Human Rights Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the world. On New Year’s Eve, a man broke into a house in southeastern Brazil and shot and killed his ex-wife, their son and 10 other people, before taking his own life. The incident was a particularly shocking example of the rampant violence against women in Brazil, where disturbing cases of gender-based violence are a near-daily occurrence. In an email interview, Sueann Caulfield, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, discusses women’s rights in Brazil. […]

Editor’s note: This article is the first in an ongoing WPR series about workers' rights in various countries around the world. Labor organizations in China expect worker protests, which are common around the Lunar New Year, to spike in the coming weeks, in large part because workers from the “new economy,” which includes e-commerce workers, are experiencing problems with overdue payments for the first time. In an email interview, Cynthia Estlund, the Catherine A. Rein professor at the New York University School of Law and author of “A New Deal for China’s Workers?,” discusses workers' rights in China. WPR: What […]

Brazil’s president is having a kind of homecoming, but not the one he wanted. Long before ascending to the presidency last summer after the impeachment and removal of Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer served in the 1980s as the top security official for the state of Sao Paulo, overseeing its prison system. He is now struggling to contain an unprecedented nationwide crisis in Brazil’s jails. On Jan. 1, the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus, capital of the remote state of Amazonas, erupted into violence; inmates took hostages and set to work killing their rivals, throwing their mutilated corpses outside the […]

One of the more unexpected decisions to emerge in the waning days of Barack Obama’s presidency was his move last week to ease U.S. sanctions against Sudan that have been in place for nearly two decades. His administration initiated the shift after what it described as six months of “positive actions” by the government in Khartoum, including a reduction in internal conflicts, the opening of the country to aid operations and Sudan’s assistance in global counterterrorism efforts. If the “change in behavior” continues for another six months, Washington promised to reauthorize trade between the United States and Sudan and unblock […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the world. Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called women who work “half persons” and “deficient,” sparking outrage among many liberal Turks, though his statement resonated with the country’s conservative majority. In an email interview, Melinda Negrón-Gonzales, an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire, discusses women’s rights and gender equality in Turkey. WPR: What is the current status of women’s rights and gender equality in Turkey? Melinda Negrón-Gonzales: Generally, Turkey lags behind its […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the world. Last week, an Egyptian court upheld a decision to freeze the assets of three women’s rights activists. The three are charged, along with five others, of using illegally obtained foreign funds to “destabilize Egypt.” In an email interview, Marwa Shalaby, the director of the Women’s Rights in the Middle East Program at Rice University’s Baker Center, discusses women’s rights and gender equality in Egypt. WPR: What is the current status of women’s rights and […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, discuss President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy. For the Report, Patrick M. Stewart talks to Peter Dörrie about the prospects of the liberal world order and what might replace it. Listen:Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant Articles on WPR: Why Obama’s Foreign Policy Gamble Fell Short The Problem With Obama’s Foreign Policy Has Been Inaction, Not Weakness Ghana’s Democracy Delivered. Can Its New President? How to Read the National Intelligence Council’s Latest Global Trends Report An Open World Is in the Balance. What Might Replace […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the legal status and socio-economic conditions of indigenous peoples in a range of countries. Although the United States Army Corps of Engineers has temporarily stopped work on the Dakota Access Pipeline that was planned to go through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, hundreds of protesters are still at the camp in North Dakota preparing for the next phase in the fight over the pipeline. In an email interview, Ron Whitener, the executive director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington, discusses Native American rights […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the world. In December, a parliamentary committee in Lebanon recommended striking down a law that allows rapists’ sentences to be reduced if they marry their victims. It will take months for parliament to consider the recommendation, though women’s groups have welcomed it as a first step. In an email interview, Zeina Zaatari, a lecturer and independent consultant on women’s issues in the Middle East, discusses women’s rights in Lebanon. WPR: What is the current status of […]

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States imperils the liberal international order that America has championed since World War II. That open world was already operating under strain, challenged by rivals and upheaval abroad. But suddenly, it is vulnerable at home, too. A wave of angry populism has propelled to power a nationalist leader who campaigned on a promise to put “America First.” As a candidate, Trump questioned longstanding U.S. alliances like NATO, criticized international institutions like the United Nations, and promised to abandon major trade, arms control and climate agreements. Little wonder that liberal internationalists […]

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—For decades, Swedes have taken pride in providing a safe haven to the world’s huddled masses. Their country took in 163,000 refugees in 2015 alone. That equaled about 1.6 percent of Sweden’s population, an intake of refugees far higher than most of Europe, both in absolute terms and per capita. But times have changed. Unlike new arrivals who were often previously awarded permanent residency, the vast majority of asylum-seekers who have arrived since November 2015 are only eligible for a temporary permit to stay in Sweden. The government stated at the time of this policy shift that it aimed […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the globe. In late December, Nigeria’s top Muslim cleric called on lawmakers to reject a bill currently under debate in the National Assembly that would allow women the right to inherit family wealth and property, saying it goes against the teachings of the Quran. In an email interview, Ngozi Odiaka, a lecturer at Afe-Babalola University in Nigeria, discusses women’s rights in Nigeria. WPR: What is the current status of gender equality and women’s rights in Nigeria? […]