Open Global Rights

Freedom of the press during the civil war in Yemen

Yemen must protect journalistic rights and freedoms through greater transparency, stronger democratic practices, and a commitment to the press’s role in representing ...

By Hassan Albaiti

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The Turkish Republic at 100: Limited room for human rights through shifting paradigms

For democracy, secularism, and equality to prevail in Turkey over the next hundred years, civil society must advocate for human rights for all.

By Mine Yildirim

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Climate candor: Ridding climate cases of questionable science

Just as flawed forensic evidence strips the innocent of fundamental rights, aiming for the political—rather than scientific—target of 1.5°C will deprive billions ...

By Alexa Koenig & Baiboon Sakulkarunaarree

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Human Rights at 75: The End of Endism

With the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 75th anniversary, scholars and advocates should move past debates about the end of human rights and renew their ...

By César Rodríguez-Garavito

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Why disability inclusion matters

Human rights advocates should embed a disability perspective in all rights issues, cultivate the leadership of people with disabilities, and address ableism, including ...

By Shantha Rau Barriga

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Gender justice: A prerequisite for mitigating the impacts of climate crises in Africa

To address the unique and disproportionate impact of climate change on womn, funders must prioritize gender justice and womn-led climate change work.

By Mimi Ishan

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Should “the right to party” be a human right?

Nightlife serves a crucial social and economic function in German culture, and the government should prioritize the continued thriving of nightclubs during times ...

By Florian White

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Transforming global aid architecture to leave no one behind

To drive urgent progress on Sustainable Development Goals, states must prioritize civil society recommendations for effective development finance.

By Daniela Sepulveda

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Human rights due diligence in sovereign debt restructurings

While human rights law obligates creditors to consider human rights in debt negotiations, private lenders have failed to respect these rights in debt restructurings.

By Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky & Francisco Cantamutto & Lucas Castiglioni

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Constitution vs. criminalization: The question of reproductive justice in India

The Supreme Court of India has expanded abortion access to previously excluded classes of people, but with continued criminalization, abortion rights are not yet ...

By Sarthak Gupta

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Seeing climate justice through a multispecies lens

Real climate justice must include formalized protections for non-human animals, an extension of informal practices already undertaken by people in fire-affected ...

By Danielle Celermajer

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Climate justice, health, and sexual and reproductive rights

To ensure a social justice focus in climate mitigation efforts, policy makers must recognize how structural inequality increases women and girls’ vulnerability ...

By Adriana García Gómez

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Changes in national human rights systems: The NHRI–NMIRF dynamic

With the proliferation of national government structures that report to human rights bodies, the complementary role of independent rights monitoring institutions ...

By Sébastien Lorion & Rachel Murray

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Gender matters: A plea to National Human Rights Institutions worldwide

To address social harm across institutions, National Human Rights Institutions must attend to the gendered dynamics that shape everyday violence and structural ...

By Andrew M. Jefferson & Micah Grzywnowicz

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Shaming campaigns as a human rights tool

Shaming human rights abusers is an effective advocacy method, but it must be used preventatively.

By José Kaire

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Neurorights: Between ethics and law

As neurotechnologies rapidly develop, scholarship on the relationship between ethics and law can help advance the debate on neurorights.

By Nora Hertz

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Now is the time to challenge harmful austerity in the Euro-Mediterranean region

The upcoming annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank mark a crucial opportunity to center regional civil society voices on the human rights impact of austerity ...

By Frederik Johannisson

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The neocolonial violence of the 1.5°C threshold

Temperature targets set by Global North actors would reinforce the legacy of colonial harms and vulnerability in an era of climate emergency.

By Juan Auz & Phillip Paiement

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Replacing the 1.5°C target with what science demands: The 350 ppm limit

To protect human rights, global leaders must heed the scientific community’s call to return atmospheric CO2 to below 350 ppm as soon as possible.

By Steven Running

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Anti-green authoritarianism: Democratic backsliding on a heating planet

To develop strategies to protect human rights, advocates must understand and target the relationship between authoritarianism and anti-environmental policies.

By César Rodríguez-Garavito & Arpitha Kodiveri

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“Catalyzing rights”: Identifying progress in moments of crisis

Tracking human rights advancements during crises can provide a starting point for transformative rights–based change.

By Aya Fujimura-Fanselow

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The Maastricht Principles: Safeguarding the human rights of future generations

The Maastricht Principles represent a crucial step in defending the environment and securing the human rights of future generations.

By Sandra Liebenberg

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Digital agriculture: A new frontier for data rights

Human rights–based governance frameworks are urgently needed to prevent data-driven exploitation, which will worsen inequalities in food and agriculture.

By Philip Seufert

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Overturning 1.5°C: Give science a chance

With the success of efforts to secure climate-based rights internationally, now is the time to push for the most up-to-date scientific evidence to inform climate ...

By Kelly Matheson

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Justice for animals and expanding our communities

An animal justice approach that respects all life while recognizing significant differences could transform humans’ relationship with nature.

By Ezio Costa Cordella

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The radical implications of justice for animals

A consensus on animal justice may already be achievable, but it should aim to include not only some but all animals.

By Jeff Sebo

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Compliance with UN treaty body decisions: A glass one-third full or two-thirds empty?

Despite accounts of backlash against the international human rights system, research on state compliance shows cause for optimism.

By Andreas Johannes Ullmann

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Addressing climate change through the right to an adequate standard of living

Social inequalities will intensify in a climate-affected world. The right to an adequate standard of living can protect those most vulnerable to the impacts of ...

By Anika Baset

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How to grapple with undue funder influence: Recommendations from a workshop (Part II)

At Rightscon 2023, practitioners provided recommendations for mitigating the negative influence of funders on nonprofits.

By Juan Ortiz Freuler & Ana Brandusescu & Will Orr

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Unpacking funder influence over digital rights nonprofits: Reflections from a workshop (Part I)

At Rightscon 2023, practitioners discussed the complex role of autonomy, dependence, and accountability in funder–grantee relationships. In this first part, we ...

By Juan Ortiz Freuler & Ana Brandusescu & Will Orr

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Moving forward with pragmatism, raising an ideal

Legislative and judicial developments in favor of animals in Latin America have been fragmented, but there have been notable and pragmatic advances.

By Andrea Padilla Villarraga

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Indonesia’s reparations program: Hope for justice or hollow promise?

To redress its history of human rights violations, the Indonesian government needs to hold responsible actors to account, including those still in power.

By Rafsi Albar

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Funding truth and transparency: Ukraine's postwar media landscape

A transparent, democratic recovery effort in Ukraine will require adequate and coordinated funding for the independent media sector.

By Emma Lygnerud Boberg

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Democratizing justice in an era of populist ascent

When autocrats undermine justice systems, democratizing the courts can help build back trust.

By Meg Satterthwaite & Katarina Sydow

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The right to strive in a changing world

A philosopher prioritizes agency and Anthropocene concerns in a theory of animal justice.

By Dale Jamieson

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Decolonizing aid: Centering Haitian leadership in human rights solutions

Leadership by Haitian civil society would create a more effective and liberatory approach to international aid.

By Mara Tissera Luna

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Russia’s appropriation of human rights

Drawing on transnational far-right strategies, Russia is using the language of rights to pursue a nationalist, anti-democratic agenda.

By Kristina Stoeckl

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Weaponizing internet shutdowns to evade accountability for rights violations

Internet shutdowns are used to quash dissent and conceal abuses. The rights community should combat this authoritarian tactic.

By Jacqueline Rowe & Saba Mah'derom

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Human rights gateway or gatekeeper: Digital IDs on trial in Uganda

A legal challenge to Uganda’s national digital ID system may set an important precedent for human rights enforcement in the era of digital government.

By Katelyn Cioffi

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Justice for Animals: A theory in search of moral principles

To respect all animals’ diverse ways of flourishing, we need a consistent set of moral principles that hold up across practical scenarios.

By David Bilchitz

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Rethinking campaigns on human rights defenders

Focusing only on defenders’ physical integrity risks undermining the very idea of supporting agents of human rights change.

By Janika Spannagel

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Human rights are still in demand

After collecting and analyzing recent search data from 109 countries in five different language groups, we found little to no evidence that people are becoming ...

By Geoff Dancy & Christopher J. Fariss

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Hereditary monarchies are the antithesis of a human rights culture

Monarchs hold sway over 43 states worldwide; the UK should take the lead in dismantling this archaic system of unaccountable power.

By Kate Bermingham

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When human rights turned into an AI-driven game of lottery

The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence is fueling a probabilistic turn that shifts the focus from past to future, from individual to group behavior, ...

By Juan Ortiz Freuler

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