerbaijan should be released immediately, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights has said. Elchin Sadykov, a well-known human rights defender, was arrested last Saturday alongside one of his clients client, journalist Avaz Zeynalli.

The lives of women and girls in Afghanistan are being devastated by the Taliban’s crackdown on their human rights, Amnesty International has said in a new report. Since they took control of the country in August 2021, the Taliban have violated women’s and girls’ rights to education

The Bill of Rights will severely weaken rights protection in the UK, cause unnecessary legal uncertainty, have serious consequences for the devolved settlements and Good Friday Agreement and is inconsistent with our international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, JUSTICE has

Freedom of speech and the views of elected lawmakers will be given greater weight in law under the controversial Bill of Rights introduced to Parliament today, the UK government claims. The bill aims to help prevent "trivial human rights claims from wasting judges’ time and taxpayer money". A

The UK government's proposals to replace the Human Rights Act with a new British Bill of Rights risk weakening existing human rights protections, Westminster's joint committee on human rights has warned. In a new report, the committee warns that the new regime could cause confusion and result in mor

Italy violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights after it failed to protect a woman and her children, one of whom was murdered by the applicant's partner. Ms Landi alleged that the Italian state had failed to take the requisite action to protect her and her two children from the d

Saudi Arabia has executed 16 more people since the mass execution of 81 men on March 12. Eight of those executions took place this week, including two executions on Wednesday, only two days before F1 practice sessions begin.

An ongoing smear campaign against human rights lawyer Colin Harvey threatens academic freedom in Northern Ireland and has the potential to spark physical violence, UN human rights experts have said. Since 2019, Professor Harvey, former commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, ha

The UK government's proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act would “wind the constitutional clock back to the 1990s” and is “particularly unwise” now because of the actions of Russia in Ukraine, experts have warned. Government plans to replace the legislation with a British Bi

Human rights campaigners have called for the release of lawyer Mohammad Najafi, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2018 on multiple convictions for his defence of basic civil and political liberties. Lawyers for Lawyers, an independent and non-political Netherlands-based foundation and the Center

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, of Doughty Street Chambers, has confirmed that she will act with a team of international lawyers as international counsel to renowned media entrepreneur, pro-democracy campaigner, and writer, Jimmy Lai. Mr Lai, through his media companies and his writings, is a high-profile

Any changes to the Human Rights Act 1998 could "significantly undermine Northern Ireland's unique constitutional settlement", The Bar of Northern Ireland has said. In its submission to the UK government's review of the law, the Bar said it "would not support any amendments to the HRA as part of this

The UK government's review of the Human Rights Act "presents significant potential risks to stability and peace in Northern Ireland", experts at Queen's University Belfast have said. In a 19-page submission, QUB Human Rights Centre said the review is "widely perceived here as the latest in a long li