Human Rights

Just Security’s expert authors offer in-depth analysis on critical human rights challenges, including those related to armed conflict, emerging technologies, abuses by authoritarian governments, repression of human rights advocates and independent media, human rights litigation, racial justice, gender equality, and more.

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3,056 Articles
A sign for Camp Justice in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Five flags waive from posts.

A Torture Survivor Speaks at the Guantanamo Military Commissions

Majid Khan described his torture by the United States for the first time in a case that also shows how plea agreements are the only realistic path for those charged in Guantanamo…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz walk towards an open door on June 3, 2021, at the State Department in Washington, DC. The Israeli flag and American flag stand at the forefront of the photo.

The Downstream Effects of Israel’s “Terrorist” Designation on Human Rights Defenders in the US

The Israeli designation may be designed to trigger US counterterrorism sanctions - and chill human rights activism. Here are some options for the US response.
Internally displaced people (IDP's) from various woredas throughout North Gonder wait to retrieve Food Aid being distributed by the Amhara Emergency Fund at the Millennium School on October 10, 2021 in Debark, Ethiopia.

The Tigray Conflict at One Year: Ethiopia’s Descent into Famine and Civil War

Without deeper international engagement to pause the fighting and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, the worst is yet to come.
Members of the Kenyan polices General Service Unit (GSU) take part in a joint exercise hosted by the US embassy to build counter-terrorism capabilities, in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 30, 2021. They wear camouflage and headgear and carry large guns while walking past a truck with police lights.

An Undefined Defining Moment: Marking 20 Years of Counterterrorism Without Ever Agreeing What Terrorism Is

UN Security Council Resolution 1373 in 2001 created a sprawling global system that, rather than solving the problem, spawned widespread abuse.
Sudan's top army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan holds a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum on October 26, 2021.

Sudan’s Constitutional Crisis: Dissecting the Coup Declaration

Suspending certain articles while retaining parts of the transitional deal cloaks a unilateral power-grab as merely a course correction.
Young boys, children soldiers sit on February 10, 2015 lay down their arms at a ceremony of the child soldiers disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Pibor overseen by UNICEF and partners.

Sanctions Review Fails to Review Sanctions: Congress Should Step In

US sanctions policy should account for peacebuilding and other crucial civic and development activities.
Judges of the International Court of Justice stand at the opening of the session in the case of Equatorial Guinea v. France on February 17, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Gendering the International Court of Justice

"When the votes are cast in the General Assembly this week, women’s rights advocates around the world will be watching States closely."
Myanmar people gather for refreshment at a teashop in Yangon on August 31, 2018 many hangout to chat and browse Facebook with their mobile phones.

So, What Does Facebook Take Down? The Secret List of ‘Dangerous’ Individuals and Organizations

Facebook has been criticized for content it allows. But we should be equally skeptical of what it takes down, and its claimed legal reasoning for removals.
Sudanese anti-coup protesters carry the portrait of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, ousted by the military, during a gathering in the capital Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on October 30, 2021, to express their support for the country's democratic transition which a military takeover and deadly crackdown derailed.

Sudanese Send Clear `No’ to Military Coup. What Will Security Forces Do Next?

After mass nonviolent protests, look out for arrests of opponents, prison releases of Islamists, and actions by a key paramilitary unit.
A general view of participants at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Failure to Renew Yemen Investigative Mechanism Shows Costs of US Absence from Human Rights Council

The US has regained a seat on the HRC - but its recent absence has weakened the human rights landscape overall.
The outside columns and relief of the US Treasury Department building in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019.

The Biden Administration’s Disappointing Sanctions Report: What Should Come Next

Last week, the Treasury Department released a long-awaited report setting forth the results of its “comprehensive review” of U.S. sanctions. To the dismay of sanctions reform…
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders hosts the large international consultations with representatives of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the Anti ISIS coalition in the fight against terror In The Hague, January 11, 2016. The representatives sit in a large room around tables arranged into a square. Large screens show projections of the minister speaking.

Watchlisting the World: Digital Security Infrastructures, Informal Law, and the “Global War on Terror”

The Global Counterterrorism Forum's new "toolkit" ignores input, tracks US practice to dangerously expand the unaccountable post-9/11 system.
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