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For decades, Japanese authorities have looked the other way when families have attempted to force adult children to recant their religious faith by abducting them and subjecting them to physical and psychological coercion.

Why the new United Nations human rights advocate is the wrong man for the job. The nomination of longtime career diplomat Ambassador Zeid (shown in the picture above) has been largely met with approval from major human rights organizations. But there are grounds for concern about how Ambassador Zeid will treat what is arguably the most consequential human right: the right to freedom of expression.

The Freedom Rights Project Dr. Aaron Rhodes recently addressed the Council of Europe, warning against the proposed resolution on "The Protection of Minors Against Excesses of Sects". Dr. Rhodes is in agreement with numerous human rights NGOs that the resolution would weaken human rights protections and possibly inspire violations.

The Arab Guideline Law for the Prevention of Defamation of Religions, a model blasphemy law introduced by the League of Arab Nations, prohibits blasphemous dancing, singing and miming. But blasphemers beware- criminalisation is possible regardless of whether or not you are a national of an Arab League state or where the irreverent activity was carried out...

The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief recently explained that religious intolerance and hatred needed to be tackled by "trust-building" and not by prohibiting critical or even hostile speech. The Freedom Rights Project Aaron Rhodes blogs on the issue from the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Outlawing of the Koran, aggressive anti-Islamic advertising campaigns and support for state wide bans on Islam as a religion; these are just some of the methods advocated by a like-minded group of activists intent on eliminating the spread of Islam in the West. Yet at the same time, the so-called “counter-jihad movement” maintain that they are champions of free speech and are not in the least xenophobic.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 26, the Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi struck out against freedom of expression. Should the international community back further away from freedom of speech and religion, Muslims and religious minorities in societies like Egypt, Pakistan and Iran, have most to lose, write Jacob Mchangama and Aaron Rhodes of the Freedom Rights Project in the Huffington Post.