Tue, Jul 21, 2020
Event recap: “The role of victims in Afghanistan’s peace process”
On July 20, 2020 the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted a panel discussion on the role of victims in Afghanistan’s peace process. Marika Theros, a nonresident senior fellow at the South Asia Center, moderated the discussion which was paneled by Shaharzad Akbar, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Sergio Jamarillo Caro, Former High Commissioner for Peace for Colombia; and Hadi Marifat, Executive Director of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization.
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Fri, Jul 17, 2020
India’s hijras find themselves further marginalized amid the pandemic
While India’s hijras have made considerable strides in civil and political rights in recent years, the pandemic has underscored the fact that their communities remain woefully neglected. Only with equitable legal recognition and government support will the hijra community cease to be disenfranchised.
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Wed, Jun 24, 2020
Pandemic policing: South Africa’s most vulnerable face a sharp increase in police-related brutality
South Africa is one of several nations facing an international outcry over increases in COVID-19 related violence against civilians by security forces bent on enforcing quarantine measures. Since South Africa instituted a country-wide lockdown on March 27, the number of violent incidents by police against civilians has reportedly more than doubled with poor and vulnerable populations most affected.
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Featured Report

A discourse
Islam and Human Rights
The Islamic Tradition and the Human Rights Discourse is a collection of thought provoking articles that aim to elevate the conversation on Islam and human rights beyond the confines of “compatibility.” The report, compiled and edited by Dr. H.A. Hellyer, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, sheds light on new methods for the exploration and engagement of the Islamic tradition and the rights discourse, featuring theoretical and practical accounts by Muslim scholars, academics, and human rights practitioners.
Tue, Sep 13, 2016
Atlantic Council Explores Islamic Law and Human Rights in the Middle East
WASHINGTON, DC – The international media frequently features stories of Arab states and non-state actors committing human rights violations allegedly in the name of Islam. The application and understanding of Islamic jurisprudence is varied and controversial, whether such readings of the faith result in institutionalized state laws or actions committed by non-state actors, such as the […]
Wed, Nov 15, 2017
Western foreign policy and the dignity of the Arab world: Interview with Dr. H.A. Hellyer
Following a recent controversy where a British journalist at a conference in Egypt casually implied that the peoples of the Arab world were more culturally inured towards restrictions on press freedom, we discussed the issue of democracy and Arab culture with Atlantic Council’s senior non-resident fellow, Dr. H.A. Hellyer. “That journalist asserted that people shouldn’t […]
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Mon, Nov 7, 2016
Is Islamic Law Compatible with Human Rights?
On November 7, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a panel discussion on the relationship between Islamic law and human rights. Geneive Abdo, director of the Atlantic Council’s Islamic Law and Human Rights initiative, moderated the panel with legal scholars Dr. Moataz El Fegiery, Protection Coordinator for the Middle […]
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