Month

Archives: Human Rights

Freeing Fayza: A Journey to War-Torn Iraq to Rescue a Yazidi ISIL Slave Girl

By: Brian Glyn Williams and Christopher Natola | (Informed Comment) | - - It began with an electrifying text message from a Yazidi member of a network dedicated to freeing Yazidis (an…

Demand-Side Slavery, Libyan Instability and European Crime Networks

Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | - - After several years in which refugees and migration have featured heavily in the Western media narrative, a disturbing correlation between human trafficking and conflict…

How Saudi blackmailed the UN to avoid Yemen War Human Rights Slam

By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - When Saudi Arabia – which has been spearheading a coalition of Arab states in a devastating war against…

N. American Scholars of Mideast react to SCOTUS Decision on Trump Muslim Ban

Middle East Studies Association of North America | - - On Monday, June 26, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued a limited stay in the case that MESA has joined as…

If US Wars aren’t on TV, are all those 1000s really Dying?

Rebecca Gordon | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - The headlines arrive in my inbox day after day: “U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria killed hundreds of civilians, U.N. panel says.” “Pentagon wants to declare…

Can Iran, Turkey and Egypt Cooperate to deliver Mideast from Chaos?

Farhang Jahanpour | ( Tehran Times | - - TEHRAN - Professor Farhang Jahanpour, part-time tutor on the Middle East in the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, tells…

Turkey’s Erdogan: Saudi demand he close Qatar base is ‘Disrespectful’

TeleSur | - - Erdogan told journalists after Eid al-Fitr prayers that "It (the list of demands from Qatar's neighbors to lift the ban) is a breach of Qatar's sovereignty rights." On…

Tense Eid 1.2 mn Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Tense Eid for 1.2 mn Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

By Billie Jeanne Brownlee | (The Conversation) | - - For Syrian refugees in Lebanon marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, it has been a struggle to find enough food to…

1/2 of World’s Civilian War Deaths were in Syria, Iraq & Yemen during past Half-Decade

By IPS World Desk | (Inter Press Service) | - - ROME/GENEVA (IPS) - Between 2010 and 2015, nearly half of all civilian war deaths worldwide occurred in Syria, Iraq and Yemen,…

Do Egyptians have any Rights Left at All? – HRW

Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities in recent weeks have arrested at least 50 peaceful political activists, blocked at least 62 websites, and opened a criminal prosecution against…

Speaking Truth to Erdogan: His Authoritarian Turn and Europe

By Ludwig Schulz | German Orient Institute | (Via Euractiv.com ) | - - Ludwig Schulz looks at how scientific analysis can help counter President Erdoğan’s fake narrative of Turkey’s thriving democracy…

Execution-Crazy Saudi Gov’t railroads 14 Shiite Dissents with unfair Death Penalty

Execution-Crazy Saudi Gov’t railroads 14 Shiite Dissidents with unfair Death Penalty

Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia should immediately quash the death sentences of 14 members of the Shia community for protest-related crimes, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch…

Civilian Casualties Mount in Battle to Re-take Mosul

By Mark Lattimer | (Inter Press Service} | - - LONDON (IPS) - East of Mosul, many of the lands liberated from ISIS stand empty. Driving through the Nineveh plains, traditional homelands…

Is the European Refugee Crisis being Driven by Drought and Climate Change?

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | - - ROME (IPS) - Water–everybody talks about it, warns against its growing scarcity, excessive waste, the impact of climate change, the frequent severe…

Iraq Parliament Mulls ending Freedom of Assembly

By Afef Abrougui | ( Globalvoices.org) | - - When armed men in civilian clothes kidnapped journalist Afrah Shawqi from her home on 26 December 2016, journalists and activists quickly took to…

Thousands protest against Trump in ‘hellhole’ Brussels

EurActiv.com | - - Thousands of protesters carrying effigies of Donald Trump marched through Brussels on Wednesday (24 May) after the US president arrived for talks with the EU and NATO.“Trump not…

Iran: Does the Rouhani Win Matters for Human Rights?

Iran: Does the Rouhani Win Matter for Human Rights?

By Tara Sepehri Far. | ( Human Rights Watch ) | - - In Second Term, Should Move on Rights Reforms When the 2017 election season kicked off April 21, Iranian President…

Alabama Passes Bill to Protect Confederate Monuments even at cost of Economy

TeleSur | - - Some Southern cities are rethinking the appropriateness of keeping such emblems on public property. Not Alabama. Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved a bill that prohibits the removal of…

The Refugee Crisis and the Renewal of Our Humanity

By Gregory Alonso Pirio | (Informed Comment) | - - The colossal refugee crisis confronting humankind today has created an unprecedented opportunity to awaken our sense of common humanity and compassion. No…