Human Rights

Volume 32 - Issue 2

Right to Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Singapore’s HIV Leak

By Meghan Knapp, Staff Member On January 22, HIV-positive residents in Singapore received a phone call from the government telling them that their information had been leaked from a private government database.[1] The massive data breach affected more than 14,000 people, all of whom had been forced to put their information into the national registry…

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Long Road Ahead of Saudi Arabia

By Cindy Shi, Staff Member On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who wrote for The Washington Post entered the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul and was never seen again.[1] He was trying to obtain documents to marry his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz.[2] Turkey alleges that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, while Saudi Arabia…

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Cautious Optimism for Somali Sexual Assault and Rape Reform

By Abigail Hencheck, Staff Member Somalia does not have a great reputation for women’s rights. It hasn’t ratified the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)[1], women only marginally participate in politics[2], and structural barriers often prevent women from enforcing their property rights.[3] Most infamously, Somali women receive very little…

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Colombia Diversa Secures Win for LGBTI Students in Colombia

Ami Hutchinson, MJIL Staff Member In June of 2014, 16-year-old Sergio Urrego’s mother, Alba Reyes, filed a complaint with the Secretary of Education of Cundinamarca (the administrative bureau in charge of surveying the quality of education within the territory of Cundinamarca, Colombia).  In her complaint, Alba alleged that her son had suffered persistent and severe…

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Snoozing Democracy: The De-juridification of Emergencies

Antonios Kouroutakis* and Sofia Ranchordas**: Conventional wisdom says that crises are temporary. Hence in turbulent times of war and economic crisis, which require extraordinary and prompt decisions, temporary measures are necessary. It also says that, in this context, sunset clauses might be the best instruments to guarantee that such extraordinary measures do not become entrenched.…

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