Human rights
In the Philippines, a label can take your life
A civil war has been going on in the Philippines for over 50 years, waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) with the armed guerrillas of the New People’s Army (NPA)…
Small hope for justice in Mexico’s deadly “war on drugs”
Fue el estado – “It was the state”. So goes one of the most repeated slogans of the movement to demand the truth of what happened to 43 students of the Ayotzinapa rural…
A backlash against the Women, Peace and Security agenda?
Twenty years ago, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1325, a landmark to formally recognised the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls…
Analyses
Digital Authoritarianism, China and COVID
The coronavirus has showcased China's cyber-powered social
control capabilities, with implications for human rights worldwide.
Crew-change crisis risks supply chains – and lives
Twenty-four crew members of the Al Messilah, a livestock carrier under Kuwaiti flag, tested positive last week for Covid-19 at Fremantle Port in Western Australia. They are among…
If Duterte likes his human rights record, he can let others look
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines addressed the United Nations General Assembly last month, the first time he has done so since he assumed office in 2016…
Why Myanmar’s elections won’t be free, fair or safe
We all desperately wanted Myanmar to be a democratic success story, myself included. In 2015, I witnessed the historical national election when the Aung San Suu Kyi’s political…
Duterte’s vaccine promise is a political placebo
As early as April, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte set a P50 million (A$1.45 million) reward for anyone who comes up with a vaccine for Covid-19. Since then, Duterte has…
Colonialism and cultural erasure in Xinjiang
On 17 September, the Information of Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released a White Paper, “Employment and Labour Rights in Xinjiang”, detailing the…
Francis Fukuyama in Minsk
Thirty years ago, Francis Fukuyama sprang to international prominence by suggesting that history might be at an end. Ever since, lesser academic lights have queued up to tell…