Each year, an estimated 12 million girls aged under the age of 18 marry against their will. These girls are usually from a poor family, and they are deprived of an education, have little in terms of opportunities, and they remain in poverty themselves. For them, childbirth is the leading cause of death.

In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Dasheeni Joud Selvaratnam explores the situation of child marriage in Bangladesh.

The cover photo is of adolescent girls participating in a BRAC Social Empowerment and Legal Protection program.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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En un esfuerzo desesperado por escapar de la pobreza y la violencia, miles de personas han sido encontradas muertas, o han desaparecido, en México, especialmente en los desiertos a lo largo de la frontera con Estados Unidos. 

Para las familias y amigos de los desaparecidos, el sentimiento de impotencia y pérdida es especialmente duro al no poder recuperar ni identificar sus cuerpos. Frente al abandono, la violencia y el silencio institucional, miles de familias centroamericanas continúan buscando a sus seres queridos que han desaparecido a lo largo de las rutas migratorias que cruzan México. 

En este episodio de Human Rights Magazine, Alexia Santoro explora cómo, frente a la indiferencia estatal, han surgido redes de solidaridad y movimientos de base que, desde Honduras hasta California, transforman el dolor en acción y la ausencia en una forma de resistencia colectiva.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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Domestic violence and an unequal distribution of labor in South Korea were motivating factors behind the rise of what is known as the 4B feminist movement.  In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Lily Wang explores the expansion of 4B beyond Korea, and the extent to which it may or may not have an impact on the protection of women’s rights.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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Canadian seniors grapple with financial Insecurity, social Isolation, and inadequate healthcare.
About eight million Canadians are aged 65 and older, almost 20% of the total population. Single seniors, particularly women, are highly likely to be in poverty.  One-third of the senior population, mostly the women, have a mobility disability. And loneliness is a significant issue for many seniors, and again this is affecting mostly women.
In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Enid Kohler looks into these concerns, and possible solutions.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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The Yazidis are Kurdish-speaking people, most of whom live in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Because they are not Muslim, they were a target of Islamic State terrorists who killed and imprisoned them by the thousands in a genocidal campaign. In this episode of Human Rights magazine, Maiya Karsan explores the ongoing tragic story of the Yazidis since the brutality they suffered in 2014, and the general failure to protect and support many of those who survived. As a trigger warning, the last section of this episode includes a brief first-person account of sexual assault, which some listeners may wish to skip past to listen to her account of successful escape.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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Kurdistan is a region in western Asia where political, cultural and environmental concerns overlap to a significant degree. Control of water is of particular importance. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Selin Abali explores some aspects of the tensions that continue to arise as Kurdish people face challenges to how rivers are managed and to their overall relationship with the water that is central to their lives.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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More than four million people have fled the conflict in Sudan since it erupted in 2023, mostly to neighbouring countries where they endure severe hunger.  Many wish to leave the region. How is the outside world dealing with this refugee crisis?  What are the deciding factors in who may leave and who must stay?

In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Charlotte Jean-Gilles talks with experts about the way in which Canada is responding to the needs of those who are trying to escape the violence.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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International students in Canada can face considerable obstacles and sources of stress. There can be financial strain, including finding affordable accommodation. Finding meaningful part-time work can be difficult. There is also concern about exploitation by employers, landlords and criminals posing as  immigration consultants.

Human Rights Magazine looks into the issue in this episode hosted by Napas Thein, with technical support and outreach by  Jing Xiao.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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Host Derek MacCuish:  My guest today in the Pathways to Peace series of interviews is Stephen Rapp, who is widely respected for his decades of work for justice and accountability in areas of conflict and war crimes.

In 2001, he joined the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda as part of the effort to prosecute those responsible for the genocide of 1994, and he headed the trial team that achieved the first convictions in history for those in the media who incited genocide. He directed the prosecution of former Liberian President Charles Taylor and others responsible for crimes during more than ten years of extreme violence in the Sierra Leone Civil War. As U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for war crimes issues, his office achieved the first convictions in history for sexual slavery and forced marriage as crimes against humanity, and for attacks on peacekeepers and the use of child soldiers as violations of international humanitarian law.

He has been engaged in efforts for justice and accountability in dozens of countries, most recently in Syria where, he said, the worst atrocities of the 21st century were committed. I started our discussion by asking him about how a condition of peace might be achieved in a place where people have suffered from extreme violence. 

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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There are an estimated 130,000 Tibetan people living in exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan. Most are in Dharamsala, India, where they continue their traditional customs and language with support from outside.  But decades have passed since China occupied their homeland, and the communities have a new challenge. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Dina Lowe explores their changing situation. 

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

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