President Obama’s reference to Stonewall in his inaugural address among a list of crucial American activist events is considered by many to be a milestone in the national gay rights movement. It comes at a time of increased legislative and cultural movements to promote equality for the LGBT community. In particular, Rhode Island’s House of Representatives voted last week to approve a gay marriage bill.

Timothy Fleming, a recent Providence College graduate and advocate for issues of national and global human rights, shared his personal perspective on Obama’s recognition of Stonewall and its reflection on collective American values.

In his address before the United Nations and the international community as a whole, President Barack Obama outlined a very stark reality. The “notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete” and as such he officially recognized the ushering of an apparent new era of democratic media creation. This is a world where the Arab Spring was fostered in no small part by twitter. Shaky cell phone footage of downed helicopters gives anti-Assad Syrian rebels military credibility. A lunatic ex-con in Florida can spark anti-American riots in the Middle East.

By Rachel Leiken, Sarah Eve-Dill, and Julia Stoller (’15) In their talk “Advocating for Human Rights in the Muslim World: Abuses Against Women and Children,” activists Brooke Goldstein and Raquel Saraswati presented their findings about human rights abuses in the form of child suicide bombing and honor-based violence in the Middle East and the United [...]

Thomas Lutken (’14) A week after his reelection on November 19th, President Obama joined fellow Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Yangon University in Myanmar, where he addressed a mixed assembly of former generals, Buddhist monks, and academics. The visit marks the latest move by the president [...]

By Cameron Parsons (’14).
Immigration has long been one of the most contentious issues in contemporary American politics. Seldom did a day pass in the 2012 election season without a firm statement from one political party or another about the need to initiate reform in light of the current system’s clear and present failures. It remains one of the most pressing policy concerns facing President Obama and U.S. Congress going forward. However, all discussion of the matter has thus far has been predicated on American domestic security concerns. Virtually no substantive discussion has been had regarding how the system as a whole might be fixed to better ensure the protection of human rights of both US citizens and migrants.

To find this discourse, one must look south to Argentina where in 2010 President Cristina Kirchner signed into law one of the hemisphere’s most progressive migration laws. As BHRR editor-in-chief, Cameron Parsons, explains, there is much that the United States could learn from Argentina’s progressive policy.

The story of Myanmar is still being written. It is long, and it is tragic in terms of loss of human life and repression of the common people, but it has recently taken a turn, a very sharp turn, for the better. On September 19th, the U.S. congress awarded its highest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic movement in Myanmar.

As Thomas Lutken (’14) reports, the work of Aung San Suu Kyi and her unwavering support of peaceful protest should serve as a guide for the world. “As Libya, Syria, and other Middle Eastern states have fought and continue to fight for liberty,” he writes, “it is important to recognize that nonviolence still offers an avenue for change.”

Why has the war in Afghanistan been so drawn out? Why does progress on the ground or even the hope of it seem impossible? Some answers lie in Joel Hafvenstein’s Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier. Published in 2007, the book describes his experiences as a member of a USAID development team charged with dissuading Afghans from working in poppy fields. The obstacles Hafvenstein and his team faced are emblematic of a much larger set of problems in the region.

Last Spring, BHRR reporters Marc Briz and Michael Miller spoke with Lisa Hajjar, a Professor of Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. In the interview, Hajjar explains the current U.S. stance on torture, the debate surrounding Guantanamo Bay, and the United States’ selective enforcement of International Law.

A targeted drone attack by the U.S. military in Pakistan has left several dead including Janbaz Zadran, leader of the militant Haqqani network. An increase in the use of drone technology in the fight against terrorism raises questions as to the future of warfare and the Obama administration’s stance on extrajudicial killings. Marc Briz (’14) reports.