It sounds like a travesty when you hear that the Obama Administration has cut down funding to Iranian human rights groups, until you take a deeper look at the facts. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Freedom House and International Republican Institute (IRI) will be among the groups that will be denied State Department funding this […]
Southeast Asia has officially joined the ranks of Europe, the Americas, and Africa in launching their own regional human rights commission. Speculation on the proposed human rights body for The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has dominated political commentary in the region for the past year. Yet, now that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights […]
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food’s, Prof. Olivier De Schutter’s, second presentation to the UN General Assembly. The interactive dialogue that followed Prof. De Schutter’s presentation is an excellent example of how the Special Procedures system of the UN Human Rights Council allows for greater […]
During the Iranian presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi was the long-shot candidate. He was not as well known as his opponents, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi. His reformist credentials were strong, but with Mousavi in the race, reformists already had a leader. His speeches about stronger women’s rights and more individual liberty resonated with many Iranians, […]
In the annual Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Without Border, it is no surprise that Iran ranked as one of the worst countries for journalists. Iran, who was ranked 166th in 2008, has fallen to 172nd this year. The only countries to fare worst than Iran are Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and Eritrea […]
While it is no secret that racism lives on in the United States, it was nonetheless shocking news that a justice of the peace in Louisiana had refused to marry an interracial couple because he doesn’t “believe in mixing the races that way.” Keith Bardwell, the justice of the peace in question, has […]
As if the passage northward were not dangerous enough for a migrant trying to enter the US without documentation, human rights organizations now report an epidemic of kidnappings. Irregular migrants are often beaten and detained by their captors until they provide the contact information of family members, who must then send money for their release. […]
Numbers can be a difficult thing. While statistics can be a powerful form of evidence, they can also be misleading or take a situation out of its proper context. Human rights organizations like numbers – casualty counts and similar statistics can demonstrate the magnitude of a problem in a way that mere prose cannot. However, […]
Months after Iran made headlines for human rights violations following the presidential elections in June, Iran is making headlines again. Earlier this week Amnesty International condemned the execution of a 21 year old convict who was just 17 when he was accused of murder. He is the third juvenile offender to be executed in Iran […]
In a strange legal loophole, American companies—including those that receive government contracts such as Halliburton—can require their employees to sign contracts waiving their right to bring a civil trial against fellow employees that rape or otherwise sexually assault them. This egregious loophole was first spotlighted when Jamie Leigh Jones, a former contractor for one-time […]
Last week as the world buzzed with discussions about whether President Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Price or not, a grave human rights injustice was taking place in Iran. Three protesters arrested for demonstrating against the disputed June reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been given the death penalty. The Amnesty International has a press […]
Anytime there is a Shia rebellion in the Arab world, Iran gets excoriated. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for fomenting Shia unrest in their country, and now Yemen is following the same footsteps. A leading Yemeni religious leader has accused Iran of inciting violence in the north of the country, where a predominantly […]
On Thursday, China marked its 60th anniversary of communist rule. The expected parades took place in Tiananmen Square as communist party officials cheered China’s growing position as an economic powerhouse its military might. But while the world watched the celebrations more closely than they have in the past, the publicity that the anniversary has garnered […]
The credibility of the African regional human rights system suffered a serious setback last week when President Yahaya Jammeh of The Gambia made comments threatening human rights activists. This is not the first time an African head of state has made disparaging remarks about human rights activists and unfortunately will probably not be the last. […]
The current Yaz birth control controversy illustrates the continued tension between what pharmaceutical companies and the doctors that they pay claim is safe for consumption, and contrary scientific evidence. Natasha Singer of the New York Times is reporting that Yaz, a birth control pill manufactured and marketed by Bayer, is under fire as an […]