Gambia plans to execute all death row prisoners by September, the president said this week, sparking condemnation from human rights groups worldwide.
When we think about asylum, the picture that most people draw in their heads is of some persecuted person crossing a border to a safe country and pleading his or her case.
A Bahrain court sentenced prominent activist Nabeel Rajab to three years in prison "for participating in illegal rallies and gatherings," a government spokesman said Thursday.
Verdict given for 11-year-old over alleged role in a protest in Bahrain. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.
Ecuador announced it's granting diplomatic asylum to Julian Assange. CNN's Atika Shubert has the details.
The UN says freedom of expression on the Internet is a human right. iReporters explain what the Internet helped them do.
Sudanese took to the streets Friday in a fourth week of protests against rising prices and called for the ousting of the government.
Chinese officials concluded that the controversial death of a high-profile Chinese dissident who had spent more than 20 years in jail for his support of the Tiananmen Square protests was the result of suicide, a state-controlled news agency reported.
U.N. diplomats are in final negotiations this month on an unprecedented arms trade treaty that would clamp down on the flow of arms around the world.
Ahead of a landmark vote in Libya, an international monitor warned that Moammar Gadhafi's successors risk repeating the ousted dictator's mistakes unless electoral winners make rule of law a top priority.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived late Thursday in Paris, where she is to attend the third meeting on Friday of the "Friends of Syria" in yet another attempt to end the violence that has wracked the country for 16 months.
Independence Day is a celebration not just of America's independence, but also of the values that are important to our nation, like liberty, democracy and human rights.
A Royal Australian Navy vessel Wednesday located a boat in distress south of Indonesia and was poised to help with a rescue if it became necessary, authorities said.
Human Rights Watch has documented alleged human rights abuses in Syria. CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
"Basat al reeh." "Dulab." "Falaqa." They are Arabic names for torture techniques that send chills through the hearts of Syrians, particularly the untold thousands who are believed to have been detained during the uprising of the last 15 months.
International envoy Kofi Annan expressed optimism Friday that the latest talks on the crisis in Syria will yield "an appropriate outcome," despite a failed peace plan and relentless violence in the Middle East nation.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is subject to arrest for breaking the terms of his bail, as Nima Elbagir reports.
Politicians push for new anti-gay laws in Uganda, as CNN's David McKenzie reports.
The Ugandan government said Wednesday it will ban at least 38 nongovernmental agencies it says are promoting gay rights and recruiting children into homosexuality.
The quest for peace in Syria is now crippled with setbacks, as a U.N. observer mission has suspended operations and attempts to rescue civilians trapped amid violence have proved futile.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout speaks to photojournalist Robert King, who has risked his life capturing the horror of Syria.
Syrian security forces, soldiers and pro-regime militias used sexual violence to torture people in detention and sexually abused women and girls as young as 12 in raids, a new report said Friday.
A human rights groups has called for an end to the "sweeping crackdown" on political activists in Oman, following a spate of detentions in the Gulf state over the past two weeks.
Malawi said it won't host an African Union summit next month because the organization wants Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese leader accused of war crimes in Darfur, to attend.
Friends of a high-profile Chinese dissident found dead in his hospital room Wednesday slammed official claims that he hanged himself as "insulting" and "ridiculous."
Entering the 80th day of a hunger strike Wednesday, former Palestinian national football player Mahmoud Sarsak said he will continue until he is released from the Israeli prison where he has been held without charge since July 2009.
The impasse over hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners is casting a long shadow over Israel. Sara Sidner reports.
In a few weeks, South Sudan will turn a year old. It ought to have been a joyous occasion.
Dozens of people were killed Wednesday in a series of attacks in Afghanistan as suicide bombers targeted a busy market, an overnight NATO airstrike left 18 dead and militants shot down a U.S. helicopter.
Accused by the top U.S. diplomat of "propping up the regime" of Syria's embattled president, Russian officials struck back Friday by denying arms sales to Damascus and claiming international efforts may have fostered instability and violence.
Ivan Watson has the details of a news conference by the Syrian foreign ministry about the massacre at Houla.
A U.S. official ridiculed as "another blatant lie" a Syrian government report Thursday claiming that terrorists -- not security forces -- massacred civilians in Houla.
CNN's Paula Hancocks looks at the differences between new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his late father's styles.
Watching the public execution of his mother and older brother, Shin Dong-Hyuk thought the punishment was just. They had planned to escape the North Korean labor camp they were being held in until Shin overheard them and reported them to the prison guards.
A prominent Bahraini human rights activist who was arrested this month was released on bail Monday, according to his Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
Musician, Johnny Logan plays his 1987 Eurovision Song Contest winning song "Hold Me Now" for CNN,
A Swedish performer emerged victorious in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, beating out competition from 25 other nations.
China criticized a "woeful" human rights record in the United States on Friday, a day after a U.S. report said Beijing's own record is getting worse, with harsh crackdowns on dissidents.
Like many other 18-year-olds, Nina Siren is on the point of graduating from high school. Unlike her peers, she has spent more than half her short life fighting to prevent the destruction of her home, culture and indigenous community in the interests of oil exploration.
Violence and the resulting displaced people have created a crisis in Mali that is the worst in its recent history, a new report by Amnesty International says.
Rights groups have slammed a lunch hosted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Friday for including monarchs criticized for their countries' human rights records.
A notorious prison in Baghdad's Green Zone is still open despite the Iraqi government having said more than a year ago it was closed, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
That the road from revolution to a new Egypt is arduous and twisting comes as no surprise. But few expected that today, one month from presidential elections, Egypt would be moving toward more repression and less accountability than under the deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak.
A prominent Bahraini human rights activist has been arrested upon his return to the Persian Gulf kingdom from Lebanon, the government and an activist group said Sunday.
Iran, Syria and now China. President Barack Obama faces a third front of vulnerability on his administration's record of defending human rights with the muddled situation involving activist Chen Guangcheng.
When the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng staged his astonishing escape from house arrest, he sought American protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Six days later, when Chen left the embassy for a local hospital, it looked as if U.S. officials had found a solution that, as the State Department put it, "reflected his choices and our values."
Long before Chen Guangcheng became internationally known as a human rights crusader, villagers near his home knew him as the man to go to when they had trouble with local authorities.
Israeli military investigatorshave ordered an end to a probe into the deaths of 21 members of a Palestinian family during the 2009 military offensive on Gaza, saying there was "no war crime committed."
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to China on Tuesday, President Barack Obama was tight-lipped about the whereabouts of escaped Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his potential impact on the discussions to be held this week in Beijing.
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to depart Monday night for China, President Barack Obama was tight-lipped about the whereabouts of escaped Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his potential impact on the discussions to be held this week in Beijing.
CNN's Stan Grant looks into the guessing game about the whereabouts of human rights activist Chen Guangcheng.
Police in Bahrain regularly resort to beating anti-government protesters, despite officials' pledges to stop such practices, a human rights group said Sunday.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the race that finished without an incident despite violent pre-race protests.
Muslims in Europe face discrimination in education, employment and religious freedom, an Amnesty International report said.
Bahrain authorities arrested demonstrators Wednesday as they tried to "disrupt public and private interests" ahead of this weekend's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, state media reported.
Said Boumedouha of Amnesty International weighs in on human rights in the Middle East country of Bahrain.
Human rights reforms in Bahrain are inadequate and have failed to provide justice for victims in the aftermath of last year's government crackdown on opposition protesters, Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday.
An opposition group called for a week of demonstrations ahead of Sunday's Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Bahrain.
The opposition in Syria claims hundreds have been killed by the government since the regime agreed to a cease-fire.
Syrian security forces have summarily executed at least 101 people, including civilians, since late 2011 in attacks on cities and towns, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.
The human rights activist who entered the 55th day of a hunger strike in Bahrain on Tuesday may not survive the ordeal, his daughter told CNN.
Government forces attacked protesters in Bahrain Saturday, according to a human rights group.
Amnesty International is calling on Bahraini authorities to release a leading human rights activist from prison, amid fears that he is "at risk of death after 50 days on a hunger strike."
Latinos, immigrants and Native Americans experience "a pattern of human right violations" in the American Southwest under U.S. immigration policies, Amnesty International said in a new report.
Max Foster talks to human rights advocate, Bianca Jagger, about Amnesty International's report on capital punishment.
Israel has decided to suspend all working ties with the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, and will not cooperate with the council's plans for an investigation of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories, Israel's foreign ministry spokesman told CNN Monday.
The European Union imposed fresh sanctions Friday on Bashar al-Assad's inner circle as the familiar sounds of gunfire and shelling rang out across Syria.
The United Nations Human Rights Council urged Sri Lanka Thursday to thoroughly investigate allegations of atrocities committed during the island nation's long and brutal civil war.
Armed rebels fighting the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad have committed "serious human rights abuses," an influential human rights watchdog said Tuesday.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports on tourist trips to Libya in the wake of the recent political upheaval.
A leading human rights organization accused NATO on Monday of failing to investigate civilian deaths caused by its airstrikes in Libya that aided in the downfall of Moammar Gadhafi.
Brazilian prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a former military official for his role in a crackdown that led to the forced disappearances of five guerrillas during the country's dictatorship.
Activists presented a petition Tuesday to the United Nations Human Rights Council calling on Pakistan to free a Christian mother of five from being put to death on the charge of blasphemy.
CNN's Arwa Damon reports on torture captured on video carried out allegedly by Syrian soldiers.
People arrested amid unrest in Syria are being subjected to systematic torture, including electric shocks, beatings and sexual violence, a report by rights group Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Chinese legislators Wednesday approved changes to the country's criminal code that will allow the police to hold certain suspects at secret locations.
A compilation album commemorating the 50th anniversary of the human rights organization Amnesty International features some musicians you might expect: activist artists like Sting, Elvis Costello and the Dave Matthews Band. But it's the singers you wouldn't expect who are causing the biggest stir: namely, Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha.
Amnesty International celebrates its 50th anniversary with a Bob Dylan tribute album featuring more than 70 artists.
The opposition Syrian National Council called Monday for urgent military intervention on the part of the international community to help halt the grinding violence and protect civilians.
Women have been badly let down by the men they stood with during demonstrations that toppled tyrants in the Middle East and North Africa.
As the total death toll in Syria climbed past 7,500, according to U.N. estimates, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could be tried for war crimes.
Iran's nuclear ambitions are clouded in mystery. With new sanctions against Iran, how is it reacting? Let us explain.
While the world's attention has been focused on tumult in the Arab world, Iran has cracked down with impunity on dissent and is feared to come down even harder as elections approach, Amnesty International said in a sweeping report.
Human rights groups met a somewhat skeptical Supreme Court on Tuesday as they presented arguments on whether foreign victims of torture and other crimes against humanity can sue corporations and other organizations in U.S. federal courts.
For the past decade, I've represented victims of human rights abuses in court, trying to achieve a measure of justice for people who have suffered torture and political imprisonment, have been forced to work at gunpoint, and have seen family members killed before their eyes.
Spain's best-known judge was acquitted Monday of improperly investigating human rights abuses under the former dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Prosecutors accuse a human rights judge of abuse of authority in the investigation of clients. CNN's Al Goodman reports.
A militia in Libya is illegally holding two British journalists, refusing to turn them over to transitional government authorities and preventing international aid workers from visiting them, Human Rights Watch said Sunday.
Representatives from around the world are meeting in London to discuss Somalia's war. CNN's Nima Elbagir reports.
Syria, we are told, is not like Libya. The factors that coalesced to allow for international intervention in the latter do not apply in the former. There are clear differences -- in geography, topography, the role of neighboring states, the existence of liberated territory and the posture of the U.N. Security Council -- that mitigate against external intervention.
Somalia's Al-Shabaab has brushed aside accusations from Human Rights Watch that the Islamist militia recruits child soldiers, saying that Islam considers people to be adults from the age of 15.
Children as young as 10 years old increasingly face horrific abuse in war-torn Somalia as the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has targeted them to replenish its diminishing ranks of fighters, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Tuesday.
A computer programmer from Canada faces imminent execution in Iran for the actions of another person, which he had no control over, a human rights group says.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague pledged Thursday to help Libya improve human rights and boost stability, as rights groups and analysts warned that urgent action is needed to tackle the problem of lawless militia groups.
Muslim activist Dalia Ziada joins CNN's Brooke Baldwin to discuss the future of the fight for freedom in the Arab world.
Armed militias in Libya are committing human rights abuses with impunity, threatening to destabilize the country and hindering its efforts to rebuild, Amnesty International said Thursday.
Syrian opposition activists spoke Tuesday of being past the point of no return in their struggle against the al-Assad regime, which stepped up its siege on the city of Homs and reportedly launched fresh attacks across the country.
Spain's Supreme Court on Monday dropped a case against the nation's best-known judge, Baltasar Garzon, saying the statute of limitations had expired on the alleged abuse involving some courses he taught at New York University years ago.
Nearly a week after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution intended to halt the killing in Syria, Saudi Arabia has drafted a similarly worded document -- but one that lacks the same punch.
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