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
Hassan Shibly, lawyer for 24-year-old Hoda Muthana, looks at a phone in his office in Tampa, Florida, on February 20, 2019.

Unpacking (Some of) the Legal Issues Surrounding Hoda Muthana

Even before the President weighed in on Twitter, there’s been substantial discussion about the fate of so-called “ISIS bride” Hoda Muthana, and her apparent desire…
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with US President Donald Trump at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

Why Trump Needs to Raise Human Rights with North Korea’s Kim

President Donald Trump and his administration have dramatically softened their diplomatic posture on North Korea’s human rights record. But human rights can and should be raised…
Marines raise guns to enter a building.

Human Rights Law and U.S. Military Operations in Foreign Countries: The Prohibition on Arbitrary Deprivation of Life

The view that the U.S. government does not accept that international human rights law applies to US activities in foreign countries is mistaken., writes Goodman. The Department…
Judges Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Bertram Schmitt and Raul Pangalangan sit in the courtroom prior to the sentencing of Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba and his accomplices before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands, on March 22, 2017.

ICC Judge Schmitt Counsels Resilience to Preserve International Justice

Editor’s note: At a difficult time for the International Criminal Court (ICC)—criticism over recent rulings, resistance from current and prospective members, and threats from…
Yemen and surrounding area on a map.

Congress, Saudi Arabia, and the Conflict in Yemen: Where do We Go from Here?

Congress has strong options to constrain U.S. involvement in Yemen's civil war and hold Saudi Arabia's leadership accountable for human rights abuses, including the killing of…
A Syrian woman hangs laundry in Raqa in the midst of collapsing buildings.

General Comment 36: A Missed Opportunity?

General Comment 36 on the human right to life under article 6 of the ICCPR adopts the view that both international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL) apply during…
United Nations Security Council meeting on January 25, 2019 at the United Nations in New York.

National Security at the United Nations This Week

This week at the UN: detention of Turkic Muslims in China, the potential end of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, North Korean sanctions violations, a call to action…
Murdered women’s shoes are seen during a demonstration demanding justice for the 5.929 women killed in the past 15 years in Honduras, in the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which was commemorated on the eve worldwide, in Tegucigalpa, on November 26, 2018.

Gendered Security and the Right to Life: Analysis of UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment

UN human rights body goes far in recognizing how gender and women's rights intersect with (national) security issues, but far enough?
Yemeni women and children wait during food distribution in the province of Hodeida on May 30, 2018.

Avoiding the Next Yemen: Applying Hard Lessons for Security Partnerships

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, wrought by a conflict entering its fourth year, has called into question the nature and purpose of American security partnership with Saudi Arabia.…
A general view taken on September 10, 2018 during the opening day of the 39th UN Council of Human Rights at the UN Offices in Geneva.

Targeted Killing and the Right to Life: A Structural Framework

Shaheed Fatima Q.C., analyzes the recently issued "General Comment 36" of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which sets forth a legal framework under human rights law for…
Shiromani Akali Dal party supporters protest against the Punjab government and police for allegedly fraudulent votes being cast in local elections, outside a polling station in Naushera village on the outskirts of Amritsar on December 30, 2018.

India’s Digital Path: Leaning Democratic or Authoritarian?

As the two largest democracies in the world, India and the United States should be working together to combat this abuse of technology. But India has taken some troubling steps…
Numerous national flags are seen in front of the United Nations Office (UNOG) on June 8, 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Human Rights, Deprivation of Life and National Security: Q&A with Christof Heyns and Yuval Shany on General Comment 36

In a Q&A with Ryan Goodman, Christof Heyns and Yuval Shany, members of the UN Human Rights Committee, examine the national security implications of General Comment 36 -- the Committee’s…
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