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The United Nations called Switzerland's ban on new minarets "clearly discriminatory" and deeply divisive, and the Swiss foreign minister acknowledged Tuesday the government was very concerned about how the vote would affect the country's image. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said Sunday's referendum to outlaw the construction of minarets in Switzerland was the product of "anti-foreigner scare-mongering."

The cassation court in Mecca should overturn the death sentence imposed on Ali Sabat by a lower court in Medina on November 9 for practicing witchcraft, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Saudi government to cease its increasing use of charges of “witchcraft,” crimes that are vaguely defined and arbitrarily used.

Commit Act Demand:  We CAN End Violence Against Women! On November 25th, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) will launch the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, a global project it has coordinated for 19 years from its base at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  Each year the campaign, which mobilizes tens of thousands of people around the world, raises awareness of the many forms of violence faced by women from all walks of life, of every economic status, and in every community throughout the world.

The Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, seizes the opportunity of the International Day on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) to present her approach to the mandate, both in terms of thematic priorities and cooperation with other mechanisms, with a view to enhance efforts to eliminate violence against women.