Human Rights & Social Justice

Blogs

• Has the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Stolen State Sovereignty?

  By Chloe Hansen 

  In June 2024, the Pact on Asylum and Migration will come into effect, aiming to harmonize migration laws within the EU and strengthen solidarity among member states. However, it has sparked fierce criticism: opponents fear an infringement on national sovereignty and oppose the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers. This blog delves into the key objectives, controversies, and legal implications of the pact. Is this a necessary reform or a threat to national interests? Read more here!

• The Macaques Must be Free!

  Written by Janneke Parrish

  Revised by Zein el Amine

  This blog examines the legal recognition of animal rights. It focuses on the recent escape of rhesus macaques from Alpha Genesis, a research facility in South Carolina. The blog raises questions about the consistency of applying these rights, especially in biomedical research contexts. The conclusion contends that for rights to hold substantial meaning, they must be universally and consistently applied to all sentient beings. Want to know more? Read the full blog!

• “A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not”

  By Eva Leliveld
  
  This blog examines the ground-breaking move by Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands to seek to hold Afghanistan accountable at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This marks the first attempt where States use CEDAW to challenge gender persecution at the ICJ. The case raises complex legal questions about jurisdiction, state representation and enforcement while also advancing global discussions on gender persecution and apartheid as an international crime. Its outcome could set a historic precedent. Read more!

• The Mosque, the Missiles, and the Mapmakers: Forensic Architecture’s Role in Assessing Precaution under International Law

  By Jessica de Jong

  When the Al-Jinah Mosque in Syria was reduced to rubble by a U.S. airstrike in 2017, official narratives insisted that only an Al-Qaeda meeting hall had been targeted. Enter Forensic Architecture, a cutting-edge investigative agency that fuses technology, spatial analysis, and human rights advocacy to challenge state narratives. By transforming battlefield incidents into detailed visual narratives, Forensic Architecture reshapes how we assess compliance with the laws of war. Yet, its work exists at a crossroads: Is it a groundbreaking tool for justice or an advocacy-driven challenge to traditional legal standards? Want to know more? Read the blog!

• Research Gaps in Human Trafficking for Organ Removal (THBOR)

  By Daphne ‘Nico’ Mall Gasca

  Human trafficking for organ removal (THBOR) is a lesser known yet severe form of transnational organized crime that exploits vulnerable populations, particularly migrants and refugees, through coercion and financial desperation. Unlike other forms of human trafficking, THBOR is challenging to track and prosecute due to itsmedical complexity and the ambiguous victim-perpetrator dynamic of complicit organ recipients. Addressing THBOR will require stronger international collaboration, improved detection mechanisms, and expanded multidisciplinary research to close the policy gaps and prevent further exploitation. Read the full blog!

• Does Integration make sense anymore? Why knock at a door that has already been shut?

  By Fiona Tepshi

  This blog explores the immigrant struggle in the current age of rising nationalism in the Western world. Moreover, central in this blog is whether integration, for people to properly become a part of the community they immigrated to, is something immigrants should actually strive for. The reason being that there have been debates circling around involving nativist rhetoric, in relation to also limiting the right to asylum for example. This blog provides insights into the legal domain and the use of this nativist rhetoric and considers questions such as: “Does striving for naturalisation make sense anymore?’’ The blog will answer that the striving for naturalisation still makes sense. Want to know more? Read the full blog!

• Silenced online: How social media platforms undermine free expression and human rights

  Written by: Laura-Annabell Ambrosch, Shari Lambert, and Zineb Ez Zhak

  Revised by Kornelia Gabriela Dąbrowska

  Social media platforms are central in molding contemporary discussions, yet their content moderation practices often undermine free expression and human rights. This blog examines how platforms such as Instagram and Facebook disproportionately limit pro-Palestinian content, which breaches Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Factors like automated moderation systems, ambiguous platform regulations, and corporate influences lead to biased censorship that silences marginalized groups. These platforms must implement transparent, rights-focused moderation strategies topromote free expression. It is vital to adopt a balanced approach to ensure that social media remains a forum for various perspectives and activism. Read more!

• Palestine Beyond Borders: A Global Assault on Civic Rights

  Written by Alessia Cigna, Asiya Shakeel and Martina Onesto

  Revised by Fiona Tepshi

  The right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), is the cornerstone of democratic societies. It aims to ensure accountability, foster justice, and preserve human dignity. However, in the human history, one can find multiple examples of when this fundamental right was under attack - a very recent example being the Israel-Palestine conflict. What began as a territorial conflict has metastasized into a transnational crisis, where freedom of speech, protest, and media are being systematically suppressed. This is not just a regional tragedy - it is a global human rights emergency. Read more.

• A Right to Life of the Unborn Life

  By Jet Dorhout
  
  Some babies are born addicted. When the cause is maternal drug use, the question isn’t just medical, it’s criminal. This blog explores the controversial but critical question: should a mother be charged with manslaughter if her unborn child dies because of drug abuse during pregnancy? Lack of consensus about the question ‘When does life begin?’ between contracting parties of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) results in indecisiveness regarding the treaty substance. I will discuss the lack of legal protection afforded to the unborn child by article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the implications this has for the Netherlands to comply with international obligations deriving from this Convention. Read the full blog!

• Trapped by Passports

  By Zein El Amine 

  This blog explores legal inequities in migration and highlights how borders and visa policies disproportionally affect Global South citizens. 

  It examines the disparities between state sovereignty and human rights, emphasising the barriers to freedom of movement and inefficient refugee protection. Highlighting these issues underscores the necessity of equitable human rights and focused migration policies. Read more!

• A Call to Action: States Should Handle Mental Health with Care

  By N. Awwad, G. Haile, S. Listenberg, A.S.C. Tegus, A. Verhoeve & A. El Yaakoubi

  Despite the international and domestic legal commitments, the human rights of individuals in psychiatric care are being neglected and breached, particularly in private institutions. The landmark case of Ximenes-Lopes v. Brazil (2006) established the legal obligation of states to regulate and oversee mental health facilities, but persistent violations again announced themselves in the Aurora Borealis scandal in the Netherlands (2022). In addition to a discussion of the failures of state oversight, this article addresses the role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the major imperatives for stricter enforcement mechanisms. Without real actions directed to altering status quo, human rights violations in mental health will remain a significant humanitarian concern. Read the blog!

• “A la moindre escarmouche…”

  By Lucien Biringanine

  The ongoing conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, fuelled by allegations of Rwandan support for the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), raises critical legal questions regarding the use of force under international law. Reports from international organisations and Western governments claim that Rwanda provides direct military support to these non-state actors, though Kigali denies these allegations, citing national security concerns. In response, President Félix Tshisekedi has suggested the possibility of military action against Rwanda, prompting an assessment of its legality.

  While Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the use of force, exceptions exist under Article 51 (self-defence) and Chapter VII (UN Security Council authorisation). For the DRC to lawfully invoke self-defence, it must establish Rwanda’s effective control over these armed groups, a threshold that has not yet been conclusively met. Consequently, any unilateral military action by the DRC against Rwanda would likely constitute a violation of international law. Read the blog!

• Polarization and Pathos Fear Mongering Tactics

  By Joey Trebing

  This paper examines how contemporary political discourse relies on fear mongering tactics that

  intensify polarization and distort public understanding. Drawing on Aristotelian rhetoric, affect

  theory, and political communication scholarship, it argues that emotional appeals are not

  inherently irrational but constitute a necessary component of moral judgment. Modern debate

  culture, however, selectively delegitimizes emotional expression from marginalized groups while

  normalizing fear-based narratives promoted by those in power. Through analysis of right-wing

  rhetorical strategies, including moral panic framing and scapegoating, and the left’s overreliance

  on logos-based rebuttals, this paper shows how both sides contribute to a degraded communicative

  environment. The essay contends that fostering good faith, emotionally literate political dialogue

  is essential for countering extremist narratives, restoring democratic trust, and advancing

  constructive solutions across ideological divides. Read the blog!

• Darfur 20 Years Later: The Same Crimes, the Same Victims, the Same International Neglect

  By Lara Lamie

  The renewed war in Sudan since 2023 has intensified long-standing patterns of racialized

  violence rooted in colonial hierarchies that privileged Arab-identifying groups while

  marginalizing African communities, particularly in Darfur. These structures have enabled

  successive governments and armed actors – currently the SAF and RSF - to perpetrate

  systematic atrocities including mass killings, sexual violence, forced displacement, and land

  dispossession targeting African populations. The current campaign, echoing earlier Janjaweed

  atrocities, constitutes ethnic cleansing and seemingly meets the legal criteria for genocide, war

  crimes and crimes against humanity. The violence in Darfur is not episodic but structurally

  racialized, rooted in colonial hierarchies, and reproduced by contemporary state and militia

  actors. International mechanisms have failed to provide protection or accountability,

  underscoring the need to confront the entrenched racial order driving the violence in Sudan. Read further!

• International law is failing and civilians are paying the price: An opinion on Linda Kinstler’s article ‘‘Are we witnessing the death of international law?’

  By Nada Ababou

  After reading Linda Kinstlers article in The Guardian, it is a challenge not to feel alarmed or simply
  
  scared. International law, in its current form, seems to be failing. Despite its big goals -promoting
  
  justice, peace and standing for the protection of human rights - it often falls short in practice.
  
  Civilians end up suffering while powerful states and their leaders ‘flout’ rules with little
  
  consequence. After reading the article, the importance of raising awareness about this issue was
  
  evident, demanding collective efforts toward a solution. The problem does not lie within the
  
  international justice institutions, but rather within the way international law is enforced; especially
  
  when states responsible for war crimes refuse to recognize the authority of the court meant to
  
  prosecute those guilty of war crimes and bring justice to victims. Read here!

• A Cruel Paradox: How the “Safe Country of Origin” Concept Failed Female Asylum Seekers

  By Jip Aukes, Sarah Barrie, Mia Dominguez

  This blog analyses the impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling of 1 August 2025 in the joined cases Alace and Canpelli, which challenged the use of partial “Safe Country of Origin” (SCO) designations. It examines the SCO concept in the context of the Dutch asylum system, focusing on the suspension of the national list of Safe Countries. The blog demonstrates how the former Spoor 2 procedure - the Dutch fast-track process for applicants from SCOs - systematically disadvantaged minority groups, particularly women. It further shows why the transition to Spoor 4 - the standard Dutch asylum procedure with full investigation, legal safeguards, and the Rest and Preparation Period - constitutes a necessary correction to ensure human rights protections. Read here!

• Between Federal Authority and Municipal Autonomy: Sanctuary Jurisdictions in United States Migration Governance 

  By Theresa Peter

  This article examines the constitutional status of sanctuary jurisdictions within United States migration governance, challenging narratives of uniform federal control over immigration enforcement. It analyses the extent to which local governments in the United States can lawfully refuse participation in the enforcement of federal immigration law, a question rendered salient by President Trump’s restrictive immigration agenda. Focusing on recent litigation following executive pressure against sanctuary policies, the blog argues that municipal non-cooperation is constitutionally protected. Drawing on the anti-commandeering doctrine, the Separation of Powers principle, the Spending Clause, and binding precedent, it concludes that sanctuary jurisdictions possess a legally secured autonomous role. Read further!

• Zamzam: A Ground-Level View of Law, Violence, and Human Cost in Darfur

  By Shadan Jagersma, Lara Lamie and Anshika Dwivedi

  In April 2025, Zamzam camp in North Darfur - one of the largest displacement sites in Sudan - was violently attacked by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Over the span of three days, civilians were looted, killed, subjected to sexual violence, and again displaced, while essential infrastructure was destroyed. This blog examines whether the alleged violations may be legally qualified as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide under international humanitarian law and international criminal law, and what the Zamzam case reveals about the limits of civilian protection in practice. By combining legal analysis with survivor testimony, it highlights the gap between the promises of international law and the lived reality of displaced communities in Darfur. Read further!

• Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Contemporary International Law: Normative Scope, Global Tensions, and Challenges to Its Effectiveness

  By Nicolás Encalada

  The norms that regulate social coexistence do not emerge spontaneously or flawlessly; they are built over time through repeated human practices, as customs gradually become law. Among these practices, consent occupies a central place. Asking, listening to, and considering the views of those affected by a decision is a basic form of social interaction that has evolved into a legally protected right at the international level.
  
  This evolution is reflected in the historical development of human rights, from first-generation civil and political rights, through second-generation social rights, to third-generation or collective rights. Within this latter category lies Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), conceived as a fundamental guarantee for Indigenous Peoples when state or private decisions affect their territories, resources, and ways of life.
  
  FPIC has moved beyond aspiration to become a cross-cutting legal institution in contemporary international human rights law. Its normative foundations are found in ILO Convention No. 169, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the progressive development of regional human rights jurisprudence. Through a comparative legal analysis, this article identifies persistent tensions between States’ international obligations and their domestic implementation.
  
  The article aims to understand the right to prior consultation not only normatively but also relationally, considering both those who consult and those who are consulted, to promote a more accessible and human-centred understanding of this fundamental right. It argues that FPIC cannot be fully effective without questioning the dominant territorial governance models within which it operates. Continue reading!