On the 31st of May 2021, China announced its 3-child policy in an attempt to address the challenges associated with it ageing population. The decision comes weeks after the release of the latest census results which predicts a rapidly ageing population and decreasing population of economically active (The Economist, 2021). Indeed, last year, China’s births fell to their lowest in …

In recent weeks, major legal-political shifts have taken place in Afghanistan’s environment. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has now gone, with its security forces mostly abandoned, and the elected president Ashraf Ghani fled from the country. Now, following the US withdrawal, Taliban fighters dominate most of the country and have declared to restore the so-called “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” which …

The most restrictive and radical abortion legislation seen in half a century in the US came into effect last week (1Sept.) in Texas after the US Supreme Court declined to intervene. The law, introduced as Senate Bill 8 or SB8, prohibits abortions when embryonic cardiac activity is detected which can occur at six weeks, before many know they have become …

Genocide is perceived as the ‘crime of all crimes’ and the worst form of violence amongst humans (Rafter, 2016; 1). Yet, despite its recognition as a tragedy, policymakers are yet to fully acknowledge the relationship between human and national security and thus recognise genocide as a threat in the same way it recognises other threats (Gallagher, 2013). Security as a …

This year, Egypt was ranked 166th out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index (RSF, 2021b). This comes as no surprise given the country’s consistent status as one of the world’s top jailers of journalists. Indeed, in 2020, Egypt had the third highest number of jailed journalists globally, with at least 27 journalists in prison (CPJ, 2020).Yet, …

Sponsored by the UK Home Office, The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill is a proposed piece of legislation that makes the first major changes to the Public Order Act 1986 since 2003. If passed it will grant police, an “unprecedented extension” of powers to, inter alia, shut down peaceful protests with limited balances and checks in place to …

On June 14 2021 and on her last day in office, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, announced the conclusion of the preliminary examination into the Philippines and requested judicial authorisation to proceed with a formal investigation (ICC, 2021). The preliminary examination determined a “reasonable basis to believe that the Crime Against Humanity of murder has been committed” …

It is undeniable that human trafficking is a global challenge. About 25 million people worldwide are trafficking victims according to the UN (UNODC, 2020). The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age (ibid). 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls (ibid). Human trafficking and smuggling …

Introduction In December 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal committing to climate nutrality by 2050. The European Green Deal (EGD) can be considered as a roadmap of key policies for the EU’s climate agenda, based on which the Commission has started, and will continue to develop, legislative proposals and strategies from 2020 onwards (Siddi, 2021). The European …

The southern part of the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, is experiencing a serious drought, that combined with the Covid-19 crisis has lead to a humanitarian crisis. The catastrophe is occurring as a result of three years of drought in the region, which has resulted in the country’s worst drought in 40 years. What is the …