The risk of food insecurity and hunger is set to increase in 2021, according to a recent UN report. Largely a product of ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters and climate change, it is predicted that 10.4 million children across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, northeast Nigeria,
Across the world, the state of civil liberties has declined throughout COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study. In their annual review, Civicus Monitor, a global alliance of civil society groups, found that 87% of the world’s population is now living in countries deemed to be ‘closed’, ‘repressed’ or ‘obstructed’
Earlier this month, the Bangladesh government began the process of relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to the remote Bhasan Char island, a move that has prompted significant concern from human rights groups. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, amongst others, have criticised Bangladesh authorities for their lack of transparency around
Many Afghan women and girls continue to undergo forced “virginity exams,” despite the introduction of laws over two years ago requiring consent or a court order for such practices. These highly painful, traumatic, and demeaning tests are routinely carried out on those suspected of so-called “moral crimes,” which include sexual
Amidst the global COVID-19 crisis, Bangladesh is also facing an alarming ‘shadow pandemic’: the rise of violence against women. Since the onset of a nation-wide lockdown in March, women throughout Bangladesh have reported increased levels of emotional, physical and sexual violence, most commonly at the hands of their husbands. BRAC,
A recent report by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic has revealed the horrific human costs associated with the use of incendiary weapons on civilian populations. Designed to produce fire and heat via chemical reactions with flammable substances, incendiary weapons are widely used across major
On October 2nd, 18 women were removed from a Sydney-bound flight in Doha and forced to undergo invasive gynecological exams after a premature baby was found abandoned in the airport bathroom. Airport officials claim such actions were taken in the interest of tracking down and preventing the escape of this
The appointment of China and Russia to the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month has sparked mass outrage amongst international human rights groups. UN member states, particularly those in the West, have been criticized for giving two nations with well-documented histories of authoritarianism and appalling human rights abuses a
Pro-democracy protests led by Thai students have escalated significantly in recent months. Since July, near-daily protests have been staged across the country, as tens of thousands of demonstrators call for major constitutional changes, new elections, reforms of the monarchy and an end to the harassment of opposition voices. Whilst initially
