Reflections on events and ideas with significant consequences on the discourse and the standing of institutions of rights Share Your Thoughts! (authors may submit their essay or provide a link if already published and they wish to republish it here).
The Boy Who Cried Human Rights
Once upon a time, there was a powerful boy named America who stood at the edge of the world and cried, “Human rights! Human rights!” And the world listened. He marched against dictators, helped rebuild nations after war, and spoke boldly at the United Nations about justice, freedom, and equality. When villages far away were crushed by tyranny, the boy sent food, medicine, and even soldiers, claiming to stand for what was right. He helped end apartheid in South Africa, stood up to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, and told the world that no one was above human dignity. So, when he spoke, people believed him. They looked to him not just for power, but for moral guidance — for courage in the face of cruelty. But one day, the wolf came. It came not from the forests of Europe or the deserts of Africa, but from the skies over Gaza. It came in the form of missiles, airstrikes, and blockades that swallowed entire families. The villagers cried out — their homes turned to rubble, their children buried beneath it — and they looked to the boy who had promised that freedom and justice belonged to everyone. America saw the flames. He saw the hospitals hit, the aid convoys stopped, the suffering broadcast to the world. But instead of rushing to protect the innocent, he hesitated. He looked at his oldest friend — Israel — the wolf dressed in familiar colors. He remembered shared weapons, shared votes, shared history. And […]
Nations’ Borrowing from the Future Betrays the Basic Norms of Rights
Abstract: National debt is often framed as an economic necessity—a tool for growth, stability, and strategic investment. Yet history reveals that debt has also been a recurring instrument of decline, eroding empires, undermining sovereignty, and transferring the cost of ambition onto future generations. This essay argues that public debt must be understood not only in fiscal terms but as a profound human rights issue. When states borrow beyond their means, they bind people who do not yet exist to obligations they never consented to—effectively transforming unborn generations into economic subjects without voice or agency. Drawing on historical examples and contemporary data from the world’s most indebted nations, the essay traces how unsustainable borrowing constrains development, deepens inequality, and compromises the capacity of future societies to uphold basic human dignity. It calls for a reimagining of fiscal responsibility as moral responsibility: a recognition that debt, when misused, is not just a financial burden but a form of intergenerational injustice—a silent exploitation of the future by the present. Throughout history, national debt has been both a tool of power and a moral test. Empires and states have borrowed to build roads, wage wars, and fund revolutions—but also to delay responsibility, to push the burden of today’s ambitions onto tomorrow’s citizens. When governments treat debt as an instrument of control or a source of artificial prosperity, they are not merely taking on financial obligations. They are borrowing against time, against the lives and possibilities of people not yet born. In that sense, debt […]
From Bookstore to Empire: The Case of Amazon
Hoarding and Human Rights Introduction This essay examines the distinction between the creation and transfer of wealth through the lens of Amazon’s business model and its broader implications for economic ethics and human rights. It argues that legitimate wealth arises through two primary paths: the production of goods and services, or their distribution through trade and commerce. While Amazon has built its global dominance through the latter, its success depends largely on the labor, creativity, and productivity of others. By profiting from the margins of others’ work rather than creating value in itself, Amazon exemplifies a system in which wealth is redistributed upward rather than newly generated. The essay contends that this economic model, while efficient, raises profound moral and human rights concerns—particularly regarding the fair valuation of labor, the dignity of workers, and the equitable distribution of the fruits of human toil. In questioning Amazon’s claims to “create” jobs or wealth, the essay calls for a reexamination of how modern economies measure value, justice, and the rights of those whose labor sustains them. First, Data and Statistics Amazon frequently defends itself against criticism of harsh labor practices by pointing to two achievements: the vast number of jobs it creates and the wealth it has generated as a trillion-dollar company. Both claims are technically true, but they conceal more than they reveal about who actually benefits from Amazon’s growth. Today, Amazon is one of the largest employers on Earth, with roughly 1.55 million workers worldwide. When the company highlights job […]
The First Step to Genocide Is a Word
The Way Dehumanization Paves the Path to Atrocity Every genocide and every crime against humanity is rooted in one deliberate act: the dehumanization of its victims. Study any instance of genocide, mass atrocity, war crime, or systematic violence—and you will find a consistent, chilling pattern. Before the violence begins, a narrative is constructed to justify it; as it unfolds, that same narrative legitimizes it; and once it ends, the narrative whitewashes it. At the heart of this process lies the dehumanization of the targeted group. We saw this in Syria, where supremacist factions used explicit, degrading language to label religious, ethnic, and secular communities as subhuman. They fabricated stories of atrocities allegedly committed by these groups, framing their own brutal campaigns as “self-defense” or “retribution.” Even the most mundane actions by members of the targeted communities were twisted into evidence of sinister, premeditated aggression—conveniently justifying future acts of mass violence as necessary retaliation. More recently, Israeli leaders—preparing for what would become one of the most extreme asymmetrical wars in modern history—began dehumanizing Palestinians as early as October 8, 2023, calling them “human animals.” Ancient biblical rhetoric was invoked to rationalize the killing of children (Amalek), while labels like “terrorism” and “antisemitism” were weaponized to mobilize public support and shield actions now widely described by credible human rights organizations and scholars as genocidal. Ending the violence in Gaza will not extinguish the deeper impulse that makes such atrocities possible: the reflexive, self-serving belief that some lives are less human than others. […]
The Foundation of All Rights
Freedom of Speech Abstract Freedom of speech, thought, and conscience constitute the cornerstone of all human rights. Without the capacity to articulate claims, challenge authority, and bring grievances into the public sphere, other rights remain inaccessible and unenforceable. Drawing on the ideas presented in Muslims and the Western Conception of Rights , this essay argues that freedom of speech must be understood relationally, within the dynamics of power. The protection of vulnerable voices is paramount, while the claims of those with systemic power must be subject to limitation. Historical precedents demonstrate that transformative change has been initiated by the speech of the marginalized, underscoring the necessity of safeguarding this freedom as foundational to justice and human dignity. The discourse on human rights presupposes the ability of individuals and communities to make claims against authority. Yet claims are not self-executing; they require articulation, dissemination, and recognition. As argued in Muslims and the Western Conception of Rights, the right that enables these processes—freedom of speech—is therefore not simply one right among many but the very foundation upon which all other rights depend. Absent this freedom, no individual or community can effectively assert their humanity or contest violations of dignity. The indispensability of freedom of speech is most evident when examined through the prism of power. Rights are always situated in asymmetrical relationships. Individuals and groups with political authority, economic wealth, or social capital enjoy disproportionate access to platforms of communication and to the means of amplifying their voices. By contrast, marginalized communities […]
Comments on Rights
- The Boy Who Cried Human Rights
Once upon a time, there was a powerful boy named America who stood at the edge of the world and cried, “Human rights! Human rights!” And the world listened. He marched against dictators, helped rebuild nations after war, and spoke boldly at the United Nations about justice, freedom, and equality. When villages far away were - Nations’ Borrowing from the Future Betrays the Basic Norms of Rights
Abstract: National debt is often framed as an economic necessity—a tool for growth, stability, and strategic investment. Yet history reveals that debt has also been a recurring instrument of decline, eroding empires, undermining sovereignty, and transferring the cost of ambition onto future generations. This essay argues that public debt must be understood not only in - From Bookstore to Empire: The Case of Amazon
Hoarding and Human Rights Introduction This essay examines the distinction between the creation and transfer of wealth through the lens of Amazon’s business model and its broader implications for economic ethics and human rights. It argues that legitimate wealth arises through two primary paths: the production of goods and services, or their distribution through trade - The First Step to Genocide Is a Word
The Way Dehumanization Paves the Path to Atrocity Every genocide and every crime against humanity is rooted in one deliberate act: the dehumanization of its victims. Study any instance of genocide, mass atrocity, war crime, or systematic violence—and you will find a consistent, chilling pattern. Before the violence begins, a narrative is constructed to justify - The Foundation of All Rights
Freedom of Speech Abstract Freedom of speech, thought, and conscience constitute the cornerstone of all human rights. Without the capacity to articulate claims, challenge authority, and bring grievances into the public sphere, other rights remain inaccessible and unenforceable. Drawing on the ideas presented in Muslims and the Western Conception of Rights , this essay argues - Added Value and Human Rights
Cocoa and the Economics of Global Inequity AbstractThe denial of “added value” lies at the core of global economic inequity and its human rights consequences. While underdeveloped countries supply the raw materials that fuel global industries, developed economies capture the real wealth by processing, branding, and selling finished goods. Cocoa is a striking example: West - The Genocide Scholars’ Resolution on Gaza–Implications for International Law and Western Legitimacy
On August 2025, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)—the most authoritative academic body in the field of genocide studies—adopted a landmark resolution declaring that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide as defined under the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. This resolution, endorsed by 86 percent of the world’s leading genocide scholars, represents a pivotal - Volunteerism, Inequity, and the Right and Responsibility of Work
Volunteerism is often celebrated as altruistic, yet in unequal contexts it can both exploit unpaid labor and deny vulnerable individuals opportunities for paid work. This article argues that while the right to work is fundamental to dignity, work must also be understood as a responsibility: to sustain oneself, provide for dependents, and fulfill the - The Algorithmic Erasure of Atrocity: AI, Politics, and the Struggle for Human Rights
Abstract: This article examines the intersection of artificial intelligence, political influence, and human rights, focusing on how large language models (LLMs) respond to allegations of mass atrocities such as the Uyghur genocide in China and the situation in Gaza. Drawing on documented instances—including the suspension of the Grok chatbot from X after citing credible human - State, Science and the Human Rights Abuses
Abstract This article explores the CIA’s Project MK-Ultra and related Cold War–era experiments that sought to control human behavior through drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, and electroshock. Framed as national security research, these experiments systematically violated international human rights standards, including the right to dignity, informed consent, and freedom from torture. Drawing connections to the Nuremberg - The Abuse of Power as the Root Cause of Human Rights Violations
Power can be defined as the determining system that produces outcomes in the shortest time possible. In social contexts, this form of power is exemplified by the authority of the state—particularly the executive branch in systems governed by a tripartite model (legislative, judicial, and executive), or by a singular authority figure in centralized systems (king, - Modern Slavery in Plain Sight–How State Failure Fuels Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation
Abstract This narrative article sheds light on the hidden reality of modern-day slavery—especially child sexual exploitation facilitated by cross-border tourism—demonstrating how fragile human rights norms crumble in the face of systemic failures. Drawing from international data and reports, it unpacks how state negligence, corruption, and legal gaps allow organized networks to prey on vulnerable populations, - Genocide in Gaza–The Clearest Case of Intent in Modern International Law
Genocide is defined under the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group through acts such as killing, inflicting serious harm, or creating conditions intended to bring about the group’s destruction. Crucially, genocide - The Manufacturing of Human Rights Norms in the Age of Acceptance of Dominance
The Western discourse on human rights routinely presents itself as universal, drawing upon the rhetoric of timeless moral principles that transcend culture and history. Yet, as critical legal theorists have long argued, universality is less an a priori truth than an outcome of power relations. As Martti Koskenniemi observes in From Apology to Utopia, international - Applying the Principles of Systems Thinking Framework to Human Rights
By Max Sorenson In an increasingly interconnected world, the challenges to human rights are rarely confined to single causes or isolated incidents. From systemic racism and mass displacement to entrenched economic inequality, these issues are shaped by complex networks of social, political, and institutional forces. Systems thinking offers a critical framework for understanding and addressing