Human Rights

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is joined by commission chair Harvard Professor Mary Ann Glendon while announcing the formation of the Commission on Unalienable Rights during a news conference at the Department of State, on July 8, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Pompeo’s “Rights Commission” is Worse Than Feared: Part I

Human rights groups have sued to shut it down. A study of its hearings shows its anti-rights leanings are even worse than feared.
A passenger has his temperature checked at Changsha railway station in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province on March 10, 2020. Everyone wears face masks.

Pandemics and Human Rights

Some governments use a crisis as a pretext to infringe rights. Others retain over-broad emergency powers after the crisis subsides.
A pile of copper dust at Bisha Mine, Eritrea's first major international mine, 150 kilometres west of Asmara on July 17, 2013.

Crossing the Rubicon: Major Developments on the Human Rights Obligations of Corporations

Two significant legal developments in the Americas — a Canadian Supreme Court judgment issued last week, and a report of the Inter-American human rights system — will…
A woman pushes a child stroller while walking along the side of Israel's separation barrier in the Palestinian village of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank on February 13, 2020, while beyond the barrier a sign is seen showing the name and logo of Ramy Levy supermarkets at an outlet in the Israeli settlement of Atarot in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Benefits (and Drawbacks) of the UN Database on Businesses Contributing to Israeli Settlements

The United Nations Human Rights Council released a controversial database of 112 businesses engaged in activities associated with Israeli settlements on February 12. Although the…
Tex Harris with flags behind him

Legacy of Late State Department Human Rights Champion Tex Harris Reverberates Today

The recent passing of F. Allen “Tex” Harris, a retired diplomat who repeatedly risked his career and life to serve on the “front lines” of President Jimmy Carter’s human…
In this picture taken on February 7, 2020, a mother shows her phone to her child who has cancer as they sit inside a ward in a hospital in Srinagar. Both wear face masks.

As Trump Returns from India, Others in U.S. Must Press Modi on Rights in Kashmir and Across the Country

It is critical that a broad and diverse group of powerful actors in the United States not ignore the Indian government’s turn toward authoritarianism.
Demonstrators holds up placards and banners while demonstrating, asking for Yahya Jammeh, the former President of the Gambia, to be brought to justice, in Banjul on January 25, 2020. One of the signs says, "No Place for Enforced Disappearance in Gambia."

Senators Call for Prosecution of Gambian Paramilitary Fighter in US Custody

Rare opportunity to criminally prosecute a person implicated in extremely grave human rights abuses in a U.S. court.
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (C) along with Army Commander Shavendra Silva (L) and Navy Chief Piyal De Silva stand to attention during Sri Lanka's 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2020.

U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Sri Lankan Military Leader

The U.S. State Department’s announcement of a travel ban on Sri Lankan Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army and acting chief of the Defense…
Demonstrators lie on the ground a "lie-in" demonstration supporting gun control reform near the White House on February 19, 2018 in Washington, DC. Many of the demonstrators are teenagers.

How to Improve the Human Rights Committee Draft General Comment on Freedom of Assembly

Editor’s note from Ryan Goodman: Just Security is publishing a mini-forum on a significant document being drafted by the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the…
Pro-democracy protesters are pinned on the ground by police during a demonstration in Wan Chai district on October 6, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Police wear full riot gear including gas masks.

The Use of Regional Jurisprudence in UN Draft General Comment on the Freedom of Assembly

Editor’s note from Ryan Goodman: Just Security is publishing a mini-forum on a significant document being drafted by the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the…
Egyptian police wave batons at demonstrators demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and calling for reforms on January 25, 2011 in central Cairo.

Crossing the Line from Use of Force to Torture in Response to Peaceful Demonstrations

Editor’s note from Ryan Goodman: Just Security is publishing a mini-forum on a significant document being drafted by the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the…
A man takes part in a protest against the walkover victory of Halimah Yacob as Singapore's President at Hong Lim Park in Singapore on September 16, 2017. He wears tape over his mouth and another over his chest, both reading, “Not my president.”

The Draft General Comment on Freedom of Assembly: Might Less Be More?

Former member of the UN Human Rights Committee, Harvard's Gerald Neuman, critically analyzes the Committee's draft document on peaceful assembly.
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