Blogs

Dainius Pūras In my final report as Special Rapporteur on the right to health, presented to the UN General Assembly this week, I stress that the most effective “vaccine” for global health challenges has been, and will always be, the full realization…

UN Experts joined together to remind states of their human rights duty to ensure access to contraception for anyone who wants it, including during COVID-19.  On World Contraception Day (26 September), the experts, led by the new Special Rapporteur…

Benjamin Mason Meier and Tamira Daniely The United Nations Human Rights Council appoints Special Rapporteurs on specific human rights themes, with these independent experts holding an official mandate to monitor violations and promote rights.…

Katherine R. Peeler and Vidya Kumar Ramanathan Judge Dolly Gee’s recent order mandating the release of all detained immigrant children from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Family Residential Centers (FRCs) was an…

Sara L.M. Davis For decades, the International AIDS Conference has successfully convened a massive biannual meeting, bringing together a diverse community of scientists, researchers, activists and officials, as well as a smattering of celebrities. At…

Katherine R. Peeler and Scott H. Podolsky Aurelia had traveled more than 2,000 miles, mostly on foot, with her 7-year-old daughter, Heidy, to the Mexico-Arizona border from Guatemala. In her 24 years, Aurelia had endured a life of poverty, rape, and…

Katrina Perehudoff and Jennifer Sellin How do we guarantee access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, and secure health-related human rights for all? We’ve heard a string of promises in the race for new vaccines and therapies. European governments,…

Dainius Pūras I have no doubt that around the world we will soon be facing an increase in mental health issues in the wake COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic, and the measures taken to contain it, may well be long lasting on our mental well-being,…

Nirmalya Chaudhuri Various governments around the world have chosen to stifle freedom of speech and expression, especially that of health workers, in an attempt to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The tragic fate of Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who…

Prem Misir African American communities in the United States have always suffered health disparities compared to white Americans. COVID-19 impacts are continuing this pattern, and exposing human rights failings. The Washington Post reported that “…in…