International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Supporters and Judges of Krakow Courts hold banners during a protest against an ongoing session of the Disciplinary Chamber of Poland's Supreme Court to consider the application of the National Public Prosecutor's Office for permission to detain and forcibly bring Judge Igor Tuleya in front of Krakow's Appeal Court on April 21, 2021 in Krakow, Poland. Igor Tuleya, who had been critical of changes to Poland's justice system, had become a symbol of the struggle for judicial independence in Poland. The EU had taken Poland to court over judicial independence concerns. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)

Poland’s Judicial Reform Falls Short of EU Expectations, Complicating Cooperation Against Russia

Pres. Duda’s failure to reverse course on actions that increase tensions and decrease solidarity in Europe weakens their alliance with the US.

Oct. 3, 2022 Kristie Bluett, Jasmine D. Cameron and 1 more

A man and a woman stand at a microphone, holding a sign that says "March for Our Lives" and a poster of their deceased child. Behind the couple, many protestors who also hold signs sit on the steps of the Texas Capitol building.

Ensuring Access to Courts for Gun Victims: The Case for Repealing PLCAA

Victims of gun violence have the right to a remedy according to U.S. and international human rights law. Congress should repeal PLCAA in order to dismantle the inordinate legal…

Sep. 8, 2022 Kaya van der Horst and León Castellanos-Jankiewicz

Image: Right: ANDIJAN, UZBEKISTAN: Shoes are seen on the central square of the Uzbek town of Andijan, 14 May 2005, after clashes between the government forces and local protesters. Bodies littered the streets of the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan as security forces tightened their clampdown and the death toll continued to rise in what residents called massacres. (DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP via Getty Images). Left: The Human Rights Committee during its 128th Session. Credit: UN Multimedia

Overlooking Injustice: A Troubling Formalistic Turn at the UN Human Rights Committee

The Committee has recently dismissed complaints for technical reasons and enforced time limits more strictly - calling into question its role as a last avenue for justice.

Jul. 14, 2022 Masha Lisitsyna and James A. Goldston

Human Rights Challenges Highlight Taiwan’s Ongoing Democratic Transition

An independent international review cited outstanding issues that point to the island's legacy of colonial and authoritarian rule.

May 23, 2022 Camilo Pérez-Bustillo

Trees in a forest smolder and burn during the Dixie fire near Greenville, California on August 3, 2021. The sky is a hazy orange.

Climate Change is a Human Rights Issue – Particularly in US-China Relations

Recognizing the interplay between human rights and climate policy is necessary for either policy area to be coherent, particularly between the US and China.

Aug. 11, 2021 Tim Hirschel-Burns

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

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

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

Officials from the South Korean Central Election Management Committee and election observers count votes cast of Parliamentary election amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 15, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. Everyone wears a mask properly over their mouth and nose.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Human Rights Law – Civil and Political Rights

[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.] States around the world have had…

Nov. 24, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Mark Stevens and 1 more

Children workers who come from Burkina Faso carry sacks of cocoa to a truck June 28, 2001 in Petit Tieme, Ivory Coast.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: The Prohibitions on Slavery, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Meet the Sosa Test

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the consolidated cases of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I and Cargill Inc. v. Doe I, which was argued before…

Nov. 23, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Christopher Ewell and 3 more

A young boy walks in front of a grafittied wall spelling out the symptoms of and ways to avoid Coronavirus in Mathare informal settlement on July 10, 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Human Rights Law – Right to Life

[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.] COVID-19 continues to grow at…

Nov. 18, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Preston Lim and 1 more