Best Thinking in Human Rights Defenders

Featured Content

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  Kony 2012 Video Divides Humanitarian Community
  Topic by Erin Luhmann

  Invisible Children, a humanitarian group focused on disbanding a rebel army in Africa, launched its Kony 2012 campaign with a call-to-action video that went viral on YouTube. The 30 minute film exposed more than 91 million viewers to Joseph Kony – the war lord in command of the Lord’s...

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  Self-Immolation is Public, Drastic and Heroic
  Topic by Saideh P Jamshidi

  I can still hear the voices of women around me talking about “the heroic act” of Dr. Homa Darabi. As only a young adult at the time, I had very little understanding of Dr. Darabi’s action. She was a 54-year-old psychiatrist that set herself on fire at the Tajrish Square to protest mandatory...

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  The Cost of Human Rights Advocacy in Russia
  Topic by Nora G Hertel

  The Cold War ended two decades ago, but tensions remain between the United States and Russia. After the passage of a recent piece of Russian legislation Russian civil rights and human rights advocates are caught in the figurative cross-fire. The so-called “Foreign Agent” law, passed by...

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  Defining Hate Speech in an International Context
  Topic by Erin Luhmann

  Despite its amateur production quality, “The Innocence of Muslims,” an anti-Islamic YouTube video, recently jumped to the top of the international agenda. This crude, American-made caricature of Muhammad has attracted more than 14 millions views and stoked violent protests across the Arab...

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  Russians Line Up for Clinical Testing
  Topic by Erin Luhmann

  The world’s poorest populations have something that wealthy pharmaceutical companies want. Living with diseases and other health conditions that have not yet been treated, the neglected are prime subjects for clinical trials that involve free treatment. Poor health, however, does not give a...

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  Troy Davis and Capital Punishment
  Topic by Nidhi Singh

  Troy Davis, an African American male convicted of killing a white police officer, was executed on September 22, 2011. For 22 years, he fought for his innocence but was unable to plead as such in front of a judge. Davis was given capital punishment for his supposed actions, causing an outrage...

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  Report on the Cost of Health Care Raises Widespread Issue, New Questions
  Topic by Nora G Hertel

  When I receive medical bills, I react viscerally. Bills for uncovered visits to a specialist, for an emergency room visit I thought I’d already paid have left me angry and confused. I’m in my late twenties, and facing frustrating medical bills felt like a painful rite into adulthood. ...

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  Censorship and Banned Books Week
  Topic by Kirsten N Lemmons

  Every year at the end of September, the American Library Association (ALA) celebrates Banned Book Week -- where people are encouraged to read previously banned books in order to protest censorship. For years, literary classics and young adult novels have been attacked for containing material...

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  Same Sex Marriage is Illegal in North Carolina so Why Amendment 1?
  Topic by Erin Luhmann

  Same-sex marriage is already illegal in North Carolina, but on May 8th, voters will decide if the heterosexual definition of marriage – “between one man and one woman” – should be written into their state’s constitution. The proposed amendment may be redundant, but it's not surprising,...

• Debate on Immigration Rages Internationally, Works Through US Courts
  Topic by Nora G Hertel
• Obama Addresses a Nation Divided on Issue of Same-Sex Marriage
  Topic by Erin Luhmann
• Rise of Women Doesn't Mean They're Eclipsing Men
  Topic by Nora G Hertel
• Suu Kyi Gives All to Engage International Community
  Topic by Erin Luhmann
• Modern-Day Slavery
  Topic by Nidhi Singh