Universal Periodic Review

• June 26, 2018

There is a crisis in the United Nations human-rights system. Secretary-General António Guterres can lead the way out of it. Indeed, the world continues to look to the UN secretary-general to stand up for the principles of the organization. One of the highest responsibilities of the incumbent is to help steer a course toward …

General Assembly, Human Rights, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Dead?

Bertrand Ramcharan

• April 3, 2018

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted 70 years ago, the hopes of its drafters and of people across the globe was that it would help transform the world into a place of freedom and justice. Sadly, the declaration is now being challenged as it has never been before. This leads to pondering …

WORLDVIEWS

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In East Africa, Threats to LGBTQ Rights Intensify

Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein

• December 12, 2017

STONE TOWN, Tanzania — When a story circulated in August 2017 of male lions attempting to copulate with each other in Kenya’s Masai Mara national park, headlines and Twitter feeds went wild with speculation, ridicule and accusation. Despite Kenya being one of the more progressive countries in East Africa regarding LGBTQ awareness and rights, the …

Africa, Gender Violence, Human Rights, LGBT

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Four Easy Steps to Reform the UN Human Rights Council

Bertrand G. Ramcharan

• October 15, 2017

Problems encircling the United Nations Human Rights Council are verging toward a major crisis. The same crisis had engulfed its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, leading the secretary-general at the time, Kofi Annan, to call to replace it with the Council. But the same problems affecting the former Commission now affect its successor, …

Human Rights, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Using Peer Pressure to Expose a Nation’s Human Rights Record

Rosa Freedman and Aoife Hegarty

• November 17, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, England — During its Universal Period Review session recently at the Human Rights Council, Austria’s delegation commended Conchita Wurst for promoting antidiscrimination and raising awareness of LGBTI issues. Wurst famously represented Austria in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, winning the competition that year and with it engaging a wide range of European audiences …