Human Rights Magazine

The use of children in combat roles is not new in Myanmar. Both the government and some resistance groups have child soldiers, with tragic results. Hundreds of children have been killed and tortured by the Myanmar army in recent years. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Yiwen Li speaks with several experts about the issue. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

President Museveni of Uganda has retained power since 1986, using violence, arrests and media suppression to maintain the military dictatorship. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Nkwesi Banage talks with experts about the dynamics of politics and elections in Uganda, and how Museveni has successfully kept power for decades. (Photo: A Ugandan military police officer chases a journalist who was covering Bobi Wine when he had taken a petition to the UN human rights Kampala office protesting continued human rights violations and the illegal detention of his supporters. Photo by Lawrence Kitatta, CC 4.0 licence.) Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The Fulani people are part of an ethnic group across the Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, comprising between 25 and 40 million people. About 10 million of them are pastoralists, and so they are part of the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world. Almost all are Muslims. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Pauline Goemans explores the discrimination that Fulani people face in Ghana, and why that discrimination has increased in recent years. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Ce podcast cherche à capturer la complexité du combat féministe au Maroc dans une ère de réforme politique et juridique. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The garment industry is Cambodia’s largest employer, with more than 850,000 workers. The three largest markets are the European Union, the destination of 40% of the production, followed by the United States at 30% and Canada at 9%. So, if we purchase clothing made in Cambodia, how concerned should we be about whether there were inadequate wages and rights abuse where the clothing is made? In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Marley Markham speaks with experts about the garment factories and the extent to which they do, or do not, support decent working conditions and worker protection. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Many refugees are fleeing conflict or poverty, but many are also seeking to escape from a society in which, because of their sexual identity and/or preference, they face violence and possibly death every day. In this podcast episode and the related article (at upstreamjournal.org), Julia Israel speaks with several guests about what it means for these people as they seek refuge in Canada. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

A look into the particular role of women in the resistance to the brutal military regime in Myanmar. Produced by Ruolan Ma, it follows on the podcast episode and article she did last year on the country and the role of journalists there. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Canada provides universal healthcare, but people with autism and their families struggle significantly against many barriers and a lack of service. Support is commonly offered following a diagnosis, but what happens when an individual either cannot get one, or is considered too old for one? Host Emma Nahmiach speaks with experts about the lack of sufficient support for neurodiverse people, and why diagnosis for children (which is lacking) is so important. Read the companion article at The Upstream Journal! The podcast cover includes art from the web site dis assembly, set up by two of the podcast guests. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The cost of tea for consumers is really low, given the volume of tea that is grown, half of it produced in China by some 80 million people. But it is workers in places like South Asia that have significant problems, where there is a long history of worker exploitation dating to colonial times. Tea workers throughout the region suffer from widespread child labor, gender discrimination, and wage theft because they are usually low caste and poor. Throughout South Asia, workers on many plantations say that they can barely afford food, let alone other expenses, while those who run the plantations say their costs have risen too much and that they are not making a profit as it is. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Chloe Friedland discusses the challenges in tea farming with several experts. Photo: Tea plucker in Sri Lanka’s Western Province. ©ILO/Alan Dow Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

In Canada, the last time housing was considered to be affordable, relative to income, was in 2004 The average price of a home in the Toronto area, the country’s most populated, is more than $1 million. In Quebec too, where the housing market has been historically affordable, there has been a significant decline in affordability over recent years. In Quebec’s largest city, Montreal, new rentals are, on average, 50% higher than the rents in occupied apartments. The vacancy rate is very low, so apartments are hard to find and so some landlords are evicting their current tenants to get a higher income from new tenants. The projected influx of immigration to Canada means the problem will get worse, since new housing construction is not expected to match demand. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Joel Sawmadal explores the situation in Montreal. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Esther Dingemans is an expert in programmes that respond to conflict-related sexual violence. She worked for several years in humanitarian programmes on sexual and gender-based violence in several countries in Africa and the Middle East. She is the executive director at the Global Survivors Fund and the Mukwege Foundation. In this episode, she was interviewed by Katie Coyle and Pamela Zambrano, two of the five students selected by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the NYU School of Law to take part in its Transitional Justice Leadership Program. Katie is now an associate in a litigation law firm in Manhattan; Pamela is an associate in Mexico City. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

For this episode in the Pathways to Peace series, the focus is on the particular impact of violence and insecurity on women and girls. My guest is Reem Alsalem who, for 17 years until 2016, worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and then became an independent consultant in humanitarian action and refugee protection. She is now the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The Kafala system is a form of worker sponsorship that allows private citizens and companies almost total control over the employment and immigration status of migrant workers. Lebanon has some 250,000 migrant domestic workers, most of them women from Africa and Asia. The labour laws do not provide them protections that other workers have, like a minimum wage or pay for overtime, limits on their working hours, or a day off. The Kafala system is one of virtual slavery and exploitation. In this episode, Michel Khneifes explores the dynamics of Kafala in Lebanon. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

In February 2021, Myanmar military leaders removed the democratically elected party from power and took control of the government. In the year following, at least 1,700 civilians, including children, have been killed by the junta forces and some 10,000 arrested. Media outlets have been closed, and journalists arrested, beaten and tortured. Some have been killed. Yet some independent journalists continue their efforts despite the repression. In this podcast, Ruloan Ma speaks with people directly engaged in journalism in Myanmar. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The world's largest rainforest is in trouble. Trees are being cut down at the fastest rate in years, for their wood and to clear the ground for crops supplying the global food industry. 75% of the forest is under stress with this level of deforestation, and with climate change impacts the trees take longer to recover from droughts and there are more fires. Much of the concern about the Amazon is about its important role in mitigating climate change. But there is a human rights dynamic as well. In this podcast, Stephanie Wang speaks with experts about those human rights concerns. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

People who come to Canada as refugees or migrants without legal status can be held indefinitely in detention centers or provincial jails. They may not have committed an offense and there is no trial, but they are treated as though they are criminals. Find out more in the new podcast episode by Serra Hasiloglu. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Dan Smith is the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. With several years' experience with NGOs and international organizations he has written extensively on conflict and insecurity, and I encourage you to read his blog articles at dansmithsblog.com. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

This episode is the third in a series on Syria by Emma Beilouny. In this one, she gets insights from several people about the brutality of the Assad regime, and the possibilities for holding it accountable for its crimes against humanity. Read the full article at upstreamjournal.org, with artwork by Doğa Atabay, Emma is now also the host of a new podcast series, Ou en sont les femmes, in which she explores the situation of women in the world. The series is in French and, like Human Rights Magazine, is a program of the Upstream Journal. You can find out more at upstreamjournal.org. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

Established in 1957 as an accommodation for families who were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Nakba, al-Yarmouk camp is considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora as well as a symbol of resistance to Israel and was home to most Palestinian political parties’ headquarters. Yarmouk’s population reached more than 200,000 Palestinians in the early 2010s and was the vibrant home to many cultural and youth centers, as well as economic, political, and social organizations. Almost all of its residents have fled Yarmouk, located in the district of Damascus, since the beginning of the war more than ten years ago. The area is now mostly bombed out, after clashes between the Syrian government forces and the rebels, a siege, and ISIS occupation. They fled to other parts of Syria or to neighbouring countries and have lost their livelihood or financial means. As they try to overcome the layered obstacles of being Palestinian and refugees from Syria, they wait for the reconstruction of their homes. But the questions remain: when and how? Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show

The number of Indigenous prison inmates in Canada is increasing, while the number of non-Indigenous inmates is going down. Native people serve longer portions of their sentence and are less likely to be granted parole than other prisoners. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Charlotte Lalonde speaks with several experts about why this is, and what needs to be done to correct what critics consider a problem of systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs? You are always welcome to email with your comments. Support the show