Rights

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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13 Feb

Sexual Violence in India: The Unnao Rape Case

Adyant Jaiswal2019 – 2020, Asia, Civil & Political Rights, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

Over the past decade, reports of rape in rural and urban areas of India have been consistently increasing. In 2012, the infamous “Nirbhaya case” – in which 23-year-old Jyoti Singh, while traveling in Delhi, was gang-raped, beaten, and killed – garnered global attention. Under public scrutiny, certain “amendments” were made by the government to laws relating to rape. Chief Justice S.A. Bobde made the promise of “effective and speedy investigation and trial.” In the following years, however, those changes proved to be inconsequential as more rape cases were being reported in 2017 than in 2012.

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India’s Borders, Open to Whom?
06 Feb

India’s Borders, Open to Whom?

Andjelija Prekic2019 – 2020, Asia, Civil & Political Rights, Collective & Developmental Rights, Editors' Picks, Newspaper

Last month, the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a new set of laws that would allow minority religious groups from neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to more easily gain Indian citizenship. While at first glance these policies seem welcoming to targeted minorities, they notably exclude Muslims, raising questions about their true motivations.

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27 Nov

Nigerian Patients Chained: An Investigation of “Treatment Centres”

Adyant Jaiswal2019 – 2020, Africa, Civil & Political Rights, Newspaper

Across Nigeria, reports of mental health patients being mistreated in “treatment centres” – presumed medical centres dedicated to treating mental health patients – led human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) to visit and investigate these centres. They found that patients were being chained, denied meals and a sanitary environment, and in some cases even harmed physically as part of their treatment procedure.

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Climate Change and the Syrian Refugee Crisis
05 Nov

Climate Change and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Ghislaine Fandel2019 – 2020, Middle East, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

The political and economic situation in Syria as well as the ongoing civil war due to dissatisfaction with the Assad government has resulted in and perpetuated the current refugee crisis. As of October 2019, the total number of Syrian refugees and displaced peoples has risen to 12.9 million. Since 2011, the Middle East has witnessed a proliferation in popular mobilization against their respective autocratic governments triggered by political reform, a variety of religious and sociopolitical factors, and the deterioration of the economy[i]. However, the international community has up until recently largely overlooked a major underlying issue. As of recent years, studies have linked the current state of climate emergency to the continuous aggravation of the refugee crisis in this region.

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