Human Rights Talks

Dr. Aylin Matlé on what the invasion of Ukraine means for Germany and NATO

Dr. Aylin Matlé on what the invasion of Ukraine means for Germany and NATO. Dr. Matlé has been a research fellow in the German Council on Foreign Relations' Security and Defense Program since March 2022.

Previously, she worked as deputy head of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Israel office in Jerusalem. Prior to that, she was a research associate for the chair of international relations and European politics at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.

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

Oleksandra Matviichuk on the work of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine

As part of MIGS’s Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes, Project coordinator Marie Lamensch spoke with Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of the Center for Civil Liberties. Oleksandra talks about the organization’s efforts to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and why she hopes that their efforts will have an impact on the global justice system. The Center for Civil Liberties is the recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

#TwitterSpace : Elon Musk buying Twitter: what does it mean for online hate?

A Twitter Spaces conversation on the implications of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for the spread of disinformation, hate speech and other online harms.

Speakers:

- Dr. Emma L. Briant, British scholar and academic researcher on media, contemporary propaganda, surveillance and information warfare, and Visiting Research Associate in Human Rights, Bard College.

- David Troy, researcher, technologist, and investor interested in hybrid warfare and threats to democracy, and Fellow at Future Frontlines at New America.

- Peter MacLeod, co-founder and principal of Mass LBP, and leading expert in public engagement and deliberative democracy.

- Yaqiu Wang, Senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, working on issues including internet censorship, freedom of expression, protection of civil society and human rights defenders, and women’s rights.

- Prof. Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethic and Communications, and the founding director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University.

The discussion is moderated by MIGS' Project Coordinator Marie Lamensch and Project Leader Lauren Salim. 

”Surveillance State”: a discussion with WSJ journalists Josh Chin and Liza Lin

Where is the line between digital utopia and digital police state?

In "Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control", award-winning Wall Street Journal journalists Josh Chin and Liza Lin document with startling detail how the CCP is creating a political model that shapes the will of the people not through the ballot box but through the sophisticated harnessing of data.

Josh Chin and Liza Lin joined MIGS to discuss their new book. The virtual event was moderated by Kyle Matthews.

Using OSINT to investigate war crimes in Ukraine

This discussion is a recording of our Twitter Spaces with Nick Waters (Open Source Analyst, Bellingcat), Hannah Bagdasar (Investigator, Bellingcat), and Dearbhla Minogue (Legal Officer with the Global Legal Action Network).

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

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