Why children are prime targets of armed groups in northern Nigeria

Why children are prime targets of armed groups in northern Nigeria

Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images Hakeem Onapajo, Nile University of Nigeria Due to growing insecurity, Nigeria is gradually becoming one of the most dangerous places to live. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index identified the country as the third most affected by terrorism. There was a sharp increase in Boko Haram’s targeting of civilians by 25%, and killings by herdsmen increased by 26%, compared with the previous year. The two countries […]

April 2, 2024 12

Africa

The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights

By Satang Nabaneh, University of Dayton The Gambia’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality. The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west […]

April 2, 2024 17

World

Wikileaks founder granted right to appeal extradition ruling

A London court has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may be able to appeal his extradition to the United States. Two judges have ordered the U.S. to provide assurances that Assange has a right to freedom of expression and won't be subject to the death penalty before a final verdict is taken. Julia Chapman reports from London.

March 26, 2024 40

Namibia

Civil Society submits rights report to the United Nations

Civil society organisations have submitted a report on Namibia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to the UN Human Rights Committee. The report, compiled in collaboration with the Centre for Civil and Political Rights, was submitted after a consultative workshop in December 2023. The submission, according to Research Associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research Frederico Links, shows a concerted effort to address human rights […]

March 26, 2024 68

World

What Article 23 means for the future of Hong Kong and its once vibrant pro-democracy movement

By Michael C. Davis, O.P. Jindal Global University Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed new security legislation on March 19, 2024, handing authorities in the semi-autonomous city-state further power to clamp down on dissent. The law, under Article 23, has been decades in the making but was resisted for a long time by protesters who feared the legislation’s effect on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a special administrative […]

March 22, 2024 22

World

Palestine Never Had a Chance for Statehood, Legally Speaking, an Expert Argues

Ardi Imseis, a legal scholar and former United Nations expert, argues in a new book that the UN’s long history of managing the international legal status of Palestine has often reinforced its subjugation. Here, the territory’s flag in a battle between Palestine and Israel. WWW.STORYBOARDTHAT.COM By Darsen Hover Did Palestine ever have a chance to gain its full rights as a state? In his new book, “The United […]

March 19, 2024 11

Opinion Pieces

UN Rights Experts Make False Promises About Prostitution

The essayist, an expert in human trafficking, writes that a guidance paper produced by a UN human rights group on eliminating discrimination against “sex workers” actually “advocates for policies that will endanger women and girls.” TONY WEBSTER/CREATIVE COMMONOpinion By Taina Bien-Aimé The United Nations working group on discrimination against women and girls published a paper last year that not only fails to address the widespread human rights violations caused by prostitution […]

March 14, 2024 17

World

UN condemns death sentences in Ukraine

The UN human rights office has expressed concern at the sentencing to death of a Moroccan man and two Britons by a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine, saying such trials against prisoners of war amounted to a war crime. The UN says the three were part of Ukraine's armed forces, and therefore could not be described as mercenaries. The AFP news agency reports that Brahim Saadoun was a student […]

March 5, 2024 18

Africa

Ghana’s finance ministry asks President not to sign anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Ghana's finance ministry has advised against the President's approval of a recent anti-LGBT bill passed by parliament, cautioning potential repercussions including the loss of $3.8bn in World Bank funding over five to six years. The bill, if signed, imposes jail terms for identifying as or promoting LGBT+ activities, sparking opposition from rights activist Linda Baumann. In a highly unusual move, the warning from the finance ministry was leaked to several […]

March 5, 2024 31