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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3,051 Articles
The departure statement in the Wong Kim Ark case, on yellowed paper.

The Trump Administration’s 14th Amendment Retcon: ‘Wong Kim Ark’ Does Not Limit Birthright Citizenship

To retcon Wong Kim Ark’s parents as the equivalent of current day green card holders is both legally and historically mistaken.
A M23 soldier stands at the Coltan mining pits in Rubaya on March 5, 2025. He holds a gun. Many people seen in the background.

A Way Out of the DRC’s Proxy War

Today, ribs of gold and other essential treasures are a major driver of one of the deadliest conflicts in the world.
(From L) Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France, Presiding judge Cuno Tarfusser of Italy and judge Chang-ho Chung of Korea run the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on July 6, 2017.

Time to Revisit the ICC’s Position on Head-of-State Immunity?

With major powers increasingly skeptical of international institutions, strengthening the Court's legal coherence is necessary for preserving its legitimacy
A man with tattoos on his arms is handcuffed behind his back.

The Missing Due Process for Gang Allegations

There is a long history of immigration agencies using tattoos and a set of notoriously flawed gang databases to bring false or weak claims of gang involvement.
screenshot of podcast episode 107

The Just Security Podcast: Regulating Social Media — Is it Lawful, Feasible, and Desirable?

Is it lawful, feasible, and desirable for government actors to regulate social media platforms? A conversation with leading experts at the NYU Law Forum.
Two women and a young girl walk past an archway.

No Way Home: How an ISIS-era Law Prevents Yazidi Women and Their Children Born of Conflict from Returning to Sinjar, Iraq

Yazidi women, who survived acts of sexual violence and bore children from ISIS militants, face an Iraqi law that designates their children Muslim.
Collage of the AP logo (L), a courtroom (M), and Columbia University (R)

The Imperative of Solidarity in Response to Assaults on Legal Services, Universities, and Independent Media

"Around the globe who have had decades of experience in navigating a world where simply looking out for one’s own best interests is insufficient for individual or collective…
Palestinians flee with their belongings Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip

“In the Event of Extreme Urgency”: The International Court of Justice Must Indicate New Provisional Measures to Protect Civilians in Gaza

Authors argue the ICJ must direct Israel to halt the current course of the military campaign in Gaza before too late.
The blue flag of the International Criminal Court flies outside of the organization's headquarters.

Who Will Join Duterte at the ICC? A Plea for Realism

For the International Criminal Court, the question after Duterte’s arrest should not be whether it can now move on to confront more powerful leaders, but rather how it can become…
Palestinian kid adds fuel to a fire amidst rubble.

Gaza and Israel’s Renewed Policy of Deprivation

Israel’s decision to cut Gaza off from essential goods violates IHL and reactivates crimes charged in the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, writes Dannenbaum.
A man walks in front of the Supreme Court building at dusk.

The Courts Can Stop Abuse of the Alien Enemies Act – the Political Question Doctrine is No Bar

Many of the emergency powers a president could unlock through pretextual invocations and arbitrary proclamations are injurious to a free, fair, and democratic society. The courts…
In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, members of the Salvadoran army stand guard at the gates of the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) at CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador.

The Trump Administration’s Recent Removals to El Salvador Violate the Prohibition on Transfer to Torture

US and international law prohibit transferring or removing any person when there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be at risk of certain serious human…
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