Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: human rights

Chinese Government Front Groups Act in Violation of U.S. Law

Chinese Government Front Groups Act in Violation of U.S. Law

If Chinese government front groups are operating illegally in the United States, the U.S. government has a responsibility to act in the matter and enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

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China Attempts to Save Face at UN Human Rights Council

China Attempts to Save Face at UN Human Rights Council

China tried to save face last week, by lashing out at those critical of its human rights record during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.

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BURDEN OF PEACE: A Candid Discussion with Filmmaker Joey Boink

BURDEN OF PEACE: A Candid Discussion with Filmmaker Joey Boink

Paul Nash of the Foreign Policy Association spoke with director Joey Boink about “Burden of Peace,” the challenges of he faced while filming in one of the world’s more dangerous countries, and human rights in Guatemala.

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By Any Other Name: The Words We Use

By Any Other Name: The Words We Use

The words we use have an impact on the world around us. For people who have been trafficked and exploited for sexual purposes, such an apparently minor thing as language can tangle their lives and seriously affect their future.

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Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Backyard Politics

Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Backyard Politics

The Iran-Saudi “cold war” carries, for both countries, a dimension that raises particular security concerns: the presence of minority communities in their respective backyards that show sympathy to the other side due to domestic repression.

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Azerbaijan to U.S.: What About Human Rights?

Azerbaijan to U.S.: What About Human Rights?

What is clear is that Azerbaijan, like Russia, is placing renewed emphasis tried-and-true Soviet-era techniques, including “whataboutism,” a term coined by U.S. analysts to describe the Soviet officials’ attempts to deflect Western criticism by appealing to the West’s failures.

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Candid Discussions: Gissou Nia on Iran’s Human Rights in 2014

Candid Discussions: Gissou Nia on Iran’s Human Rights in 2014

Ms. Nia sat down with Reza Akhlaghi of the Foreign Policy Association to discuss Iran’s human rights record in 2014 and share her perspectives on the challenges the Iranian society faces in greater recognition of human rights.

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Against the end of history

Against the end of history

Word has it that China will surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy by the end of this year, according to a recent World Bank report. This is an event of dramatic, albeit symbolic, importance for the way the world will conduct its affairs. With this in mind, what can be expected from international […]

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Defining Sexism in the Middle East, Latin America and Everywhere Else

Defining Sexism in the Middle East, Latin America and Everywhere Else

One famous singing icon who has a particularly strong following in Latin America and the Middle East due to her cultural connections to both regions is Shakira. Recently, a debate arose worldwide over her boyfriend, famous footballer Gerald Pique “forbidding” Shakira from doing sensual music videos with men, raising the question to whether a partner […]

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China Charges Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti with Separatism, Denies Access to Lawyer

China Charges Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti with Separatism, Denies Access to Lawyer

Chinese authorities have formally charged outspoken Uighur scholar and human rights activist Ilham Tohti (Uyghur: ئىلھام توختى‎, Chinese: 伊力哈木土赫提) with inciting separatism. Arrested in Beijing in January, Tohti is currently being held in China’s far western Xinjiang region and has been denied access to a lawyer on the grounds that his case involves “state secrets.” […]

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Tunisia Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Tunisia Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

This past week, radical Islam reared its ugly head again, this time in a seaside suburb of Tunis.  On Monday afternoon, the National Guard was called in to investigate a reported terrorist hideout in the Raoued suburb of Tunis.  The 24-hour standoff that ensued resulted in the death of seven militants and one police officer, […]

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China Imprisons Dissident Xu Zhiyong, Announces Charges Against Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti

China Imprisons Dissident Xu Zhiyong, Announces Charges Against Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti

Over the weekend of January 25-26, the Chinese government sentenced human rights activist Xu Zhiyong (许志永) to four years in prison and announced its charges against detained Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti (Uighur: ئىلھام توختى‎, Chinese: 伊力哈木土赫提). Xu was sentenced following a one-day show trial in which in which he wasn’t allowed to call defense witnesses […]

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China Begins Trial of Dissident Xu Zhiyong Despite International Objections

China Begins Trial of Dissident Xu Zhiyong Despite International Objections

Prominent Chinese legal scholar and human rights activist Xu Zhiyong (许志永) will go on trial January 22 on charges of disrupting public order. A founder of the pro-democracy New Citizens’ Movement (中国新公民运动) and an outspoken advocate of greater transparency in Chinese government, Xu has been detained since July 2013. Xu and his lawyers believe that […]

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U.S. and EU Speak Out on China’s Detention of Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti

U.S. and EU Speak Out on China’s Detention of Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti

Prominent Uighur economics professor and dissident Ilham Tohti (Uighur: ئىلھام توختى‎, Chinese: 伊力哈木土赫提) was detained by police in Beijing on January 15, according to multiple reports. Also detained were at least six of Tohti’s students. Tohti’s family has not been informed of his whereabouts or the nature of the charges against him. The U.S. State […]

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Turning the Tide: Three Years Later Tunisia Is Still the Forerunner of the Arab Spring

Turning the Tide: Three Years Later Tunisia Is Still the Forerunner of the Arab Spring

On January 9, Ali Larayedh dutifully resigned as the Prime Minister of Tunisia, fulfilling his promise to end the political deadlock in Tunisia following the crises that ensued as a result of the assassination of secular politician, Mohamed Brahmi in July 2013. Although strikes and protests have plagued the country since 2011, the transition to […]

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