World News

Photo on pixabay.com February 24th, 2026, marked the fourth year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since the start of the war, Russia has been accused of numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the illegal kidnapping and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian and Belarusian territory. A recent investigation by the Independent International Commission   of Inquiry on Ukraine estimates that , since 2022, over 1,200 children have been kidnapped by  

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on unsplash.com The Russian government continues pursuing a restrictive approach of limiting accessibility of safe abortions and reproductive healthcare amid a steep demographic crisis. In light of a demographic crisis caused, among other reasons, by the grave human cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities are seeking to promote birth rates by limiting women’s access not only to healthcare services like abortions and proper consultat

Photo on pixabay.com In December 2020, the Council of the European Union adopted “ a decision and a regulation establishing a global human rights sanctions regime ”. This innovative framework allowed the EU to target individuals, entities, and bodies, whether as State actors or non-State actors, “ responsible for, involved in or associated with serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide, no matter where they occurred ”. The acts for which this framework was designed

Photo by Ravi Sharma on unsplash.com The UK’s controversial “one in, one out”  asylum policy, a bilateral return and resettlement agreement with France aimed at discouraging small boat Channel crossings, is facing mounting scrutiny from rights groups, legal challenges,s and data analysts as 2026 unfolds. Under the pilot scheme launched in August 2025,  the UK detains some people arriving irregularly by small boat and returns them to France. In exchange, France agrees to trans

Photo by Marco on pexels.com In its 2025 World Report , Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern about the European Union's new immigration and asylum policies. In May 2024, the EU adopted a new Pact on Migration and Asylum , along with new partnerships with third countries designated as safe. According to HRW, the new legislation is expected to “ make it harder to apply for asylum, increasing detention at borders, and allowing EU countries to suspend access to and deny a

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash.com   On the 17th of December, the European Parliament passed a vote on guaranteeing EU-wide access to abortion. The resolution passed with 358 votes in favour, 202 against and 79 abstentions . The resolution was adopted in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative “My Voice, My Choice”, which was presented to the Commission in October . While the Parliament’s vote is a step forward, it is not decisive, as it has a mere advisory role ; t

Photo by RDNE Stock project on pexels.com   The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is now considered one of the most concerning active global issues. As the situation has deteriorated in recent months, international institutions such as the European Union (EU) have become increasingly involved in seeking solutions to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid. Recently, the European Commission has invested in flights aimed at providing life-saving assistance to the western region of D

Photo by Moslem Daneshzadeh  on unsplash.com On 24 November 2025, Mohamed Shahin, imam of the San Salvario’s mosque and resident in Italy for 21 years, was stopped by the police and notified of a deportation order issued by the Ministry of the Interior for reasons of public order and national security . Despite being in possession of a residence permit for long-term residents, having no criminal record, and a long-standing role in promoting interreligious dialogue, Italian au

Photo by Palle Knudsen on pexels.com   Denmark is, once again, making the headlines for violating Greenlanders’ rights through the forceful removal of their babies, after the administration of biased parental tests to assess “whether they were fit to be parents ”.  The tests mentioned above, known as FKU (forældrekompetenceundersøgelse),  were, in fact, banned earlier this year  in May, after decades of harsh criticism by Danish human rights groups. Indeed, such examinations

Photo by @ ELG 21  on Pixabay.com The Netherlands’ system of legal and policy protection of women against domestic violence has been the target of warnings by the Council of Europe’s expert group on violence against women (GREVIO). In its most recent report, GREVIO lauded the Netherlands’ efforts to implement the Convention in recent years, but warned that significant changes need to be made in order to better recognise the way in which domestic violence disproportionately af

photo by Lina Kivaka on pexels.com Over the last few years, the UK has seen a significant rise in anti-migrant movements and protests,...

photo by Oriel Frankie Ashcroft on pexels.com Judge Victoria McCloud, the first transgender person to serve as a Master of the High...