On 6 April, 2018, the classified advertising website Backpage was seized by US federal authorities. A notice from the agencies involved in a joint action against Backpage replaced the site’s homepage, linking visitors to the indictment against seven of Backpage’s staffers. They were charged with money laundering and violating the Travel Act by facilitating prostitution.Continue reading “Sex Workers Face Insecurity in a World Without Backpage”
Category Archives: North America
Paradise Lost: Leading “A Better Life” with Nestlé’s Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
On the cloudy evening of Monday 9th April, students gathered in the Hotel du Vin to listen intently as the Lafayette Club’s latest guest, the Chairman Emeritus and Former CEO of food giant Nestlé, enlightened us as to the ways in which his company plans to help each one of us to lead “a betterContinue reading “Paradise Lost: Leading “A Better Life” with Nestlé’s Peter Brabeck-Letmathe”
Review: “Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18” at the Design Museum, London
What can we learn about graphics, politics and human rights? Political graphics have long been attached to British and overseas politics, from early twentieth-century suffragette banners to the placards featured in last month’s Campaign Against Anti-Semitism protests at the Labour Party HQ in London. However, whilst they have traditionally been associated with states, corporations andContinue reading “Review: “Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18” at the Design Museum, London”
Bottling It Up: The Voiceless Right to Water
It can seem as though there’s no escaping from water. After all, it covers over 2/3 of the surface of the planet, and comprises 60% of the human body. It boils freely in pan and kettle, and runs instantaneously at the twist of a tap. It fills lochs and lakes, and rushes in streams orContinue reading “Bottling It Up: The Voiceless Right to Water”
Protocol Abroad: UNICEF Queens Conference on Human Trafficking
Jessica Craig is currently participating in a St Andrews Abroad exchange at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario in Canada. Human trafficking is a complex and devastating phenomenon in both the global north and south, affecting as many as 21 million people worldwide and generating around £18 billion in profits for its perpetrators. On 10th FebruaryContinue reading “Protocol Abroad: UNICEF Queens Conference on Human Trafficking”
The Human Rights of Bling
In the wake of Valentine’s Day, some of our dear Protocol readers may currently be wearing a new necklace, bracelet, or ring from a loved one (or secret admirer). Gifting jewellery is extremely popular, with Americans spending more on jewellery than on any other gift for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day in 2017, purchasing nearly $10Continue reading “The Human Rights of Bling”
Educational Gerrymandering: A Look at Modern Segregation in American Schools
Gerrymandering, as explained by the Washington Post, refers to ‘the drawing of political boundaries in a way that gives your party a numeric advantage over an opposing party’. This long-sustained tactic employed by both the Democratic and Republican parties has transformed, moving beyond the legislative, beyond the confines of Partisan advantage. Gerrymandering has entered aContinue reading “Educational Gerrymandering: A Look at Modern Segregation in American Schools”
Climate Change-Related Displacement: The “refugee” label, human rights, and state responsibility
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the primary international organisation advocating for refugee rights. The UNHCR 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees constitute the fundamental international legal instrument for the protection of refugee rights. According to Article 1A(2), a refugee is defined as aContinue reading “Climate Change-Related Displacement: The “refugee” label, human rights, and state responsibility”
Notes from the field: The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2017
“Human rights are not optional norms” stated Professor Surya Deva, the Chairperson of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations, at the opening plenary at the sixth UN Forum on Business and Human Rights. The Forum took place in November 2017 at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, theContinue reading “Notes from the field: The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2017”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Landmark International Standard
December 10th marks the anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a touchstone piece of human rights work, fundamental to laying guidelines for later legislation on and treatment of human rights in the international community. The Declaration formally asserts that all human beings are free and equal, regardless of race, class, nationality, religion, genderContinue reading “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Landmark International Standard”
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