Social & Economic 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 […]

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 […]

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

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

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 […]

22 Oct

Mediterranean Forest Fires: Failure of Foresight

Derya EkinEurope, Middle East, Newspaper, Social & Economic Rights

The Mediterranean basin has long been a favourable summertime location, with vibrant coastal cities and warm temperatures attracting thousands of tourists each year. Encompassing three giant land masses enclosed in a body of water, this region makes for quite a unique geographical space. In recent years, however, the characteristically dry summer months have left this […]

08 May

Sarah Everard: A Story of Gender-Based Discrimination Within Law Enforcement

Enora Lauvau2020 – 2021, Civil & Political Rights, Europe, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

The recent assault and murder of London-based marketing executive Sarah Everard by Westminster Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens has shone a spotlight on conversations surrounding gender-based violence as well as the role police forces play in exacerbating the threat this poses to women’s safety worldwide. Besides the fact that harassment and assault is far from being an unusual occurrence for women — an already distressing reality — the brutality that has been shown by actors of the law supposedly there to ensure the population’s security further contributes to ongoing feelings of fear. As such, the role of Couzens in Everard’s killing has further opened the debate to questions regarding whether increased policing, particularly that of a male-focused nature, is an appropriate response to growing concerns about the violence faced by women, considering that it tends to be one often proposed by state institutions.

28 Apr

Japanese Internment and Migrant Detention: Twin Tales of Injustice

Atussa Kian2020 – 2021, Civil & Political Rights, Social & Economic Rights, The Americas

At face value, the Santa Anita Park is an infamous but beautiful race track located in a majority-Asian city in Southern California. A backdrop of slender palm trees, purple-y mountains, and blue skies almost distract from the animal cruelty controversies that have circulated the race track and the sport of horse racing in recent years. […]

16 Apr

The Farm Bills and the Fallout: How Modi’s India Responded to Protests through State Violence and Media Repression

Sophie Sklar2020 – 2021, Asia, Civil & Political Rights, Social & Economic Rights

The Indian agriculture acts of 2020, often referred to as the Farm Bills, are three acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. These three very contentious laws have been called a “watershed moment” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while they have been deemed “death warrants for farmers” by MP Pratap […]

25 Mar

Ecocriticism: Conservation in East Africa

Sophie Crawford2020 – 2021, Africa, Collective & Developmental Rights, Social & Economic Rights

The following piece of writing is an essay on ecocriticism adapted by the author from McGill’s student journal, Environmentalist Movements in the Global North and Global South – Roots, Character, Connections, to form a feature-length article. What is the environment? What is nature? And how do we – as humans – fit into all of […]