Introduction Subjecting people to torture is a human rights violation to their right for a life with dignity.[1] International organizations and several sovereign nations advocate against the use of torture for any reason.[2] Article 5 of the UDHR holds that no person shall be subjected to torture.[3] Under international law, […]
International Law
59 posts
Forfeiture is a common practice wherein local police or government bodies seize property or money in connection with a civil violation.[1] Most Western countries have similar legislation to freeze and seize assets.[2] The practice has been criticized by legal scholars and civil rights advocates as cruel, unusually harsh, and prejudicial.[3] […]
Introduction Administrative closure is a docket-management mechanism used by immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) since the 1980s.[1] Typically, administrative closure is used when the decision on a case is affected by an application pending before another government agency, for example, when a decision for removal relies […]
Introduction After two years of violent war, the Ethiopian government and authorities from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (“TPLF”) announced on November 2, 2022 a “cessation of hostilities.”[1] Overshadowed in the media by coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, this two-year-long war has been dubbed as […]
Abstract The tyrannical Sri Lankan Prevention of Terrorism Act (“PTA”) has been in effect for over forty years. Dating back to the decades-long civil war, the PTA has terrorized Sri Lankan citizens. The PTA authorizes the Sri Lankan government to arbitrarily detain citizens without warrants for up to eighteen months; […]
Since 9/11, the United States has continuously used unmanned drone strikes in counterterrorism efforts in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.[1] Drones have become a preferred weapon as they allow for military objectives to be fulfilled without placing soldiers in physical danger.[2] Drones also allow pilots to distance themselves from the […]
Introduction “We do not want to face [atrocities] again. Every Rohingya will refuse to go [back to Myanmar (Burma)].”[1] This sentiment from a Rohingya refugee refers to the decades of systematic “disenfranchisement, discrimination, and targeted persecution that Rohingya people have faced in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.”[2] Rohingya refugees have fled to […]
Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a new bill focused on strengthening the human rights standards used by the U.S. Department of the Interior in awarding international conservation grants.[1] The bill is a product of a year-long investigation by the House Natural Resources Committee […]
On December 28, 2021, satirical writer and government critic, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was beaten by Ugandan military officers and arrested for violation of the Computer Misuse Act.[1] His crime was criticizing the physical weight of Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, on Twitter.[2] Rukirabasaija was held for fourteen […]
“We believe that sons and daughters are equal. By increasing the marriage age of women from [eighteen] to [twenty-one], the government wants to enable ‘desh ki beti’[1] to build a career for herself and become Aatmanirbhar.[2]” These were the words stated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of […]