EMA Human Rights Blog

By Meredith Veit Since the “discovery” of America, the native populations of the United States have been repressed, silenced and marginalised, and the fetishized, disparaging violence against Native American women and girls remains a serious problem. Gender based violence and the selling of native women were weapons used by the colonisers, and yet, hundreds of years later, lady liberty is still leaving many of the citizens under her purview without protection, justice, or reparations.

By Tamara Siwczyk Last week the world was shocked by the terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left 49 people dead and was the most lethal attack during peacetime in New Zealand’s history. Only a few days later on Monday an attack was committed in Utrecht, Netherlands, where three people were killed, and three days later the alleged gunman has been charged with terrorist intent.

By Marwa Azelmat Cyberspace is often presented as a purely non-legal domain. This view is based on a number of assumptions. The first assumption is that cyberspace is different from real spaces: its aterritorial, borderless and ubiquitous aspects differentiate it from the physical and bounded spaces that are subject to legal regulation. The second assumption is that cyberspace should remain an open, decentralised and participatory space not hampered by legal regulations.

By Federica Russo “Marx was right” was the title of several mainstream journals, such as such as ‘The New York Times’, ‘The Economist’ and ‘The Guardian’ a few years into the crisis. Apparently, the German thinker predicted the crisis and its consequences. Apparently, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis led many experts to question the ability of the dominant economic system, driven by neoliberal policy, to guarantee wellbeing and human rights.

By Emine Ay Academics for Peace is an initiative established by a group of academicians in 2012 to call on Turkish government for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing war between the Turkish army and the PKK forces. The academics came together to speak up against asymmetrical warfare applied by the government in the Southeast Anatolia against Kurdish people, including armed forces and civilians, and the violation of human rights protected under international treaties.

In 2019, "feminism" is considered a dirty word by some. It is oft repeated that we have gender equality (with a Eurocentric, Westernised view). Despite progression towards gender equality, the world still has a long way to go: and below EMA students from around the world give their reasons as to why they still fight for gender equality.

By Myriam Erquicia Leon Periods of crisis often lead to the rise of the extreme right. In Europe, since the 2007 crisis we have seen examples such as the rise of the League in Italy, the National Front in France or Golden Dawn in Greece. Spain, on the other hand, had always been characterised as not having a prominent extreme right political party. That is, until now. On the Andalusian elections of the 2nd of December 2018, the Spanish extreme-right party Vox gained 12 seats in the Andalusian Parliament. This is the first time in the history of Spanish democracy that an extreme-right party has gained seats in a regional Parliament.

By Bronagh Keiran Commentators have speculated that the UK’s withdrawal could lead to the stoking up of tensions within NI. In this blogpost, I will look into the merits of this claim. I will also address the legal framework for protecting human rights in NI.

By Liesbet Debecker These days, society seems to be shifting towards the right. In different Western countries, right-wing parties are gaining popularity, and extreme right-wing movements are on the rise. Thoughts and opinions of the general population are also becoming moving towards the right. This is not without consequence for women’s rights. In conservative and right-wing circles, politicians are not too keen on protecting women’s rights, let alone granting them more. This has damning consequences for women’s ability to decide on the course of their own lives, particularly with relation to reproductive rights.

By Lauryane Leneveu In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon introduced Article 50, a formal mechanism which, for the first time, allowed EU Member States to withdraw from the Union. Before the United Kingdom did so in March 2017, no Member State had ever triggered Article 50 or decided to leave the EU. Today, while the embers left by UK’s decision are still burning, the EU may be on the verge of losing other Member States. Tensions are increasing. Doubts are being raised. Is the EU heading towards implosion?