How the Hong Kong Security Law Infringes Upon Fundamental Human Rights

The Hong Kong security law (or the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) that came into effect late on 30th June 2020 spells disaster for the pro-democratic city. As one of the five autonomous regions in China, the ‘one country, two systems’ policy has shielded Hong Kong from the excesses of the …

Racial Discrimination Amidst COVID19: Double Whammy for the North-Eastern Community

Although India was ill-prepared to face the health and economic hazards brought in by Covid-19; it was rather oblivious to the possibility of discrimination and social intolerance emerging as an accessory to such hazards. Covid-19 has given birth to a new way of racial polarization by way of ‘hate speech’ against the north eastern community …

Philippines Anti-Terrorism Bill and the threat to human rights

On 5th June, 2020 the Philippines Government passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which now awaits President Duterte’s assent, after which it will effectively repeal the current Human Security Act, 2007. The military thought that the current legislation was not effective enough to counter modern terrorism which includes online recruitment of terrorists and digital planning of terrorist …

United State’s New Deportation Policy: An Inhumane Law?

The Immigrants Plight Amidst Coronavirus Imagine your life as an immigrant stuck at the US border, who fell prey to coronavirus border expulsions, where your destination is not of your choosing but merely where you could get to or where you were put. The rising xenophobia within the global leader of democracy has been shockingly …

COVID-19 and Hungary’s indefinite state of emergency: lockdown of democracy or a step towards dictatorship?

Hungary declares indefinite state of emergency Europe is at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic with 65% of the world’s death attributable to the virus coming form this continent. Many European countries have declared a state of emergency, but there seems to be only one country that has attracted public condemnation and apprehension from the European …

Dard-ae-Kashaf: Story of a Rohingya Child

The place she called Home Kashaf did not have the means to watch FRIENDS, and the few friends she had in the make-shift school in the Rakhine Province of Myanmar were also dwindling. Little did she know that her ancestors were disowned by the Myanmar Government way back in 1982.[1] Her Ammi (mother) told her …

Time to revisit anti-defection Laws: Party’s Dominance v. Legislators Conscience

Article 21(3) of UDHR mandates that, ‘[T]he will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government’. Thus, a government which rules without the will of the people by misusing Constitutional offices can be argued to violate the basic human rights of the citizen. The most effective tool of political parties of …

Right to Conscientious Objection to Military Service

I refuse to pick up a rifle. I renounce all forms of violence- Jehovah’s Witness.

“the obligation to use lethal force might seriously conflict with the freedom of conscience and the right to manifest one’s religion or belief.”
In Jong-nam Kim et al. v. Republic of Korea, the Committee held that the right to conscientious objection to military service is inbuilt in right to freedom of conscience and belief and religion, sanctions exemption from obligatory military service to any individual if the same cannot be settled with his beliefs or religion.