Human Rights & Social Justice

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

By Josephina Trebing

This journal examines how contemporary political discourse relies on fear mongering tactics that intensify polarization and distort public understanding. Drawing on Aristotelian rhetoric and affect theory, it argues that emotional appeals are not inherently irrational but constitute a necessary component of moral judgment. Modern debate culture falls victim to the strategic hierarchy of emotions, as fear expressed by dominant groups is legitimized as rational, while moral anger expressed by marginalized groups is dismissed as irrational. This asymmetry sustains polarization by disguising power as reason. 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 full journal here

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

By Sina Olfermann

Civil society’s participation in the documentation of atrocities is a phenomenon that has grown alongside technological advances. While non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have played a role in documenting violations for several decades, recent conflicts in particular have seen a boom in individual members of civil society and communities taking on documentation. This blog explores some of the tensions arising from civil society’s involvement in the judicial process, and how this phenomenon relates to broader trends of contestation in international law. Read here. 

By Jip Aukes

This blog examines whether contemporary U.S. mass deportation policies are at risk of violating the international law principle of non-refoulement. It argues that while states possess sovereign rights, including the authority to control their borders, the accelerated procedures observed in the United States and within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices risk undermining individual human rights protections and may render refugee protection ineffective in practice. Continue reading here!

By Areesh Siddiqui, Perrine Guilmain and Mishaal Shami

The regularisation of undocumented migrants remains one of the most contested areas of migration law in the Netherlands, particularly where domestic legal frameworks often fail to reflect the lived realities of long-term residents without formal nationality. During a recent talk at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, organised by the Amsterdam Law Forum, Dr. Younous Arbaoui explored the potential of Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), alongside the Global Compact for Migration as underutilised legal tools capable of addressing this divide. Central to this discussion was the evolving interpretation of the right to enter and leave “one’s own country” and how this concept may have extended beyond strict nationality to encompass individuals with close and enduring ties to a state. This follow-up blog reflects on key discussion points raised by Dr. Arbaoui throughout the session. It includes recent jurisprudence from the Dutch Council of State, the Human Rights Committee's interpretation of arbitrariness under Art. 12(4) and many other interesting ideas. By engaging with comparative case law and contrasting the ICCPR framework with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), this blog aims to assess whether Article 12(4) ICCPR can realistically function as a pathway, or at least a safeguard, towards regularisation in the Dutch context. Continue reading here!

By Nada Ababou

Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has significantly expanded immigration enforcement in the United States, framing mass deportations as a necessary measure to protect national security and public safety. Yet data shows that a majority of those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have no criminal convictions. This blog examines whether the Trump Administration’s use of executive orders, emergency powers, and the Alien Enemies Act provides a lawful basis for large-scale deportations, and what these measures show about the limits of constitutional and international legal constraints. The analysis highlights the growing tension between current immigration enforcement practices and fundamental principles of due process, accountability, and the rule of law. Continue reading!

By Anshika Dwivedi 

Strategic litigation, the practice where cases are carefully provided to the court for broader purposes such as policy or social change, has recently become an increasingly prominent phenomenon in activism, particularly in cases relating to climate and human rights. A type of strategic litigation known as "Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation" employs abusive litigation techniques to stifle public participation and critical reporting on issues of public interest. In response to these concerns, the European Union (EU) introduced the Anti-SLAPP Directive 2024/1069 on 11 April 2024. The EU adopted this Directive to protect journalists, activists, and human rights defenders from abusive cross-border litigation. This article examines the Directive and its potential impact as EU Member States enter the transposition phase, where member states have the freedom to add the legislation in their own way to national law. One of the first cases invoking the Directive is Greenpeace v. Energy Transfer (2025), currently progressing before the Dutch courts and awaiting judgment. Continue reading here!

By Shadan Jagersma

This blog examines the legal framework of the right to humanitarian assistance applied to the case of Gaza, with particular focus on the legal pathways through which third States and humanitarian aid organizations can provide humanitarian aid in the absence of Israel’s State consent. It argues that Israel, as the Occupying Power, is subject to particularly stringent obligations to ensure and facilitate humanitarian relief when the civilian population is inadequately supplied, obligations that significantly constrain its discretion to refuse access. At the same time, the paper demonstrates that international humanitarian law (IHL) does not confer an equally strong legal entitlement on third States or humanitarian organizations to deliver aid without consent, despite the unlawfulness of its obstruction. By analyzing the law of occupation, the requirement of consent, and the legality of non-consensual relief operations, the paper exposes a gap in IHL whereby the prohibition of the denial of humanitarian aid is not matched by effective mechanisms to overcome it. Read here!

By Caterina Ecclesia, Kiki Schaafsma and Nicolas Meija

The digital sphere has become an integral part of our everyday lives, leading to a significant increase in the time spent online. This has created a growing need to regulate online content and interactions, especially when it comes to minors. Therefore, in October 2022, the European Union (EU) adopted Regulation 2022/2065, also known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), to ensure a safer and more transparent digital environment. This article examines the DSA’s framework, with particular attention to Article 28, 34 and 35. The first concerns the protection of minors online and Articles 34 and 35 the systemic risk assessments, which are a key element in ensuring minors’ safety online. Then, the article turns to the main tensions in achieving adequate protection for minors online, namely the conflict with fundamental rights, the fragmented nature of the regime, and the absence of a specific legislative framework dedicated to the protection of young users online. By exploring these challenges, the article evaluates the effectiveness of the DSA in protecting minors in the digital sphere. Continue reading!

By Anna Skjaeret, Maxime Sánchez, and Theresa Peter

Millions of Palestinians are currently affected by an ongoing humanitarian crisis, with limited access to essential aid and services. Since 1949, the UN agency UNRWA, has provided healthcare, education and humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees, following the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.^[1] Two years have passed since UNRWA funds were reduced, significantly affecting the lives of approximately 2.5 million Palestinian refugees. This blog examines the Arab-Israeli conflict and UNRWA’s role from a historical and legal perspective, assessing the implications of these developments for humanitarian assistance and human rights protection. It argues that recent funding cuts and political pressures on UNRWA not only undermine humanitarian assistance but also expose structural weaknesses in international protection systems. Read further here!