Local Voices

Just Security’s “Local Voices” section features perspectives and analysis from individuals directly affected by conflict, human rights abuses, and political crises around the world.

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336 Articles
Students wait outside classrooms in Sittwe, capital of western Rakhine State on June 1, 2021. Barbed wire separates the photographer and the students.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Don’t Let the Light of Education Be Extinguished

Educational reforms in Myanmar were derailed first by COVID, then by the coup. A local teacher explains the consequences, and how the international community can support education…
A gate with the United Nations seal in front of the UN headquarters in New York City.

Time for a Course Correction on Counterterrorism and Civic Space

A defining feature of the U.N. counterterrorism eco-system is its lack of openness to outside expertise and civil society voices.
A Rohingya refugee family rests in a 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.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Views of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

The coup seemed to dash Rohingya refugee hopes of return to Myanmar. But some feel cautious hope at newfound cross-ethnic solidarity.
Protesters hold up their mobile phones and candles during a candlelight vigil to honor those who have died during demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon on March 13, 2021. They wear face masks to protect against COVID-19.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Emerging New Politics of Gen Z

The atrocities committed by Tatmadaw soldiers have changed not only Myanmar’s political landscape but fundamentally transformed its political psyche.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz points to a projector screen showing targets hit by Israeli army in Gaza, during a press briefing in Jerusalem on May 31, 2021. He does not wear a face mask.

The 2021 Gaza War and the Limits of International Humanitarian Law

"As long as international humanitarian law is unable to acknowledge the structural injustice of the situation—the asymmetry, the horror—discussions of these cases in the technical…
Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City as Israeli warplanes target a governmental building, early on May 18, 2021 in Gaza City, Gaza.

Dispatch from Israel on Human Shields: What I Should’ve Said to a Dad on the Playground

Who's responsible for the deaths of those civilians in Gaza who were near areas where Hamas operates?
Indonesian police wearing face masks and carrying large guns guard the site of an ASEAN emergency meeting on Myanmar on April 24, 2021 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The ASEAN Way Must Change

The regional bloc has long adopted a non-interventionist stance in the name of regional stability. But the Myanmar coup shows how this stance actually undermines stability - and…
A Myanmarese policeman, who fled Myanmar and crossed illegally to India, looks at a picture of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on his social media at an undisclosed location in India's northeastern state of Mizoram on March 13, 2021. Other people sit on the ground nearby.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Other De-Platforming We Should Have Been Talking About  

Facebook has been moderating the Myanmar military's Facebook access for years. The military still used the platform to effectuate its coup. What can we learn from this failure…
A general view of Pinlaung Township, in the Pa-O self-administered zone of Shan State in eastern-central Myanmar, shows clouds swirling around tree-covered mountains.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: A Northern View

A civil society leader from Myanmar's volatile northeast border reflects on the unthinkable challenges in her work since the coup - and the hidden blessings of life in a "conflict…
Representatives from Karen ethnic group take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 11, 2021. They wear face masks and hold signs that read, “Abolish the 2008 Constitution,” “Establish a new federal union,” and “End censorship.”

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Inside Karen State

The coup has been a "nightmare" for democracy supporters across Myanmar - but for those in Karen State, protests have brought cautious hope and unity. A view from the ground.
Artwork of protestors with signs reading, “Freedom of Expression,” “Rule of Law,” and a slashed “Corruption” sign. Blood is splattered across the protestors. In the top corner, a hand places a paper into a ballot box.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: “In Accordance with the Law” – How the Military Perverts Rule of Law to Oppress Civilians

The Tatmadaw have used the concept of "law" to justify both arbitrary violence against anti-coup protestors and the coup itself. But what would true "rule of law" mean in Myanmar?
An Indian policeman registers the names of Rohingya refugees after they were detained while crossing the India-Bangladesh fenced border from Bangladesh, at Raimura village on the outskirts of Agartala, the capital of the northeastern state of Tripura, on January 22, 2019.

Indian Supreme Court’s Stance on the Deportation of Rohingya Refugees Violates International Law

The Indian Supreme Court’s refusal to implement its international law obligations has dented the hopes of thousands of Rohingyas who continue to seek refuge in India.
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