Ireland’s Direct Provision System: 25 Years Later, Still a Temporary Solution?

AUTHOR: Caterina Loreto  When Ireland introduced the Direct Provision system in 2000, it was pitched as a short-term solution, an emergency measure to house people seeking asylum. Fast-forward more than two decades, and this “temporary” system is still in place, still heavily criticised, and still failing many of the people it was meant to protect. What began as a stopgap …

Islamophobia in the name of secularism: France’s request to ban headscarves in sports

AUTHOR: Jessica Giovanella  February 2025. France proposes a bill to ban all ‘ostensibly religious’ clothing and symbols during competition. France already sparked controversy around the hijab before the Paris Olympics of 2024 when it refused that women athletes participate with a hijab. The Olympic games were supposed to be the first Gender equal Olympics, but instead discriminated against Muslim women. …

Iran’s Never-Ending Fight for Women’s Rights

AUTHOR: Inês Alves Tomé For over 40 years, Iran has been suffering from gender apartheid. During this time, the Iranian government has been implementing a regime in which some parts of the population, in particular women, are discriminated against and extremely excluded from participating in normal society. Unfortunately, this discrimination which Iranian women face on a daily basis is still widely …

Automation of Welfare Systems: The downsides of striving for efficiency

AUTHOR: Annika Kannen Summary: While automation promises to streamline processes and reduce fraud in welfare programs, it often introduces new barriers. Systems like the ones in Serbia, Denmark, and India rely on data aggregation and algorithms to determine eligibility, but they can be flawed, biased, and intrusive. Automation is often thought to be the answer to the inefficiencies of welfare …

Red-Tagged and at Risk: The Threat to Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines

AUTHOR: Antía Kornführer Romay The administrations of both the former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022) and the current President Ferdinand (‘Bongbong’) Marcos Jr. (2022-present) have used digital platforms to spread misinformation and introduced vague anti-terror laws to target, discourage, and ultimately undermine the efforts of young human rights defenders in the Philippines. The main tactic behind the state-sponsored …

Hungary: Implications of the Hungarian Propaganda Law

AUTHOR: Antía Kornführer Romay Three years ago, on the 15th of June 2021, the widely domestically and internationally criticised Propaganda Law was passed in Hungary. Three years of human rights violations. Background Since 2010, there has been a noticeable rise in the prevalence of discrimination against LGBTQIA+ individuals in Hungary, evident in both the rhetoric and laws endorsed by the …