The Americas

The Pandemic of COVID-19
20 Mar

The Pandemic of COVID-19

Taylor Robinson2019 – 2020, Europe, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has quickly swept across the world, leading the World Health Organization to announce on Wednesday March 11, 2020 that the issue has become a pandemic. The new label means the rapidly spreading virus has already begun spreading to countries around the globe and will likely continue to do so. Originating in Wuhan, China, there are now over 150,000 people worldwide who have contracted the virus.

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A Brutally Brief Recap of Key US Conflicts with Human Rights Since 2016
18 Mar

A Brutally Brief Recap of Key US Conflicts with Human Rights Since 2016

Sophie Crawford2019 – 2020, Civil & Political Rights, Collective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper, The Americas

The United States’ presidential election is just around the corner. Some will be watching with excitement, others with fear. Either way, Trump will be the first president in American history to run for re-election despite being formally impeached by Congress. With the Trump administration’s four year term coming to an end, there has been no shortage of politically charged social media feuds or content for SNL.

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Presumed Innocent: Cash Bail and Pretrial Detention in the United States
25 Feb

Presumed Innocent: Cash Bail and Pretrial Detention in the United States

Anne SampognaCivil & Political Rights, Editors' Picks, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

Kalief Browder was arrested in May 2010 at the age of sixteen; he was accused of stealing a backpack. His bail was set at $3,000—an amount that his mother could not afford. For the next three years, Browder was held in pretrial detention on Rikers Island, a New York City prison notorious for a culture of violence propagated by its guards. While there, he endured two years of solitary confinement which led him to attempt suicide several times. Browder refused multiple plea deals, adamant that he had not committed a crime. Finally, three years, thirty-one court dates, and multiple plea deals later, Browder’s case was dismissed on May 29th, 2013. He was released the next day.

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The Standstill Between Indigenous Groups and a Multi-Million-Dollar Pipeline
20 Feb

The Standstill Between Indigenous Groups and a Multi-Million-Dollar Pipeline

Taylor Robinson2019 – 2020, Collective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

Canada is currently experiencing nationwide protests from Indigenous groups in opposition of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline. The pipeline is roughly 670 kilometers, spanning across British Columbia; it was designed to ease the export of natural gas in the province. Although it may seem like a good idea to some, it is creating issues with Indigenous communities as the pipeline would cut directly through their land. The Wet’suwet’en Indigenous group is directly affected by this pipeline; however, Indigenous groups across the country, specifically in Ontario, have taken action to show their support.

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14 Feb

A Dire Outbreak: The Coronavirus and Racial Prejudice

Raya Chehabeddine2019 – 2020, Asia, Civil & Political Rights, Europe, Newspaper, The Americas

Amid the humanitarian crisis in Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly outbreak, Chinese authorities are desperately resorting to extreme measures. In an effort to contain the spread of the disease, officials enforced an unprecedented quarantine of nearly 11 million citizens. Orders of house-to-house searches have been implemented and an emergency hospital was built in just ten days to tackle the outbreak. Despite the measures taken to contain the spread of this deadly disease, the number of infected cases has soared from 50 in China, to over 31,535 in more than 20 countries in the past three weeks. The death toll is even more alarming, amounting to 638.

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Forgotten But Not Gone: Migrant Detention Centers in the United States
09 Nov

Forgotten But Not Gone: Migrant Detention Centers in the United States

Anne Sampogna2019 – 2020, Civil & Political Rights, Newspaper, The Americas

Tonight, over 52,000 people will fall asleep in detention centers across the United States. Many have come fleeing gang violence, domestic violence, and poverty. They are hungry, as they are not given sufficient food, and the little food that is given is lacking in nutrients, or sometimes even rotten. They are not guaranteed to receive toothbrushes and soap. Conditions are so inhumane and so clearly based in xenophobia that U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called detention centers “concentration camps.”1

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