Category: Feature Article
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Enforcing Lockdown: When Public Safety Becomes Pretext for Abuse
When lockdowns first swept across the globe in early 2020, they were presented as necessary, temporary measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. But in many countries, the way these measures have been enforced has raised urgent human rights concerns. Behind the language of “public safety” lies a darker reality: arbitrary arrests, police violence, militarized…
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Health or Control? Pandemic Surveillance and the Fight for Privacy
In the global fight against COVID-19, surveillance technology has emerged as a powerful tool. Contact tracing apps, digital quarantine monitoring, facial recognition, location tracking and mass data collection have all been introduced—some overnight, many without public consultation. Governments argue that such tools are necessary to contain the virus and protect public health. But as the…
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COVID-19 and Human Rights: A Global Stress Test for Justice and Equality
As of mid-September 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to define the global landscape. While early lockdowns have eased in many places, the virus persists—with second waves, new restrictions and deepening socioeconomic disruption. But beyond the case numbers and curves lies another crisis, less visible yet equally urgent: the erosion of human rights in the name…
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Right to Privacy in Digital Age: Protecting Freedom in an Era of Surveillance
The right to privacy is one of the most fundamental aspects of human dignity. It is the assurance that individuals can live their lives without unwarranted intrusion—by the state, corporations or other actors—into their personal affairs, communications or identities. In the digital age, this right has taken on new urgency and complexity. As technology reshapes…
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Lockdown and Human Rights: A Global Balancing Act
As of late-May 2020, more than half of humanity has lived under some form of COVID-19 lockdown. Borders have been closed, businesses shuttered and millions confined to their homes; all in the name of public health. But as weeks have turned into months, questions are intensifying: How long can such extraordinary restrictions remain in place?…
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Environmental Rights: Protecting People by Protecting the Planet
The environment is not a separate issue from human rights; it is the very ground upon which all other rights stand. Clean air, safe water, fertile soil, a stable climate and healthy ecosystems are not luxuries. They are necessities for life, health and dignity. As environmental degradation intensifies—from deforestation and pollution to climate change and…
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Human Rights and Climate Change: Defending Humanity in a Warming World
Climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a profound human rights crisis. As global temperatures rise, sea levels climb and weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, the consequences are falling hardest on the most vulnerable people and communities. From food insecurity and water scarcity to forced displacement and health emergencies, climate change threatens the…
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Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: The Ongoing Struggle for Freedom
Slavery is not a relic of the past. Despite being outlawed in every country, it still exists today, in factories, farms, homes, construction sites, brothels and even in supply chains that feed global markets. Human trafficking and modern slavery are among the most egregious human rights violations in the world today, affecting millions of people…
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Refugee and Migrant Rights: Humanity beyond Borders
The rights of refugees and migrants stand as a crucial test of our collective humanity in an increasingly interconnected and yet divided world. People on the move—whether fleeing war, persecution, poverty or climate disasters—do not lose their human rights when they cross a border. On the contrary, they remain entitled to the same dignity, protection…
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Disability Rights: Dignity, Access and Full Participation for All
Disability rights are human rights. This simple truth has taken far too long to gain widespread recognition, but it now stands as a powerful principle shaping laws, policies and attitudes across the world. People with disabilities—whether physical, sensory, intellectual or psychosocial—have the same rights as anyone else: to live with dignity, to participate fully in…
The Human Rights Observer 