High-Income Countries Retreat from Rights-Based Policy

The General Assembly adopts a resolution on the 2025 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, which was also adopted concurrently by the Security Council, during the 51st plenary meeting of the General Assembly
The General Assembly adopts a resolution on the 2025 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

In recent years, we have seen high-income countries fail to uphold commitments by retreating from prior obligations to health and reversing environmental protections that were once collective imperatives. This reveals a broader pattern of countries abandoning formerly binding principles, treating equity and rights as lesser considerations. More than budgetary shifts, these movements reflect a widespread prioritization of trade, security, and short-term geopolitical advantage. The United States, with its expedited migration enforcement and aggressive international maritime operations, demonstrates how rights-centered diplomacy is undermined by deceptive national security prioritization (OHCHR 2025; Council on Foreign Relations 2025). Recent reporting on U.S. ‘drug boat’ strikes, which have condemned by the UN as illegal, further illustrates how security practices can erode international legal norms (The Independent 2025). These retreats from the rights-based approach to international relations signal a broader crisis of credibility in international commitments, where promises of fairness are increasingly subordinated to immediate political gain. This blog observes how foreign policy instruments are steering away from human rights and how external shifts cause domestic rollbacks in civil protections.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations in 1948, is a foundational document that sets out 30 articles affirming universal rights and freedoms, establishing a global standard for dignity, equality, and justice (United Nations 1948). Similarly, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN in 2015, are a set of 17 global targets designed to reduce inequality, strengthen institutions, and promote sustainable development worldwide (United Nations, 2015). These provide operational commitments and normative measures needed for international engagement – specifically SDG 10 on inequality and SDG 16 on inclusive institutions (United Nations, 2015). The European Union (EU) Charter and Council of Europe further specify obligations for rights-consistent external policies that member states are expected to honor (European Union 2012; Council of the European Union n.d.). Implementing these standards requires consultation with affected communities, funding for civil society partners, and independent impact assessment mechanisms that adjudicate trade‑offs between security, trade, and rights (American Bar Foundation 2023; Oxfam Novib & Oxfam International 2025). Without these mechanisms, performative politics obscure whether rights protections are effectively implemented (IOB 2024).

Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria (Dick) Schoof, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session.
Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria (Dick) Schoof, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

There are four primary indicators of rights retreat within current foreign policy:

  1. Reallocations within national budgets have begun prioritizing short-term geopolitical goals over sustained rights-programming (IOB 2024).
  2. Emerging trade and technology agreements have abandoned civil society concerns, instead including unenforceable measures for rights-fulfillment (UNCTAD 2025; European Commission 2024).
  3. Governments have begun to shift migration discourse from protection to control at the expense of asylum safeguards (Beltran Saavedra et al., 2025).
  4. Aid and cooperation conditions are no longer effective in leveraging compliance due to uneven application and enforcement (IOB 2024; Oxfam Novib & Oxfam International 2025).

More than abstract trends, these four indicators underscore shifts between discourse and practice. Each of these mechanisms is exemplified by the 2017-2022 evaluation of Dutch support to human rights (IOB 2024). The Dutch Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) (2024) found persistent gaps between rhetorical commitments and complete implementation. Budgetary shifts in this report show reduced or threatened funding for civil-society watchdogs and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). Barriers to sustained funding and coordination – in combination with fragmented national agendas on trade, migration, and security – produces contradictions which limit the effectiveness of rights clauses and undermine the durability of long-term human rights programming and international initiatives. The inconsistent application of rights-conditionality (the requirement that governments uphold human rights standards in exchange for aid or cooperation) and restricted civil-society consultation has signaled to grassroots actors that their role in policy creation is expendable (Douch et al., 2022). Rather than through outright rejection, these findings show retreats in rights-centered diplomacy through incremental reallocation of budgets away from civil-society and rights programming and incoherence across geopolitical agendas, such as trade, migration, and security agendas (Netherlands Helsinki Committee 2025).

The Dutch case shows how fragmented agendas and weakened accountability measures echo throughout multiple levels of international policy, allowing prior commitments to appear negotiable. Civil society actors warn that such shifts promote neighboring governments to follow suit, leading to a broader pattern of accountability problems (Netherlands Helsinki Committee 2025; Oxfam Novib & Oxfam International 2025). This retreat, which is in direct contradiction of the principles enshrined in the UDHR, SDGs, and EU charter, sets the stage for parallel erosions where domestic rights protections are at risk.

Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session.
President of United States of America Addresses 80th Session of General Assembly Debate. UN Photo/Laura Jarriel

Rights and Domestic Policy

The impacts of international retrenchment – retreats from commitments to health, climate, and rights-based foreign policy – do not remain external. These withdrawals negatively affect domestic enforcement mechanisms and social expectations surrounding rights implementation. When multilateral agreements rapidly deprioritize rights, this becomes normalized, emboldening domestic governments to strip protections at home. This feedback loop allows weakened rights-focused diplomacy and domestic rights rollback to reinforce one another. This cycle not only weakens rights protections but also reshapes public expectations, making exclusionary practices appear normal and acceptable.

In the United States, coercive practices at home (such as accelerated removals of migrants and courthouse detentions of asylum seekers) demonstrate how isolationist attitudes abroad have begun to change acceptable federal action (UCLA Law Review 2023; OHCHR 2025). These practices are incentivized by orders that prioritize border control and the rapid returns of migrants to their countries of origin (or “safe third party” countries or countries with “deportation deals”) (The Olive Press, 2025; Democracy Now, 2025). This pushes agencies to expand detention, expedite cases, and limit court oversight, factors that weaken due process (UCLA Law Review 2023; UNHCR 2025). The US is not alone here; several high-income countries are seeing migration issues reframed as management problems. Tightened asylum processing, shorter appeal windows, and over-reliance on administrative solutions all lead to eroded procedural protections for non-citizens and displaced people (Beltran Saavedra et al. 2025; UNHCR 2025).

The stability of rights depends on institutional resources and sustained commitment. When supervision decreases, governments advance these restrictive agendas without restraint, leaving vulnerable populations unprotected (Herre & Arriagada 2025; ILGA‑Europe 2024). This leads to lower civic participation, polarized public spheres, and diminished capacity for collective problem solving (CivicPulse, 2025). These deficits weaken civic infrastructure and amplify exclusionary narratives (American Bar Foundation 2023). What begins as external retrenchment becomes an internal erosion of democratic resilience, hollowing out safeguards that once constrained state power and leaving societies more vulnerable to authoritarian appeals.

Reimagining Rights-Centered Diplomacy

High-income countries must recommit and reinvest to undo harm and re-embed rights in diplomacy. This will involve dedicated funding for civil society partners, binding impact assessments, and robust oversight mechanisms with procedural safeguards (IOB 2024; UNHCR, 2025). Domestic resilience requires enforcement of judicial review and sustained support for watchdog institutions that defend minority rights against political pressures (American Bar Foundation 2023). These reforms prioritize long-term protections and reinforce institutional infrastructure to withstand short-term pressures. This, along with the recommendations from the IOB (2024) evaluation, ensure that rights commitments remain operational and also restore local and global credibility. High-income countries are faced with two options: accept the continual loss of civic trust and democratic security or invest in durable institutions that can safeguard rights amid geopolitical volatility.

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sentenced to Death

An illustration of Bangladesh with protest against the 30% quota.
Image 1: Illustration, students killed in Bangladesh, Quota reform movement/anti-quota protest. Source Adobe Express. By Nasima. Asset ID: 902673984

More than a year ago, in 2024, a student-lead protest turned violent, after armed forces began attacking. Recently, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and her Minister of Home Affairs, Asadduzzaman Khan Kamal, were accused of crimes against humanity. Both were found guilty of these crimes on November 17, 2025 by the International Crime Tribunal of Bangladesh. Those in attendance cheered as the verdict was announced; many had been personally affect by the violent attacks on the protest, either by injury or having lost a loved one. The seats meant for Hasina and Kamal remained empty throughout the entirety of the trial. This did little to stifle the pure excitement that filled the walls, inside and outside, as the words death penalty fell from Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder’s lips. For their crimes against humanity, both of the accused are condemned to the ultimate punishment: death.  

It is worth noting that the death penalty directly undermines the right to life and the right to not experience inhumane punishment. These rights are outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The first, right to life, is discussed in Article 3 of the UDHR and the second, no inhumane punishment, is talked about in Article 5 of the UDHR.

The three week student-led protests in 2024 ended in violence and the death of hundreds of students. The protests were against the reinstatement of a 30% quota that reserved government positions for family members of veterans from Bangladesh’s independence war. In a blog post titled The Awaiting Arrest Warrant of Bangladesh, Tamanna Patel offered an in-depth evaluation of the protests, the escalation of violence, and Hasina’s resignation of power. Building on this, this blog will briefly discuss the events that occurred during the protest, the aftermath of the protest, and Hasina and Kamal’s trial, verdict, and sentencing. 

The History and Allegations

Dhanmondi, Dhaka Bangladesh burning cars after Hasina fell from power, August 5th, 2024. Source: Adobe Express. By Tanbin Asset ID: 956192001
Image 2: Dhanmondi, Dhaka Bangladesh, burning cars after Hasina fell from power, August 5th, 2024. Source: Adobe Express. By Tanbin Asset ID: 956192001

What started as a peaceful protest on July 15th, 2024 by Dhaka University students quickly turned deadly when armed forces began attacking protesters. Batons were swung, guns raised, and tear gas fired into the crowds by members of the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL) and later by the police. The steadily increasing death toll fueled the discontent amongst protesters. After the country went offline for five days, the death toll rose to 200 and the arrested to a minimum of 2,500.

According to Article 41 of the United Nation (UN) Charter, the Security Council has the right to conduct international tribunals and put those who are accused of heinous crimes, such as crimes against humanity, on trial. In the aftermath of the protests, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh was tasked with bringing a case forward against Hasina, Kamal, and the former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, all of whom played a hand in ordering Bangladesh’s armed forces to use lethal weapon against students during the protests. The attacks on protesters with lethal weapons are considered crimes against humanity. Because of their involvement, all three of the accused were tried for the crime of purposely targeting civilians. 

The Trial, Verdict, and Sentencing

The Bangladesh flag against a blue sky.
Image 3: The national flag of Bangladesh against a blue sky. Source: Adobe Express. By GDMatthews. Asset ID: 515525562

The following elements must be met for a crime to be considered a “crime against humanity.” The first is that “the perpetrator killed one or more persons.” In the case of Hasina, Kamal, and Al-Mamun, their orders to use lethal weapons on protesters, which resulted in mass casualties, fulfills the requirement for the first element. The second is that the crimes were “committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack directed against a civilian population.” The student protesters would be the civilian population, and the multiple attacks at various protests across the country within a short time period could be seen as systematic or widespread attacks. The final element is that “conduct was part of or intended … to be part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.“ For this tribunal, it was essential that the intent behind the attacks on the protesters be proven to be systematic or widespread.

The prosecution’s closing statements on October 16th, 2025 reiterated the severity of the crimes against humanity that Hasina and Kamal committed and called for both to receive the death penalty. The prosecution stated that due to orders by Hasina and Kamal, widespread, systematic attacks were carried out. One of the main arguments supporting this assertion was that members of the Awami League —supporters of Hasina– joined the police in violently attacking student protesters. 

The defense, on the other hand, stated that the violence was not widespread, arguing that if it had been, it would have occurred throughout the entirety of Bangladesh. The defense attorney stated that there were not enough witnesses to the violence across the country and that it is possible that some of the videos of violence could be AI. The prosecution team had 54 witnesses and the defense had none. In addition, the defense attorney brought into question the validity of the former chief of police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun’s, testimony, as he could just be throwing the blame onto the other two accused. 

Experts at the Atlantic Council, a think tank, note that this sentencing might further increase division within Bangladesh. With elections quickly approaching, the former ruling party, Awami League, has essentially been banned from running. Because of this, the possibility of further violence is a valid concern. For some, the death penalty is critical for holding the government accountable. Others believe the sentencing is not justice and will only work to further polarize the people of Bangladesh. 

Undoubtedly, this verdict and sentencing have offered the families and friends of those killed in the protest some form of comfort. For many closely affected by the aftermath of the 2024 protests, this is justice. For others, the speed of the trial, absence of the defendants, and the banning of the Awami League from national elections make the tribunals seem politically motivated. While Hasina and Kamal received the death penalty, the former chief of police received only five years in prison. Although he did testify against the two leaders, there is a significant gap in the severity of the punishments. With Hasina and Kamal remaining in India, it is not yet clear whether they will be extradited by the Indian government. Dhaka (where the government of Bangladesh is located) has implemented an extradition treaty, but New Delhi responded that they will do what benefits the people of Bangladesh the most.

Conclusion

Although the fairness of the trial has been brought into question, the consequences of the armed forces attacking student protestors remains. It is evident the people of Bangladesh desire governmental change and accountability for its past actions. Using lethal weapons on civilians is a crime against humanity. For now, Hasina and Kamal have not been extradited, and it is uncertain whether or not their punishment will occur. Indeed, the punishment in itself can be viewed as a human rights violation. While their crimes undoubtedly undermined human life, so too does their sentencing undermine their right to life. It is a vicious cycle of violence that occurs when the death penalty is used. Regardless of their punishment, there is little that can be said to justify such a use of force. Only time will tell whether or not those responsible for such crimes will be punished. 

Indigenous Groups Demand Change at COP30

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP, brings together nearly every country annually for a “multilateral decision-making forum on climate change.” Leaders in business, science, governance, and civil society organizations attend to “strengthen global, collective and inclusive climate action.” In the first organized protests at a major climate summit since 2021, thousands of Indigenous activists marched the streets of Belém, Brazil, the site of COP30 in 2025, to demand action on a range of issues. COP30 Executive Director Ana Toni stressed that the protestors had legitimate concerns and that Brazil’s democratic government allows for “different forms of protest.” Protestors travelled from across South America to call for Indigenous representation in the formulation of global climate policy and to spotlight local Indigenous land sovereignty issues.  

Leaders at COP30 climate panel
Leaders discuss climate action at COP30 panel. By: peopleimages.com. Source: Adobe Stock. Asset ID#: 1782077705

Demand for Demarcation 

Signs at the marches read “demarcation now,” demanding that states, particularly Brazil, transfer legal ownership of land to Indigenous peoples. Brazil’s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, echoed the protesters’ sentiment, claiming that one goal of COP30 is to ensure that “countries recognise the demarcation of Indigenous lands as climate policy.” Demarcation is more than an issue of sovereignty or law; it is also a strategy for environmental conservation. Indigenous communities tend to their local forests and bodies of water using unique cultural knowledge. Some research suggests that Indigenous caretaking can enhance wildlife biodiversity, decrease deforestation, and mitigate disease. The UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) recognizes that Indigenous cultural practices “[contribute] to sustainable and equitable development and proper management of the environment.”  

Amid the encroachment of mining companies and the recent authorization of oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River, one Indigenous leader stated, “We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.” He also said, “We can’t eat money,” critiquing the focus on climate finance at previous COP summits while environmental degradation continues.

Advocates have called for the Brazilian government to abandon the marco temporal legal theory, which holds that only lands allotted to Indigenous peoples during the 1988 adoption of the Brazilian constitution are eligible for demarcation.

In a breakthrough, the Brazilian government announced at COP30 that it would, for the first time since 2018, demarcate ten Indigenous lands. The UNDRIP states that redress, including land repatriation, should be provided to Indigenous peoples whose property was taken without their consent. All 193 UN member states have adopted the UNDRIP, but it is a non-binding declaration, meaning states must decide whether to incorporate its ideals in their national laws. Brazil’s demarcation efforts exemplify the commitments outlined in the UNDRIP.

Violence in Guarani-Kaiowá

The murder of Guarani and Kaiowá Indigenous peoples during the final week of COP30 by private security forces demonstrates the importance of demarcation and protection of Indigenous lands and their peoples. Attacks on the Guarani and Kaiowá communities over land disputes in the state of Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil, have an ongoing history. In 2024, the head of UN Human Rights in South America called for land demarcation and a full investigation into these attacks. In the Guarani-Kaiowá struggle to regain sovereignty over their land, which has largely been lost to agribusiness, activists and spokespersons have been targeted by security forces allegedly hired by estate owners.  

Global Witness has tracked murders and disappearances of environmental defenders since 2012, and Indigenous leaders, particularly in Central and South American countries, are overrepresented among the victims of these attacks. According to the report, extractive, land, and agribusiness industries have been linked to these attacks. These attacks underscore the importance of demarcation for Indigenous peoples in South America. 

Indigenous woman walks on a mountainside in Peru.
Indigenous woman walks on a mountainside in Peru. By: sayrhkdsu. Source: Adobe Stock. Asset ID#: 451597782

Brazil’s Environmental Policy 

Before the conference, the Brazilian government positioned itself as a climate leader, but some have criticized the current administration’s inconsistent attitude toward environmental conservation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has overseen a significant reduction in deforestation, which was ramped up under former President Bolsonaro’s leadership, but some environmental groups have denounced the recent authorization of oil drilling near the Amazon River. The president argues that oil will remain a necessity for years to come and that Brazilians should profit from it. Others point to the Amazon rainforest’s crucial role in storing carbon and reducing global atmospheric greenhouse gases. Some evidence suggests that the Amazon could become a savannah in the coming years as deforestation and drought intensify.  

Like Brazil’s broader environmental policy, recent actions have included successes for Indigenous rights, as well as failures to protect marginalized groups. The country recently undertook the Ywy Ipuranguete, or “Beautiful Land“, initiative, which aims to strengthen Indigenous-led land management efforts across fifteen Indigenous lands, accounting for six million hectares of land. The Brazilian Biodiversity Fund states, “the project focuses on strengthening sustainable territorial management.” When Indigenous communities are given access to collective property rights over land, there is a marked decrease in deforestation in these areas. Experts at a 2019 UN conference highlighted the importance of Indigenous participation in conservation efforts. 

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil is suing the mining company Vale and the Brazilian government for “heavy metal contamination in the bodies of Xikrin Indigenous people.” The company’s nickel mining contaminated the Catete River and Indigenous lands, the lawsuit alleges. A study conducted by the Federal University of Para found nickel levels as high as 2,326% above the safe limit in one woman.  

Aerial view of Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
Aerial view of Amazon rainforest in Brazil. By: Curioso.Photography. Source: Adobe Stock. Asset ID#: 339931047

COP30 Outcome 

Brazil’s tepid attitude towards climate policy reflects the results of COP30. While $5.5 billion was raised for the Tropical Forests Forever Fund, with 20% going to Indigenous communities, the Conference fell short of an explicit commitment to move away from fossil fuels—despite a warning from scientist Carlos Nobre before the final talks that continuing fossil fuel use beyond 2040 will lead to catastrophic temperature increases, collapsing the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. UN leadership emphasized the significance of a multilateral agreement in an era of geopolitical strife, despite the agreement’s limitations. The COP30 president, André Corrêa do Lago, conceded that “some […] had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” acknowledging the gap between the Indigenous protestors’ demands for a radical change in climate policy and the material commitments made at the Conference. 

In a potent moment of recognition for Indigenous grievances, do Lago held an Indigenous baby before leading a group of protestors to an hours-long discussion. Indigenous participation in COP30 yielded wins for Indigenous communities, even if the global commitments did not go as far as some hoped. 15 governments agreed to support the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, which will “collectively recognise and strengthen 160 million hectares of Indigenous Peoples and local community lands” across tropical forest regions. While progress in the fight for environmental protection and Indigenous rights is staggered, Indigenous protestors made their presence felt at COP30, showing the world that Indigenous participation in environmental conservation matters. 

 

The Silent Epidemic: Why Syphilis is Surging

Syphilis is an infection that has killed millions over the span of centuries and affected key figures like Al Capone and Edouard Manet. When the life-changing development of antibiotics arrived, it brought the disease under control, and, for years, syphilis outcomes improved. However, syphilis is on the rise again across the world. In 2025 alone, more than 20 babies in Hungary have died of congenital syphilis, which means they contracted the disease from their mothers. The advancement of syphilis is occurring not just abroad, but domestically, as well. In Mississippi, there has been an 80% increase in recent cases and a 1000% increase in congenital syphilis in the last six years. The global danger of the resurgence of the disease represents a medical danger and a failure to uphold the right to health. As syphilis is a preventable and treatable disease, these rising cases globally expose inequities in healthcare access, surveillance, and social determinants of health. 

What is Syphilis?

Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum bacteria and is a sexually transmitted infection. Women can also pass the disease to their babies during pregnancy; this is considered congenital syphilis. The development of the infection is broken up into four different stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary. 

Each stage is categorized by different outcomes and demonstrates the development of the disease. The primary stage is categorized by the appearance of a sore; though it is a minor sight, testing and treatment is still critical at this stage to ensure that the infection does not transition into the secondary stage. This next stage is categorized by the appearance of rashes and symptoms like swollen lymph glands and a fever. Treatment is critical at this stage as it addresses key symptoms and prevents the development of latent and tertiary stages. Latent stage represents a short period in which there are no signs or symptoms; this tends to induce no urgency for treatment, which in turn can result in further disease transmission and congenital syphilis. The tertiary stage, which is the final stage, includes significant damage to organ systems and can result in death. There is also the risk of development of neurosyphilis, which is when the disease spreads into the nervous system, ocular syphilis, which is when syphilis spreads to the eye, and otosyphilis, which is when the bacteria spreads to the ear. This type of spread can occur at any stage and compounds the debilitating nature of the illness. 

When syphilis remains unchecked, it violates the right to health.

Treatments and Prevention

Key interventions for syphilis include medical tests, for example a treponemal test, which is a blood test that is often given after certain physical symptoms appear and which indicates whether the patient has ever had syphilis. Latent infections require serologic testing, which identifies antibodies in a patient’s blood to identify that there is either a current infection or that there has been a previous infection. Gathering this information is critical, considering this stage of syphilis is categorized by no symptoms or signs. Upon testing and confirmation of the presence of syphilis, usually penicillin is administered; this intervention is quite successful but poses a risk for individuals who are allergic to penicillin and those who have limited access to healthcare providers who can not only administer the medicine but also educate the patient about the appropriate treatment regime. 

Syphilis prevention consists of general safe sex tips, such as condom usage, consistent testing, and communication with sexual partners. These practices, however, are restricted by disparities observed across the globe. For example, data suggests that there is a negative association between a region’s Social Demographic Index and unsafe sex; this contributes to the risk of sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis, that rise as a region’s Social Demographic Index (an indicator that is composed of “total fertility, per capita income, and average years of education“) falls. 

Photo 1: Rapid point-of-care syphilis test.Source: Wikimedia Commons: CDC Public Domain
Photo 1: Rapid point-of-care syphilis test. Source: Wikimedia Commons: CDC
Public Domain

The Global Surge of Syphilis

Global disparities have enabled a surge of syphilis. From 2020 to 2022, the number of new adult syphilis cases across the globe increased from 7.1 million to 8.0 million; this correlates to a global prevalence of active syphilis of 0.6% in 2022. The burden is also observed in congenital cases. In 2022, the congenital case rate was 523 per 100,000 live births, representing over 390,000 adverse birth outcomes including stillbirths, low-birth weights, and neonatal deaths. 

Beyond the global statistics that demonstrate the general outcomes of the disease, it is critical to understand the burden of the infection through a regional lens. In 2020, Africa, the Americas, and the Western Pacific were burdened significantly more than their global peers, with incidence rates of 96 million, 74 million, and 86 million, respectively. These areas have limited access to adequate screening opportunities, which not only impacts adult populations but also allows for congenital syphilis to remain rampant. Additional factors, such as stigma, contribute to barriers, especially for men who have sex with men, which allows for the further development of the disease.

The development of the disease burden reflects structural and social failures that leave vulnerable communities unable to support themselves and their health. For example, key populations affected by syphilis include gay men and men who have sex with men; these populations are already underrepresented and underserved.

The Future of Change

Despite these challenges, significant progress has been made to support the development of key systems and procedures in the fight against syphilis. This was a key goal of the World Health Organization in 2025, and the organization hopes to end sexually transmitted disease epidemics within the next five years. 

To accomplish this goal, the World Health Organization worked with countries to develop plans for how to address sexually transmitted diseases, provided case management guidelines, recommended dual HIV and syphilis rapid diagnostic tests, and more. Specific recommendations were made regarding syphilis through testing and partner services. Generally, the adoption of key policies to fight sexually transmitted diseases has been observed in Africa, the Americas, and the Western Pacific, which is encouraging in terms of improving access to the right to health. Some delays in introduction of these approaches have been seen in some countries due to geopolitical instability, but general trends suggest uptake of recommendations and progress towards the 2030 goal. In order to ensure that this goal is achievable, key resources need to be mobilized and made accessible to ensure progress does not stall. 

Conclusion

Although progress has been made in terms of syphilis prevention and treatment, additional approaches are critical to ending the crisis. In tandem with support from multilateral collaboration, it is critical to strengthen public health access. From mobilizing additional resources to providing accessible screening, vulnerable communities can gain access to resources that would allow them to take ownership of their health outcomes. This would be accompanied by educational efforts to help destigmatize sex education and reduce disease transmission. Alongside these interventions, surveillance and data collection is critical, because this will not only document changed outcomes, but it will also help identify opportunities for collaborations, making health systems more resilient. 

Because syphilis is a treatable and preventable infection, it is clear that this global resurgence of the disease is not inevitable; rather, it is an outcome of inequity, stigma, and broken systems. When working to preserve the right to health, people need to be protected both right now and for generations to come.

Accessible, Affordable, and AI: How Artificial Intelligence Can Advance Healthcare Access

Between the Constitution of the World Health Organization, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the human right to a high standard of physical and mental health has been determinedly codified in international law. Providing this is more difficult. According to the World Health Organization, mostly low and lower-middle income countries will experience a healthcare shortage of 11 million workers within five years, and an estimated 4.5 billion people already lacked access to affordable essential care in 2021. Evidently, the global healthcare system needs a lifeline; with staff shortages and unmet needs, this help cannot come soon enough. Despite my criticisms of Artificial Intelligence’s implementation in healthcare due to data failures and biases, there is real potential for Artificial Intelligence to make the human right to health more accessible, affordable, and efficient. From wearable devices to Telehealth to risk and data analysis, the implementation of AI within healthcare systems can help relieve medical professionals from menial tasks, provide better access to health services for the disadvantaged, and aid in the overall efficiency of often bottlenecked healthcare systems.

REMOTE SERVICES & WEARABLE PRODUCTS

The access to one’s human right to adequate healthcare can be largely determined by geolocation; rural populations suffer significantly worse health outcomes than their urban counterparts, largely due to isolation from hospitals and medical professionals. People living in rural areas may not have the time or financial means to access efficient, affordable health services. Artificial Intelligence can help address this disparity by powering remote services such as Telehealth, aiding individuals in contacting physicians, and even potentially generating diagnoses without patients’ having to sacrifice their time or resources to travel. The primary use of AI within Telehealth aims to alleviate scheduling problems by training algorithms to match patients with the proper providers and ensure the smoothness of scheduling and accessing virtual appointments. This could significantly reduce the delay in access to Telehealth services that rural patients can experience.

A man measures his heart rate on an Apple Watch
Adobe Stock, DenPhoto, #290469935
A man measures his heart rate on an Apple Watch

In addition, wearable products utilizing Artificial Intelligence have shown potential in monitoring chronic conditions, eliminating the need for frequent check-ups, and reducing the burden on healthcare providers. Using data collected by wearable devices, AI algorithms can potentially detect signs of health problems and alert those with chronic conditions if their vitals are amiss. Patients can also receive AI-generated reminders to take medications and health check-ins to ensure proper care on a day-to-day basis.

The use of remote Artificial Intelligence technology to provide healthcare services also has the potential to increase access to mental health resources, especially in rural areas, where psychological help may be expensive, far away, or overly stigmatized. AI-driven personal therapists show potential to improve access to mental health services that traditionally are difficult to schedule and afford. Artificial intelligence has been used to analyze sleep and activity data, assess the likelihood of mental illness, and provide services related to mindfulness, symptom management, mood regulation, and sleep aid. 

ACCESSIBILITY

On top of increased accessibility for rural residents, various employments of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare have the potential to cater to the needs of those with cognitive or physical disabilities. Models can aid in simplifying text, generating text to speech audio, and providing visual aids to assist patients with disabilities as they receive care and monitor their conditions. The ability of Artificial Intelligence to streamline potentially incomprehensible healthcare interfaces and simplify information can also assist elderly patients in accessing health services. Older people can often be intimidated by the complexity of online healthcare’s technological hurdles, preventing them from effectively accessing their doctors, health records, or other important resources; Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed to adapt user personalization on websites and interfaces to best accommodate the problems an elderly or disabled person may experience trying to access online care.

Generative language models, a particular type of Artificial Intelligence that uses training data to generate content based on pattern recognition, has also been employed to overcome language barriers within medical education. The ability of Artificial Intelligence models to effectively translate educational curriculum has contributed to the standardization of medical practices and standards across countries. The digitalization of this process also makes medical educational material more accessible to those without direct access to a wealth of resources, furthering the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Guidelines, which aims to encourage “digitally enabled healthcare education.” The use of AI as a translation tool within healthcare also shows broader potential to be utilized for patient care, eliminating the need for costly translators and ensuring that non-native speakers fully comprehend their diagnoses and treatments. One example of this is the American company “No Barrier AI”, which employs an AI-driven interpreter to provide immediate, accurate, and cost-effective translation for those with little proficiency in English seeking healthcare.

Side view of a focused elderly man sitting before his laptop
Adobe Stock, Viacheslav Yakobchuk, #390382830
Elderly man accesses health portal from his laptop

PATIENT AND DATA ANALYSIS

A whole other blog post could be dedicated entirely to the use of Artificial Intelligence in hospitals and as an aid to medical professionals. Broadly, the integration of Artificial Intelligence into clerical and administrative tasks, health data analysis, and care recommendations has reduced the time and money spent on the slow, bureaucratic processes that weigh down medical professionals. Nearly 25% of healthcare spending in the United States is devoted to administrative tasks, but according to a McKinsey & Company study, the adoption of AI and machine learning could save the American healthcare industry $360 billion, mostly by assisting with clerical and administrative tasks. For instance, AI systems have proved effective in boosting appointment scheduling efficiency, speeding up an infamously difficult process. Because of its ability to detect, analyze, and predict patterns, Artificial Intelligence has also been utilized to track inventory and increase supply chain efficiency, ensuring proper amounts of essential medical supplies and medicines are in stock when they are most needed.

Beyond managerial and administrative duties, Artificial Intelligence has also been integrated into clinical decision-making, data and visual analysis, risk evaluation, and even the development of medicines. Trained models have proven capable of analyzing data from brain scans, X-rays, other tests, and patient records to detect and predict health problems; this ability to detect patterns and predict outcomes has also enabled early detection of diseases and conditions such as sepsis and heart failure. Medical professionals can take the model’s analysis into account while also considering treatment suggestions from Artificial Intelligence as they proceed with patient care. This can reduce the likelihood of clinical mistakes as doctors can compare their findings with those of the AI model. Artificial Intelligence has also been used in telesurgical techniques to improve accuracy and supervise surgeons as they operate. The integration of Artificial Intelligence has also advanced vaccine development, as it aids in identifying antigen targets, helps predict a particular patient’s immune response to specific vaccinations, creates vaccines tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup and medical needs, and increases the efficiency of vaccine storage and distribution.

These are only a few examples of the potential usefulness of Artificial Intelligence within healthcare settings. The examples are countless and increasing every day, and, as I believe, the potential for further advancement is immeasurable.

Two doctors analyze brain scans on a tablet.
Adobe Stock, peopleimages.com, #1599787893
Two doctors analyze a brain scan with suggestions from AI tech

WHAT WE MUST KEEP IN MIND

While these advancements in the accessibility, affordability, and efficiency of healthcare systems show undeniable promise in accessing the human right to health, the development and integration of these Artificial Intelligence technologies must be undertaken with equality at the center of all efforts. As I highlighted in my last post, it is imperative that underlying societal biases be accounted for and curbed within these models to prevent inaccurate results and further harm to individuals from marginalized groups. A survey at the University of Minnesota found that only 44% of hospitals in the United States conducted evaluations on system bias in the Artificial Intelligence models they employed. It is essential to pursue efforts to ensure that Artificial Intelligence promotes not only the human right to health, but also the human right to freedom from discrimination within healthcare practices, especially those aided by systems potentially riddled with bias based on age, race, ethnicity, nationality, and gender.

These technologies are as practical as they are exciting. Still, as the healthcare industry moves forward, Artificial Intelligence developers and healthcare providers alike must maintain the core ideals of the Human Rights framework– equality, freedom, and justice.

Silent Spread: Rising Drug Resistant Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is no longer just a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) – it has become one of the world’s most dangerous drug-resistant infections. Gonorrhea is a preventable and curable STI that infected over 82 million adults in 2020. The consequences of infection include infertility and the increased risk of HIV. The impact of gonorrhea is dangerous enough to raise international caution, but the development of drug-resistant gonorrhea has resulted in this not just being a sexual health issue, but a public health emergency. The issue of antimicrobial resistance is coupled by delayed diagnosis, stigma, and gaps in global health, leaving millions of lives vulnerable and jeopardizing their human right to health.

What is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae which is a bacteria that is transmitted sexually. The infection primarily impacts younger populations from 15 to 49 years old and largely women. Generally, in international populations, LGBTQ+, racial minorities, indigenous populations, and sex workers bear a disproportionate burden of gonorrhea. 

This burden is both physical and emotional. When working through the development of the infection, it may bring up concerns for distrust; a patient in Georgia bravely accounts for her story with gonorrhea with a date. From unprotected intercourse to getting tested early, she shares the dangers in onset and the importance of urgency with the infection. 

If the infection is not treated in a timely manner, there could be significant reproductive health complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, which is an infection of the female reproductive organs, and chorioamnionitis, a serious pregnancy complication, both of which contribute to the onset risk of infertility. This is coupled by the heightened risk of HIV acquisition.

The danger of gonorrhea is that asymptomatic infections, making up around 90% of infections in women and 56% to 87% of infections in men, can silently spread in communities. This increases the risk of transmission and complications due to the infection. This amplifies the public health crisis of sexually transmitted infections throughout the world, placing an increased burden on communities with already limited resources.

Photo of a variety of different bacteria - testing for antimicrobial resistance.Credit: Wikimedia Commons - DFID CC 2.0
Photo of a variety of different bacteria – testing for antimicrobial resistance.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons – DFID/ Will Crowne
CC 2.0 Also available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/48758842257/

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance is a critical global health development, claiming the title of the “Silent Pandemic.” Its danger is developed through the misuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and plants; this results in the development of bacteria and pathogens that are resistant to drugs. Although new drugs are developed to support intervention against a variety of infections across the world, there is always the risk of antimicrobial resistance, regardless of how complex the drug is. The issue of antimicrobial resistance spans beyond low and middle income countries; rather, it affects countries from all income levels. However, its drivers are exacerbated by poverty and inequality. 

In 2021, antimicrobial resistance caused around 1.1 million deaths, with a forecast of 1.9 million deaths by 2050. This is coupled by financial losses, resulting in an economic impact of trillions of dollars across the world. Along with these losses, there is the problem of drug-resistant HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. The onset of drug-resistant forms of these diseases results in a lack of access to critical medication that can promise maintenance or help address the disease at hand. This challenge has been approached by a variety of factors. From the expected means, like education and public awareness, to the integration of artificial intelligence, there are a variety of tools to help combat and address antimicrobial resistance. 

Antimicrobial Resistance of Gonorrhea

What is unique about the relationship between antimicrobial resistance and gonorrhea is that gonorrhea has grown resistant to nearly every drug that is used to treat it. This has resulted in there being only one class of antibiotics available for gonorrhea control. When reflecting on its accessibility, it is easily covered by insurance throughout the United States and other Global North countries, but treatment is not as accessible in the Global South, requiring collaborations and private-public partnerships.

Global conversations suggest that resistance to ceftriaxone and cefixime, common antibiotics used for treatment of gonorrhea, have risen to 5% and 11% respectively, whereas resistance to ciprofloxacin, another formerly effective drug against gonorrhea, has reached 95%. Data for the United States, specifically through the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, has suggested that gonorrhea has decreased susceptibility to an antibiotic, and laboratory results demonstrate that increased antibiotics are critical to halt all growth. Internationally, resistance to key treatments further supports the need for surveillance of gonorrhea, but this may not be feasible. 

Factors Contributing to the Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance has been on the rise across the globe for a variety of reasons. The largest reason, as mentioned, is antibiotic misuse. This is driven by the administration of antibiotic prescriptions without a policy or treatment regimen, which is especially common in developing countries, as many prescription medicines are available over the counter in these countries. In developed countries, lack of health literacy or forewarning by healthcare providers also fuels misuse. The nature of antibiotic prescriptions also contributes to the global burden of antimicrobial resistance; its being overprescribed by healthcare providers contributes to the development of resistance long term, especially when these medicines are prescribed over lengthy courses. 

Another factor that contributes to antimicrobial resistance is the general delay of care for sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Generally, barriers to care-seeking can be attitudes, social stigma or mental conditions, which can be exacerbated by health system factors like lack of access to a clinic or lack of insurance. This delays timely treatment and access to a treatment regimen that would work best for the patient. 

The Need for Gonorrhea Resistance Surveillance

In spite of certain medical interventions’ not working, there is one action that can promise a healthier future and that is expanding surveillance. Genomic surveillance, the process of monitoring and analyzing the genetic makeup of a pathogen, can help guide gonorrhea control. There have been a variety of programs that have supported understanding gonorrhea. From the CDC’s Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project to the WHO’s Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, data about gonococcal antimicrobial susceptibility has been collected. With this data, information is mobilized to key regions, which then informs the gonorrhea strategy in each country. Surveillance is challenged by access to funding and laboratory resources, but this approach still demonstrates that collecting key data can help support global treatment guidelines and policies. 

What Is Next?

As the global fight against antimicrobial resistance occurs, it is critical for us all to do our part. Within the conversation of prevention, it is critical that safe sex practices, like condom use and STI testing, are leveraged. If symptoms appear, it is critical to seek our care and not start any medication regime without medical guidance. Within all conversations, it is critical to normalize conversations about sexual health and seeking out medical help when needed. As the danger of drug-resistant gonorrhea is growing, it is critical for everyone to take a part in the journey, helping us prevent a future where gonorrhea is untreatable. Drug-resistant gonorrhea is not inevitable; it’s a preventable crisis. The choices we make today will determine whether future generations inherit an infection we can still control and are able to fully enjoy their human right to health. 

 

The Toll of Iran’s Women‑Led Rights Movement: A Psychological Standpoint

Woman Life Freedom
Image 1: “Woman Life Freedom” The slogan highlights courage and persistence in the global struggle for equality and justice. Source: Adobe Stock #1657149359

On September 16, 2022, the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police ignited a nationwide uprising. What began as protests over hijab enforcement evolved into a broader demand for freedom and justice under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” But beyond the political stakes, this movement has unleashed profound psychological consequences for individuals and society; it is a crisis at the intersection of human rights and mental health.

An Overview of the Crisis

Women in Iran began revolting after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini, who was arrested by the country’s “morality police” in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely. Witnesses reported that she was beaten in custody, and she died shortly afterward, becoming a symbol of the everyday oppression that Iranian women face under strict mandatory hijab laws and decades of state surveillance, harassment, and punishment. Her death ignited widespread anger, leading women and girls to remove their hijabs, cut their hair, and protest the broader system of gender-based control. This outrage quickly expanded beyond Amini herself, sparking one of the largest protest movements in Iran’s recent history and drawing nationwide support.

The protests triggered by Amini’s death were among the largest Iran had seen in decades, spreading to more than 150 cities. State repression followed swiftly: reports indicate that security forces used lethal force, detained thousands, and committed acts of torture and sexual violence against protesters. A UN fact-finding mission later concluded that many of these violations may amount to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, and persecution, particularly targeting women. Despite international outcry, accountability has been limited, and the psychological wounds continue to deepen.

The Weaponization of Psychiatry

One of the most chilling psychological tactics used by the Iranian regime against participants in the recent protests is the involuntary psychiatric hospitalization of dissenters. Authorities have publicly admitted that some student protesters were sent to “psychological institutes” during and after the protests, not for genuine mental illness, but as a tool to “re-educate” them.

In one particularly disturbing case, Ahoo Daryaei, a doctoral student who protested by partially removing her hijab in public, was reportedly forcefully disappeared and likely sent to a psychiatric hospital. Labeling protest behavior as “madness” isn’t just stigmatizing; it’s a deliberate form of repression rooted in misusing mental health institutions. Psychiatrists inside and outside Iran have condemned this practice as a gross violation of human rights.

Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression

The violence of the crackdown and the constant threat to safety have caused widespread psychological trauma. But even those not visibly injured describe deep emotional scars.

In interviews and counseling settings, psychologists report a surge in anxiety and depression among young women across Iran. A female psychotherapist described how girls in small towns, once relatively isolated, entered into a state of “heightened awareness” after Amini’s death, but also into frustration and internal conflict:

“This newfound awareness has disrupted their previous state of relative comfort … tension and conflict within their families have become an added burden …”

These emotional struggles are compounded by the fact that some girls feel guilty or disloyal to their families when they defy expectations, which is a significant psychological burden. On a broader level, the constant surveillance, repression, and societal division fuels pervasive fear. A published analysis of Iran’s protests noted that protest-related trauma is not just physical but deeply psychological, affecting individuals’ ability to trust, belong, and imagine a safer future.

Collective Psychology: Identity, Resilience & Social Change

Despite the repression, the movement has fostered powerful collective resilience and identity. Psychologically, protests like these are often rooted in social identity theory: people come together around a shared sense of injustice (in this case, gender-based oppression and state violence) and develop strong bonds that motivate collective action.

One manifestation of this is the growing refusal of women to wear the hijab, which is becoming seen as a normalized act of civil disobedience. This symbolic rejection has become a form of psychological resistance. Rather than waiting for external change, many Iranians are asserting internal agency and self-determination.

This quiet revolution isn’t risk-free. Protesters face brutality, arrest, and psychological harm. But for many, the act of defiance itself is a source of empowerment and a way to reshape their own sense of identity, purpose, and belonging in a context that so blatantly denies them autonomy.

Iranian woman protesting
Image 2: Iranian woman protesting. Source: Adobe Stock, Mumpitz, #543171718

Intergenerational Effects & the Future

The mental health impacts of the crackdown are likely to have long-term, intergenerational consequences. Children and teenagers exposed to violence, either directly or via their families, may carry trauma that affects their development, academic performance, and relationships. For some, the protests represent a break from generational patterns of silence or submission, but that break comes with a cost.

Moreover, the lack of institutional accountability, as documented by Human Rights Watch and the UN, compounds the trauma. Without justice or recognition, survivors may struggle to process their experiences, leading to lasting emotional scars. Yet, there is hope: the persistence of the movement, even in the face of brutal repression, suggests that for many Iranians, psychological healing and human-rights change are intertwined. The continued refusal to comply, the daily acts of resistance, and the communal memory of trauma may all serve as foundations for a future built on dignity and freedom.

Why This Is a Human Rights and Mental Health Crisis

From a human-rights perspective, what’s happening in Iran is not just political suppression, but also a systematic campaign of gendered persecution, psychological control, and enforced conformity. The UN mission concluded that many of the regime’s actions amounted to crimes against humanity, including persecution, torture, and sexual violence.

Psychologically, the use of psychiatric institutions to silence dissenters violates fundamental principles of autonomy and mental integrity. Even more, the widespread trauma threatens social cohesion, sense of identity, and collective well-being. The mental health crisis is not a side effect, it’s central to the human rights violations. Without addressing both the physical and psychological consequences, the wounds of this movement will remain unhealed, and the foundation for meaningful justice and reform will be unstable.

What Needs to Happen

Addressing this crisis requires coordinated action on multiple fronts. International accountability and support are essential, with bodies like the UN and international courts pressing for justice, accountability, and reparations for victims of repression, while countries with universal jurisdiction consider investigating human rights abuses, including psychological repression. Mental health infrastructure and aid must also be expanded, with support from international organizations to provide trauma counseling and remote psychosocial assistance to Iranians both inside and outside the country who lack safe access to care. Protecting dissenters from psychiatric abuse is critical; international psychiatry associations should condemn involuntary hospitalizations of protesters and provide clear guidelines for safeguarding patients’ rights, while diplomatic or economic pressure could be directed at institutions complicit in these abuses. Finally, empowering local and global solidarity is vital: amplifying the voices of Iranian activists, particularly women, and supporting cultural forms of resistance such as music, art, and storytelling can promote healing, identity formation, and collective resilience.

Conclusion

The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran is more than a political uprising; it’s a psychological battleground. The regime’s brutal crackdown is not only a violation of bodily rights but of mental integrity. People are being traumatized, surveilled, pathologized, and denied justice. Yet in the face of repression, they are also cultivating a new collective identity, resilience, and purpose. Understanding this crisis through a psychological lens is essential. It reminds us that human rights are not abstract ideals; they are woven into our mental well-being, our capacity to heal, to resist, and to imagine a freer future.

More than a Cookout: Black Family Reunions as Acts of Resilience

A joyful group of six people gathers around a dinner table outside, sharing laughter. The table is set with colorful dishes, under warm string lights.
Happy Black family dining together on house patio, By Alessandro Biascioli https://stock.adobe.com/images/happy-african-family-dining-together-on-house-patio/577447909?prev_url=detail

The sun is beyond blazing. It’s the middle of July somewhere deep in the South. Out in a grassy field, vibrant R&B and soul floats across the air. Barbecue smoke curls upward, mixing with bursts of laughter. Children are running around playing a game of kickball. Aunties and uncles sit at folding tables slapping down cards in a game of spades. The food is plentiful, as are the memories. Everyone around is wearing the same matching shirt, stamped with the words “Family Reunion.”

While it may look like a simple summertime gathering, the Black family reunion is more than a cookout. This cultural tradition for the Black American family has served as a living act of community and resilience. Despite being in a society that, across centuries, has fragmented Black families through enslavement, displacement, incarceration, and economic inequality, reunions reclaim that assailed unity by asserting the Black family’s right to exist, to connect, and to remember. In this way, Black family reunions stand as living demonstrations of strength, cultural preservation and human rights in action.

After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, newly freed Black Americans began searching desperately for lost relatives. Newspaper ads, church bulletins, and Freedmen’s Bureau records overflowed with pleas for information and became one of the largest mass searches for family members in U.S. history. Some traveled hundreds of miles by foot or wagon, following rumors of where a mother had been sold or a sibling last seen. Piecing back together the fragments of kinship was one of the first exercises of freedom. Many freedpeople legalized marriages that slave codes had prohibited and that forced separations had fractured. Reunification efforts continued well beyond the Civil War. As the 20th century approached, Jim Crow policies restricted movement and opportunity, pushing Black families to develop intentional spaces of gathering. When the Great Migration (1910–1970) relocated millions of Black Americans from the rural South to industrial cities, family reunions transformed into anchors. Relatives from all over would return home to a place where members of different generations would rejoice communally. These reunions were a constant, something that served as a reminder of where home really was. This was not just an emotional gathering, but a political act as well.

Sunset over a serene marshland with reflective water channels and lush green reeds. The dramatic sky is filled with vibrant orange and purple clouds.
Sunset with low country marsh, By Nate.Rosso https://stock.adobe.com/images/sunset-with-low-country-marsh/518862457?prev_url=detail

At a time when so much of the Black identity has been commodified and misrepresented, family gatherings serve as spaces of self-definition. Elders share stories that are intricately woven together like a quilt, tying together generations. These are stories you don’t read in history books. Tales of migration, of how a family land plot was held after Reconstruction, of the relatives who raised children not their own, or of how names were passed down to honor those who came before. Many Black Americans lack physical documents of our ancestors, so relying on these stories is important. The family trees and cultural roots live in people. Recipes passed down from grandma, learning hand games from your older cousin, being taught how to braid– all are acts of remembrance. They are living archives where history, memory, and joy coexist, especially when you think about how much love went into the plate you eat from, or what lengths each member went to to get here. Psychologists have spoken about intergenerational resilience, the passing down of coping strategies, identity, and heritage through shared rituals and traditions. For Black families, reunions are a major mechanism of psychological and cultural healing. Despite slavery, despite Jim Crow, despite mass incarceration, despite poverty, the kinship ties hold strong.

A joyful scene of a young girl with a red bow in her hair, surrounded by three women helping her adjust it. A warm, family atmosphere is evident.
Three generations of women on a sofa, Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-generation-on-sofa-7951664/

Serving as living testaments of endurance, the Black family reunion embodies what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 16 identifies the family as the “natural and fundamental group unit of society.” The UDHR affirms that this unit is entitled to protection. For centuries Black Americans have had to build that unit from the ground up. In a society that has conjured every act imaginable to fracture kinship, the act of reuniting has become a radical reclamation of humanity. It protects the right to family, the right to culture, and the right to dignity. Beyond the UDHR, The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001) emphasizes communities’ rights to preserve and transmit cultural practices. Reunions do this naturally, serving as places where Black cultural heritage is passed not only through words but through food, music, tradition, and presence. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 23, which the United States has ratified, states: “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” Black family reunions exemplify this right, even when institutions have failed to protect Black families throughout history. From a human rights lens, it’s not simply a tradition. It is a site of cultural and familial rights being lived out, preserved, and protected.

Like all long-held traditions, family reunions now face modern challenges. Gentrification has reshaped many historically Black neighborhoods, erasing the physical landmarks that once grounded families. This leaves some families’ home anchor that held their ancestors together financially inaccessible or gone entirely. Younger generations are feeling more disconnected from their family’s roots or are unaware of their heritage. Rising travel costs, inflexible work schedules, and economic pressures make it harder for families to gather in person. Yet, Black families continue to adapt. Technology has helped foster new methods of connection. Photo albums shared through online drives, online fundraisers to help cover costs, family group-chats, Zoom calls, and much more all work to bring families together across distance. These digital tools have helped make it possible for families to reunite, no matter the circumstance. Whether under a tent in someone’s backyard or through the screen of a laptop, the message remains the same: we are still here.

A joyful family of four walks hand in hand through a grassy field. The girl holds a colorful kite, expressing happiness and togetherness in a natural setting.
Black family laughing and flying a kite while running together outdoors. By Drobot Dean https://stock.adobe.com/images/black-family-laughing-and-flying-kite-while-running-together/474942304?prev_url=detail

Protecting the right to family is not just a matter of law, but legacy. Reunions show that when institutions fail to preserve connection, communities find their own way. The family reunion reminds us that human rights are not abstract ideals; they are lived through various experiences. As long as the smoke of the grill rises and laughter fills the air, the legacy of resilience lives on. Because even in the face of adversity, Black joy endures.

Alabama’s “Invisible Disabilities” ID Proposal

Human Rights Perspective on the Proposal to Put “Invisible Disabilities” on Alabama IDs 

Box for ballot papers on desk and young African American man with disability sitting in wheelchair and making his choice.
Box for ballot papers on desk and young African American man with disability sitting in wheelchair and making his choice. By: pressmaster. Source: Adobe Stock. Asset ID#: 580784797

There is buzz around Alabama’s proposal to designate “invisible disabilities” on state ID cards by the end of this fiscal year. This legislative initiative has sparked significant debate and attention. In November 2025, a bill was introduced in Alabama that would allow individuals to add an “invisible disability” designation to their driver’s licenses or state ID cards. Ontario Tillman, the state representative who is introducing this measure, argues that this “protective” measure could help law enforcement and first responders understand and quickly identify persons who may have non-apparent disabilities such as autism, PTSD, or traumatic brain injury. Tillman argues that this would be helpful for law enforcement and other officials to know because people with these and other invisible disabilities may respond to officers in unexpected ways that could cause situations to spiral dangerously. By equipping law enforcement and first responders with the information that the person they are engaging with has an invisible disability, Tillman hopes that there would be more patience and understanding built between responders and the person with the disability.

Invisible Disability ID Markers Elsewhere

States like Alaska, Maryland, and Colorado have started adding invisible disability indicators to driver’s licenses and ID cards, but they are taking different routes and raising similar debates. Alaska lets residents voluntarily add an invisible disability designation to licenses or IDs through its DMV, framing it as a tool to signal needs in situations like traffic stops or emergencies without revealing a specific diagnosis. Colorado offers a small icon on state IDs for people with invisible disabilities and, in the first year and a half of its implementation, 1,096 people signed up for the marker. In Maryland, “Eric’s Law” created an optional invisible disability notation after disability activist Eric Blessed Carpenter Grantham pushed for the state to offer this accommodation; the Maryland Department of Transportation now treats the marker as one more tool for safety and understanding. Across these states, the basic idea is similar: make it easier for disabled people to get accommodations or de-escalation in high-stress situations by building a quiet signal into ID systems.​

People’s reactions, though, show how complicated it feels to put disability information on something as central as an ID. Supporters, including some disability advocates and families, say these markers can reduce misunderstandings with law enforcement, explain why someone might not respond typically in a crisis, and help folks access assistance in travel, medical, or security settings. Critics worry about privacy, data misuse, and the risk that a symbol meant to protect could expose disabled people to profiling or discrimination, especially if officers or agencies lack proper training. The same design that could make interactions safer may also force people to disclose something deeply personal just to move through public life, which is why most of these programs stress that the markers are voluntary and part of a broader conversation about rights, safety, and trust.​

The Sunflower Movement

The Sunflower Movement takes a different, more global approach by using a simple visual symbol—a yellow sunflower on a green background—to quietly say, “I have a non-visible disability; I may need a little extra time or support.” The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program started in UK airports and has spread across airlines, transit systems, and public venues in the U.S. and worldwide, with lanyards, pins, or badges that travelers can choose to wear. For people who travel, the appeal is that you don’t have to verbally explain a diagnosis every time you go through security or check in; instead, staff trained on the symbol are supposed to slow down, offer clearer instructions, or provide small accommodations like extra time, seating, or help navigating noisy, crowded spaces.​

Airports from Albany to Boise and Nashville have adopted the sunflower lanyard program as part of disability awareness and inclusion initiatives, often pairing it with staff training and signage so people know what the symbol means. Travelers with autism, chronic pain, anxiety, or other invisible conditions have described feeling more seen and less judged when wearing the lanyard, especially in stressful spaces like TSA lines or boarding gates. At the same time, the sunflower is not legally binding—unlike ADA accommodations—and depends heavily on staff attitudes; if workers aren’t trained or take it as “just a nice idea,” the symbol can lose its power and even feel performative. For many in our generation, the Sunflower Movement sits at the intersection of design and dignity: it’s a low-tech, opt-in signal that can make travel more humane, but it also reminds us that real inclusion still requires policy, training, and accountability behind the symbol.

CRPD and Human Dignity

While there are clearly benefits to implementing such IDs, there are also human rights concerns that we need to be aware of when placing identifying markers on government documents. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities emphasizes respect for inherent dignity, autonomy, and privacy, which implicitly warns against measures that increase stigma or surveillance. An ID marker might help in some emergencies, but it can also conflict with the right to privacy and non-discrimination if used coercively or without strong safeguards.​ On one hand, the designation could protect life and security (civil and political rights) in police encounters; on the other, it could undermine equal treatment in employment, housing, or education if IDs are widely requested or copied, thereby harming economic, social, and cultural rights. From a human rights perspective, it is important to consider this bill’s implications for privacy, potential misuse of data, and the risk of profiling. There is the potential for harmful labeling labeling and hidden discrimination practices through this policy, particularly for marginalized communities already facing over-policing.​​

Conclusion

For Alabamians with “invisible” disabilities, this new ID proposal raises immediate questions: Who controls disability disclosure? How do policies intended to “help” sometimes deepen exclusion? And how can we push for alternatives—like better training, crisis-response reform, and universal design—rather than relying on labels that follow disabled people everywhere they go? Creating a human-rights-oriented world requires creativity and innovation, and ID markers and sunflowers are just two methods among many that we could implement to advance this cause. In pursuit of human rights, let’s be sure to consider the pros and cons of every step we take. ​

Catcalling Isn’t Just a Safety Issue

  What is Catcalling?

When I was 13 years old, I was helping tear shingles off the roof. It was the middle of the day, so cars were driving up and down the road. One car had the top down and a group of guys were in it. My back was towards them, but I heard whistles and yelps. When I turned around they were already speeding away.

Everyone might have a slightly different definition of catcalling; it can be based on things someone has heard, seen, or experienced. The official definition of catcalling is “a loud, sexually suggestive, threatening or harassing call or remark directed at someone publicly.” This behavior can include sexual comments and remarks, whistles, following someone in public, and even indecent exposure. While anyone can experience it, women have historically been, and continue to be, the main targets.

 In a study done by Colleen O’Leary of Illinois State University, women were interviewed about their experiences with catcalling. Most of them defined catcalling as “a man yelling sexual or derogatory comments towards a woman.” The majority of participants said that it is a verbal and audible gesture, while others said that they would consider things like staring and other suggestive behaviors as catcalling as well. It is important to remember that individual experiences shape your definition, and just because it is different from someone else’s, does not make it wrong.

Impact of Catcalling

For the women experiencing it, catcalling is almost never positive. While most men, when asked, said that it was their way of “complimenting” a woman, the women experiencing these comments did not agree that catcalling felt like a compliment. Catcalling is a form of sexual harassment, the consequences of which are not small or harmless. Girls as young as 11 years old, and even younger, will receive unprompted commentary on their appearances. Exposure to objectification at such a young age can cause feelings of shame, body image issues, anxiety, and vulnerability.

A girl sitting at a school desk staring out to the side, it looks like she is distracted and not paying attention
Caption: Girl distracted in school. By: Seventyfour Source: Adobe Stock Asset ID#: 906974163

By the age of seventeen, 85% of girls claim that they have been sexually harassed. When 5,000 women were asked about their experience, 85% of them said that they choose alternate routes (often longer ones) to get to their destinations to avoid experiencing unwanted attention. Another study of 4,900 women found that more than a third had been late to school or work because of street harassment.

These studies show that catcalling is not innocent. Those who experience sexual harassment can have feelings of absent mindedness and a lack of focus. Research shows that girls who experienced objectification by men perform worse academically, especially in mathematics. Unlike a compliment, which makes someone feel good, this makes girls doubt themselves and diminishes them to “objects”.

Safety Issues

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that all people have the right to life, liberty and security, which includes feeling secure and safe in public spaces. For most women, catcalling can quickly lead to feeling unsafe in an area where they expect to experience catcalling. In a study done by Colleen O’Leary of Illinois State, it is reported that women felt fear when they had to walk alone at night, use public transit, or walk in desolate public spaces like parking garages.

A woman standing at a fenced dimly lit bridge in the dark looking outward before she walks forward.
Caption: Woman walking at night By: Haru Works Source: Adobe Stock Asset ID#: 576642516

Some women have stated that they have cancelled plans and social outings, not because they did not want to go, but in fear of being harassed. The need to avoid catcalling and potential street harassment outweighed the experience they would get when hanging out with their friends. A smaller percentage of women reported that they packed up their things and decided to move towns. Imagine packing up your life and leaving your family, friends, and work behind because you don’t feel safe in the streets of the town you live in.

In a podcast hosted by Ayesha Rascoe, she interviewed a person who came up with an exhibit idea where males would get to experience getting catcalled by other men. Women from the Sacramento region, where this exhibit took place, were asked to send in their stories of being catcalled. Their submissions were then recorded in studios with men reading the submissions out loud. The idea of the exhibit was a dark hallway with a mirror in the middle. This was meant to provide an auditory experience. When men got to the mirror, they would put on headphones that would play a montage of the recorded submissions of catcalls, all while staring at themselves in the mirror.

This exhibit was visited by people all over the world, and both men and women came to experience it. Women who went in came out and stated that they felt validated and seen. Men came out of the exhibit crying and pleading for forgiveness. A lot of them claimed that they had never realized the impact catcalling carried. For most of them this was the first time that they experienced anything like this. And while this was a controlled environment, and there was no imminent danger, it made real situations that much scarier. Walking out of the exhibit, you are unscathed, bothered, but unharmed. The same is not true for real scenarios where women have experienced it.

Economic Issues

As mentioned previously, a research study showed that girls who have experienced objectification tend to perform worse in school, specifically in subjects like math. However, this is not exclusive to a school setting. Women experiencing objectification from the opposite sex, often experience enhanced feelings of self-objectification. Studies have shown that this has consequences of hindering focus and the ability to concentrate. In turn, it leads to inadequate performance in mathematical fields or during times when logical reasoning is required.

A woman looking angry at a man.
Caption: A woman looking angry at a man. By: Drobot Dean Source: Adobe Stock Asset ID#: 94475250

In one study, college girls were left alone in a dressing room for 10 minutes and asked to complete a math test. The only difference is that some girls were wearing swimsuits, while the others wore sweaters. The women who were dressed in swimwear performed poorer on the test compared to those in sweaters. The same study was completed on college males, and there was negligible difference in their test scores regardless of what they were wearing.

This is important because in both studies it is apparent that, when girls experience feelings of sexualization or think that they are in danger of being perceived in sexual contexts, they tend to underperform on daily tasks. This puts them at a disadvantage in both the classroom and in the workplace, which might help explain why the male and female gap in STEM fields remains high.

Conclusion

While there are no legal repercussions that are meant to protect women, or anyone, from catcalling in the US, it is beginning to be recognized as a legitimate form of sexual harassment. In 2022, Britain included catcalling and street sexual harassment as crimes that would hold a two-year jail punishment. By doing this they are aiming to create a safer environment for their citizens.

Additionally, by creating immersive exhibits like the ones in Sacramento, along with protective laws, there is hope that catcalling and street harassment will be a thing of the past. As societies move towards a safer tomorrow, it is important to remember those who have been impacted by this. The more this gets spoken about and the more experiences are shared, the bigger an impact will be created.

Finally, it is important to step in when someone needs help. When witnessing an instance of street harassment or catcalling, statistically, bystanders will not engage because they assume someone else will help. With this mentality, those being affected by catcalling and street harassment are left without help. If you come across this, do not be the one who thinks someone else will step in. If it is safe for you to do so, then calling the police, intervening, or even creating a distraction can make all the difference for someone.