Baffled by technical human rights terms and precise legal definitions? You’re not alone. Here’s a quick glossary of some of the most troublesome words and phrases.
Category Archives: Refugee and Migrant Rights
They are Black, They are Poor, and They are Stateless
Marselha: Do you have any questions for me?
Woman: Can you help me get this child a birth certificate?
Marselha: Unfortunately I cannot, but I can tell your story.
I heard that question some dozen times in the interval of less than three days as I interviewed mothers whose children were born and raised in the Dominican Republic and were refused their birth certificates.
Did your Member of Congress Stand Up for Palestinian Children?
On Friday, 19 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged Secretary of State John Kerry to defend the human rights of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.
Led by U.S. Representative Betty McCollum, the 19 Members of Congress signed a letter to the U.S. State Department that focuses on the thousands of Palestinian children who have been detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and/or imprisoned within the Israeli military justice system.
Here’s who signed: SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
A Conspiracy of Neglect: How the World is Failing Syrian Refugees
Since 2011, more than half of the Syrian population has been on the run, fleeing their homes to escape war crimes and human rights abuses by both the Assad regime and armed opposition groups such as the Islamic State.
But the more than 4 million Syrian refugees can no longer escape the threat from another source: the neglect of world leaders that is condemning them to a life of misery and danger. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Will Progressives in the U.S. Congress Support Palestinian Children’s Human Rights?
With just hours left before today’s deadline, 13 Members of Congress have now joined the call for Palestinian children’s human rights.
Led by U.S. Representative Betty McCollum, these elected officials are signing a letter (PDF) to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that urges him to raise the human rights of Palestinian children in his dealings with the Government of Israel.
Many – but not all – of the signers are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. But many members of the Progressive Caucus have yet to sign the letter. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Why are the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar?
The specter of thousands of Rohingya refugees stranded in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea off mainland Southeast Asia will loom over Friday’s Regional Summit on Irregular Migration in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. The roots of this crisis lie in Myanmar, where the Rohingya have faced institutionalized discrimination for decades.
In the past three years, tens of thousands of Rohingya have boarded ships to flee abroad, to escape persecution in Myanmar. However, the issues they face are not new.
Four Years into the Syrian Conflict
The lights are going out in Syria.
As the humanitarian crisis in Syria worsens, the darkness is literally spreading. More than 80 percent of lights have gone out across Syria since March 2011; in Aleppo, site of fighting for more than two years, 97 percent of lights are not working.
If you want to understand what that means, listen to this description from a Syrian surgeon in Aleppo:
“Marwan was on the operating table when the lights blinked and fizzed out,” the doctor said. “The nurse pulled her mobile phone from her pocket – generating the only light in the pitch-black basement. Others followed suit, producing just enough light to allow me to finish repairing his broken little body.” SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Cesar Chavez: A Birthday Gift
By Jesús Canchola Sánchez
Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. My grandmother is a year younger than him. She was born in Guanajuato, Mexico. Cesar Chavez and my abuela (grandmother), Beatriz Soto, are a part of me. Their experiences, successes, and faults have constructed my identity in the United States. Without their stories, I wouldn’t have my voice. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
9 Eye-Opening Facts about the State of Human Rights Worldwide
In 2014, Amnesty International recorded and investigated human rights abuses in 160 countries and territories worldwide*.
While progress is being made in some areas, the frightening facts and figures below show that for many people the human rights situation is getting worse. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Untold Stories of Syria’s Most Vulnerable Refugees
What happens when a crisis so prolongs that the world tires of it?
You get 3.7 million Syrian refugees.
You get stories like the one told by this woman living in a refugee camps. She has been in a Lebanese camp for three years with her two sons, one of whom is autistic. She has necessities, but little else; what she dreams of is that her children get an education. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST