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International Human Rights Law

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Cell room doors are seen at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, on August 13, 2018. - A former regional jail, the facility has been contracted by the US Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house undocumented adult immigrant detainees.

The U.S. Bears International Responsibility for Forced Sterilization of Women in ICE Detention

A sterilization performed without the patient’s prior, full, free, and informed consent is a human rights violation.
Pakistani children and activists carry placards during a peace walk to mark Human Rights Day in Karachi on December 9, 2012. Signs read, "Do you know your human rights?" and "Human Right #26 The Right to Education"

Reclaiming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the Pompeo Commission – Part 2

The panel's lengthy exegesis of the Declaration contains at least six glaring omissions that have real-world consequences.
A monitor displays the words Commission on Unalienable Rights behind Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he speaks without a face mask during a news conference at the State Department in Washington,DC on July 15, 2020.

Reclaiming Human Rights from the Pompeo Commission – Part 1

Its report displays an interpretative sneakiness, invoking the “founding era” and “founding principles” in a highly selective and under-inclusive way.
Professor of practice at Syracuse University College of Law David Crane, United Nations Representative from France Gerard Araud, and forensic pathologist Dr. Stuart Hamilton give a report on the allegations of torture in Syria at the United Nations on April 15, 2014 in New York City.

The Netherlands’ Action Against Syria: A New Path to Justice

Cases such as one in Germany to address individual criminal responsibility are insufficient on their own to address the scope of the documented criminality.
Abortion rights activists rally in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2019. Signs read, "Safe abortion is a human right" and "Keep abortion legal."

UN Experts to Trump Administration: Reproductive Rights are Human Rights

It is crucial to call out US efforts to undermine the UN human rights system and erase the well-established framework of rights protections.
Boys lay on top of one another at an overcrowded Juveniles’ cell at Tal Kayf prison in April 2019.

How to Answer Iraq’s Failure to Put a Stop to Torture

Parliament should ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. Short of that, Prime Minister al-Kadhimi can take action.
A protester holds a sign reading, “End Torture” at a rally to "demand Congressional action to stop torture" on Capitol Hill March 10, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Uphold the Prohibition on Torture

A full reckoning for state-sanctioned American torture remains unfinished. The Obama administration took important steps towards fulfilling US obligations but fell short of what…
Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Introduction

One year from today marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A president addressing the nation on such a solemn occasion should be able to tell the American people not only that there…
This photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows Uighur women praying in a graveyard on the outskirts of Hotan in China's northwest Xinjiang region.

How China is Violating Human Rights Treaties and its own Constitution in Xinjiang

China’s “Strike Hard” campaign against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, ... questionably framed by the Chinese government as a counterterrorism operation,…
Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen on a screen for a virtual Security Council meeting.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (July 25-31)

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
Mothers form the front line of a protest march toward Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 20, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.

U.N. Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 37 on Freedom of Assembly: An Excellent and Timely Contribution

General Comment No. 37 by the U.N. Human Rights Committee, the treaty body monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), was released…
Cristof Heyns

Interview with Christof Heyns: Major New UN Comment on Right of Peaceful Assembly

Podcast and transcript of interview with United Nations Human Rights Committee's Heyns. Topics include use of plain clothed law enforcement officers, teargas, and more.
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