Europe

 

Rejecting the colonial legacy of discriminatory laws

By: Marco Perolini
Español

States around the world should repeal discriminatory and archaic laws that reproduce historical inequalities and patterns of oppression.

Solidarity, not charity

By: Isabell Sluka
Español

How #LeaveNoOneBehind advocated a reconfiguration of pro-migrant solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic and what we can all learn from it as we face current and ...

Promoting women’s rights: Introducing the Women’s Rights Recommendation Compliance Explorer

By: Jillienne Haglund & Courtney Hillebrecht
Español

A new tool helps people track recommendations and compliance about women’s rights in Europe.

Hollow rights victories? Dutch struggles against digital injustice

By: Victoria Adelmant & Christiaan van Veen
Español

Algorithms calculating the probability of fraud were overwhelmingly and wrongly targeting immigrant groups.

Egalité? Not in France’s refugee policy

By: Jacqueline Parisi
Español

For a country whose founding universalist principles are imbued with humanitarian rhetoric, it’s astounding how egregiously égalité has been violated.

Rights at risk: Russia’s withdrawal from the ECtHR

By: Courtney Hillebrecht
Español | Русский | Українська

The stakes of Russia’s withdrawal are exceedingly high—for past and present victims and for the Court itself.

Why business might thwart the UK government’s Rwanda asylum export plan

By: John Morrison
Español

Although the plan was initiated by the government, it seems likely that private enterprises will be asked to play a significant role at all stages of the process.

Private equity and children’s care homes: a socially responsible investment?

By: Claire Methven O’Brien & Rebekah Wilson
Español

The operation of care facilities for vulnerable children by private-equity backed companies poses threats to human rights.

Child migrants are children first

By: Sarah Damoff
Español

As a matter of human rights, our policies must consider child migrants by their status of child before their status of migrant or litigant.

Moving towards a new history of social rights

By: Steven L. B. Jensen & Charles Walton
Español | Français

A deeper history of social rights can help us identify the factors that have impeded the human rights project.

Why current events in Ukraine (should) raise questions about refugees in Greece

By: Mimi Hapig
Español

The current expressions of solidarity by various European countries towards refugees from Ukraine should reignite the discourse about Europe’s response to refugees ...

Privacy and digital identity: The case of Pakistan’s NADRA

By: Hamza Waqas & Amna Khan
Español

Pakistan’s national ID system is failing to cater to the needs of various marginalized communities, and is a potential threat to citizens’ right to privacy.

A cautionary lesson from Italy: commercializing healthcare can kill

By: Rosa Pavanelli & Rossella De Falco
Español | Italiano

At the latest G20 Global Health Summit, global health leaders seemed to have forgotten one of the most costly lessons of the pandemic.

Why the world should follow Scotland’s embrace of a human-rights based approach

By: Slava Balan & John Packer
Español | Français | Русский | العربية

The Scottish report stands out for being forward-looking, distinguishing it from piecemeal and reactive approaches found amongst “advanced” democracies and countries ...

Social rights constitutionalism in interwar Ireland: for a people’s history

By: Thomas Murray
Español | Français | العربية

Interwar Ireland offers a rich case-study of popular movements contesting economic and social rights ‘from below.’

What the French Revolution can tell us about the history of social rights

By: Charles Walton
Español | العربية | Français

Achieving a consensus on the terms of social obligation in a society based on equality is both complex and extremely important.

Litigating the future: climate rights before the German Constitutional Court

By: César Rodríguez-Garavito
Español

Human rights analysts and practitioners will recognize in the decision of the German Court an important turn in the evolution of rights.

British U-turn on torture shows how human rights advocacy can work

By: Frank Foley
Español

The UK looked set to undermine the international prohibition against torture, but relentless campaigning and shaming forced a change.

European plans to regulate internet will have major impacts on civic space at home and abroad

By: Iverna McGowan
Español | Français | Deutsch

Without inbuilt protections, the European Union's new law billed as a new constitution for the internet could inadvertently empower governments set on shrinking ...

Human rights principles, treaties and mental health: a case study of Greece

By: Jonas Bull & Sacha Feierabend
العربية | Español | Deutsch | Français

How can human rights inform our understanding of mental health support services?

Welfare caps: how the UK and Serbia became outliers in restricting child support

By: Imogen Richmond-Bishop & Danilo Curcic
Español

The limits placed on child benefits in Serbia and the UK have a similarly destructive impact on household incomes and children’s well-being.

Stopping the abuse in your produce basket

By: Amanda Borquaye
Español

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and consumers have the opportunity to rethink how we look at the human costs that sustain our grocery shopping.

Closing the supply-side accountability gap through climate litigation

By: Michelle Jonker-Argueta
Español

Closing the impunity gap on climate change includes making fossil fuel suppliers accountable for their emissions.

Protecting migrant women workers in food supply chains during COVID-19

By: Aintzane Márquez Tejón & Hannah Wilson
Español

Spain is paying little heed to the rights of seasonal workers during the pandemic as long as labour needs are met, and the food supply is maintained—what will spur ...

Litigation in Ireland’s Supreme Court may condemn inaction on climate change

By: Victoria Adelmant & Philip Alston & Matthew Blainey
Español

Public support in Ireland for taking action against climate change is high, but the government has not adequately mitigated its impact—a recent Supreme Court case ...

Early parole reforms in Turkey put political prisoners at increased risk

By: Ali Yildiz
Español | Türkçe

A new early parole bill in Turkey had the potential to improve the country’s human rights track record—but instead, it leaves political prisoners even worse off.

Judges within their powers: determining the lower limit for countries’ climate action

By: Dennis van Berkel
Español

Are courts able to determine that a government’s climate change policy is insufficient and order governments to do more?

London refugee groups offer online services but face disparities in connectivity

By: Christa Blackmon
Français | العربية

With millions of the world’s students now facing extended learning at home, the required access to the internet—and to the right devices—is exposing drastic inequalities.

Coronavirus in austerity Britain: poverty and discrimination compounded

By: Imogen Richmond-Bishop & Sara Bailey

The global pandemic—following ten years of draconian austerity measures in the UK—has created a perfect storm of human rights violations against already marginalized ...

Covid-19 and the duty to provide health information to diverse populations

By: Anne Hellum & Kristin Bergtora Sandvik & Tatanya Valland & Marta BIvand Erdal
Español | Français

As European nations struggle to provide COVID-19 information to immigrant and minority populations, Norway illustrates a grounded and inclusive approach.

Being BOLD in difficult times: Bulgarians organizing for liberal democracy

By: Dimitrina Petrova
Español | Русский

A new initiative in Bulgaria aims to reinvigorate support for democratic values and human rights by directly engaging citizens in a bottom-up process of deliberative ...

When law meets tech: moving toward rights-based AI

By: Vanja Skoric
Español

To address the rights implications of AI, legal and human rights professionals must develop broader knowledge-building networks and increase collaboration across ...

Landmark judgment from the Netherlands on digital welfare states and human rights

By: Christiaan van Veen
Español | Français

A landmark judgement in the Netherlands shows how technology used by governments to stop welfare fraud and improve “efficiency” may be leading to unjustified exclusion, ...

How to identify a contemporary authoritarian regime

By: Daniela Ikawa
Español | Português

To identify a contemporary authoritarian regime, we can start by asking what Hungary and Brazil have in common.

What does that mean here? Localizing human rights in the UK

By: Koldo Casla & Kath Dalmeny
Español

Some people believe that there is a lot of skepticism towards international human rights in England, but experiences of localization of rights are making a difference ...

Polish activists fight for rights already guaranteed in their constitution

By: Małgorzata Szuleka
Español

The democratic community in Poland is under threat, but activists and judges who use the constitution to push back against the government and fight for human rights ...

Technology and gaming innovations bring new life to Russian NGOs

By: Tatiana Tolsteneva
Español | Русский

Russia’s non-profit sector has been playing a constant game of catch-up—can new media technologies break this pattern and appeal to younger audiences?

Bringing human rights home: new strategies for local organizing

By: Jackie Smith & Joshua Cooper
Español

Declining economic conditions in cities and communities around the world have inspired more people to organize locally to defend and promote our “right to the city.”

Ukraine may need to look beyond the ICC for justice

By: Quincy Cloet
Español

While many Ukranians place their hopes in the ICC to end impunity, improving the local judiciary could be a more effective development.

What Putin’s supposed “death” of liberalism means for human rights

By: Koldo Casla
Español

If Putin was right, and liberalism is dead, what would be the future of human rights in global politics?

Why do emerging AI guidelines emphasize “ethics” over human rights?

By: Alison Berthet
Français

It’s clear that regulation of AI must start now, but why do emerging frameworks primarily talk about ethics rather than law and human rights?

Giving with trust: how philanthropy can transform power relations

By: Ise Bosch & Claudia Bollwinkel
Español | Deutsch

Philanthropy can repeat oppressive patterns, or it can transform donor-recipient relations by giving decision-making power and trust along with money.

NGOs start thinking like businesses in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

By: Rostislav Valvoda

NGOs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have shown resilience under pressure by inventing new ways to generate funds, including hybrid for-profit and non-profit ...

Landmark case from Romania expands possibilities for LGBT rights

By: Adrian Coman
Español

A landmark case on same-sex marriage in Romania could expand the possibilities for LGBT rights in the region.

Funding changes in the Caucasus—will NGOs adapt?

By: Almut Rochowanski
Русский

Many NGOs in the North Caucasus have survived the panic of Russia’s “foreign agent” law, but not all activists raised in the comfort zone of grant-funded NGOs can ...

Irish Traveller communities in Cork monitor and campaign for social rights

By: Koldo Casla

Traveller communities in Ireland are using international human rights law to monitor their housing conditions and to demand action from the local council. And they ...

The privilege of remedy: how accessible is the ECtHR?

By: Leyla-Denisa Obreja

The European Court of Human Rights is supposed to help victims of rights violations seek justice, but procedural hurdles are preventing access for those that need ...

Despite closing space, innovative branches of Russian civil society thrive

By: Almut Rochowanski
Русский

After years of coverage about how the “foreign agent law” would spell the end of freedom of association in Russia, parallel universes of Russian civil society are ...

Dropping the defense: hopeful stories fight stigma in Hungary

By: Stefania Kapronczay & Anna Kertész
Español

Dropping defensive tactics and reframing human rights in a relatable way are both key to responding to stigmatizing backlash in Hungary and connecting to new audiences.

Human rights NGOs should learn funding lessons from service providers

By: Dimitrina Petrova
Русский

Human rights NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe are facing increased hostility from governments and declining legitimacy in public opinion, while social service ...

Assessment tools can strengthen social movements by bringing activists together

By: PeiYao Chen & Natalia Karbowska
Español | Français | العربية | Русский | Українська

A new measurement tool helps social movement actors identify where they are progressing and where they can improve—but what comes after the assessment is the most ...

Fighting the backlash against feminism in Bulgaria

By: Nadejda Dermendjieva & Gergana Kutseva
Español

In Bulgaria, women’s rights, feminism, and LGBTQ rights are inflammatory topics, and one women’s fund is fighting back with controversial campaigns.

As NGOs speak out, expect clampdowns to grow

By: David Kode
Español

Governments from Uganda to Poland are silencing activists and organizations that criticize them—what can these NGOs do to fight back?

Protecting environmental defenders should be a central issue at climate talks

By: Katharina Rall
Español | Français | العربية

As attacks on environmental rights defenders escalate, the stakes are high for the upcoming climate change talks in Germany.

The Achilles’ heel of the European Court of Human Rights

By: Sergei Golubok
Français

The whole European system of human rights protection is powerless when confronted with bad faith, and this represents its existential threat.

Indigenous rights in the Russian Arctic: self-determining communities or stakeholders?

By: Laura A. Henry
Русский

When indigenous rights are not observed, communities that shift their demands from the state to the corporation may trade in one form of power imbalance for another.

Evicted rights in Spain: no room of one’s own

By: Koldo Casla
Español

Thousands of people are being evicted in Spain due to austerity measures, and women are disproportionately affected by structural inequality.

When advocacy work builds resilience, everyone benefits

By: Kristi Pinderi
Español | shqiptar

For many, activism can be healthy and healing.

Discrimination in action: the value of experiments in human rights

By: Ana Bracic

A video game experiment in Slovenia reveals discriminatory practices against the Roma—what else might experiments teach us about human rights?

Crowdfunding to bypass Russia’s civil society crackdown

By: Grigory Okhotin
Русский

With heightened restrictions on foreign funding, reporting on the Russian government’s repression requires creative social media projects.

An elusive justice—holding parent companies accountable for human rights abuse

By: Joe Westby
Español

A UK judgement on Shell’s operations in Nigeria yet again shows the need to prevent powerful multinationals hiding behind their subsidiaries to dodge accountability ...

Fast and flexible support: ingredients to enrich LGBTI campaigning

By: Laura Piazza

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to campaigning for today’s LGBTI activists, but providing support on short notice allows organisations to be reactive and ...

Closing space in Hungary with a Russian cookbook

By: Péter Krekó

Hungary is using Russia’s playbook to close down civil society space, and many Western allies are hardly even noticing.

Tackling economic inequality with the right to non-discrimination

By: David Barrett

Inequality may be compatible with human rights, but not if it violates the right to non-discrimination.

What can Brexit teach us about business and human rights?

By: Phil Bloomer

The economy we have built isn’t the economy that delivers shared prosperity and shared security for the majority. The business and human rights movement has a fundamental ...

The UK government cannot reconcile austerity measures with human rights

By: Jamie Burton & Alice Donald & Koldo Casla

UK governments have claimed austerity measures are necessary while ignoring the disproportionate adverse effects on marginalized groups.

In southeastern Europe, data helps bolster LGBTI rights

By: Marko Ivkovic 
Español | Српски

Using polling data, the National Democratic Institute is helping LGBTI groups in southeastern Europe build their activist base.

Brexit and human rights: winter is coming

By: Stephen Hopgood

Given the toxic politics of Farage, Johnson, Le Pen and Trump, will human rights be enough to resist right-wing nationalism in the wake of Brexit?

Now more than ever the UK needs the compass of human rights

By: Benjamin Ward

It is in uncertain times—like the aftermath of the Brexit vote—that we need human rights the most.

Migrants are driving innovative campaigns for female refugees in Germany

By: Claudia Bollwinkel
Deutsch

Activists are using a multi-van in Germany to help female refugees cope with violence and harassment.

Crisis in Europe exposes failing refugee protection regime

By: John Torpey

The refugee protection regime works if it remains limited to those genuinely fleeing persecution — though the Syrian crisis proves again that ways must also be ...

Local funding is not just an option anymore—it’s an imperative

By: Jenny Hodgson

As local rights groups seek alternative funding sources, the closing space for civil society makes this even more imperative.

Civil society in the post-Soviet space: fighting for the “End of History”

By: Orysia Lutsevych 
Русский

“Partly free” countries in the post-Soviet space must fight even harder now to protect growing civil societies.

The struggle for sans-papiers human rights

By: Upendra Baxi

Protecting the rights of refugees and migrants requires a response based in hospitality not hostility.

Building community around women’s rights: feminist philanthropy in Serbia

By: Zoe Gudovic
Español

Becoming agents of change for women’s rights in Serbian society requires creativity in building connections and solidarity.

Grounds for (a little) optimism? Russian public opinion on human rights

By: Theodore P. Gerber 
Español | Русский

Despite Putin’s clampdown on Russian civil society, public opinion trends point to growing support for civil liberties.

“Small places, close to home”: successful communication on human rights

By: Neil Crowther
Español | Français

Effective counter-framing is crucial to improve public opinion on human rights.

Research-based messaging changes public support for human rights

By: Rachel Krys
Español | Français

Amidst widespread negative views on human rights in the UK, public opinion research can help improve outreach strategies.

Does it matter when polls go wrong?

By: Kathy Frankovic 

When political polls go wrong, many people start to doubt polling entirely. But that’s a costly mistake.

Long before “internationalization”: Human Rights Watch and local collaborations in Russia

By: Tanya Lokshina
Русский

Despite a hostile climate and many different challenges, the collaborations of Human Rights Watch with local Russian organizations continue to be the key for making ...

 
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