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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3,055 Articles
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the meeting at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China on April 25, 2019. Country flags are lined behind them.

Serbia’s Delicate Dance with the EU and China

While European Union membership would be beneficial to Serbia as a whole, it may not serve the interests of the country’s ruling elites.
A child struggles to pick cocoa beans hanging above in the Daloa province of Cote D’Ivoire.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Meet the “John Does” – the Children Enslaved in Nestlé & Cargill’s Supply Chain

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the consolidated cases of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I and Cargill Inc. v. Doe I, which was argued before…
People carry bags of cocoa at a cocoa exporter's in Abidjan, on July 3, 2019.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Shielding American Corporations from Liability Undermines the United States’ Moral Authority

Corporate defendants argue that courts should let Congress decide if and when to impose liability for human rights abuses abroad. But Congress has already spoken: through the Trafficking…
Security Council members hold a videoconference in connection with the Middle East (Syria).

National Security This Week at the United Nations (Dec 11 – Dec 18)

Equitable Distribution of Vaccines an “Acid Test”  On Dec. 16, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Munir Akram said the equitable distribution…
Sticker messages placed on a fence by Thai student demonstrators are seen during a Milk Tea Alliance pro-democracy protest outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok on October 1, 2020. Some of the sticky-notes read, “Mulan Live is Not Mulan,” “Save Tzuyu!” “Respect Basic Human Rights,” and more.

As China Promotes Authoritarian Model, the Resilience of Its Democratic Targets is Key

Pro-democracy political leaders, activists, and media can build on their successes against such influence with help from the world’s leading democracies.
Congress party activists and supporters protest against the central government's harmful agricultural reforms near the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi on December 15, 2020. A tall barricade against the protestors is set up with a metal barrier and military personnel.

Pandemic Consequences: The Acceleration of Confrontational Politics

The disruptive potential of this trend will remain a core challenge to political stability as the world staggers toward post-pandemic life.
A woman holds up a placard reading, “We can be better than this.” during a pro-refugee rights protest in Melbourne on June 13, 2020 as several asylum seekers who were evacuated for medical reasons from offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, look down from the hotel where they have been detained.

Australia “Stopped the Boats” But What Happened to the Refugees Who Reached Its Shores?

Whereas Australia has sought to put asylum seekers out of sight and out of mind by moving them offshore, it has simultaneously created another cohort of refugees who are stuck…
Yazidi women hold up pictures of missed relatives during a commemoration ceremony in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on August 3, 2019.

Beyond the ICC: Repositioning the Core of International Accountability

For the survivors of atrocities, justice may mean something very different from the remote procedures of the ICC. How can international systems of accountability center local justice?
A child stands through a curtain of traditional fabrics in Alamata, Ethiopia, on December 8, 2020.

To Prevent Atrocities, Break Bureaucratic Silos, Don’t Build A New One

Attempts to reduce risks of mass atrocities will be stronger if they are integrated with policy efforts to prevent conflict, address fragility, and counter extremism.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden speaks during the White House Summit on the United State of Women June 14, 2016 in Washington, DC.

Reviving the US Commitment to Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: The UN Commission on the Status of Women

The Biden administration should use the March gathering to highlight policies or programs to advance gender equality at home and abroad.
Women wait with children in a ward at a malnourishment treatment centre in Yemen's northern Hajjah province on November 22, 2020. The beds the children lie in are covered in netting, and the walkways between beds are very small since the beds are crowded together.

Biden Must Stick to His Pledge to End US Support for the Yemen War

The war in Yemen is a global mark of shame, and the resulting humanitarian disaster threatens the lives of 24 million people.
Ethiopian refugees who fled the Tigray conflict, wait to fill their jerrycans with water at Um Raquba reception camp in Sudan's eastern Gedaref state on December 3, 2020. The jerry cans are lined in an “L” shape and people cluster in groups talking.

National Security Last Week at the United Nations (Dec 4 – Dec 11)

Ethiopia’s Forces Fire On, Detain U.N. Personnel; UNHCR Voices Alarm  Ethiopia’s security forces shot at and detained U.N. staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled…
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