Tag: Human Rights

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Weekly Summaries

30th of November – 6th of December

Ethiopia declares victory in the Tigray Conflict

After days of attacks on the regional capital of Tigray, Mekelle, the Ethiopian government claimed it had “won” the conflict against the region of Tigray on the 28th of November, without killing a single civilian. However, local farmers tell a different story, describing dozens of deaths related to the conflict.

Egyptian Human Rights Workers Released

Although the Egyptian government did try to interfere with the freedom of human rights activists in the past by, for example, preventing them from travelling, only very few were arrested and sent to prison. This changed a few weeks ago when three employees from the human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights were arrested. However, the international public put pressure on Egypt as diplomats, politicians and even celebrities called for the release of the human rights workers. In response to the increasing pressure, the Egyptian authorities released the workers this past week.

Protest in France over new Security Bill

This past week, the streets of two cities in France, the capital Paris and Lyon, were filled with protestors against the new security bill. The bill would restrict the sharing of images of police officers, in addition to strengthening government surveillance tools. Since then, the French government has announced that it will make severe changes to the bill.

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Analysis

Wai Wai Nu: How being a Political Prisoner drove her to become a Champion of Human Rights

Wai Wai Nu is a leading voice for human rights and peace within Myanmar, her home country. Her story began after being convicted as political prisoner in 2005, where she wrongfully suffered 7 long years within a Burmese correctional centre. Wai Wai and her family were incarcerated because someone close to them opposed the Junta, which was a political group that ruled the country of Myanmar after taking power. After being tried in a closed court with no legal representation, Wai Wai understood the severity of the unjust and unequal regulations that thrived within this country; she began to prepare to change this. At just the young age of 18, Wai Wai Nu began devising her plans, while incarcerated, to continue fighting for Human Rights, equality and peace, once she had been released.  The thick walls of the prison and iron bars couldn’t tear away her determination to ensure freedom and human rights throughout Myanmar, for all. Now released, Wai Wai is the director and founder of the Women’s Peace Network, where she aims to build peace and mutual understanding between ethnicities, while advocating for the rights of ostracised women in Burma. The Women’s Peace Network, is a society compiled of lawyers and peace and human rights activists from Myanmar, together lead by the inspirational Wai Wai Nu, they aim to peacefully and successfully promote and protect the human rights of those who are not subject to equality within their communities. Wai Wai Nu is just one of the many inspirational women who have lead important political movements around the world. Without the conversation that she started, change would never occur. Many Burmese people owe their freedom to the continual work of Wai Wai Nu and her family. “I am not free. My community is not free. My country is not free,” but I believe with the tireless efforts of Wai Wai and many other human rights activists, we may one day live in a world where equality is commonplace and not something towards which we strive. 

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Online Courses

The EU and Human Rights

International Relations

Platform: edX, KU Leuven

Level: Intermediate !!!

Expand your knowledge on how the EU works and what it does! Then, use your newly acquired knowledge to study not only how the EU affects human rights, but also what steps the EU can take in the future to promote human rights worldwide. This course takes 7 weeks to complete, with four to six hours of studying each week.

Interested? Find out more here: https://www.edx.org/course/the-eu-and-human-rights

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Online Courses

Human Rights, Human Wrongs

International Relations/Development

Platform: edX, SDG academy

Level: Intermediate

During this course you will learn about the establishment of human rights, but also about how human rights influence other global issues related to sustainable development. This course is organized into 11 weeks of study, with about two to four hours per week. The course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. Therefore, I would only encourage those people to complete this course who already have a lot of experience in this field. I would highly recommended those of who are interested to first try out the free version of the course, and only if you find the course load manegeable add the certificate (it costs money).

Here is the link if you want to find out more: https://www.edx.org/course/human-rights-human-wrongs-challenging-poverty-vuln

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Online Courses

International Women’s Health and Human Rights

International Relations

Platform: Coursera, Stanford

Level: Beginner

In this course you will learn about women’s health and human rights issues. The course is divided into four weeks and takes around 64 hours to complete.

If you are interested, you can find out more here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/womens-health-human-rights?