The prospect of fully autonomous weapons systems (AWS), or ‘killer robots’ in armed conflict has once again captured the attention of scientists, organizations, and policy-makers this month, spurring renewed international discussion. Early this month, artificial intelligence (AI) experts from 30 countries announced a boycott of the South Korean university, Korea
Last Monday, the Malaysian government proposed a controversial bill prohibiting ‘fake news.’ The bill was passed this week, and it has been heralded by rights activists and political opponents alike as a renewed attempt by the ruling party to silence dissenting views (in particular, the discussion of Prime Minister Najib
It was revealed last week that the Ugandan government is investigating an apparent mismanagement of funds intended for the 1.4 million refugees currently in the East African nation, who have fled violence and persecution from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. The commissioner for refugees for Uganda,
The Anglophone regions of the Central African nation of Cameroon are currently in their fourth month of an internet shutdown, the latest instance in a rising trend of leaderships using their citizen’s access to cyberspace as a tool of oppression and control. Last week the digital freedom NGO’s Access Now
Last week, eight volunteers of the Tuscon-based humanitarian group No More Deaths, an organisation working to protect the lives of migrants crossing the Arizona desert into the US, were charged with federal crimes. Their offences included entering the Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge without a permit, driving in the area,
Investigations published by the Guardian last Thursday have revealed a prevalence of sexual harassment and assault among United Nations (UN) staff, exposing a ‘culture of impunity’ and raising serious concerns about the UN’s current response to such incidences within the organization. 15 current and previous employees have claimed they experienced some
This week the Republic of Somaliland, a conservative Islamic autonomous region of Somalia, introduced legislation to outlaw all forms of sexual offence. The bill, which has been approved by the lower house of parliament and is hoped to be passed by the upper house by the beginning of March, covers
As traditional political and religious tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia intensify, it seems a new rivalry has emerged as both states race to ease respective government restrictions of women’s rights. Saudi Arabia has long been considered more repressive towards women than Iran; however, policy reform in recent years, including women
As the international community reflects on the legacy of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (UNSTAMIH), which ended earlier this year after 13 years of controversy, a group of impoverished Haitian women whose children were fathered by UN peacekeeping soldiers have filed a lawsuit against the UN and the
Over last weekend the United States mission to the United Nations announced that it would no longer be engaging in talks on a proposed UN agreement, the Global Compact on Migration, which aims to create international principles to manage migration in a more humane and orderly manner. The Trump administration’s
On Monday, 20 November, a “No Nazis at UNF” protest was held at the University of North Florida (UNF) in direct response to a neo-Nazi rally planned for the same day. Around 80 counterprotesters comprising of UNF students, faculty and community organization representatives gathered, sending a message to white supremacists
