Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc October 24, 2025 HRRC joins global and Turkish press freedom organizations’ calls for an officia l investigation into possible political motivations behind the murder of journalist Hakan Tosun. We express extreme concern for the safety of independent journalists working in Turkey amid increasing physical, digital and legal threats.   Hakan Tosun. [Source: Bianet.org ] The murder of an environmental journalist and activist in Istanbul, Turkey ha

Author: Ronald Nsubuga, MS October 23, 2025 Somali women and children stand outside temporary tents in the Dagahaley refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border. [Image credit: UNICEF/Kate Holt] Introduction The East and Horn of Africa region has for decades hosted millions of refugees. As of December 2024, the region was sheltering over 5 million people fleeing all sorts of instabilities, such as conflicts, catastrophic climate emergencies, and political chaos from countries

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA October 23, 2025 HRRC condemns the Australian government’s decision not to guarantee weekly hours for more than 10,000 Pacific workers. Short-term workers would benefit greatly from guaranteed hours under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, and the risks of not proceeding with this plan could be detrimental to both their safety and security. We urge the Australian government to reconsider this decision. [Image source: Bloomberg/Getty

Author: Olivia Weninger October 22, 2025 Interstate highways in Oakland, California. [Image source: Jason Doiy] ‘The interstate highway system stands as a material manifestation, a physical realization of our racialized norms and values.’ – Deborah Archer Even in the age of “race-blindness”—the tendency to ignore race in social or legal assessments—environmental racism persists. Its roots trace back to the very creation of our cities and highways, where neighborhoods were oft

Author: Vera Rousseff October 21, 2025 HRRC commends the jury’s decision to hold BNP Paribas accountable for financially enabling human rights violations in Sudan. We believe that financial institutions have a moral responsibility to ensure that their business operations do not perpetuate international crimes. A branch of BNP Paribas in Paris, France. [Image source: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg ] On Friday, a New York jury found that BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank , helped the

Author: Irem Cakmak, LLM October 21, 2025 [Image source: Markus Spiske ] Introduction Small Island Developing States ( SIDS ) are a group of low-lying island nations with distinct vulnerabilities that make them particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, despite their minimal contribution  to global emissions. These countries include Pacific islands such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives, as well as many island nations in the Caribbean. The effects of climate

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan October 20, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns the excessive use of force, mass detentions and communication blackouts during the Muridke operation, terming them grave violations of citizens’ constitutional rights. HRRC urges the government to ensure accountability, uphold due process and protect the fundamental right to peaceful protest. Police officers and supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) run amid tear gas fired by police during a solidarit

October 20, 2025 Explore Our Latest Publications Counting the Cost: The Environmental Toll on Ukraine from the Russian Invasion  by Anonymous HRRC Contributor Shorelines of Exclusion: Islands’ Role in the Politics of Migration  by Abigail Stofer Illicit Affairs: How Smuggling Networks Shape Migrant Experience on the Balkan Route  by Madi Carpenter HRRC News Briefs EU Bans Pesticides at Home, Exports Them to the Global South  by Vera Rousseff Microsoft urged to end business ti

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan October 17, 2025 HRRC commends Chief Justice B. R. Gavai’s strong stance against female genital mutilation and his call for stronger protection of girls’ rights. His remarks reaffirm India’s commitment to upholding dignity, equality and justice for every girl child. Protesters carrying posters on International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, February 2019 . [Image credit: Outlook India] Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Gavai h

Author: Madi Carpenter October 17, 2025 Asylum seekers board a train en route to Serbia from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. (Photo: Mirjana Nedeva/UN Women Europe and Central Asia. [Image Source: Article: Outsourcing Migration Management: The Rol.. | migrationpolicy.org ] The journeys of forced migrants are plagued by various challenges. The routes are often perilous, unpredictable, and underdeveloped. Many turn instead to informal routes for seeking refuge becaus

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc October 16, 2025 HRRC echoes calls for foreign reporters to be allowed into the Gaza Strip following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, and emphasizes the need for journalists to be permitted to independently report within Gaza without fear of intimidation or censorship. Displaced Palestinians walking to northern Gaza on October 10, 2025 [Image credit: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana] Following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire  between Hamas and Israel that has b

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA October 16, 2025 HRRC condemns Microsoft’s ongoing business dealings with Israel. Human rights groups have accused the company of allowing the Israeli military to use its technology in human rights abuses. While some progress has been made, we urge Microsoft to take further action and to halt the use of their products by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza. A signal intelligence–gathering installation of Unit 8200, an Israeli intelligence corps unit res

Author: Abigail Stofer October 15, 2025 Ellis Island [Image credit: National Park Service] We are living in a time of unprecedented mobility and global connectivity. Despite this, governments are investing more and more resources into limiting this mobility through border enforcement. A popular strategy is the use of island territories, either through diplomatic agreements or territorial possession, to deny or delay granting asylum — the protection granted by a nation to a re

Author: Anonymous October 14, 2025 From 2022 to 2024, Russia occupied over 20% of Ukraine's territory and caused almost 400,000 Ukrainian casualties (Center for Preventive Action, 2025). Included in this casualty toll are nearly 13,883 civilians, of whom 726 are children. This war has caused over 60,000–100,000 military deaths (Guardian, 2025). The Russian offensives have devastated key metropolitan districts, destroying much of the civilian infrastructure and more than 236,0

Author: Vera Rousseff October 14, 2025 HRRC strongly condemns the European Union’s hypocritical practice of exporting pesticides that are banned domestically. The European Commission must stick to its promises to end the export of banned pesticides, particularly to the Global South, where the substances pose especially serious health risks. A plane spraying pesticide in Costa Rica, where the Guardian has previously reported on the dangerous effects of chemicals imported from