Human Rights

Digital rights advocacy group Access Now has released its annual report revealing that governments around world are increasingly shutting down the internet, often to stifle dissent particularly during times of protest or elections.

A report tracking internet freedom across the world has found global declines for the ninth consecutive year. Underpinned by social media surveillance, the report identified internet freedom deterioration in more than half of 65 countries assessed.

A disturbing portrait of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China has been revealed in the final judgement of an independent panel established to investigate the issue. The report details evidence of an organized infrastructure harvesting organs from persecuted groups.

2018 is fast becoming the year that facial recognition technology finally hits the mainstream with a constant torrent of stories revealing the growing use of these systems by law enforcement agencies. But some people are now asking if they violate civil liberties.

​The human brain remains an enigma, but neuroscience is beginning to unravel its secrets. To help us navigate the murky waters of peering into the human mind, researchers from Switzerland have proposed four new human rights relating to limitations on how the brain should be read or manipulated.

It seems fitting that a museum with subject matter that's as aspirational as human rights, should be similarly aspirational in design. The newly-opened Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is just that. The building is a mix of cutting edge design, construction, accessibility and sustainability.