Author: Megan Fraser

The U.S.A.’s Slow Strangulation Of Our Core Human Rights Institutions

Over the past year, the United States of America has ramped up its attempts at a slow strangulation of key international organizations. These moves are worrying many political commentators as they witness the inability of institutions, like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, to operate properly in their

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Fake Drugs Are Stealing Real Lives

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fake drugs pose a tangible threat to global peace. Fake drugs can be anything from counterfeit birth control pills, cough syrup for children made from opioids, to unethically misrepresented and non-consensual drug trials in developing countries. A report released by the WHO earlier this month explains that “1 in

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Facial Recognition, Artificial Intelligence And Racial Disparity

A recent study has illuminated an issue in the artificial intelligence community. As reported by the New York Times, facial recognition (software that identifies a person’s identity in a photograph) is 99% accurate when the person in the photo is a white male. Unfortunately, the study also shows that the

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It’s A Killer. Period.

Last week, the first death, since Nepal criminalized chauupadi last year, was reported. Chauupadi translates to “untouchable being,” and it is a Hindu practice prevalent in Nepal, where women and girls are exiled from their homes during their monthly period cycles. Al Jazeera reported that Gauri Kumari Budha, a 22-year-old

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The Rise Of The Golden Dawn

On the morning of January 5, 2018, Aljazeera reported a radical increase in the attacks on migrant populations living in Piraeus, a port town of Greece’s capital, Athens.  Some believe that the racially motivated attacks have been carried out by the Greek political party known as the Golden Dawn. Since

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Indonesia And Monoculture

Recently a mass conversion to Islam of the nomadic Orang Rimba (a tribe of the Sumatran forests) took place in Indonesia. The BBC reported this weekend that three months ago, the 58 families that make up the Celitai Tribe of Orang Rimba were loaded into buses, transported to the nearest

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26 Women And Girls Drown, 53 Still Missing Off The Coast Of Italy

Twenty-six women and girls were found dead off the coast of Italy on Sunday. It is likely they were abused and killed during their attempted journey to cross the Mediterranean sea. The bodies were found and bought to the Southern Italian town of Salerno by the Spanish ship ‘Cantabria’ which

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Worrisome Witch Hunting

A vampire scare in Malawi has led to violence, with nine people accused of being vampires murdered since September.  The attacks began in rural areas, but have since penetrated Malawi’s second largest city, Blantyre.  One person was set on fire and another stoned to death. Police have stated that they

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Education Not Mutilation In Masaai Communities

New rituals are being established in Southern Kenya’s Masaai communities to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation (FMG). Although FMG has been formally outlawed in Kenya since 2001, a majority of girls from semi-nomadic tribes like the Masaai and Samburu still undergo the traditional treatment. According to Kenya’s Demographic

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Haiti To Reinstall Military

Haiti’s government is working to reinstate its army after over two decades since it was disbanded following a military coup in 1994. Al Jazeera noted earlier this week that while the plan is controversial, it is popular among some. Others, however, claim it could see a return of human rights

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Alleged Massacre Of Brazilian Indigenous People

An investigation in Brazil has begun into a reported massacre of up to ten members of an isolated Amazonian tribe. It is believed that the indigenous people were killed by illegal gold miners who, according to Al Jazeera,  bragged about the attack afterwards. The latest report of the massacre asserts

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Brutality In Barcelona

Human Rights Groups in Spain are investigating the excessive force used against participants in Catalonia’s referendum Sunday. Al Jazeera reported yesterday that nearly 900 civilians and 431 police officers were injured. Human Rights Watch has formally stated that there are “serious allegations of excessive use of force by police against

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Diamonds Are Mugabe’s Best Friend

Linked to “a decade of disappearing wealth,” top Zimbabwean security and political leaders are covertly profiting from Zimbabwean diamond reserves, according to Global Witness. It appears the term “Blood Diamond” is not a phenomenon reserved for Hollywood blockbusters. The anti-corruption group released a controversial report last week outlining how Zimbabwe’s

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Rising From The Ashes

One hundred thousand books have been used to build a full-scale Parthenon replica on a former Nazi book burning site in Kassel, Germany. The Guardian reported that the artist, Marta Minujin, created the structure to spark debate regarding issues of censorship and the important role access to information and the

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