In The News

The Irrawaddy: Army Admits Security Officials, Villagers Executed 10 ARSA-Linked Rohingya

January 10, 2018
A Myanmar Army investigation has found a mass grave of 10 Rohingya in Rakhine State, and determined they were killed by villagers and security forces in retaliation for attacks on security outposts. The determination was based on interviews with army witnesses, border police, security officials, villagers and government employees. The 10 Rohingya were arrested and accused of a series of attacks...

The Guardian: "They Treated Her Like a Dog"– Tragedy of a Six-Year-Old Killed at Croatian Border

Emma Graham-Harrison December 28, 2017
The death of six-year-old Madina Hussiny has shed light on an enduring sociopolitical problem along Europe’s borders – the precarious status of asylum seekers and refugees. Emma Graham-Harrison observes for the Guardian, “The tragedy of the Hussiny family, who tried to reach Croatia after spending nearly a year in Serbia hoping for legal passage into Hungary, was the latest in a string of deaths...

The Diplomat: How South Asia Is Failing Its Rohingya Challenge

Angel Sharma December 4, 2017
Myanmar’s military operations against the Rohingya people in Rakhine state has driven more than 500,000 refugees to Bangladesh and at least 40,000 each to India and Pakistan. The countries of South Asia are poor and overpopulated and the refugee crisis could destabilize any the countries. Angel Sharma, writing for the Diplomat, urges comprehensive region-wide policies to prevent waves of illegal...

Project Syndicate: Ending the Business of Child Labor

Kailash Satyarthi November 16, 2017
Child labor is wrong, unnecessary and especially vile when wealthy consumers turn a blind eye to indulge in low-cost goods and services. In 1997, global leaders expressed a deep commitment to ending child labor, explains advocate and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, but since then “the world has not even halved the number of children in the workforce.” He estimates that more than 150 million...

Rappler: ASEAN’s Deafening Silence on Human Rights Violations

Jodesz Gavilan November 13, 2017
The 31st summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was marked by a failure to address human rights. “This comes at a time when some citizens of most, if not all, of ASEAN member-states are experiencing some form of oppression by their own governments,” writes Jodesz Gavilan for Rappler. “Rising authoritarianism cripples various freedoms that should be universally enjoyed.” ASEAN has 10...

FP: As US Retreats From World Organizations, China Steps in

Colum Lynch and Elias Groll October 9, 2017
China has strategically pursued leadership roles in global organizations. Colum Lynch and Elias Groll describe the efforts behind a Chinese representative to head the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “The push reflects Beijing’s desire to project a more visible ‘soft power’ profile around the world and fill a political void left by an American administration that has grown...

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Corporations Tackle Forced Labor

Adela Suliman September 14, 2017
The EcoVadis Global Corporate Social Responsibility Risk and Performance Index evaluated corporate social responsibility efforts of more than 20,000 companies and found that human trafficking and forced labor are common in global industries where minimal skills are required, reports Adela Suliman for Thomson Reuters Foundation. The good news is that companies are pursuing transparency and audits...