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
People gather in in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as decisions are handed down on June 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators protest against adding a citizenship question to the census, and hold signs reading, “Count me in.”

Principle Over Pretext: The Supreme Court Isn’t Buying What Wilbur Ross Is Selling

In a ruling that has surprised many legal observers, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, dealt the Trump administration a major setback to its efforts…
Central American migrant families arrive at a Catholic Charities respite center after being released from federal detention on June 12, 2019, in McAllen, Texas.

Top Expert Backgrounder: Children in Immigration Detention — What are the International Norms?

Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture, Felice Gaer, writing in her personal capacity.
Just Security

After Sudan’s Attacks on Protesters, Crucial Next Steps for the U.S.

(Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles on the Sudan security forces’ June 3 attacks on peaceful demonstrators and what may happen next. The first article detailed…
Sudanese protesters walk past burning tyres during a demonstration in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on June 3, 2019.

As Sudan Deadline Looms, a Playbook for a Massacre

The live ammunition, tear gas, and severe beatings that Sudanese security forces unleashed on peaceful demonstrators on June 3 shook the country’s pro-democracy movement and…
A Casa 235 turboprop plane with registration number N168D taxis along a runway at Ruzyne Airport April 8, 2005 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Citizens to the UN: Investigate Our “Torture Chambers in the Sky”

On behalf of the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT), a citizen-initiated truth panel, we just submitted a 35-page communication to 10 U.N. Special Rapporteurs…
The end of a section of the border wall stands on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border, with Tijuana in the background, on April 3, 2019 in Otay Mesa, California. U.S.

Journalist Watchlist Raises Specter of Civil Rights-Era Secret Surveillance

Throughout his campaign and now his presidency, historians have drawn parallels between President Trump’s treatment of the news media and the Nixon White House’s efforts to…
Police in riot gear block the street in front of a number of Uighur people on July 8, 2009 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, China.

Scientists Are Aiding Apartheid in China

The international forensic genetic research community has failed to exercise due diligence in their cooperation with Chinese Ministry of Public Security researchers on forensic…
Logo for Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission United States Congress - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Tom Lantos Commission: Enhancing U.S. Ability to Pursue Accountability for Atrocities

I had the honor of testifying last week before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing devoted to “Pursuing Accountability for Atrocities.” My written testimony…
Papers with the words "Confidential" and "Secret" written across.

Balancing the Law and Reporting: Reflections on the Assange Indictment and What It Means for Journalists

The superseding indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has again sent First Amendment guardians to the ramparts, when what’s needed is a calm discussion of what threat…
Just Security

L’Affaire d’Assange: Why His Extradition May Be Blocked

The Department of Justice’s release of a superseding indictment accusing Julian Assange of numerous Espionage Act violations has stirred grave concern among defenders of a free…
Police bike past posters showing political propaganda in Guatemala City on May 21, 2019.

Persecution of Human Rights Defenders on Social Media: What to Do About It

A recent report documents how online platforms are used to undermine and increase the vulnerability of activists, justice sector personnel, and journalists. It provides three concrete…
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence listen as President Donald Trump speaks about the government shutdown on January 25, 2019, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC.

EXCLUSIVE: Draft Charter of Pompeo’s “Commission on Unalienable Rights” Hides Anti-Human Rights Agenda

Just Security has obtained the draft Charter for the Commission. Professor Hamilton writes: If the Commission follows the ideological roots of the "natural law" theory it is grounded…
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