The values that created the concept of Proportionality are as essential to a democratic system as the core tenets of Human Rights and all core Constitutional foundations. Arbitrary justice towards innocent people are as damaging as the disproportionate application of laws and state actions towards anyone accused of an act against the state. This basic […]
It is not the first time someone like Nadia Murad was ignored by those in an institution, a city or a country when they wanted to make them aware of their experiences. Societies did not develop in an instant, and rights for individuals and within a community took generations to develop. Constitutions and modern […]
There has been some discussion comparing modern times to that of the pre-First World War period. While that era was characterized by the social and economic effects of industrialization with little labour protections and the struggle of people living under colonial rule, the comparisons could likely be made to any era that suffered from conflict. […]
A great loss to Syrian and Iraqi culture came from the intentional destruction of many ancient sites and artifacts of those people that came before the modern era, practiced ancient religions and spoke languages that may never be spoken again. With the disappearance of those heritage sites comes new ways of discovering the ethnic and […]
Democracy is always messy, because people by nature are not perfect. Democracy is neither a perfect solution or system because it is run and set up by people who are often flawed and make mistakes. That being said, it is the best system of government that has been created in human history. It has achieved […]
The recent episode of Amanpour & Co. was interesting on many levels, but below the surface of the discussions it seemed that two separate topics on the show should likely have more connections than what would be observed at face value. The initial discussion between Amanpour and Isha Sesay focused around Sesay’s new book on […]
The generation that inherited the world right after the fall of Nazi Germany were in a unique position to teach future generations about how we should address justice after thousands of families lost their relatives during the war. While many former members of Hitler’s government were put on trial at Nuremberg, prosecuted and given their […]
Nadia Murad was honoured with a Nobel Prize recently for her work with women and genocide survivors. She is Yazidi from Iraq and survived a kidnapping and rape by ISIS, upon her escape she was able to get her story out to the international community. She became a representative for her community in 2016 and […]
In 2014, the Islamic State’s massacre of the Northern Iraqi Sinjar District changed thousands of Yazidi – as well as Christian, Shia, and other non-Sunni – lives. Though many were able to flee quickly, those left behind would unknowingly be subject to the Islamic State’s pre-planned objectives of mass genocide and abduction. While this massacre […]
A large policy discussion is taking place between the US government and the UN, refocusing, and in many cases slashing US contributions to UN agencies to adjust closer to current US foreign policy approaches. One example of an extensive refocus is with a new policy to put funding and attention towards religious minorities in Iraq. […]
Establishing the facts in an objective review could possibly achieve some form of justice for victims of war crimes and genocide.
2017 will either be the year in which governments decide to stop genocide in the Middle East or allow these atrocities to be normalized.
Although NGOs have pushed to help Yazidis, it has been extremely difficult to get governments to even acknowledge the ongoing atrocities.
It is not unreasonable to think that all minorities will be wiped out of the Middle East very soon, simply because of our lack of interest.
In the eyes of Russia, Iran, American allies and many Americans themselves, the United States is no longer guiding foreign policy in the Middle East.