Comments on Rights

The Human Cost of Coercion

Reexamining US Sanctions on Cuba Through a Human Rights Lens When a government tells a people that their suffering is not the result of external pressure but of their own leaders’ corruption, it is not offering analysis—it is offering alibi. The recent statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Cuban people, which dismisses the impact of six decades of comprehensive sanctions while attributing economic hardship solely to domestic governance, asks Cubans to accept a narrative that contradicts both lived reality and the basic logic of how economic coercion functions. Sanctions are not surgical instruments. They are broad-spectrum […]

International Law and the Minab School Massacre

The Crisis of Consistency The international community faces a defining test of its commitment to human rights and the rule of law following a devastating strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, which resulted in the deaths of over 170 schoolgirls and staff. As United Nations agencies debate the legality and humanitarian implications of the attack, scrutiny has intensified regarding the disparate responses from Western nations compared to their stance on conflicts involving other global powers. The Strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary On February 28, 2026, amidst escalating hostilities between the United States, Israel, and Iran, the Shajareh Tayyebeh […]

A Systems Thinking Critique of Self-Interested Actions and the Global Distribution of Harm

Externalities Unbounded Abstract This article employs a systems thinking framework to analyze recent empirical research attributing $10.2 trillion in cumulative global economic damages (1990–2020) to United States carbon emissions. We argue that the policy paradigms underpinning the historical extraction and production systems of powerful nations have systematically neglected the interconnectedness of ecological, economic, and social domains—a core tenet of systems thinking. This epistemic failure has enabled the externalization of climate costs onto geographically and politically distant communities, while simultaneously generating feedback harms that rebound upon the originating actors. Drawing on the methodology and findings of Burke et al. (2026), published […]

Human Rights, Political Expediency, and the Crisis of Moral Authority in United States Migration Policy

The Unmasking of Instrumentalized Rhetoric The foundational promise of the international human rights framework rests upon a universal commitment: that dignity, equality, and due process are inherent to every person, irrespective of nationality, status, or origin. So, when political leaders wield the language of rights not as a shield for the vulnerable but as a weapon to consolidate power, the very architecture of moral accountability is placed in peril. Recent assessments by United Nations human rights bodies concerning the United States have laid bare a troubling pattern: the systematic deployment of dehumanizing rhetoric alongside punitive migration enforcement has not only […]

Unpaid Debt

How the Crown and Elite Institutions Profited from Slavery—and Still Refuse to Pay What They Owe Britain’s carefully cultivated image as the moral architect of abolition is collapsing under the weight of historical evidence that tells a far less flattering story: one of systematic profit extracted from enslaved African labor, the construction of enduring institutions with that wealth, and a persistent refusal—down to the present—to repay what is owed. Slavery was not an unfortunate aberration in British history; it was a foundational business model. And the debt it created—material and moral—remains unpaid. New scholarship makes clear that Britain did not […]

Introduction to Human Rights

The Wrongs that Made Rights Possible: From Rights to Human Rights

The concept of human rights has undergone a profound transformation over centuries, evolving from the notion of rights granted by royal decree and national constitutions to the declaration of universal rights most of which were eventually enshrined in international law in the form of treaties and conventions. This transition reflects both humanity’s growing understanding of […]

The Evolution of Adjudicating Human Rights Crimes

From Temporary Tribunals to the International Criminal Court The adjudication of human rights crimes has undergone a significant transformation over the past century, evolving from temporary, single-use tribunals to the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. This evolution reflects the international community’s growing commitment to accountability, justice, and the rule of law in addressing […]

The Development of Human Rights: From Hammurabi to the Universal Declaration

While the earliest appearance of the phrase “human rights” in written records can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century, the concept of “rights” as ethical and legal claims extends far beyond the modern era. Throughout history, organized societies with hierarchical governments have established norms and rules to protect life, […]

Sovereignty and Human Rights

Sovereignty is a fundamental concept in international relations and law, defining the authority of a state to govern itself without external interference. However, in the modern era, sovereignty is increasingly discussed in relation to human rights. This article explores the concept of sovereignty in the context of human rights and its significance in ensuring—or hindering—the […]

Perspectives on Human Rights

The foundational idea of human rights is the notion of rights. When the very existence of a being is dependent on other things, such a being may claim that they have the right to these things. For instance, the human being is dependent on breathable air (oxygen), therefore, no power in the world should delay, limit, or enumerate […]

HUQUQ Journal…

The Power Differential Principle
A Systems Thinking Approach to Human Rights Advocacy ABSTRACT: This article introduces the Power
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An Ongoing Immigration Crisis
Human Rights Violations Within the US’ Treatment of Venezuelan Immigrants Abstract Current
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Humanitarian Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: What the Pause on U.S. Foreign Aid Could Mean for the DRC
by Molly Lihs Abstract This paper examines the impact of the U.S. foreign aid freeze and cuts on
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Tariffs and Human Rights
Generally, nowadays, a tariff is a tax imposed by a government on goods and services imported from
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Remembering Their Names
An Exploration of the Growing Epidemic of Wrongful Imprisonment of Journalists by Brianna
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