Canada allows Indigenous peoples to officially reclaim their names
Canada has announced a new policy that allows Indigenous people who were forced to adopt European Christian names to officially reclaim their original names.
2021 C.E.
Landmark G7 agreement pledges 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations’ commitment to immediately share at least 870 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, supporting global access and helping to end the acute phase of the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia imposes moratorium on drug-related executions
The state-backed Human Rights Commission said 27 executions were recorded in 2020. That is down from 184 the year before, according to rights watchdog Amnesty International.
Juneteenth signed into law as a federal holiday in the U.S.
“Juneteeth” is the term that has been used to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first learned that the Civil War was over and they were free.
Biden administration extends Title IX protections to LGBTQ students
“Students cannot be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told the New York Times about the new rules.
E.U. Parliament overwhelmingly votes to end caged animal farming
Critics of industrial farming practices hailed the “landmark victory,” with 558 members of European Parliament (MEPs) voting in favor of the ban, just 37 opposing, and 85 abstaining from the vote.
U.S. Senate confirms Zahid Quraishi as country’s first Muslim American federal judge
The Senate voted last week to confirm Zahid Quraishi, a former United States magistrate judge in New Jersey.
Gabon passes landmark measures to manage and protect sharks and rays
The first new law fully regulates shark and ray catch in Gabon’s fisheries. Special authorization will now be needed to target sharks and rays in fisheries.
Israel makes history as first country in the world to ban the sale of fur
The new legislation will come into effect in six months — a historic decision for animal rights and protection.
Slovenia defines sex without consent as rape
Coercion, the use or threat of force, or the inability to defend oneself will no longer be the only conditions for a crime to be considered rape after the Slovenian parliament passed amendments to the penal code on June 5.