international law – RightsViews

Why the UNHCR Needs to Bring a Policy Change to Help Displaced Afghans

May 17, 2023June 22, 2023 by Jess GallagherNo Comments

By Guest Writer Mohammad Zayaan On September 15, 2021, after a hostile takeover, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has witnessed. Thousands of Afghans were displaced from the country and forced to move to different parts of the world to avoid persecution. As a result, some countries developed specific policies, after this unprecedented increase in the refugee influx, some guaranteeing safe haven while others are refusing to accept them. This article discusses a specific policy change that the UNHCR could bring to help people from Afghanistan who had migrated before September and whose application for refugee status had been rejected by the UNHCR. Apart from a country’s own refugee policy, the UNHCR has a separate mechanism called Refugee Status Determination (RSD) to identify and recognize refugees. This mechanism is based on the Refugee Convention, 1951, the Protocol Related To The Status Of Refugees(1967), and the principle of non-refoulement. It is also used...

Forced Evictions and Bulldozer Demolitions: Crushing Human Rights under the Rubble

May 14, 2023 by Jess Gallagher1 Comment

By Guest Writer Ketan Aggarwal “My parents were sleeping inside the house. They demolished the house without informing us and set it on fire. I somehow managed to come out of the house. The policemen caught me and beat me up. They were trying to push me inside the burning house. My father was severely burnt, while my mother and sister died in the fire.” These were the words of Shivam, whose house was demolished during an anti-encroachment drive in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh this month. This disturbing incident is not an isolated case of what has been termed "Bulldozer Justice." Similar incidents of forced evictions and demolitions have occurred in other parts of India, including Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Many political parties, NGO & human rights groups like Al Jazeera have criticized these actions, which disproportionately target marginalized and minority communities, as a form of extrajudicial punishment. The use of bulldozers to demolish homes and businesses has become increasingly prevalent...

The Letter Condemning Criticism Against ICC’s Decisions: An Attempt to Stifle Free Speech

September 30, 2021 by Anna MillerNo Comments

By guest contributor Pravah Ranka, a student at Gujarat National Law University. Introduction More than 50 former foreign ministers, prime ministers, and top international officials, including two former British Conservative ministers, have signed an open letter condemning political interference in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged war crimes in Palestine. They state that attempts to delegitimize the International Criminal Court and hinder its operation will not be accepted if global justice is to be ensured. They have further stated that “the ICC must be shielded from any external pressures or threats including refraining from public criticism of the ICC’s decisions, which could contribute to undermining the independence of the court and public trust in its authority." Regardless of the alleged greater good it aims to achieve, the letter holds the potential to trample upon the civil liberties guaranteed by international law to the public at large. In this context, it is argued that the open letter is inconsistent...

Turkey’s Alarming Regional Intervention Continues to Affect Minority Communities with Impunity, This Time in Azerbaijan

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 by Nay AlhelouNo Comments

By Guest Contributors Anoush Baghdassarian and Sherin Zadah Tucked away into the southern caucasus is a region struggling for survival, not against COVID-19, but against yet another offensive by Turkey, this time in Azerbaijan, targeting the region's minority populations. On Sept. 27, 2020, a war broke out in the Republic of Artsakh, also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The conflict is mainly between Armenia, the ethnic Armenians of NKR, and Azerbaijan, but Turkey is also a player in the conflict; it has pledged support for Azerbaijan, closing its border with Armenia and reaffirming Azerbaijan’s claims to territorial integrity. Amid the current crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to “support our Azerbaijani brothers with all our means as always,” including military assistance. This manifested into a coordinated premeditated attack against one of its historic minority communities — the Armenians. This follows shortly after Turkey’s crimes against the Kurds, another one of its repeatedly persecuted ethnic groups. Turkey launched a targeted military campaign...

A State’s Responsibility in an Epidemic: Human Rights and the Coronavirus Outbreak

March 9, 2020 by Rowena Kosher2 Comments

Guest Contributors Bodhisattwa Majumder and Devashish Giri are penultimate year students at Maharashtra Law University Mumbai. Their interests include Constitutional Law, Public International law and Maritime law. Any discussion related to the paper can be made via mail at [email protected] or [email protected] The outbreak of Coronavirus or COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) from Wuhan, China (“People’s Republic of China “) has engulfed as many as twenty four countries across the globe with a medical emergency and has claimed more than 3,800 lives as of now. This strain of the virus is graver than the other types of Coronaviruses as it has never been identified in humans before. Coronavirus belongs to the zoonotic group of viruses which can affect a human being with a range of health ailments ranging from the common cold to serious problems such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The World Health Organization and other countries including the US have declared it as a “Global Public...

Erosion of the Right to Freedom in Kashmir: How India Violated Established Principles of Constitutional and International Law

December 11, 2019 by Rowena KosherNo Comments

Guest Contributor Bhaskar Kumar is a 3rd year student at National Law School of India University, Bangalore. His areas of interest include criminal justice, human rights, constitutionalism and international law. He writes for a number of platforms including law review blogs and media platforms like The Hindu, Live law JILS-NUJS etc. In anticipation of unrest after altering the special constitutional status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian government detained several political leaders and imposed a broad restriction on freedom of movement and press in August 2019. These restrictions were imposed in the aftermath of abolishing article 370 of Indian Constitution. This article was part of the Constitution of India which provided special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. By virtue of this article, the people of Jammu and Kashmir used to enjoy some privileges including exclusive property rights. The government justified this amendment by considering it a step that ensures the complete integration of the state into...