Fight and talk: Facing negotiations, Taliban almost took key Afghan city
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Khan Agha has endured years of violence in Kunduz, but it was the Taliban’s attack on the strategic city in north-eastern Afghanistan, as the government and insurgents were preparing for historic peace talks, that unnerved him. “Like me, the majority of Kunduz residents are living in fear,” Agha, a 46-year-old driver, told Reuters. […]
Essay: US punishes International Criminal Court for investigating potential war crimes in Afghanistan
International human rights lawyer SUSAN M AKRAM – in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at this week’s announcement that the US would apply sanctions against members of the International Criminal Court…
China clampdown: Hong Kong issues warrant for Samuel Chu, an American citizen, activist and pastor’s son
KEVIN DOUGLAS GRANT, writing for Religion News Service, reports on the case of Samuel Chu…
Essay: Pompeo’s plan for a hierarchy of human rights could serve to undermine them all – including religious freedom
In an article first published on The Conversation, SHELLEY INGLIS, executive director of the University of Dayton Human Rights Center, sounds a warning over US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s proposed hierarchy of human rights…
Religious freedom in America: popular and polarising
Washington DC, USAP The principle of religious freedom is important to most Americans. But as President Donald Trump touts his support for it during his re-election bid, there are notable fault lines among people of different faiths and political ideologies over what it truly means. About eight in 10 Americans said religious freedom issues are […]
US Secretary of State’s elevation of religious freedom draws criticism
AP More than two dozen faith leaders and religious advocates, most progressive-leaning, are warning that a recent draft human rights report from the State Department – which places a particular emphasis on freedom to worship – could “weaken religious freedom itself” by elevating it above other rights. In a statement organised by the Center for American Progress, […]
Pompeo says US should limit which human rights it defends
Washington DC, USAP Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued Thursday for a more limited US view of global human rights advocacy based on the principals laid out by America’s Founding Fathers, a suggestion critics assumed meant stepping away from more modern concepts such as support for women and the LGBQT communities around the world. Pompeo, […]
US sanctions Chinese officials over repression of minorities
Washington DC, USAP The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party, including a member of the ruling Politburo, for alleged human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities that China has detained in the western part of the country. The decision to bar these senior officials from […]
Turkish court considers status of Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia
Ankara, TurkeyAP A state attorney on Thursday recommended that Turkey’s highest administrative court reject a request that Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia, which now serves as museum, be turned back into a mosque, state-run media reported. The 6th century structure was the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral before it was changed into an imperial mosque following the […]
China parliament advances Hong Kong security law as US tensions rise
Hong Kong/Beijing, China/Washington DC, USReuters China’s parliament approved a decision on Thursday to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that democracy activists in the city and Western countries fear could erode its freedoms and jeopardise its role as a global financial hub. China says the new legislation will aim to tackle secession, […]