human rights

A former colonel in the Saudi military and ex-intelligence officer told the BBC on the record Wednesday that the Saudi government ordered troops to kill indigenous people who resisted eviction on the land that Riyadh hopes to turn into the state-of-the-art “megacity” Neom.

U.S. forces were expelled from both Niger and Chad this week, dealing a serious blow to the Biden administration’s diplomacy and counter-terrorism policies in Africa.

The 2023 edition of the State Department’s annual human rights report blasts China for repression, torture, and genocide.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the Biden administration’s reported decision Saturday to slap sanctions on a unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians in the past.

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.N. was elected chair of the Commission on the Status of Women despite the kingdom’s abysmal record.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed Monday that the Biden Administration would consider cutting off arms sales to Israel if it did not submit a report explaining how its use of the weapons complies with international law.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to be preparing for another military incursion into the border regions of Syria and Iraq to fight the PKK, a violent Kurdish separatist group seen by Erdogan’s government as the primary threat to Turkey’s security.

Nicaragua’s brutal socialist dictator Daniel Ortega hosted a meeting on Wednesday with Gen. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and several other high-ranking Russian security officials. 

A prominent U.S. Catholic bishop has blasted a Politico reporter’s commentary on Christian nationalism, calling it “one of the most disturbing and frankly dangerous things I’ve ever seen in a political conversation.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference this weekend partially focused on discouraging Western businesses from seeking to invest elsewhere to avoid funding China’s extensive list of ongoing human rights atrocities, warning that divesting from China would be “a historical mistake.”

Venezuela expelled the staff of the United Nations human rights office stationed in Caracas on Thursday, ordering it to shut down operations.

The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) reported on Monday that some 10,000 children remain under the control of militant groups, who use them as soldiers, spies, servants, and sex slaves.

The Biden administration, after urging by left-wing Democrats, issued a memorandum Thursday that will require Israel to submit a report within 45 days on its compliance with international humanitarian law in its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Tucker Carlson repeatedly pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider freeing jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in an interview published Thursday, receiving a negative response.

The Biden administration is shifting its cold and bullying stance toward El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele after his big reelection victory.

A court in Beijing on Monday sentenced Australian writer Yang Hengjun to a “suspended death sentence” on espionage charges — effectively sentencing him to life in prison.

Experts on communist China’s systemic abuses of human rights expressed disgust and alarm at the process by which the United Nations Human Rights Council evaluated the nation’s record during a “periodic review” in late January, accusing Beijing of hijacking the process to drown out legitimate criticism and elevate friendly voices.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele cheerfully brushed off criticism from embattled U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Wednesday, saying he and his country were “honored” to receive her attacks “just days before OUR election.”

Nations with ties to China – including both Russia and Ukraine – applauded Beijing at a human rights review at the United Nations.

The government of Israel accused the United Nations (UN) on Wednesday of putting Palestinian civilians in danger by allowing terrorists to use UN facilities in Gaza to launch attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) warned in its annual report that religious freedom deteriorated around the world in 2023, a net loss driven by increasingly vicious crackdowns from theocracies like Iran and authoritarian regimes like China and Cuba.

The parents of Naama Levy, a teenager and advocate for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence who was abducted on October 7 and was last seen covered in blood and being dragged by the hair by a Hamas terrorist, are calling on international organizations and countries to pressure the Palestinian terror group to release her.

Uganda’s Finance Ministry said on Monday that it plans to borrow $150 million from the Export-Import Bank of China (ExIm) to develop the country’s Internet infrastructure.

Every time President Biden lectures Israel, he is signaling that Hamas’s propaganda is “working,” according to Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who blamed Biden’s “failed Iran policy” for the current conflict as he called to “starve [Tehran] of the funds that it’s using to fund terrorism,” and warned that terrorism on American soil is “only a matter of time… as long as this border is wide open.”

France issues an international arrest warrant for the Syrian President, accused of crimes against humanity over chemical attacks in 2013.

The Biden administration is trying to piece together a trade deal called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

Lawmakers, human rights experts, and civil society advocates published statements this week in anticipation of the arrival of genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to California next week, urging leftist President Joe Biden to raise the issue of Beijing’s deplorable human rights record during an expected meeting between the two.

John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), issued his latest report on Monday.

Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, will become the chair of the U.N. Human rights Council Social Forum on Thursday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s visit to China this month “will have long-term negative ramifications” for human rights activists oppressed by the Communist Party, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) warned in an exclusive comment on the trip to Breitbart News.

Former President Barack Obama originally said Israel should “dismantle” Hamas, but has now criticized Israel for the way it is “dismantling” the Palestinian terror organization.

Legendary singer Rod Stewart announced that he has turned down a performance opportunity in Saudi Arabia due to how women and the LGBTQ community are treated in the Middle Eastern country.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday addressed reports that a U.S. citizen died in Iran’s infamous Evin prison after his captors denied him medical care. Miller said the individual “is not a U.S. citizen to our knowledge.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday that “a new world order is being born right before our eyes.”

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng promised the United Nations General Assembly during his address on Thursday afternoon that his Communist Party would never practice “hegemony and expansion” and promote dialogue and peace – before threatening the nation of Taiwan with the “firm resolve, strong will, and the power of the Chinese people.”

Zimbabwe’s President Emerson Mnangagwa demanded the lifting of U.S. human rights sanctions at the U.N. General Assembly.