In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Human Rights Law

22 Jun

The following post is based on a keynote lecture I delivered at the Global Sumud Flotilla conference. Uniquely, the conference took place at Muğla University the weekend the flotilla launched from Marmaris and was attended by a blend of activists and scholars, more activists than scholars admittedly. The context is relevant for the tone of my remarks. While the essence...

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20 May

[Yaroslav Halieiev is a second-year PhD Candidate at the University of Tartu (Estonia)] The Context: Maymulakhin and Markiv v. Ukraine  In June 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or Court) issued a landmark decision in the case of Maymulakhin and Markiv v. Ukraine in which the Court addressed the lack of legal protection for same-sex couples under Ukrainian law. Rooting...

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15 May

[Harry Mwesigwa is an LLM candidate in human rights and democratisation in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and a research assistant at the Human Rights and Peace Centre, Makerere University] Introduction In March 2025, Uganda deployed its troops to South Sudan at the invitation of the South Sudanese government which requested ‘urgent military support in order to...

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08 May

[Dr. Eray Acar is an independent researcher with a PhD in public law from Ankara University. He has worked as a researcher in Ankara University Law School and as a lecturer at Hitit University.] The Steering Committee for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CDDH/Steering Committee) published an Outcome Document containing elements for a political declaration, which is expected to...

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07 May

[Dr Julie Ada Tchoukou is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and a licensed lawyer in Ontario. She was previously the Allan Rock Visiting Professor and a Shirley Greenberg Fellow in Women and the Legal Profession.] In February 2025, the African Union adopted the Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (CEVAWG), the first binding...

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06 May

[Hakan Kaplankaya is a former Turkish diplomat, lawyer and instituDE member] On 16 December 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”) found violations of Articles 7 and/or 6 § 1 of the Convention in respect of 2,420 applications in Yalçınkaya follow-up cases. The applicants are (perceived) members of the Gülen Group, which has been targeted by the...

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05 May

[Sakhawat Sajjat Sejan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Law, UITS and Founder of the Bangladesh Center for Refugee Law Studies. Md. Omar Farque is a Lecturer in Law at Eastern University, Bangladesh and the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Refugee Law Studies.] Bangladesh is neither a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol, yet it...

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29 Apr

[Paulina Jimenez Fregoso is an advocacy advisor at the Centre for Reproductive Rights] Intersectionality remains contested. While it includes multiple social categories and personal identities, there is far reaching debate about its contours. While race, class and gender were widely accepted for a time, these were later seen to fall short of the complex dynamics of multiple forms of oppression. Helma...

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27 Apr

[Karla Schröter is a doctoral researcher at Åbo Akademi University, where she is part of the Institute for Human Rights and the Minority Research profile] Veils worn by Muslim women, whether a hijab worn in public institutions or face-veils in public spaces, are being gradually banned in Europe. Sadly, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) has repeatedly opined that...

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27 Apr

[Mohsen al Attar is an Associate Dean (Education) and Reader in International Law at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University] International law is often on the ropes. Each time a state invades another, a security agent tortures a suspect, or a wanted war criminal hobnobs with other state leaders, we are reminded that what international law could be is always tempered by what it...

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24 Apr

[Sayed Hussein Anosh is the Executive Director of Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+). Kate McInnes practices international human rights law and international criminal law at Arendt Chambers.] Gender persecution has been the defining feature of Taliban rule since its return to power in 2021. Afghan women and girls continue to be subjected to what commentators have described as one of the worst reversals of rights...

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07 Apr

[Nataly Santana Sánchez is a doctoral candidate at the University of Essex. Her research focuses on reproductive violence and transitional justice. Prior to joining the University of Essex, she worked advising the Ministry of Women of the Dominican Republic on the implementation of international human rights law into domestic laws and policies.] Throughout history, forced sterilisation has been a weapon of...

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