Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan November 18, 2025 HRRC condemns this act as a grave violation of fundamental freedoms, including the right to dissent, fair legal process and protection from arbitrary punishment. We urge the authorities to immediately stop all rights-abusing measures, uphold international human rights obligations, and ensure that no individual is persecuted for practising basic civil liberties. Members of the media and security personnel at the main entrance of the

Author: Sasha Leonard November 18, 2025 Introduction In sociology, the concept of deservingness refers to people’s rationales when judging who warrants resources or support. The CARIN framework, which was first developed by sociologist Wim van Oorschot (2000), expands on this concept by offering five principles with which to analyze how people separate the deserving from the undeserving. The five principles include control , attitude , reciprocity , identity , and need , and

Author: Erina Bazán López November 18, 2025 HRRC appeals to the international community to give urgent and appropriate weight to worsening climate-induced weather events and their severe humanitarian consequences. Priority should be given to preparedness, prevention, and targeted aid for the most affected and vulnerable countries including the Philippines. Residents on a wooden boat evacuate from their flooded home at a village in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan province, north of M

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan November 14, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns Bulgaria’s unlawful detention and planned deportation of Saudi activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi, which blatantly violates international human rights and non-refoulement obligations. HRRC urges Bulgarian authorities to ensure his immediate release and protection from persecution. Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi. [Image credit: Migrant Solidarity.] Over twenty international and European human rights organisations have jo

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc November 14, 2025 HRRC applauds the passage of Albania’s gender equality law as an important step on the path to equal rights for women in the country. We encourage Albanian lawmakers, with the support of European Union (EU) officials, to continue to work to address ongoing challenges of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and violence against women as part of Albania’s path to EU integration.  [Image credit: Malton Dibra/LSA] The Parliament o

Author: Kate Minichiello November 12, 2025 [Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images] Introduction Recent actions by Trump and his Executive Cabinet suggest that they are not upholding the First Amendment as they promised. Focusing on the second administration, actions have threatened the free speech of news media, universities, law firms, libraries, and data-collecting bureaucracies. Most of the cases are acts of jawboning–“the attempt to persuade or pressure by the force

Author: Vera Rousseff November 12, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns the human rights abuses perpetrated by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. As demonstrated by the violent protests surrounding last month’s disputed elections, the government has an obligation to meet Tanzanian citizens’ demands for democratic processes in their country. People protest in the streets of Arusha, Tanzania, during the elections on October 29, 2025.

Author: Zeinab Abulhul, PhD November 11, 2025 [Image Credit: International Commission of Jurists] Introduction  There has been a rise in Libyan women marrying foreign men, especially from other Arab and Muslim-majority countries. This trend has increased as more migrant workers from neighboring Arab nations have settled in Libya because of ongoing conflicts in their home countries. Meanwhile, many Libyan families have been displaced and resettled in neighboring Arab countries

Author: Sibusiso Gugushe November 10, 2025 HRRC calls on foreign governments and international partners to take urgent and coordinated action to support the people of Haiti during the ongoing Cholera outbreak, and especially work to restore access to essential services to health and sanitation. Cholera patients receive treatment at a medical center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 16, 2025. [Image credit: Mentor David Lorens/EPA/Shutterstock] The ongoing political crisis  in

November 10, 2025 Explore Our Latest Publications The Decline of Press Freedom Globally by Mathilde Guenin, MA Authoritarian Longevity in Africa: Implications for Democracy, Human Rights, and Stability by Michael Masrie Aestheticized Tolerance: Boys Love Dramas and the Limits of LGBTQ+ Representation in Mainland China by Vivian Sun HRRC News Briefs As Mali Struggles with Fuel Shortages, International Governments Urge Their Citizens to Evacuate by Vera Rousseff Return of t

Author: Erina Bazán López November 7, 2025 HRRC urges the United Nations Security Council and its member states to recognize  the voices of Palestinians in determining their futures and to prioritize the urgent need for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip as winter approaches. Addressing this issue must remain central to any negotiation aimed at alleviating the crisis. [Image credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters] A leaked  US draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (U

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc November 7, 2025 HRRC expresses grave concern on the suspension of Radio Free Asia (RFA)’s operations. It calls on the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to restore government contracts previously approved by congress that fund Radio Free Asia and other USAGM-funded media outlets. Radio Free Asia (RFA) headquarters in Washington, March 18, 2025. [Image credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe/RFA] Radio Free Asia (RFA) has suspended its operations for the

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA November 6, 2025 HRRC commends FIFA’s acknowledgment of the Afghan women’s refugee team, an important milestone on the path toward the formal recognition of the Afghanistan Women’s Football Team. FIFA is now urged to take the next step by showing greater flexibility in its own regulations to ensure that formal recognition can be achieved. Members of Afghan Women United football team celebrate after scoring a goal against Chad, in their first internat

Author: Vivian Sun November 6, 2025 Background Boys Love (BL) originated from Japanese girls’ manga in the 1970s. It emphasizes the romance and sex between males. In contrast to “homosexual literature,” BL is not made for gay men, but rather as a form of media destined for women who use male characters to project their feelings and desires. It expands the romantic discourse pattern of traditional female manga, but transforms the female-male relationship into a male-male one.