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.
3,055 Articles

Toward a Consistent and Coherent Ex Gratia Policy for Civilian Casualties
The summer of 2017 was an extended nightmare for the Badrans. Over the course of several weeks, 39 members of Rasha Badran’s family, most of them women and children, were killed…

Under Cover of COVID at the UN: Why Counterterrorism Is Not the Answer to a Pandemic
Contrary to the UN's "CT Week" idea, the security sector's record makes it ill-fit to address the critical health needs of diverse populations.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (July 3-10)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…

UN’s “Counter-Terrorism Week” Misses the Mark in Marginalizing Civil Society
The UN is ignoring the calls of more than 400 CSOs just a month ago for a different approach to effectively counter terrorism. The outcome will be clear.

Forced Family Separation During COVID-19: Preventing Torture and Inhumane Treatment in Crisis
The US government is threatening forced separation of migrant families again, this time with the added coercion of risking COVID exposure if they stay together.

The Odd Couple at the Center of the U.N.’s Counterterrorism Growth
Outsized funding from Saudi Arabia and Qatar underlies key weaknesses in UN efforts, illustrated in this first virtual "CT Week" at the United Nations.

Iraqi Researcher’s Death Adds Urgency to Penalizing Iran-Backed Militias With New U.K. “Magnitsky” Law
Hisham al-Hashimi exposed human rights violations and corruption. The British penalties would reinforce similar US measures and support Iraqi reforms.

U.S. “National Security” Must Apply to the Entire Nation
The US history of racial discrimination creates a domestic threat far more serious to some of its citizens than those posed by external antagonists.

Mexico’s Priorities as an Elected Member to the Security Council for 2021-2022
In this essay for Just Security, the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations and Mexico’s Legal Adviser outline the government’s priorities when it becomes…

IACHR Condemns Guantánamo Abuses in First “War on Terror” Decision
On May 27, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a long-awaited decision in which it held the United States internationally responsible for the torture and…

Rehabilitating and Reintegrating Child Returnees from ISIS
After the collapse of the self-styled Islamic State militant group (ISIS), many people were left homeless and stateless in refugee camps in Syria and Iraq. Nearly 49,000 children…

Gambia v. Facebook: What the Discovery Request Reveals about Facebook’s Content Moderation
A review of Facebook’s past content decisions in Myanmar can guide assessments of when the public interest value of election-related content breaches the threshold of harm. Knowing…