EMA Human Rights Blog

Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, and the country itself has a lot of growing to do.

By Charles Slidders The institutional “mainstreaming” of human rights has left human rights stagnant and mired in a quagmire of bureaucracy. They have lost “their initial revolutionary and dissident purposes” and transformative potential.

by Cassandra Bockstael We all know that moment in CSI: the tech experts and the police are looking at a video with a potential new lead. Suddenly, they zoom in or clear the image, someone sees a detail they recognise, they identify the place and find the missing person or the suspect. What if I

Read More

By Mustapha Hadji The 1980s debt crisis opened the door for IMF to directly interfere in the fiscal and monetary policies of borrowing countries. The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) have impacted the lives and livelihoods of third world citizens for decades.[1] Reducing public spending was the “magical recipe” prescribed by IMF to crisis-wracked countries to get out of the debt spiral. Cutting public spending meant little to no money for social programs, public education, public health services and many other programs and services that create safety nets for vulnerable social segments of those countries.

By Alice Gould In 2016 a person I trusted recorded us having sex without my consent. Not just without consent, but after asking multiple times, and hearing no each time. I only found out a month after when he sent me the audio clip. In 2018 I decided to go to the police. There was no justice.

By Bronagh Kieran Lately, the legal personality of rivers has been considered in several jurisdictions. In India, the High Court recognised the legal personality of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in March 2017 however, this decision was overturned in July 2017. Contrastingly, the Whanganui river was recognised as a living entity in New Zealand in March 2017 by way of legislature.

By Milena Österreicher He did not act, walk or dress like a gay man. He fought with other people in his accommodation. He didn’t have many friends. These are the reasons why the Austrian authorities didn’t believe that a young Afghan man was homosexual and rejected his claim for asylum last August. The 18-year-old said he fled from being persecuted for his sexual orientation in his home country.

The social movement developed in Italy in the 60s and 70s, known as “il Sessontotto”, led to a cultural revolution. Women began to claim ownership of their bodies, independence from caring for their husbands and children and freedom from the chains of sexual bigotry. They were active in social movements and political protests, they claimed rights leading to the approval of the law on abortion, as well as to a change in the social perception of both female roles and rules. Nonetheless, even in 2018 some Italian society remains untouched by this strong change. This is the phenomenon highlighted by Vincenzo Maisto, known as Lord Destroy.

By Lauryane Leneveu Spending dozens of hours in a cell smaller than three square meters. Sharing this cramped space with other people or instead being completely isolated from human contact. Being locked in a stressful, heavily monitored and sometimes violent environment. Prison life, a difficult and often traumatic experience, is not easy for anyone. Imagine what it is like for detainees with disabilities.

By Alice Gould Between July 3rd 2018 and October 22nd 2018 the UK Government ran a public consultation in England and Wales into the 2004 Gender Recognition Act (GRA). Whilst the GRA and the Civil Partnership Act (also of 2004) were revolutionary at the time, 14 years later our concepts of gender, sexuality, and LGBT norms have significantly changed. Although England, Wales, and Scotland recognised same-sex marriage (with Northern Ireland lagging behind) in 2013, gender recognition has lacked any substantial reform.