By: Alexandra Stafford.
Image credit: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth, Quartz (Oct. 1, 2017) https://qz.com/1090885/austria-just-slapped-a-burqa-ban-on-the-150-women-who-dare-to-wear-one/.
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By: Kathryn Bristor.
In response to a national measles outbreak, the Italian government has enacted a mandatory vaccinations law for school-aged children as a prerequisite to school enrollment, with hefty consequences for noncompliance. While not everyone is in agreement about this law, the Italian people may not be able to afford to refuse vaccinations without putting their loved ones, and themselves, at risk.
Image credit: MaxPixel, available at http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Monument-Italy-Emanuel-Ii-The-Altar-Of-The-Homeland-422712
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By: Kylie Cumback.
France, despite high rates of vaccine skepticism, has enacted legislation to make vaccines compulsory by 2018 in an attempt to curtail the spread of vaccine preventable diseases. Will this new law be effective in recapturing herd immunity?
Image credit: Romain D C, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Canop%C3%A9e_panorama_20160624_01.jpg
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By: Michael T. Moran.
The U.S. presidential election was dominated by claims that then-Candidate Trump would build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico without spending U.S. taxpayer dollars. International law, specifically Article 24 of the United Nations, has been infrequently discussed in regards to this issue.
Image credit: http://www.michellehenry.fr/mexico-us-border.jpg
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By: Jeffrey Caviston.
On September 23, New Zealanders went to the polls to vote for their next government. As a result of a shifting political landscape, party leadership changes, and the country’s proportional voting system, voters elected a coalition progressive-populist-nationalist government. In contrast to the country’s pro-globalization, anti-regulation regime of the last 30 years, the new government is expected to pursue more isolationist policies, particularly in the areas of immigration and foreign trade.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_and_Bowen_House.jpg
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By: Morgan Lear.
Since the passage of the September 2017 referendum, the Kurds found themselves fighting Iraq to maintain previously established KRG territory. Within one month of the referendum, the Kurds have lost 40% of their territory. What other effects have the Kurds faced as a result of this move for independence?
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iraq_Kurdistan_location_map.svg
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By: Andrew Kemmer.
Chile has vowed to become the latest country to ban the use of plastic bags in order to mitigate the negative environmental effect that they have. But the path to an effective ban is much murkier than simply banning bags and seeing an improvement overnight. What will Chile do to implement an effective ban?
Image credit: https://www.change.org/p/national-marine-help-the-endangered-green-turtles-stop-pollution
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By: Brittany Jones.
The current attacks against the Rhonigya are inhumane and unjust. Myanmar’s history of ethnic conflict with the Rohingya is very complicated and requires a basic understanding of how the country was established.
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_persecution_in_Myanmar
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By: Shivani Verma.
According to a panel of experts on the Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), imposing the capital punishment on individuals who suffer a psychosocial disability is a violation of the death penalty safeguards. However, the Pakistani Supreme Court is permitting the execution of mentally ill individuals. The United Nations again pressured Pakistan to protect its mentally ill inmates.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan,_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg
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By: Kellina Keylek.
In 2015 alone, one million people from the Middle East and parts of Africa reached the European Union seeking asylum from countries consumed by war, political instability, and repression. Placed between two of the most “immigrant friendly” countries in Europe, Denmark responded to the influx of asylum seekers by enacting new policies further restricting the rights of refugees.
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By: Brittany Jones.
In 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. South Sudan was formed in part to break away from the devastation of Sudan; however, it is unclear that the South Sudanese government has been able to prevent violence, instability, or food insecurity from taking hold in this new nation.
Image credit: Steve Evans from Citizen of the World, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Sudan_Independence_Celebration_(5963420792).jpg
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By: Sophie Goodman.
Over 140 million girls and women are affected by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Many countries have taken steps to enact laws and regulations to curb the cultural and societal expectations to undergo FGM. South Africa effectively criminalized FGM and continues to educate society on the complications and human rights implications of FGM.
Image credit: Sophie Goodman.
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By: Megan Hall.
Fishing on the high seas is one of the most important rights nations have under international law, but the lack of regulation has allowed humans to decimate fish populations. In 2015, the United Nations resolved to adopt a new treaty to regulate high seas fishing. The Republic of Maldives is a key stakeholder that will be affected by these new regulations.
Image credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellowfin_tuna_nurp.jpg
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By: Kylie Cumback.
In the heart of sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana’s diamond industry has helped the nation thrive. A handful of sprawling diamond mines controlled by the most famous name in the diamond industry—De Beers—dot the country’s rugged terrain. In Fall 2017, Botswana underwent it’s third KP review—and pledged to remain transparent and follow the KP.
Image credit: : Seth Wenig/AP
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By: Morgan Lear.
For the past 50 years, Colombia has been fighting a civil war against its largest rebel group, FARC. Now that a peace accord has been signed and approved by Congress, what issues may arise? What issues still linger?
Image credit: Mijotoba, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taganga.jpg
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