Student Commentary

Overview Recent developments in European Union migration and asylum policy have stirred significant political debate and actions among member states. The Netherlands has signaled a potential withdrawal from future treaty modifications in EU migration law. Hungary has supported this sentiment. Concurrently, Germany has intensified border controls amidst rising right-wing political influence, and Italy has temporarily [...]

As the Taliban continues its ever-expanding efforts to keep women and girls out of the public eye, one Afghan woman is leveraging her business acumen to challenge the new status quo. In late August, the Taliban issued a new law restricting women’s voices and faces in public spaces, the latest steps in their ongoing campaign [...]

In June, Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, called for an “all tools” approach to challenge and dismantle the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender oppression and hold those responsible accountable in his report to the Human Rights Council. Despite international efforts and pressure on the Taliban to reverse [...]

On Tuesday, the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan (MFA) announced a decision to sever ties with its diplomatic missions in several European countries and Australia. This unprecedented move marks a pivotal moment in Afghanistan’s contemporary diplomatic history and presents significant implications for the nation’s position within the global community. However, it appears that [...]

Known for his pivotal role in international election monitoring, constitutional reform, and efforts to resolve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, Tiruchelvam’s legacy continues to inspire. His tragic death on July 29th, 1999, a consequence of his dedication to democratic solutions, marked a significant loss to the pursuit of justice and inclusivity. This article celebrates his enduring [...]

Afghan women vow to tirelessly work until the Taliban are held accountable for gender apartheid in Afghanistan. In a step towards recognizing the crimes committed against half of the population, Amnesty International recently called for an end to the regime’s impunity: In a powerful show of global solidarity, 354,847 signatures have been collected calling on [...]

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. It has been ten years since over 10,000 Yazidis were brutally murdered. Ten years since more than 7,000 women and children were subjected to abduction, violence, and enslavement. Ten years since thousands have disappeared and over 2,600 are still missing without a trace. To this [...]

Last month marked 15 years since the end of the civil war between the Sri Lankan State and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) — a brutal conflict that spanned three decades and is estimated to have claimed between 70,000 and 100,000 lives. The country has hosted a series of events aimed at memorializing [...]

Nooria — an Afghan refugee in Turkey — faces unbelievable hardships and the daily fear of deportation. Undaunted, she refuses to return to the Taliban’s gender apartheid state in Afghanistan. Before the Taliban’s resurgence, Nooria had a comfortable position with the US Government in Kabul. But following threats from the regime, the 40-year-old fled, and [...]

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution last week establishing a commemoration day for the 1995 killings of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica and to formally recognize the event as genocide. Proposed by Germany and Rwanda, two countries with a unique history dealing with genocide in the 20th century, and [...]