A personal learning journey By Mervat Rishmawi  One of the benefits of being a human rights consultant is the opportunity to work on new issues from time to time, allowing me to continue to learn and expand my horizons. In the last couple of years, I have undertaken several pieces of work with HelpAge International, a ..read more

By Dr. Aoife Duffy & Dr. Katya AlKhateeb Last month, in conjunction with the Essex Transitional Justice Network (ETJN), we hosted an ESRC/IAAfunded multidisciplinary workshop which examined how practitioners and researchers deal with contentious narratives in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes. The Agree to Disagree Workshop delved into the specific issue of countenancing contentious narratives at different stages ..read more

By Vanessa Topp, LLM in IHRL candidate at the University of Essex The controversial trial against search and rescue volunteers with the Greek non-profit organisation Emergency Relief Centre International (ERCI) is set to begin on 10 January 2023. Accused of human smuggling, espionage, membership in a criminal organisation, and money laundering Sarah Mardini, Seán Binder, and Nassos ..read more

By Siân Marney The feature image is titled “Countercurrent” (2018) by Miles Johnston When I first started writing this, the blog looked very different. Much of the original draft was spent theorising on how so many could be apathetic in the face of climate change (after all, disengagement is simply another form of climate denial). A lot ..read more

In light of recent debates surrounding freedom of expression, trans inclusion, and ‘gender critical’ debates on university campuses, lawyers and academics at Garden Court Chambers and the University of Essex have prepared a new report: ‘Universities’ Legal Obligations in the Context of Trans Inclusion, Trans Equality, and ‘Gender Critical’ Activities on Campus’. The report provides an ..read more

Dr Andrew Fagan The men’s football World Cup kicks off this coming Sunday with the opening match between the hosts Qatar and Ecuador. Across the four weeks of the tournament, billions of people around the world will tune in to watch the 32 competing nations compete for the trophy and substantial prize money. The real ..read more

The Feature image is Mahsa Amini who was taken to hospital in a coma after being beaten by Iran’s morality police amid a crackdown for infringements of strict hijab laws. Source: twitter By Abbas Faiz  Women-led protests unleased after the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa in the so-called “morality police” custody for not wearing full hijab ..read more

By Sahar Maranlou, Lecturer, School of Law, University of Essex This blog was first published in The Conversation October 7th 2022 Protests have quickly spread across Iran calling for a change in the law after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police. The young woman was accused of violating ..read more

By Senu Nizar and Aparimita Pratap The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (“MTP Act”) is the primary framework regulating termination of pregnancy in India. Despite the MTP Act being in force for over 50 years, the United Nations Population Fund in its State of World Population (SoWP) Report 2022 stated that unsafe abortions are the third leading cause ..read more

..read more