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.
3,215 Articles
Rethinking US Security Assistance Beyond the Leahy Law
An American special operations soldier observing Burkina Faso troops practice clearing a vehicle. I just had the pleasure of speaking alongside Colonel Carl Kelly, Chief of Staff…
Unlocking the Mysteries of the Supreme Court’s Entry Ban Decision
Many close observers of the Court are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out just exactly what the Court did yesterday in Trump v. IRAP–and why. With the luxury…
Saif Gaddafi’s Release and the Challenge for International Criminal Justice
Six years after his capture during the Arab Spring uprising against his father Muammar Gaddafi, and despite pending charges in the International Criminal Court, Saif al Islam Gaddafi…
The “Leahy Law” Prohibiting US Assistance to Human Rights Abusers: Pulling Back the Curtain
With almost weekly news reports of US support for foreign governments with track records of gross human rights abuse—think torture in Yemen by Emirati security forces, violations…
Did the Supreme Court Tip Its Hand on How It Will Rule on the Travel Ban?
Today, the Supreme Court partially stayed and partially upheld the lower court injunctions in the travel ban litigation. The way in which the Court split the baby is perhaps the…
Not the Time for the Sounds of Silence
My father was on a death march through Yugoslavia when liberated by Tito’s partisans in November 1944. My mother was in a courtyard in Budapest waiting to be executed by a firing…
Reported Emirati Abuse of Detainees and the Perils of U.S. Partnerships
[Editor’s note: for an analysis of the legal issues raised by this news, see Steve Vladeck’s post, “The Potential Legal Implications for the U.S. in the AP’s…
The Potential Legal Implications for the U.S. in the AP’s Disturbing UAE Torture Scoop
[Editor’s note: for an analysis of the policy issues raised by this news, see Luke Hartig’s post “Reported Emirati Abuse of Detainees and the Perils of U.S. Partnerships.”]…
Donald Trump’s Say-So is Not a Presidential “National Security Judgment”
The government just filed its final pleading before the Justices’ consideration of the entry-ban cases tomorrow. This follows final briefs that the IRAP and Hawaii plaintiffs…
Regional Leaders Must Prioritize Accountability in South Sudan
East African heads of state and foreign ministers gathered in Ethiopia on June 12 to address the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in South Sudan. While the discussion centered…
Freedom of Expression and the Digital Access Industry: Five Key Takeaways
The Internet, a historically unparalleled source of information and expression, has also become a playground for censorship, punishment and propaganda. Not a day goes by where…
Fatally Flawed Anti-Torture Assurances
An man detained by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2005 After September 11, the United States and other countries heavily relied on diplomatic assurances as counterterrorism tools to legally…