Written by: Elena Cata After decades of relentless campaigning, abortion activists in Colombia reveled in their victory in the streets of Bogota on February 21. The historic ruling from the Colombian Constitutional Court legalized abortion up until 24 weeks of a pregnancy and removed the procedure from the country’s criminal code. Following in the recent…
Tag: human rights
Good, Evil, and the Unfortunate Case of Majid Khan
Written by: Graham Brown In a remarkable rebuke of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), eight military jurors decried their handling of former Al-Qaeda courier Majid Khan as a “stain on the moral fiber of America.” When hearing Khan—who is the first Guantanamo Bay prisoner to publicly detail his abuse—tell his story, it is a remarkable…
By Outlawing Six Palestinian Human Rights Groups, Israel Undermines the UN
Written by: Julian Cooper On October 22nd, Israel’s Justice Ministry outlawed six human rights organizations by declaring them to be affiliates of “terrorism.” Among these six organizations was a relief group for Palestinian children, a legal support group for Palestinian prisoners and a women’s rights group. The other three organizations, all based in the West…
The Imbonerakure: A Key Roadblock to Burundi’s Political and Civil Liberties
Written by: Lydia Nyachieo On September 23rd, 2019, Jérémie Ntaconimariye, a Burundian farmer in his late 50s and a member of the political opposition party, was asleep in his house in Karusi province when three young men of the ruling party came uninvited. They took him to a small village almost two miles away, then…
La Situation Camerounaise: Cameroon’s Humanitarian Crisis Amidst the Escalated Anglophone Conflict
Written by: Lydia Nyachieo On Friday, February 14th, an attack took place in Ngarbuh, a village in the Northwest province of Cameroon. 15 children – 9 of whom were under the age of 5 – as well as two pregnant women were among the 23 lives lost. Several victims were burned alive. Not only did…
Shrinking Religious Freedom in Europe
Written by: McKenna Ross Religious freedom in developing countries is often called into question, but it is not thought that religious freedom is restricted in developed countries often, such as those in Europe. Increasingly, the freedom of followers of the Islamic faith are being restricted due to islamophobia. In addition, women are usually the target…
A Solution to the Sexual Assault Epidemic in India
Written by: Pooja Gundimeda India is undeniably facing an epidemic which has taken the lives of thousands of women, both young and old. Daily rape and sexual assault is plaguing the country, and has become increasingly common in recent years—gradually embedding itself into Indian culture and social norms. According to the National Crime Records Bureau…
State Sovereignty in the Face of Genocide
Written by: McKenna Ross The Rohingya are a primarily Muslim group of people in majority Buddhist Myanmar. Persecution against them began in the 1970s, when the state government refused to acknowledge the Rohingya as a legitimate ethnic group of Myanmar. This made them into a stateless people and therefore not eligible for state protection. This…
International Human Trafficking Laws: Why The Time For Change is Now
Written by: Abby Ivancevich Human trafficking affects over 20 million people worldwide. The UN defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation.” As an evolved society, we often choose to…
A Final Punch in Egypt’s Free Speech
Written by: Harry Colvin On Saturday, November 23rd, Egyptian forces raided the office of Mada Masr, Egypt’s last significant independent news outlet. Mada Masr’s official Twitter account posted a statement revealing that the raid began around 1:30 p.m. local time, as the security forces began confiscating laptops and phones from employees. All employees of the…
The WIRe 