human rights

The Comics Writer Who Became a Legend-and a Martyr of Argentina's Dirty War

Héctor Germán Oesterheld died in an Argentine prison as an enemy of the country's dictatorship after a long career of depicting the political aspirations of Argentine leftists like himself. In death, his admirers made him a comic hero. 

Israeli Human Rights and Civil Society Groups Warn UN that IHRA Definition of Antisemitism Shields Israel from Accountability

Signatories include Israel’s largest human rights group, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups, who claim that provisions of the definition equates criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians with antisemitism.

Jimmy Carter's Human Rights Legacy: A Lifetime in the Making

by Richard Moe

We should remember Carter as arguably the most consequential one-term president, because of his insistence on taking the long view through a moral lens. 

This Year Marks the 50th Anniversary of a Dark Episode in the History of Sports Stadiums

by Matthew Kastel

As Americans return to stadiums with hope and joy at baseball's Opening Day, it's worth remembering that stadiums have been the sites of absurd moments of political theater and dire human rights abuses. 

Welcome Corps is the Newest Idea for Welcoming Refugees, but it Has a Long History

by Emily Frazier and Laura E. Alexander

The proposal for a new refugee resettlement agency extends the mission of many religious settlement and humanitarian groups that have operated in the United States for more than 150 years. This has the potential and the peril of bringing resettlement more in line with the characteristics of local communities. 

Mexican Miltary Surveilled Ayotzinapa Student Teachers for Years Before 43 Disappeared

Hackers released a trove of documents from the Mexican Defense Ministry. Among other revelations: the government was engaged in surveillance of students at a teachers' college in the state of Guerrero, long before 43 students disappeared in 2014. 

"Argentina, 1985" is a Warning for 2023

The film's most important contribution is to remind that the rule of law must be maintained.

Ukrainian Civilians' Experience of Violence

by Anne Applebaum and Nataliya Gumenyuk

Russian soldiers exposed to propaganda that Ukrainians were unwilling subjects of their local governments expected civilian support to capture political leaders; when this expectation was confounded, they unleashed violence. 

The Network Helping Russia's War Resisters Escape

“In a situation where everyone is against you, including your own relatives, who think that you are a traitor and are ready to hang you from the nearest lamppost, I was extremely pleased to discover that there are people who don’t know you at all, who’ve never seen you, and they are ready to help,” said Oleg Zavyalov, 31.

In "Argentina, 1985" Progressive Values Win

by Walter G. Moss

The true story depicted in the Oscar-nominated film shows the necessity of persistence and the power of hope. 

"Argentina, 1985" Gets Oscar Nod

The film has sparked debate in Argentina over its representation of events, but tells the story of the first successful civilian trial of a military dictatorship. 

Resisting Nationalism in Education

by Jacob Goodwin

"Countering the pull toward nationalistic authoritarianism requires intellectual openness and curiosity.  This is a challenge in the time of recovery from the global pandemic, environmental catastrophe and jagged economic turbulence."

Is Israel Criticism the Reason Harvard Refused "Godfather" of Human Rights

by Michael Massing

Kenneth Roth retired from Human Rights Watch after nearly three decades, and expected to move to a fellowship at the Kennedy School. Dean Douglas Elmendorf told him his fellowship was rejected because HRW exhibited "anti-Israel bias." Is the school insufficiently independent of the American foreign policy establishment and its donors? 

The 1979 Formosa Incident Sparked Taiwan's Democracy Movement

by James Carter

An explainer of the wave of protests that began on December 10, 1979, that disrupted the one-party authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang in Taiwan.

Qatar's World Cup Echoes Brutal American Labor History

by Jason Steinhauer

Exposés of the brutal conditions faced by migrant laborers who built Qatar's World Cup facilities echoes the history of American public works, where workers' bodies and lives were subordinated to budgets and timetables. 

For Chinese Protesters, Blank Pages are the Punch Line. What's the Joke?

by Christopher Rea and Jeffrey Wasserstrom

To understand the current Chinese protests, consider the nation's traditions of creative, surreptitious, and subversive political humor. 

Russia's Memorial Forced to Downsize its Tribute to Stalinist Victims

“The point in returning the names is that we’re naming the victims,” said Yan Rachinsky, the chairman of Memorial’s board. “But the question inevitably arises: If there are victims of crime, then there are criminals, and there are reasons for the crime. These are no longer things that our authorities are ready to discuss.”

Spain's New Citizenship Law for Exiles from Franco Portends Massive Return from Latin America

Between the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and the end of the dicatorship in 1978, an estimated 2 million Spaniards fled political persecution by leaving the country. 

Understanding Colombia's Truth Commission Report after 60 Years of Civil Conflict

by Rachel Nolan

Colombia's armed conflict between government forces, leftist rebels, and paramilitary death squads is the world's longest continuous conflict. The nation's massive Truth Commission report undermines decades of official government narrative about the apportionment of blame for atrocities. 

Philadelphia Apologizes for Prison Experiments on Inmates

University of Pennsylvania Dermatology professor Albert Kligman tested medicines and other products on prison inmates between 1951 and 1974.