Human Rights

Ukrainian refugees are driving increased human trafficking in Poland. The US plays a critical role in combatting trafficking as the backbone of NATO.

While Orthodox Christianity lacks the historical tradition of just war theory to criticize war, it does have a theological resource it could draw upon to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: personhood.

More pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong have been arrested—including, astoundingly, a 90-year-old renowned Catholic cardinal, Joseph Zen.

The war in Ukraine is proving to be a tragic proving ground for trends that will almost certainly be replicated in other twenty-first-century warfare. Decentralized decision-making, the targeting of population centers, tactical speed in decision-making, the rise of artificial intelligence, vital intelligence sharing, and the strategic impact of moral and spiritual injury demonstrate the boundaries for future combat.

With crimes against humanity now on NATO’s doorstep, Westerners are focusing on human rights with concern and alarm not seen since the Cold War. As we do, we must admit that the West’s post-Cold War precepts and priorities downplayed human dignity and human suffering.

Millions of people in many places across the world celebrated Newroz (the Kurdish and Persian New Year) on March 19-23 with their families and loved ones. Kurds across Turkey also organized mass celebrations, but that came with a heavy price.

Xi understands well that if Putin’s regime falls, China will lose an important bulwark.

The Russian Federation’s expulsion from the Council of Europe on March 16, 2022, and its forthcoming exit from the European Convention on Human Rights were precipitated by the invasion of Ukraine. But they follow a long and fraught history of conflict between Russia and European human rights institutions, a story that holds lessons about the proper purpose and composition of international formations aimed at protecting and promoting human rights.

Mass moral atrocities and genocidal tendencies have not lessened with the supposed end of the Cold War. If anything, they have increased.