Video
The Prevention Council
3 February 2020
For the UN’s prevention agenda to work, it is vital to build a business case for placing human rights at its heart.
URG Insights
New state-level legislation threatens to erode voting rights and the US’ ability to live up to democratic standards
by Tess Brennan, Universal Rights Group NYC
State lawmakers across the US have recently sought to pass legislation which will significantly limit voting access. These attacks on voter rights come on the heels of repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election was marred by widespread voter fraud. The claims are rooted in former Republican President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie’: that the election was stolen from him. Republican lawmakers argue new legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud. In actuality, the bills are rooted in misleading claims and will disenfranchise thousands of voters in the US, particularly minority communities. The Republican-led effort to restrict voting rights at the…
previous URG Insights
Secretary of State Blinken reaffirms the Biden administration’s commitment to multilateralism, democracy and human rights
by Tess Brennan, Universal Rights Group NYC
A key pillar of both Biden’s election campaign and his time in office thus far has been the commitment to re-engage with traditional allies and prioritise a multilateral approach to tackling the greatest global challenges of today, including protecting democracy and promoting universal human rights. While Biden’s rhetoric on the subject has been strong, the wider international community has been increasingly pressuring the administration to demonstrate what such a commitment will look like in practice. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has taken important strides towards addressing this pressure in recent weeks. At a visit to NATO headquarters and a virtual…
Western States flex their ‘Magnitsky muscles’ to secure accountability for human rights abuses in China
by the URG team
With the return of the US to the UN stage, geopolitical tensions surrounding human rights, especially relating to alleged violations of human rights law by China, Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have resurfaced, dominating, for example, the recently concluded 46th session of the Human Rights Council. Central to the renewed tensions with China is deep US concern about the treatment of the country’s Muslim minority population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including allegations of arbitrary detention, forced labour and sterilisation campaigns in camps the Chinese Government claim serve ‘vocational training’ and ‘re-education’ purposes. While there had already been Western…
How do you solve a problem like WhatsApp? The complicated role of messaging apps in the fight against disinformation and for free speech
by Tess Kidney Bishop, Universal Rights Group NYC
Much of the debate around the spread of misinformation and online harassment has been focused on the biggest social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and, more recently, TikTok. Messaging apps, like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat, and the increasingly popular Telegram and Signal, have nearly as many users as these platforms and are also rife with disinformation, hate speech and even incitements to violence. At the same time, they are also vital tools for activists and journalists the world over, seeking to ensure they can communicate safely and secretly. As Facebook and Twitter have started doing more to…
The class-blindness of human rights
by Dr. Andrew Fagan, Director, University of Essex, Human Rights Centre
If you are reading this piece, it’s unlikely that you are, or that you originate from, a working-class background. I say this not as a rebuke. Nor do I intend to question your commitment to social justice and human rights. As a class migrant myself, I am also not claiming that the human rights community doesn’t include people who still consider themselves to be working class, or who may have been formed within working class environments. What I hope to achieve in this short piece, is to identity and draw attention to the damaging consequences of a continuing blindness to…
latest policy report
This new policy report tells the story of international discussions on human rights and environment, human rights and climate change, and the push for the right…
previous policy reports
OSLO+Digital – International support for the national implementation of UN human rights recommendations, including as a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals during the COVID-19 pandemic
On 9 and 10 June 2020, the Permanent Missions of Denmark and The Netherlands to the UN in Geneva, in cooperation with the Universal Rights…The Human Rights Council in 2020
What were the main developments, achievements and flash-points at the Human Rights Council in 2020? What were the Council’s principle outputs and what kind of impact…Realizing rights, changing lives: The impact of the United Nations human rights system on the enjoyment of children's rights
The international community has invested enormous time and energy in building the international human rights system over the past 70 years. Yet for as long…Guide to the 2020 Human Rights Council Elections
The sixth annual yourHRC.org Guide to the Human Rights Council elections provides comprehensive at-a-glance information on the 2020 Council elections (tentatively scheduled to take place…URG next event
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past events
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13 Apr 2021
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13 Apr 2021
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13 Apr 2021
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25 Mar 2021
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05 Mar 2021
The Istanbul Process is the dedicated mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of the action plan set out in Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 on combatting intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.
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