International Human Rights Law

A phone screen shows a statement by Trump on May 5, 2021. Another screen in the background shows an image of Trump. The statement text reads, “What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process.”

For Facebook’s Sake: Getting Conversant with Human Rights

The Facebook Oversight Board decision on former President Trump has helped bring into sharper focus what international law scholars and lawyers have long understood: international…

Jun. 10, 2021 Deborah Pearlstein

Belsat TV journalists Katerina Bakhvalova aka Andreeva and Daria Chultsova, who were detained in November while reporting on anti-government protests, flash the V-sign from a defendant's cage during their trial in Minsk on February 18, 2021.

Belarus Jailing of Journalists for Reporting on Peaceful Protest Violates International Law

An appeal hearing in Minsk offers a chance for the court to rectify an injustice that illustrates how reporters have been targeted for abuse..

Apr. 22, 2021 Lauren Kelly-Jones

Beji Caid Essebsi Tunisian President; Alpha Conde President of the Republic of Guinea, Faure Gnassingbe President of the Republic of Togo; Paul Kagame President of the Republic of Rwanda; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz; Abdelfattah al-Sisi Egyptian President; Alassane Ouattara Ivory Coast president; Macky Sall President of the Republic of Senegal; Patrice Talon President of the Republic of Benin and President of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina; Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz; Abiy Ahmed Ali Ethiopian Prime Minister; International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde; Nana Akufo-Addo President of the Republic of Ghana; Cyril Ramaphosa South African President; World Bank President Jim Yong Kim; African Union (AU) Commission representative Moussa Faki Mahamat and Morocco's Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun pose for a picture during the "Compact with Africa" conference on trade, aid and diplomacy on October 30, 2018 at the Chancellery in Berlin.

What Are the Stakes of the Upcoming Elections in Benin?

Since becoming the first country in Africa to overthrow a military dictator by democratic means, the Republic of Benin has been a highly stable and robust democracy, widely renowned…

Apr. 5, 2021 Justin Cole

A police personnel wearing a face mask crosses a street on foot as military personnel on motorcycles ride in lines toward him as they take part in a rehearsal for the Independence Day Parade in Colombo on February 3, 2021.

Highlighting Sri Lanka’s Abuses to the UN in Reviews and Strategic Litigation

The Human Rights Council should build on the documentation and advocacy NGOs have done over the years to encourage accountability for gross violations.

Mar. 4, 2021 Rupert Skilbeck

Members of the security forces walking at the site of a NATO airstrike which destroyed two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban in northern Kunduz on September 4, 2009.

Kunduz Airstrike Before European Court of Human Rights: Future of Jurisdiction and Duty to Investigate

The future of European Human Rights Court's jurisdiction and the future of States' duty to investigate civilian casualties in wartime.

Feb. 26, 2021 Chantal Meloni

Former Vice President, Joe Biden, addresses the audience at the We Decide: Planned Parenthood Action Fund 2020 Election Forum to Focus on Abortion and Reproductive Rights event in Columbia, SC on June, 22 2019.

Now is the Time for the Biden Administration to Commit to Upholding Reproductive Rights as Human Rights

The US has an opportunity to renew its commitment to human rights as it responds to UPR suggestions. It must seize the moment to affirm that reproductive and sexual rights are…

Feb. 17, 2021 Risa E. Kaufman

The empty courtroom of the Commissions building where on Tuesday preliminary hearings will begin for four detainees held on the Naval Base is seen August 22, 2004 in Guantanamo, Cuba. Six flags stand at the front of the room.

How to Fix the U.S. Litigation Position in Key Pending Cases

The Biden administration has the opportunity, and responsibility, to disavow the Trump administration’s dangerous litigation positions and the ideologies they reflect in these…

Jan. 27, 2021 Scott Roehm and Hina Shamsi

This picture taken during a government-guided tour on December 27, 2020 shows inmates operating sewing machines at a workshop at al-Qanatir women's prison, at the tip of the Nile delta in Qalyoubiya province, about 30 kilometres north of Egypt's capital. The wear face masks and appear to be socially distanced.

Transforming the US Human Rights Report to Reflect Gender Rights — and Security

The Trump administration damaged the annual report's credibility. It is critical to rethink the data, especially on women and girls.

Jan. 26, 2021 Stephenie Foster and Susan Markham

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a round table meeting during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on December 10, 2020. They stand talking, not actually sitting at the table. They all wear face masks. Behind them a wall is covered with a banner reading “European Council.”

Polish Government’s Attacks on Rule of Law Violate Not Only EU Norms but International Law

The repeated violations of fundamental rights and principles corrode the very foundations of the democracy Poland fought so hard to win.

Dec. 11, 2020 Marta Achler

The 19th Session Human Rights Council. 15 March 2012.

The UDHR, Digital Authoritarianism, and Human Rights after Trump

"A simple return to an imagined world of pre-Trump human rights is not enough."

Dec. 10, 2020 Katie Porter and David Kaye

Activists stand at the entry gate to the Krome Service Processing Center as they honor the life of Kuan Hui Lee, who died in the custody of ICE at the Krome Service Processing Center. One sign reads, “Free them all.” They wear facemasks. August 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida

COVID-19 and International Law Series: States’ Obligations to Refugees and Migrants in Detention

Whether informally quarantined in camps or formally confined in overcrowded detention centers, refugees and migrants in detention are extraordinarily vulnerable in a pandemic.…

Dec. 2, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Preston Lim and 1 more

Refugees are seen protesting in the wake of the burning down of Camp Moria on September 11, 2020 in Kara Tepe, Greece. A number of the protesters are small children. All protestors wear face masks. Signs read, “We want freedom” and “No Moria.”

COVID-19 and International Law: Refugee Law – The Principle of Non-Refoulement

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series, COVID and International Law. All articles in the series can be found here.] The threat posed by COVID-19 has…

Nov. 30, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Mark Stevens and 1 more