Author: Charlotte Ryan

The Overrepresentation Of Indigenous Women In Australia’s Prisons

The recent release of a report conducted by the Australian Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has uncovered the extent of the over-incarceration of Australia’s Indigenous Women. The report detailed how the past six years have seen a 50% surge in female Indigenous prisoners in some state prisons. When

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The Scandalous Silencing: Julian Assange’s Asylum Becomes Uncertain

The political asylum of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become increasingly tentative as the Ecuadorian government succumbs to pressure from the U.K., U.S., and Spanish governments. Recent tensions have risen since Assange breached an agreement not to tweet content that could put in jeopardy “at risk good relations which [Ecuador]

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Landmark Case For Iraqi Prisoners Tortured In Abu Ghraib

The Centre of Constitutional Rights (CCR) first filed a case against US Defence Contractor CACI Premier Technology on behalf of four Iraqi men in 2008 under the Alien Tort Statute.  Accusations against CACI included allegations of torture and war crimes committed whilst the men were being detained in the ‘hard

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Will Canada Continue To Fuel Duterte’s ‘War On Drugs?’

On February 6, the Canadian Commercial Corporation announced the $233 million sale of sixteen combat helicopters to the Philippine air force. In the initial announcement, the public was reassured that the Bell helicopters would be used solely for “disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport and utility transport.” However, the

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Could Proposed Legislative Reform End France’s Violent War On Drugs?

A recently commissioned parliamentary report has suggested decriminalizing all drug use to ease France’s congested criminal justice system. Comprised of two assembly members of the governing centrist and centre-right parties, the report’s authorship recommended either fining (rather than prosecuting) individuals found in possession of drugs or downgrading use and possession

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Digitizing And Disenfranchising India’s Poor

Since July 2016, the Narendra Modi government has rolled out Aadhaar – ‘the Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services Act’ – to 1.1 billion Indian residents. Using biometric information, including fingerprints, facial photographs and iris scans, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues recipients with

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Prominent Russian Environmentalist Assaulted

Andrei Rudomakha, head of Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus, was attacked and beaten by three masked men on Thursday, December 28, 2017. Rudomakha was returning to Krasnodar from Gelendzhik on the Black Sea, where he was documenting the unlicensed construction of a luxury property in a coastal forest area.

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Sri Lanka Signs Mine Ban Treaty

On December 13th, Sri Lanka became the 163rd nation to sign the International Treaty Banning Antipersonnel Landmines (APLs). APLs are a particularly insidious weapon in that they cannot discriminate between military personnel and civilians and remain a threat to communities for decades after. Since the formation of the treaty in

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Further funding given to G5 anti-Jihad force

The UN Security Council has announced increased funding and support for the G5 anti-Jihad force in the Sahel region, comprised of the five former French colonies south of the Sahara – Mali, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger. The Sahel states have pledged an additional 5000 troops to complement the

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More Indigenous Activists Killed In Colombia

On October 24th , a prominent Colombian Indigenous activist, Aulio Isamara Forastero, was assassinated near the Catru Dubaza Ancoso shelter. An official statement by the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC) describes how five men dressed in the uniform of the Colombian guerrilla group, ELN, took Forasterio from his home under

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Hungary’s Hatemongering Anti-Migrant Campaign Intensifies

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has intensified its vilification of migrants as it continues to demonize native-born humanitarian George Soros, who has advocated for the EU to commit to resettling 300,000 refugees each year. Led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Fidesz party is hoping to consolidate its authority with a

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Marginalization Of The LGBT Community In Jordan Continues

In July 2017, a member of the Jordan Parliament, Dima Tahboub, requested that the Jordanian Media Commission open an inquiry into the online magazine, My.Kali. The queer-inclusive magazine was first published in 2007 and has been an important medium for fighting systemic homophobia in the Middle East. The most recent

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Azerbaijan Forces Closure Of Last Free News Agency

On the 7th August, Azerbaijan’s last independent news agency Turan was put on notice for tax evasion and threatened with closure if it did not declare adequate financial statements by the 17th of August. However, on the 16th of August, Azerbaijani officials raided offices, took possession of journalists’ computers and arrested Turan’s

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