U.S. and European Complicity in the Yemeni Conflict Discussion with Radhya Al-Mutawakel on the war crimes committed in Yemen by all parties, including the indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian sites and civilians and the destruction of religious and cultural heritage. We discuss U.S., U.K. and other Western countries’ participation in the conflict through arm sales to the Saudi and Emirati coalition and logistical support. Additionally, we discuss the plague of landmines, the...

Incarceration Rates and Sentencing Policies Throughout the United States Discussion with Nazgol Ghandnoosh on the high rates of incarceration and state differentials of incarceration throughout the United States and their causes, including the “war on drugs”. We discuss racial disparity in arrests and sentences, private prisons and legislative and executive encroachment on the judicial function by the imposition of mandatory sentences. We also discuss the impact of prosecutorial power and...

Loss of Biodiversity, Pollution, Climate Change and Human Rights Abuses from Deforestation Discussion with Etelle Higonnet on the state of deforestation around the world with a particular focus on commodity agriculture and soy and palm oil in particular. We discuss the contribution to climate change and the loss of biodiversity from clearing wild forests for monoculture plantations. We also discuss the public health impact from polluted water and air for surrounding populations, in particular...

Family Separation, Mandatory Detention and Denaturalization Discussion with Paromita Shah on the effective criminalization of immigration and the right to asylum through mandatory detention and unlawful entry and unlawful re-entry prosecutions. We discuss family detainment and separation at the border and the deportation of undocumented parents of US citizen minors. Additionally, we discuss the recent Supreme Court decision of Dimaya, due process in immigration court and Attorney General...

Religious and Racial Discrimination in the American South and the Escalation of Immigration Detention Discussion with Azadeh Shahshahani on the work of Project South, which cultivates strong social movements in the Southern United States and supports social justice movements in the Global South. We discuss religious and racial discrimination as well as police collaboration with ICE and the denial of utilities to undocumented persons as well as lawful residents without social security numbers...

The U.S. Visit by the Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Discussion with Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, on the observations and conclusions from his country visit to the United States in December 2017.  We discuss the political nature of poverty, its inextricable link to rising inequality in the United States and the overt and covert disenfranchisement of the extremely poor. We also discuss punitive policies towards...

The Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States and the Legal Framework for Bringing Justice to Human Trafficking Survivors. Discussion with Martina Vandenberg on the work of the Human Trafficking Legal Center and the prevalence and characteristics of human trafficking in the United States. We discuss the international and legal framework, whether the United States is meeting its international obligations and consider particular issues relating to diplomatic immunity when human...

How Israel Exploits Palestinian Land and Expels the Palestinian Population Discussion with Amit Gilutz on the human rights work of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, including its citizenship journalism project. We discuss the human rights impact of the separation barrier and the demarcation of the Palestinian peoples into separate Occupied Territories. We also discuss the Israeli manufactured water and sewerage crisis in the Gaza Strip and...

LGBTI Rights and Freedom of Expression in Serbia Discussion with Goran Miletić on LGBTI rights in Serbia. We discuss the most recent Pride Parade in Serbia, its previous unconstitutional ban by the government and security issues. We also discuss recent anti-discrimination and hate speech legislation and their weak implementation in the context of a homophobic Balkan culture. We additionally discuss how recent restrictions on freedom of expression impact the LGBTI community and the need for...

The Roma, Cultural Relativism, Autonomy and Community Empowerment Discussion with Danilo Ćurčić on the discrimination and segregation faced by the Roma in Serbia, in particular with respect to employment and housing, including forced evictions from informal Roma settlements. We discuss the need to move away from the discourse of providing humanitarian assistance to the enforcement of human and constitutional rights. We also discuss the conflict in addressing human rights violations within the...

Asylum, Criminal Justice and Media Freedom Discussion with Nikola Kovačević on the right of asylum in Serbia, the limited acceptance rate and the “ping-pong” currently being played by European countries with refugees. We also discuss criminal justice issues, including the right to counsel, pre-trial detention, the independence of the judiciary and overcrowding and other problems of prison conditions. Additionally, we discuss the impact of recent media privatization and the government’s...

Exonerating the innocent in northern California Discussion with Northern California Innocence Project's (NCIP) Linda Starr and Todd Fries on the causes of wrongful conviction in California, including but not limited to problems with eyewitness testimony, preservation of evidence, coerced confessions, paid informants, ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial and police misconduct and mistakes. We discuss policy reform to ameliorate and eradicate the main causes of wrongful...

The Refugee Situation in Serbia Following Border Closures on the Balkan Route, the Work of Refugee Aid Serbia and Disrupting Hostile Discourse on Displaced Persons Discussion with Felix Thomson on the refugee situation in Serbia and how it has changed since border closures along the Balkan route severely restricted access to Northern and Western Europe. We discuss the treatment of refugees in Serbia, the issue of unaccompanied children, sexual exploitation, smuggling and current legal avenues...

The Double Standard in U.S. Labor Laws That Fails to Protect Children Working in Agriculture Discussion with Zama Neff on the double standard in U.S. Federal and State labor laws which allows for children at younger ages to work in agriculture and provides them less protections in their working conditions. We discuss the type of agricultural work children are employed in, the effects of the long and strenuous work on their education and the potential for chronic injury resulting from their...

Holding the IFC Accountable for Aiding and Abetting Murder and Terrorization of Honduran Farmers and Financing the Pollution of the Kutch Coast in India Discussion with Marco Simons on Doe v. IFC in which the IFC is alleged to have knowingly profited from financing the murder and terrorization of Honduran farmers by Dinant, a land grabbing palm corporation. We also discuss Jam v. IFC and the IFC's alleged negligence and failure to abide by its own internal procedures in financing a coal power...

Selection Bias, Confirmation Bias and the Feedback Loop of Predictive Policing Algorithms, the Black Box Problem of Proprietary Algorithms and Lack of Accountability Discussion with Kristian Lum and William Isaac on how machine learning algorithms work and how seemingly neutral police data can perpetuate systemic and institutional prejudices and produce predictive systems that predict police enforcement rather than future crime. We explore the creation and conclusions of their Oakland case...

Jailing Children for Failure to Pay Administrative Fees and Costs, Life without Parole, Solitary Confinement, Juvenile Sex Offender Registration, Expungement of Juvenile Records and the "Kids for Cash" Tragedy Discussion with Marsha Levick on the various administrative fees and costs imposed by the juvenile justice system and the practice of incarcerating impecunious youth. We discuss the institutional racism of the juvenile criminal justice system with youth of colour more likely to be...

Canadian Aboriginal and Treaty Rights and the Duty to Consult, Environmental Deregulation and the Environmental and Human Rights Footprint of the Tar Sands Discussion with Robert Janes and Karey Brooks on the environmental, climate and human rights footprint on the Alberta tar sands, in particular its impact on indigenous rights. We discuss the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation’s claims against the Alberta and Canadian governments for infringement of their treaty rights as a result of the...

John Doe et. al. v Nestle et. al., Forced Child Labour in the Cacao Industry, the Alien Tort Claims Act, Koibel and Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Abuses Discussion with Terry Collingsworth on John Doe et. al. v Nestle et. al, the prevalence of child slavery in the cacao industry in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and the assistance provided to farms that enslave children by confectionary conglomerates. We also discuss the history and jurisprudence of the Alien Tort Claims Act (or Alien...

Cultural Genocide, Water Protectors and Oil Discussion with Martin Wagner on the human rights violations associated with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux and the Yankton Sioux’s petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We discuss the environmental impact of the construction of the pipeline and potential oil spills as well as the cultural impact on the Sioux tribes, including the destruction of spiritual and sacred sites. We further...

State Hacking, Cyber Surveillance and Targeted Killings Within the Digital Panopticon Discussion with Scott Gilmore regarding the human rights implications of technology, including cyber surveillance of human rights activists and journalists and state authorized hacks. We discuss the legal and policy issues respecting Western companies selling technology to states that are known as pervasive human rights abusers and holding foreign states accountable for cyber surveillance and hacking of...

Art, Activism, Water Shut Offs, School Closures, Detroit's Restructuring, Urban Redevelopment as Code for Racial Discrimination, Community Cooperation and Urban Farming Discussion with artist and activist Antonio Cosme concerning his prosecution by the recently established Detroit Graffiti Task Force for writing “Free the Water” on a decommissioned water tower to protest the continuing water shut offs occurring in his neighborhood. We discuss the water shut offs and school closures and their...

The U.N.'s Egregious Negligence in Causing the Cholera Epidemic in Haiti and its Refusal to Accept Responsibility and Provide Redress and the Legal and Political Issues Surrounding the U.N.'s Assertion of Diplomatic Immunity Discussion with Brian Concannon Jr. on the U.N.'s actions in causing, covering up and refusing to accept responsibility for the cholera epidemic in Haiti. We discuss the legal and policy issues behind the U.N.'s diplomatic immunity, including the Second Circuit's decision...

World Bank and IMF SAPS, Water Privatization, Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships, Cochambabinos' Resistance, North-South Cooperaton and South-South Solidarity Discussion with Marcela Olivera on water privatization and resistance in South America and the establishment of public-public partnerships for community owned and organized water services. We discuss the water privatization conditions tied to World Bank and IMF loans, the Cochabambinos' victory over the privatization of their...

Drought, surface and groundwater in California, the Human Right to Water Act, the environmental impact of the Delta Tunnels Project and Center for Biological Diversity, Nestle's water permit in the San Bernardino National Forest. Discussion with Courtney A. Davis about the impact and severity of the drought and the legal and regulatory framework respecting the allocation of surface and groundwater in California, the Human Right to Water Act, the environmental impact of the Delta Tunnels...