Human Rights

Montesquieu in Najd: Saudi Arabia, World’s Last Absolute Monarchy, Challenged by New Democratic Political Party

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A group of expatriate Saudi intellectuals announced this week the formation of the National Assembly Party, which they intend as an opposition party working for a rule of law and separation of powers in the kingdom. The group’s manifesto is printed here, declaring that they want to see democracy implemented […]

Displaced and Refugees

Yemen: Aid Obstruction Puts Millions of Children and Adults at Risk

Human Rights Watch

(Human Rights Watch) – The Houthi armed group and other authorities are severely restricting the delivery of desperately needed aid in Yemen, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The situation is exacerbating the country’s dire humanitarian situation and weakening its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Human Rights Watch: “Aid Restriction in Yemen […]

censorship

Top 4 reasons Trump’s Saving “ass” of Bin Salman over Khashoggi Murder is Shameful and just Wrong

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sonam Sheth and John Haltiwanger at Business Insider have seen Bob Woodward’s Rage, which will be published next Tuesday. They quoted some passages from the interview with Trump in which he boasted about having saved the “ass” of Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Washington D.C. by discouraging the […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Did the US War on Terror Displace 37 Million?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Brown University Watson Institute Costs of War Project has put out a report concluding that the US-led “War on Terror” has displaced 37 million people. While there are parts of the report I agree with, some of the argument seems to me flawed. Let me explain why that is, […]

Iran

Watchdog Describes Iran’s ‘Shocking’ Rights Violations against Protesters

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty | – (RFE/RL ) – Amnesty International has accused Iran of committing “a catalogue of shocking human rights violations” against those detained in connection with the November 2019 antiestablishment protests, including children as young as 10. The violent demonstrations were sparked by a sudden hike in the price of […]

Human Rights

Why is Saudi Arabia Holding its Prominent Political Prisoners Incommunicado?

Human Rights Watch

Safety Concerns for Activists, Ex-Crown Prince, Clerichu

Afghanistan

US punishes International Criminal Court for investigating potential war crimes in Afghanistan

The Conversation

By Susan M. Akram | The Trump administration has sought to weaken or abandon various international agencies since 2016. Now it’s taking aim at the International Criminal Court, a global tribunal that investigates and prosecutes war crimes, torture and genocide. Claiming the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan poses a […]

Pentagon

Cluster bombs once against Vietnamese people and still in use today

Anne-Ruth Wertheim

( Joop) – On 4 March 1971 our train pulled in to Paris’s Gare du Nord station. My then husband Ab van Kammen and I were going to spend a few days in the city. We had left our three daughters with various friends, packed our suitcases and caught the train. It would not just […]

Colonialism

Columbus didn’t represent Italy, and he Killed and Enslaved Americans, and we Don’t need his Statues

Michael Slager

Chicago (Special to Informed Comment) – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the removal of two statues of Christopher Columbus after police and protesters clashed last week. The confrontation at the navigator’s monument in Grant Park resulted in injuries to both officers and demonstrators. According to NBC News, Chicago Police Department officials confirmed that the gathering […]