South Sudan: 3 Years On, No Justice for Abuses in Southern Unity

South Sudan’s authorities have not brought to justice those responsible for attacks on civilians three years ago by government forces and allied militias in Leer and other opposition-controlled areas in southern Unity state. The lack of meaningful justice for the most serious crimes in Leer and other counties in southern Unity drives new cycles of […]

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Accountability for missing persons is ‘crucial’: UN human rights chief

That’s one of the alarming updates shared by Volker Türk during a General Assembly briefing on Wednesday, the first informal meeting dedicated to the issue of the thousands who go missing after being targeted each year. The High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Member States to do more to address the “unprecedented” rise in disappearances, […]

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Redefining Journalism: A Vision for Nonviolent Media Practices

At the 10th International Symposium of the World Centre for Humanist Studies, held from May 8 to 11, 2025, a pivotal roundtable titled “Nonviolent Journalism: A Necessary Utopia” was convened by Pressenza, an international news agency dedicated to peace and nonviolence. This discussion brought together a diverse panel of journalists and activists to explore the […]

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UN migration agency helping migrants in the US return home voluntarily

In a statement on Monday, the UN agency said it is supporting Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) – not deportation – for those who decide to leave the US. At the request of the US Government, IOM is helping people who register to go back to their countries of origin voluntarily. “AVR is a well-established, rights-based […]

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US Court Orders Release of Turkish Graduate Student Detained After Visa Revocation

A U.S. federal judge has ordered the release of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish national and doctoral student, who had been detained for weeks following the revocation of her F-1 student visa. Öztürk, who was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March 2025, has been held in a detention facility in […]

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Vietnam’s Crackdown on Dissent Deepens as Activist Faces Fresh Charges from Prison

By Solomon Alaka | Based on reporting by Jurist and Human Rights Watch Vietnamese authorities have leveled new charges against jailed human rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong, intensifying what rights observers describe as a sweeping and systematic crackdown on peaceful dissent. Currently serving a 10-year sentence under Article 117 of Vietnam’s penal code—commonly used to […]

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Russian Journalist Detained for Filming Protest Aftermath, CPJ Demands Release

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for the immediate release of Veronika Orlova, a journalist with the independent Russian media outlet SOTAvision, who was sentenced to 13 days of administrative detention after filming emergency services responding to an anti-government protest in Moscow. Orlova was arrested on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, near Bolshoy Moskvoretsky […]

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Mass Strike in Panama Grows following Widening Repression and Sovereignty Concerns

Panama is witnessing a rapidly expanding national strike as workers, students, and Indigenous groups mobilize against controversial reforms, foreign military agreements, and state repression under the administration of President José Raúl Mulino. The strike, now in its second week, initially led by key labor unions such as SUNTRACS (construction workers), ASOPROF (professors), and SITRAIBANA (banana […]

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Mali Opposition Politicians Feared Forcibly Disappeared

In Mali on Thursday, two political opposition leaders went missing, sparking fears they may have been forcibly disappeared. Abba Alhassane, 68, is the secretary general of the opposition party Convergence for the Development of Mali (Convergence pour le développement du Mali, or CODEM). His colleagues said that on May 8, 2025, masked gunmen claiming to […]

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World News in Brief: South Sudan urged to avoid slide to war, Türk calls on EU not to weaken landmark law, Ukraine and Mali updates

The Quartet is calling on the country’s leaders to end hostilities and return to dialogue to fully implement the 2018 peace agreement known as the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, gained independence in 2011 but soon descended into a […]

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