The intense Ethiopian sun burns down as thousands of volunteers in green shirts, school children alongside politicians, take up shovels and saplings in a publicly broadcasted spectacle to plant millions of trees in a single day. They are participating in the world’s largest state-led reforestation campaign, Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative, with official figures claiming that […]
Tag: human rights
Supreme Court Rulings Favoring Trump Provide Little Explanation
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has taken on a more influential and significant role in legislation and policy making, as seen in the number of pivotal rulings and overturned precedents in recent years. SCOTUS, with its 6-3 ratio of conservative to liberal justices, continues this role by halting cases and decisions brought […]
AB 260 Protects Reproductive Freedom Amid State Crackdowns
“California stands for a woman’s right to choose,” affirmed Gov. Newsom as he signed Assembly Bill 260, a sweeping California law designed to protect reproductive care in the state. His message to the rest of the nation is unmistakable: when Washington turns its back on women, California will stand in their defense. Just months ago, […]
The Refugee Camp That Time Forgot
Nestled in the arid terrain of northeastern Kenya, the Dadaab refugee complex stands as one of the clearest examples of a humanitarian system that has lost its way. Established in 1991 as an emergency response to the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, Dadaab was designed to be a temporary solution. But over three decades […]
The Aesthetic of Authoritarianism: AI and the Trump Government
Donald Trump’s government hasn’t been shy about embracing generative AI. No later than his second day in office, the President announced the $500 billion Stargate project: a joint private venture aimed at constructing 20 AI datacenters in the US. Standing beside Trump when he made the announcement were the leaders of OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank […]
Playing Defense: Why Transgender Athletes Have a Place in Women’s Sports
For once, Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump agree on something: transgender athletes. In the inaugural episode of his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” the California Governor called the debate over transgender athletes “an issue of fairness.” That should sound familiar: President Trump’s February 5th executive order refers to banning trans athletes from competing in women’s […]
Silencing the Messenger: The War on Truth and Free Press
Between 2006 and 2024, over 1,200 journalists were killed, with UNESCO reporting that 85% of these cases remain unresolved. Journalism, once hailed as a pillar of democracy, has now become a perilous profession. This culture of impunity reflects systemic failures at the national and international levels to protect journalists and hold perpetrators accountable. The result […]
Echoes of Silence: How Aynaghor Exposes South Asia’s Hidden Repression
For the first time in half a decade, Michael Chakma saw the sun. He had escaped, but he could barely remember where to go or who to call. Five years prior, Chakma was abducted by Bangladeshi intelligence, and from that day on, he was subjected to torture, stuck in the darkness, and only able to […]
Echoes of the Earth: A Battle for Sacred Lands
The coast of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, near the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, is a picture of calm. Clouds rest on the horizon, and gentle waves turn the sand into a reflection of the blue sky. But this serenity faces a threat—one driven by the demands of a warming climate and an economy rooted in fossil […]
Drone Warfare is Eroding the Right to Life
Technology has made war feel as remote as a video game: armed drones hover above like silent arbiters of life and death, striking targets with the press of a button. These “precision” machines, initially confined to distant battlefields, are now used in routine counter-terrorism operations and even domestic policing. But who really pays the price […]