Human Rights

Gender, Data, and High-Risk Environments
- December 6, 2017
Collecting reliable data on state and political processes in insecure environments is a necessary first step to understanding and ultimately reducing violence. Gender shapes the data we collect, the ways it is collected, and ultimately the findings we produce and …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
READ MORE
Zimbabwe: A Faustian Bargain with a Crocodile?
- November 28, 2017
After 37 years of rule, Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest leader and one of Africa’s longest serving presidents, has finally lost power. In an unprecedented, unpredictable, and at times unbelievable series of events, the one-time liberation hero was deposed by …
By Rita Abrahamsen
Africa, Democracy, Human Rights
READ MORE
The General and the Genocide
- November 26, 2017
General Ratko Mladić has been sentenced to life in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The court found the former Bosnian Serb military chief guilty of one count of genocide and ten crimes against humanity, plus …
By Srdjan Vucetic
Europe, Human Rights, International Law
READ MORE
Women in Political Life Say #MeToo: Here’s How Harassment and Violence Limit Their Political Lives Worldwide
- October 23, 2017
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal last week, millions of women and men took to social media to speak out against sexual harassment and violence. Facebook alone saw over 12 million posts as more than 4.7 million users …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
READ MORE
No Easy Route to Nuclear Disarmament
- October 11, 2017
Last week, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a campaign group seeking a global ban on nuclear arms. The award to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) surprised many observers, particularly in a year when the architects …
By Alexandra Gheciu
Cold War, Human Rights, International Law, International Security, United Nations
READ MORE
Why Taiwan is an International Issue
- September 20, 2017
China works hard to convince the world that any decision about Taiwan is entirely a Chinese domestic affair. This has not, however, always been the official line of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1936, when the Republic of China (ROC) …
By Scott Simon
Asia, Canadian Foreign Policy, China, Democracy, Human Rights
READ MORE

The Case of Omar Khadr
- July 13, 2017
The Omar Khadr case is again front-page news following the settlement of his longstanding lawsuit against the Canadian government. The news has elicited a wide range of comments from the usual suspects. I was among a small group in Foreign …
By Daniel Livermore
Defence and Intelligence, Human Rights, International Law, International Security
READ MORE
What to Watch for this Summer
- June 14, 2017
We asked our CIPS experts to give us a heads-up on what to watch for this summer. No one can predict the next coup or terrorist attack, of course, but we can be certain of some things. Donald Trump will …
By CIPS
Canadian Foreign Policy, Environment, Human Rights
READ MORE
A Treaty to Protect the Rights of Older People is Long Overdue!
- April 24, 2017
By Gordon Digiacomo, Martine Lagacé, and Caroline Andrew

“Homelessness, malnutrition, unattended chronic diseases, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, unaffordable medicines and treatments and income insecurity are just a few of the most critical human rights issues …
By CIPS
Human Rights, International Development, United Nations
READ MORE
What Joining the Arms Trade Treaty Means for Canada
- April 24, 2017
The government of Canada is about to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the first and only legally binding treaty designed to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade. On April 13, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the introduction …
By Srdjan Vucetic
Human Rights, International Security, International Trade
READ MORE
In Memoriam: Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique, murdered 23 April 2016
- April 20, 2017
By Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a …
By CIPS
Asia, Democracy, Human Rights
READ MORE
The New Colossus
- March 30, 2017
by Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr

“Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” The words inscribed at the base of the statue of Liberty are famous, and yet hardly anyone knows that they are from a sonnet …
By CIPS
Human Rights, Refugees, USA
READ MORE