The annual State Department report on human rights practices in Iraq details a host of human rights concerns in 2012 attributed to a weakened government, increased sectarian and societal divisions and a culture of impunity and widespread corruption that ...

The State Department's 2012 report on human rights practices in Egypt notes a host of concerns resulting from the country's 2011 revolution and transition to democracy. Among the most problematic were the increased vulnerability of women and minorities ...

The 2012 State Department report on human rights practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that the most significant problems were "arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and lengthy pretrial detentions; limitations on citizens’ civil liberties (including the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, ...

On Thursday, five Congressmen sent a letter to the House State and Foreign Operation Subcommittee on Appropriations requesting that it "include language to provide specific benchmarks and, moreover, an overall strategy for U.S. foreign aid to Egypt" in its ...

The State Department released its 2012 Human Rights Practices Report for Tunisia, which details a number of challenges including “security force laxity regarding extremist crimes, the use of excessive force during protester arrests, and some constraints on freedom of ...

The annual State Department human rights report on Kuwait described the Gulf country's principal human rights problems as "limitations on citizens’ right to change their government; restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, especially among foreign workers and stateless Arabs ...

The State Department released its annual report on human rights in Jordan and concluded that the most significant human rights problems were: "citizens’ inability to peacefully change their government, reflected throughout the year in weekly demonstrations calling for various ...

Egyptian prosecutors summoned opposition figures for questioning over Friday's violent protests. The investigation followed President Mohamed Morsi's speech on Sunday in which he vowed to hold accountable anyone found to have incited the violence. The summons is

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) submitted an amendment to H.R. 933 placing conditions on two forms of U.S. assistance to Egypt unless the country adopts economic reforms and human rights safeguards. The amendment will also begin a comprehensive, long-term reevaluation of ...

President Barack Obama spoke with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on the phone yesterday.  A White House statement said that the President reaffirmed America's "strong commitment to the Egyptian people as they continue their transition to democracy," and that he emphasized Morsi's ...

Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), the top Democrat on the committee, wrote a letter to President Mohamed Morsi on Friday expressing serious concern regarding a draft NGO ...

In reaction to a Bahraini court's decision on Monday to uphold the sentences of 13 prominent dissidents, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, "we regret today’s decision by the Bahraini Court of Cassation." She added, "we’re concerned that ...

The trial of 43 NGO employees in Egypt, the proceedings of which have been denounced by U.S. officials, has been postponed until December 2. The employees were charged with “leading unregistered organizations and receiving illegal foreign funding.” However, ...

The European Union awarded its Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Thought to two Iranian activists on October 26. Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both currently imprisoned by the Iranian regime, were awarded the ...

Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, wrote a recent article in the Huffington Post encouraging the "United States to embrace the historic changes in the by taking action to support democratic transitions ...

Mohammed Morsi continues to face criticism regarding his time in office. A Cairo based human rights group, Nadim Center, reported that the Egyptian president has failed to meet his promise of reducing abuses by security forces. The group reports that ...