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.

Author: Michael Masrie, MA November 5, 2025 Paul Biya [Image credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images] Introduction When Paul Biya ruled Cameroon as Prime Minister in 1975 and ascended to the presidency in 1982, the world was entrenched in Cold War tensions, the Berlin Wall divided East from West, and microcomputers were nascent. Today—50 years later—Biya leads among Africa’s longest-serving heads of state, followed by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (45 years), Ir

Author: Mathilde Guenin, MA November 4, 2025 View the interactive visual report here  on Tableau. Each year, Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries and assigns them a score based on the level of freedom available to journalists and media to report. The index, which uses a scale from 0 to 100 to analyze countries’ relative press freedom, categorizes countries that rank between 0–40 indicates as in a very serious situation; 40–55 as difficult;

Author: Vera Rousseff November 4, 2025 HRRC condemns the attacks carried out by Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and urges the group to end the fuel blockade. We further call on the West African regional community to support Mali in its efforts to suppress JNIM and reestablish good governance in the country. People gather at a gas station due to fuel shortages in Bamako, Mali, on October 7, 2025 [ Source: Idriss Sangare/Reuters ] On Tuesday, October 28, the U.S.

November 3, 2025 Explore Our Latest Publications Internet Shutdown: How Governments Weaponize Connectivity by Ivan Francis, MS Custom, Courts, and Colonialism: The Installation of Chief Mvuthu and Gender Equality in Zimbabwe’s Traditional Leadership by Bellinda Chinowawa, LLM Digital Bans, Surveillance and Human Rights in African Democracies by Damilola Bello HRRC News Briefs Myanmar Military Continues Atrocities Against Civilians and Religious Communities by Sibusiso Gug

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan November 3, 2025 HRRC commends the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s landmark decision for recognising psychological abuse as cruelty, marking a vital stride toward gender-sensitive justice. This ruling further reinforces women’s constitutional right to dignity, equality and autonomy within marriage. Justice Ayesha A. Malik [Image source: DuckDuckGo image search] In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled  that cruelty within marriage

Author: Erina Bazán López October 31, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns the atrocities committed against civilians by the RSF in el-Fasher, Sudan. The mass killings of civilians and aid providers and attacks on civilian infrastructure constitute a breach of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Principles.  HRRC joins humanitarian organisations in calling for international intervention to end the ongoing atrocities in Sudan and deploy crucial humanitarian as

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA October 31, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns France’s treatment of migrant children within its borders. These children are often left without food or drink and are left to live on the streets or in inadequate camps. France’s inability to assess an individual’s age is exacerbating the situation for many, and we urge France to more rigorously enforce the “presumption of minority” directive in a way that would help to protect many children. Children in migra

Author: Damilola Bello October 30, 2025 [Image credit: Photo-Love / ECFR] Introduction The purpose of this paper is to examine how digital repression by selected African democracies across East, West, North, and South Africa violates the human rights of the African populace. The study uses ideology and ideological state apparatuses as its framework. The scope has been narrowed down to how digital repression in Africa is often weaponized for unlawful control. In Africa, digita