Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, does not shy away from tough questions. Though many in a position such as his might shy away from argument, Rae seems to relish the opportunity to engage in some intellectual sparring. It was in this context that I requested an interview as Canada grapples with multiple [...]
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UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, released a report Friday on International Women’s Day alleging that more than 230 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), an increase of 30 million or 15 percent compared with [...]
Class Action Asserts Patient Rights Violated: Genzyme Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Fabry Drug Handling
The US has faced numerous issues involving prescription drugs, especially with rising costs and accessibility of life-saving and required medications. One class action lawsuit (Wilkins et. al. v. Genzyme Corporation (n/k/Sanofi) against Genzyme (now owned by and known as Sanofi, the eighth largest pharmaceutical company in the world) alleges the company intentionally misled patients with [...]
US DOJ files lawsuit against Tennessee over allegedly discriminatory prostitution law
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit against the state of Tennessee on Thursday seeking the invalidation of a law criminalizing “aggravated” prostitution citing the discriminatory impacts of its elevated penalties on those convicted of prostitution if they are HIV positive. The lawsuit also seeks expungement of state registries related to the law’s enforcement [...]
ECHR finds Greece violated private life rights of HIV-positive sex workers
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday in O.G. and Others v. Greece that Greece violated the right to respect for private life of HIV-positive sex workers. Greece imposed blood tests on Greek sex workers and publicly disseminated their personal data upon the order of a prosecutor in 2012. The ECHR unanimously identified two [...]
American Red Cross eases restrictions on gay and bisexual men blood donations
The American Red Cross implemented guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday to relax restrictions on blood donations for gay and bisexual men. Specifically, the American Red Cross changed its donor assessment questionnaire to remove gender and sexual orientation-specific questions and focus more on an individual’s history. Before, gay and bisexual [...]
Uganda dispatch: learning languages and teaching law in Bundibugyo
Lawrence Alado is a JURIST Staff Correspondent in Uganda. This is one in a seasonal series of columns by JURIST law student staff and correspondents discussing their summer work in support of justice, human rights and the rule of law, in their own countries and around the world. The first week of my internship in [...]
The Parliament of Ghana passed an extreme anti-gay bill on Wednesday, which is set to tighten laws against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Ghana’s 275 members of Parliament unanimously passed the bill, known as the 2021 Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. The bill is set to criminalize the promotion, advocacy, funding [...]
Uganda president signs anti-LGBTQIA+ law that includes death penalty
President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni signed the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law Monday. The law authorizes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes same-sex relations with a vulnerable person, a person under 18, or when the actor is HIV positive. The bill also sets a term of life in prison for anyone convicted [...]
India Needs to End Discriminatory Ban on LGBTQ+ Blood Donations
The act of donating blood is often lauded as a benevolent and altruistic act with the potential to save countless lives. However, members of the LGBTQ+ community are routinely excluded from participation in this philanthropic endeavour. Recently, the Indian government, citing scientific data, defended its decision to forbid LGBTQ+ individuals from donating blood. This issue [...]