Human Rights

Topic: Human Rights

Syrian opposition delegation headed by Mohammad Alloush (centre) attending the first round of negotiations in Astana, January 2017 (photo: Reuters/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov)

As the war in Syria rolls on and civilians continue to die, caught in the deadly crossfire of a multi-front conflict, the Syrian military and political opposition – bowing to intense international diplomatic pressure – has been dragged into political negotiations that lack the minimum conditions for success. Essay by Burhan Ghalioun, former chairman of the Syrian opposition Transitional National CouncilMore

U.S. missile strike in Syria: Trump turns the table Assad and the rise of IS: My enemy's enemy Another year of civil war in Syria: Nothing short of scandalous

French philosopher, essayist and academic Tzvetan Todorov (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)v

On the death of philosopher and essayist Tzvetan Todorov

We are all barbarians

Tzvetan Todorov was not a typical French TV philosopher, bending the president's ear with ideas on the politics of the day. He definitely would not have called for "Libya to be bombed", as did Bernard-Henri Levy in 2011. Todorov kept a low profile. He passed away early this year. Stefan Buch explains why he was – and will remain – one of the voices of our timeMore

Islam and enlightenment: Beware of the myth Interview with Gudrun Kraemer: Fighting Islamophobia with rational arguments Alexander Flores's ''Civilization or barbarism?'': Islam in the historical context

Ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak waves to supporters from his room in the military hospital in Maadi, Cairo (photo: AP/picture-alliance)

′Pharaoh′ Mubarak′s acquittal

Some are more equal

While ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak – who has apparently got off scot-free – will not be called to account for the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators, democracy activists released from detention such as Ahmed Maher continue to suffer harassment at the hands of the legal system. Karim El-Gawhary reports from CairoMore

Interview with Ahmed Maher: "The next revolution will certainly come"Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroes Interview with Egyptian activist Ahmed Said: The scorpion's sting

Art installation by Nilbar Gures: shoe, rose and dildo (photo: CHROMA Istanbul)

Gay artists revisit Berlin-Istanbul relations

Queer forms migrate

While heightened political tensions between Turkey and Europe grab the world's attention, an exhibition at Berlin's Schwules Museum refreshingly highlights the gay community's links to Istanbul. Report by Jan Tomes More

Gay rights: Being Turkish and gay in Germany LGBT asylum seekers: A silent revolution Interview with the South African imam Muhsin Hendricks: "Islam does give us leeway to think"

Symbol of peace in Tunisia (photo: AFP/Getty Images/M. Bureau)

Tunisia′s partisan path to transitional justice

The problem with truth

One year before its mandate expires, Tunisia′s Truth and Dignity Commission is struggling to complete its work within a volatile domestic political climate. With the ruling party opposed to the transitional process and new reports of torture and abuse emerging, the country′s democratic gains are in danger. By Fatim-Zohra El MalkiMore

Victims of the Tunisian Revolution: The slow and painful search for the truth Interview with Sihem Bensedrine: "We mustn't forget what happened!"Planned ″business amnesty legislation″ in Tunisia: Sweeping history under the carpet rather than confronting the past?

Syrian author Mustafa Khalifa and the Arabic cover of "The Shell"

Review: Mustafa Khalifa′s ″The Shell″

Guilty onlookers

Published in Arabic in 2006, Mustafa Khalifa′s novel ″The Shell″ takes us deep inside the de-humanising cruelty that fed the Assad regime and the current civil war. Now translated into English by Paul Starkey, it must be one of the twenty-first century′s most emotionally devastating reads. A review by Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Syrian author Hamid Sulaiman: ″The hospital is the true hero″Syrian author and poet Ra′id Wahsh: Who ate the sky?Interview with Syrian dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh: The West's lamentable myopia

Islamic Studies professor Mona Siddiqui (photo: private)

Mona Siddiqui on Brexit, Muslims and the migrant issue

How do you welcome someone?

The recent influx of refugees into Europe, seen by some as threatening its secular and liberal identity, triggered a wave of right-wing populism. Mona Siddiqui, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh, is nevertheless convinced that the continent is still strong enough to pull back from the anti-Islamic rhetoric. An interview by Claudia MendeMore

The not-so-United Kingdom: A potentially sticky wicket The rise of right-wing populism in Europe: A continent divided Muslims in Britain: Islamophobia, multiculturalism and the state

Flag bearing the likeness of Syrian dictator Assad outside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The decline of humanism in the Arab world

With an iron fist

Gone the dream of a modern Arab civil society. Syrian writer Nasser Rabbat examines the historical causes for despotism, tyranny and oppression in the Arab world More

Liberalism in the Arab world: Merely treading water Political discourse in the Arab world: Defaming democracy Political transformation in the Arab world: Forget the people

Egyptian medic and activist Ahmed Said (photo: private)

Interview with Egyptian activist Ahmed Said

The scorpion's sting

Trainee doctor Ahmed Said was arrested in Egypt in 2015 and imprisoned for one year. His crime? Taking part in a peaceful event to mark the 2011 revolution. Part of his sentence was spent in the infamous ″Scorpion″, a prison where torture is rife. Interview by Delia FriessMore

"We are in tombs" - Human Rights Watch report on the top security prison Al-Aqrab Egypt′s hotbeds of radicalisation: From inmate to jihadist Egypt′s repression of academics and journalists: The Regeni murder fallout Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroes

Wilders supporters in the Dutch town of Spijkenisse (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Geert Wilders and the right-wing populists

Heads they win, tails they win

Geert Wilders' far-right populist party is neck-to-neck in the polls with the governing VVD in the run-up to elections in the Netherlands next week. While it′s unlikely to be part of the next government, many people fear its ideas will be implemented. Thessa Lageman reports from The HagueMore

The rise of right-wing populism in Europe: A continent divided Immigration and the new class divide: Feeding on people's grievances Interview with Geert Mak: A basic mood of xenophobia in the Netherlands

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting Egyptian President Al-Sisi in Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo on 02.03.2017 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Angela Merkel′s visit to Egypt

Blinkered realpolitik

No head of state looks forward to meeting a national leader known for the brutal silencing of his critics. Had Angela Merkel pursued a more courageous line in foreign policy, she could have saved herself a deal of discomfiture. By Matthias SailerMore

Sisi and the European Union: The long arm of the dictator Egypt′s repression of academics and journalists: The Regeni murder fallout RLA winner Mozn Hassan on civil repression in Egypt: ″Now′s the time to be creative″Post-revolution transformation in Egypt and Tunisia: Let them eat cake!

Baghdad City of Peace Carnival

Grassroots, green shoots

An annual event shows what the Iraqi people want most of all: peace. Young people in Baghdad organise a major street carnival to set positive images against the daily news of violence and war. The event has also given rise to regular participation in civil society. By Eva-Maria Verfurth and Qayssar AlwardiiMore

Official Baghdad City of Peace Carnival website Iraq's first youth orchestra: A symbol of peace in a divided nation Political discourse in the Arab world: Defaming democracy Fighting terror with music in Iraq

No way out: "on the left is a prison and on the right is the sea, there is no escape" by Abbas Al Aboudi (photo: Abbas Al Aboudi)

An Iraqi artist on Nauru

″My art is my saviour″

Currently housing 380 asylum seekers, Australia′s notorious Nauru detention facility bears witness to a brutal immigration policy. Conditions there remain the focus of international criticism. One Iraqi detainee, Abbas Al Aboudi, has turned to art in a bid to preserve his sanity. By Farid Farid

Trump′s Muslim immigration ban: Just the beginning ″Deportation Regime″ at Copenhagen′s CAMP art gallery: The right of blood Moroccan migration expert Hicham Aroud: ″Cologne 2015 was a watershed″Migration and human rights: Refugee versus migrant: what's in a name?

NGO employees protest against the constitutional changes passed by the Turkish parliament in January 2017 (photo: Reuters/U. Bektas)

Closure of NGOs in Turkey

Forced to down tools

Civil society in Turkey has practically ground to a halt in Turkey since the state of emergency was declared last year. The work of many NGOs has been discontinued seemingly overnight. Many still don't even know why. Ceyda Nurtsch spoke to some of their representativesMore

The achievements of Erdogan: With me or against me Turkey′s media crackdown: No freedom. No press.Press freedom in Turkey: Writing in a state of fear

Saudi women waiting to be picked up by their drivers (photo: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine)

Saudi health reforms and women′s rights

Still a sore point

A Saudi decision to license the kingdom′s first women-only gyms over the coming weeks constitutes progress in a country in which women′s rights are severely curtailed. Yet it also reveals the limitations of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman′s plan to rationalise and diversify the kingdom′s economy. By James M. DorseyMore

Women's rights in the Arab World: Are Saudi women next?Woman in Saudi Arabia: ''A golden age for Saudi women''Cultural policy in Saudi Arabia: Ushering in an era of change?Women in Saudi Arabia: Breaking barriers

Protesters on Talaat Harb Sqaure in Cairo demonstrate against Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (photo: picture-alliance/AP)

Young people and protests in the Arab world

So shall you reap

In many Arab countries young people continue to feel neglected. The latest Arab Human Development Report claims that shifting demographics are incubating the next political crisis. By Kareem ChehayebMore

Arab Human Development Report 2016 Hamza Meddeb on the "No Future" generation: Tunisia's ticking time bomb Al-Sisi's Egyptian crisis: ″Where are the youth?″

Topic: Human Rights

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