UN calls for release of Hong Kong lawyer Albert Ho | Hong Kong Free Press

The United Nations has urged the Hong Kong authorities to release Albert Ho, one of the city’s best-known rights activists, saying his health was in a critical condition.

France to try Syrian regime officials for crimes against humanity | Al Jazeera English

French judges have ordered three senior members of the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad to stand trial for collusion in crimes against humanity over the deaths of two French Syrian men.

Sri Lanka postpones presentation of Anti-Terror Bill in parliament amid fresh opposition | Republic

Sri Lanka’s justice minister has announced that the presentation of the new anti-terrorism bill that would replace a draconian counter-terrorism law in parliament would be delayed further, a day after a powerful body of lawyers said it would not hesitate to challenge any legislation that would undermine the rule of law and the liberty of the citizens.

Lawyers in Turkey call on presidential candidates to end human rights violations in prisons | Medya News

The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) has said human rights violations in Turkish prisons have become widespread and systematic and called on all political parties and presidential candidates preparing for the forthcoming elections to take concrete steps to protect human rights in the prisons.

Almost half of human rights defenders killed last year were in Colombia | The Guardian

Colombia was the deadliest country in the world for human rights defenders in 2022, accounting for 186 killings – or 46% – of the global total registered last year, according to the latest report from the international human rights group Front Line Defenders.

Rights groups urge UN not to adopt IHRA anti-Semitism definition | Al Jazeera English

Dozens of rights groups have urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres not to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, saying it has been used to suppress criticism of Israel.

Repatriation of Canadian women and children detained in Syrian camps underway, says lawyer | CBC

Multiple Canadian women and their children are on their way back to Canada after spending years held in camps for ISIS suspects and their families in northeastern Syria, according to their lawyer.

Prominent activist being ‘persecuted’ in Belarus and should be released, rights groups say | RFE/RL

Belarusian authorities should drop all charges and immediately release Nasta Lojka, a prominent Belarusian human rights defender who faces up to 12 years in prison because of her activism, a group of seven Belarusian and international human rights organisations has said.

UNHRC adopts two resolutions on Palestinian rights, Israel settlements | Middle East Monitor

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has adopted two resolutions on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the illegality of the Israeli settlements established in 1967 in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights.

Independent UN experts denounce human rights abuses in South Sudan | Africanews

A group of independent UN experts have accused several South Sudanese officials of responsibility in a series of atrocities committed against civilians.