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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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 01: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks from the Blue Room balcony of the White House on August 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden announced that over the weekend, U.S. forces launched an airstrike in Afghanistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri, 71, took over leadership of al-Qaeda in 2011, shortly after American forces killed Osama bin Laden. The president said there were no civilian casualties. (Photo by Jim Watson-Pool/Getty Images)

What Was the International Legal Basis for the Strike on al-Zawahiri?

Serious questions need to be addressed in order to establish that both the killing of Zawahiri, and the use of force against Afghanistan, were not violations of international law.
Ian James Mwai (R), 23, browses social media platforms on his mobile phone with a member of his outfit of social media influencers at an office in Thika town, central Kenya on April 26, 2022. He was in the vanguard of the growing ranks of influencers feverishly punching keyboards and hoping to tilt the outcome of the country's high-stakes elections, being conducted today, Aug. 9. The rising dominance of apps like Twitter and Facebook has opened a new front in Kenyan politics, with candidates desperate to draw the attention of the country's 12 million social media users.

Banning Content Platforms is Not a Solution to Hate Speech on the Internet, Even When the Platform is Meta

Governments should recognize that pulling the plug on the internet – or on an entire social media platform – is not a viable solution to the spread of hate speech or misinformation…

Biden’s Weak Stand in Saudi Arabia Could Kick MBS’ Repression Machine Into Overdrive – But It’s Not Too Late to Act

The US could still change course to salvage the relationship, advance mutual interests, and expand overlapping values.

Myanmar Junta’s Execution of Activists Casts Harsh Light on Lack of U.S. Sanctions on Oil and Gas

The world awoke on July 25th to news that Myanmar’s military junta had executed four democracy activists following a sham judicial process, the first death sentences carried…
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Red paint splattered by abortion rights activists is seen on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health overturned the landmark 50-year-old Roe v Wade case and erased a federal right to an abortion. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Retrenchment of the Federal Right to Abortion: How Dobbs Threatens National Security

The Dobbs decision has broad national security implications, increasing the risk of political violence and damaging US standing in the world.
A teacher examines destructions in a school destroyed as a result of a shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region on July 24, 2022.

Latest Atrocities Highlight the Importance of Early Warning

With a new strategy and advances in early warning analysis, efforts to identify and respond to atrocity risks can help save future lives.
Tunisian protesters carry signs on July 22, 2022, during a demonstration along Habib Bourguiba avenue in the capital Tunis, against their president and the upcoming July 25 constitutional referendum.

Tunisians, Fed Up With `Non-Delivering Democracy,’ Set to Vote on Retrograde Constitution: Civil Society’s Role

A civic leader says the coming referendum reflects the frustration of citizens who want a democratic system but need economic prosperity too.
A Rohingya refugee child carries water to her temporary shelter days after a fire burnt their home at a refugee camp in Ukhia, in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district on March 25, 2021. (Photo by Munir Uz zaman / AFP) (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Next Steps on the Road to Accountability and Security for Rohingya Refugees

The path forward for Rohingya refugees is complicated, but not impossible. A community leader outlines what's needed: humanitarian aid, international justice, and resettlement…
Tamil members of Sri Lanka's parliament hold placards during a demonstration outside the President’s office in Colombo on February 24, 2022, to protest against the acquisition of their land in northern and eastern regions under the guise of protecting archeological sites. They hold signs in a variety of languages. One reads, “Stop the land grab! of Tamils under the guise of Mahaweli”

Sri Lanka’s Real Reckoning is Yet to Come

Accountability for atrocities against Tamils and curbing Sinhala Buddhist nationalism are key to the island’s stability and prosperity.
(L to R front row) General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemeti", deputy chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, speaks with council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during a reception ceremony in the capital Khartoum on October 8, 2020 upon the arrival of the government negotiating team from Juba where the government and rebel groups had earlier signed a landmark peace deal. - Sudan's government and rebel groups had on October 3 signed a peace deal at a ceremony in the South Sudanese capital Juba, aimed at ending decades of war in which hundreds of thousands have died. (Photo by Ebrahim HAMID / AFP) (Photo by EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images)

Anti-Coup Strategies Should Address Civilian Coup Allies

A robust anti-coup strategy must place the same pressures on civilian collaborators that military coup leaders face.
Image: Right: ANDIJAN, UZBEKISTAN: Shoes are seen on the central square of the Uzbek town of Andijan, 14 May 2005, after clashes between the government forces and local protesters. Bodies littered the streets of the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan as security forces tightened their clampdown and the death toll continued to rise in what residents called massacres. (DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP via Getty Images). Left: The Human Rights Committee during its 128th Session. Credit: UN Multimedia

Overlooking Injustice: A Troubling Formalistic Turn at the UN Human Rights Committee

The Committee has recently dismissed complaints for technical reasons and enforced time limits more strictly - calling into question its role as a last avenue for justice.
Members of Afghanistan's Powerful Women Movement, take part in a protest in Kabul on May 10, 2022.

From Talk to Action: Addressing the Appalling Women’s Rights Crisis in Afghanistan

The international community must coordinate a human rights-centered approach and use all available leverage against the Taliban's human rights violations.
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