Human Rights Talks

Structural Causes of Atrocities in Ethiopia: Spotlight on the Amharas

This is a recording of MIGS Twitter Spaces discussion titled “Structural causes of atrocities in Ethiopia: Spotlight on the Amharas”, which featured Hone Mandefro (Director of Advocacy, Amhara Association of America) and Adem Abebe (Advisor in Peace Building, Constitution Building, Democracy, Elections and Governance). The chat was moderated by Kyle Matthews, MIGS' Executive Director.

Covering the war in Ukraine, with Ukrainian journalist Iryna Matviyishyn

In this episode, Ukrainian journalist Iryna Matviyishyn talks to us about hardships faced by civilians living in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, Russia filtration system, forced assimilation, and what the West should do to help Ukrainians. Iryna also talks about what is means to be a journalist in Ukraine today and how she tries to bring stories to Western audiences.

This interview is part of our Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, a project supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.

Digital Authoritarianism Report Launch: current and future trends with Jessica Brandt, Brookings

Authoritarian governments leverage digital technologies to repress the rights and freedoms of their citizens at home, silence dissent among diasporas and other individuals beyond their borders, and to interfere in democratic governments, processes and institutions abroad. 

As part of MIGS Digital Authoritarianism project supported by U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, we hosted a Twitter Spaces with Jessica Brandt, the author of MIGS' report "Digital Authoritarianism: Pathways, Trends, Solutions." This is a recording of our chat.

This paper aims to increase understanding of the various pathways through which authoritarian regimes use digital tools to shore up their grip on power at home, weaken democratic governments and institutions that they perceive as threatening to their interests, undermine liberal norms related to privacy and free expression, and replace those norms with illiberal ones. 

Jessica Brandt is policy director for the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at the Brookings Institution and a fellow in the Foreign Policy program’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. 

”We must hold Russia accountable”, a discussion with Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko

In this episode, we speak to Lesia Vasylenko, an Ukrainian Parliamentarian and human right lawyer. Vasylenko is also a member of the Ukrainian permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She tells us what it means to be a legislator during a war and why we must hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in Ukraine.

This interview is part of our Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, a project supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.

Documenting war crimes in Ukraine with Belkis Wille, HRW

In this episode, we speak to Belkis Wille, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, about ongoing war crimes and human rights violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Belkis and her colleagues have interviewed hundreds of Ukrainians who have lost family members in attacks on cities across Ukraine. We also speak about filtration camps, forced disappearances, and Russia's efforts to alter the social and cultural fabric in areas now under Russian control.

This interview is part of our Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, a project supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.

Resources:

"Russian Strike on Kharkiv is Ukrainian Family’s Tragedy." - Human Rights Watch, August 16, 2022

"Ukraine: Torture, Disappearances in Occupied South." - Human Rights Watch, July 22, 2022

Internet Shutdowns and #KeepItOn with Felicia Anthonio

On today's episode, Access Now's Felicia Anthonio talks to MIGS about internet shutdown and the organization's #KeepItOn Campaign, a #KeepItOn coalition made up of over 210 organizations across the world. In 2021 alone, Access Now and the coalition documented 182 internet shutdowns across 34 countries. Read their report here.

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

Digital Authoritarianism with Caitlin Thompson, Coda Story

Caitlin Thompson, a reporter at Coda Story, joins us to talk about digital authoritarianism and the different methods used by regimes around the globe to silence dissent and surveil citizens. She also warns us that democratic governments must remain vigilant not to use similar techniques. You can subscribe to Caitlin's newsletter here https://www.codastory.com/coda-newsletters/

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

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Genocide in Ukraine - a discussion with Senator McPhedran

As the war in Ukraine rages on, MIGS organized a Twitter Spaces with Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran. On 28 April, the Senate unanimously passed a motion recognizing that the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people.  This discussion marked the launch of our new project, the Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.

Peter Guest on internet shutdowns

In this episode of Human Rights Talks, Peter Guest talks about internet shutdowns and how authoritarian regimes use the off switch to silence dissent. What are the human and financial costs of shutdowns ? What are the tactics used ? Listen to our conversation.

Peter Guest is the enterprise editor for Rest of World. He has worked for the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo, where he was the cover story editor. Prior to that, he led the FT’s This Is Africa magazine.

 

This conversation is part of our initiative on Digital Authoritarianism, supported by the  U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

Human Rights Talks: Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combatting Antisemitism

The Canadian Taskforce to Combat Online Antisemitism is a MIGS project aimed at analyzing current trends in online antisemitism, holocaust denial and distortion, and looking at ways we can build better Canadian resiliency to it while addressing what tech companies and other actors can do to tackle this issue. 

As part of this project, MIGS spoke to Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combatting Antisemitism. Von Schnurbein works with EU Member States, the European Parliament, civil society organizations, and academia to strengthen policy responses to antisemitism, as well as to hate crimes and discrimination more broadly.