Rights – Journalists for Human Rights

18 Feb

A Game of Survival: Unhoused Individuals of Montréal Brace the Winter, COVID-19, and the Federal Government’s Apathy

Tess PilkingtonCivil & Political Rights, Rights, Social & Economic Rights

In 2006, the UN declared homelessness in Canada a “national emergency.” What should have been a wake-up call for the federal government to tackle the country’s history of growing homelessness since the 1980s has, instead, been largely ignored. Today, COVID-19 has only exacerbated issues related to homelessness as rates of unhoused individuals have risen, making […]

17 Feb

The Weaponization of Smartphones: Targeting Dissent in the 21st Century

Derya EkinCivil & Political Rights, Newspaper

The most invasive surveillance imaginable can be found within your smartphone. Without the user ever noticing it, smartphone spyware technology can access every message or email individuals have ever sent or received, as well as every photo or video ever taken. It can turn on microphones and cameras to record screens or surroundings and even […]

14 Feb

Canada Unveiled: The Reality of Canada’s System of Migrant Detention

Sara Selma MarefCivil & Political Rights, Newspaper, Regions, Rights, The Americas

Immigrant detention lacked media attention in Canada until the years 2013 and 2016 when detainees in Vancouver and Toronto died within provincial jails. This brought to light the poor conditions Canada imposes on migrants who have been imprisoned. What is Migrant Detention? Migrant detention detains and holds individuals imprisoned because of their non-citizen status under […]

14 Feb

The Problem with the COP26

Talia PirschCollective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

From October 31st to November 12th of this year, over 190 world leaders and close to 40,000 delegates gathered in Glasgow UK for the COP26 (the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties). This year’s summit aimed to promote further action to reach the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, encourage countries […]

25 Nov

Your Internet Privacy and What’s at Stake: The Weaponization of the Digital World

Sarina MacleodCivil & Political Rights, Collective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper

With the recent shift to an almost entirely digitized world, algorithms are drastically changing the way we use the internet, or more accurately, how the internet uses us. Before, planning trips and booking accommodations would take substantial amounts of research. Now, one quick search of the town you wish to go to, and your entire […]

18 Nov

Remember Who Suffers To Make Your Clothes

Haajar Khalid Abu IsmaliAsia, Civil & Political Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

Fast fashion is a source of global crisis. As the second most wasteful industry in the world, it loses only to oil. As of 2020, fast fashion was responsible for 10% of worldwide CO2 emissions with textile production alone adding up to 1.5 trillion litres of water per year. The environmental implications of this industry […]

17 Nov

Social Media: A Human Rights Issue?

Camille DeslongchampsCivil & Political Rights, Collective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper

My parents have warned me countless times about the dangers of social media. I had to beg them to allow me to download Instagram and Snapchat, even (embarrassingly) creating powerpoints to demonstrate my responsibility. Now, however, I regret it. Earlier this year, Frances Haugen, former Facebook (now Meta) employee, leaked hundreds of internal documents, alleging […]

17 Nov

The Phenomenon of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) in Canada

Sara Selma MarefCivil & Political Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

Background & Statistics The disappearance and murders of Indigenous women are not merely a new news phenomenon, but rather, they are an integral part of an ongoing pervasive problem in Canada. Murdered Indigenous women’s cases are not considered murders, but accidental deaths and disproportionate numbers. “According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, only 53% […]

04 Nov

Misgendering: A Human Rights Violation in Canada

Talia PirschCollective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper, The Americas

On September 29th, 2021, the British Colombia Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the intentional misgendering of a person in the workplace consists of a human rights violation. After a heated argument regarding their pronouns, Jessie Nelson, a non-binary and gender-fluid individual who uses they/them pronouns, was fired from their job as a server at restaurant […]

04 Nov

The Humanitarian Plight of the Uyghur Minority

Haajar Khalid Abu IsmaliAsia, Civil & Political Rights, Collective & Developmental Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

The Uyghur community in Xinjiang, China has been subject to horrific human rights violations. Forced sterilization, torture, sexual abuse, and cultural genocide are a handful of the crimes this minority has suffered over the past years and continues to suffer today. An article by the BBC from June 1st states that “China has detained more […]