Human Rights Magazine

Derek MacCuish, the editor of The Upstream Journal and Human Rights Magazine, speaks with Mary Lawlor, the UN expert on the situation of human rights defenders.  This episode is part of the series Pathways to Peace, in which we hear from people who have been deeply engaged in working for peace and human rights in their various aspects.
Mary Lawlor was appointed to her role in 2020 by the Human Rights Council. An Adjunct Professor of Business and Human Rights at Trinity College, Dublin, she founded the NGO Front Line Defenders in 2001 and was its executive director until 2016.  

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 editor of The Upstream Journal and Human Rights Magazine, Derek MacCuish, speaks with Marie Dennis, who has worked for several years with Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace movement.  She is the author of several books on peace and nonviolence.
This episode is part of the series Pathways to Peace, in which we hear from people who have been deeply engaged in working for peace and human rights in their various aspects. 

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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New Upstream Journal article and podcast episode explores why current legislation does not prevent human rights abuse, what the European Union  due diligence legislation will change, and what you can do at a personal level to protect human and environmental 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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More than one million Muslim Uyghurs are in Chinese internment camps. Why? What has been happening, and what will be the outcomes? Rachel Ernest Cohen  explores the situation with three experts:

Darren Byler is a postdoctoral researcher with the China Made project at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  His research focuses on Uyghur dispossession, culture work and "terror capitalism" in the city of Ürümchi, the capital of Chinese Central Asia (Xinjiang).

Barbara Kelemen, a China-Middle East security analyst, is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies and a research associate for Asia Pacific, Intelligence & Analysis at Risk Advisory Group, in London, England.

Julie Millsap is the Director of Public Affairs and Advocacy with Campaign for Uyghurs, in San Antonio, Texas.

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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Ten years have passed since UN Human Rights Council endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). Corporate social responsibility has become a mainstream view that serves as a standard for the company to modernize its policies.

However, without a legally binding agreement, major challenges remain as businesses in developing countries face difficulties seeking a balance between profitability, productivity, and social responsibility. In newly industrialized countries that pursue a labour-intensive production process, the management system tends to put the workplace condition and worker’s rights as the least important considerations.

This episode explores the case of China.

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 global LGBTQ+ community faces many complex and evolving challenges. While from an outside perspective it may seem as though the fight for equality has been won, there is still a long way to go. To understand these issues, Meera Raman, the producer of this episode, spoke with three experts:

• Victor Madrigal-Borloz, UN Independent Expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity 
• Xin Ying, executive director of the Beijing LGBT Center
• Mihika Srivastava, communication program officer at the Astraea public foundation, funding LGBTQ+ organizations around the world. 

Read Meera's full article at upstreamjournal.org.

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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Sexism and racism in the tattoo industry.

The tattoo industry is being challenged by tattooists all over the world who want to fight the lack of regulation and the systemic power imbalances that lead to abusive behaviour within studios. The world of tattooing is having its own #MeToo movement

Read the article by episode producer Meera Raman at The Upstream Journal. 

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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Bolivia has a massive amount of lithium.  What are the implications for a country with widespread, deep poverty?

The Salar de Uyuni is a vast salt flat spanning almost 11,000 square kilometers in the department of Potosí, Bolivia. Here, high in the arid Bolivian Andes, lie the world’s largest brine deposits of lithium, a light metal used in batteries that power everything from cell phones to electric vehicles.

Brine lithium technology has the potential to enable Bolivia to escape its history of resource exploitation and instead become an equitable partner in renewable energy markets.  But citizens are skeptical of these promised developments.

Read the article by episode producer Jessica Szarek at The Upstream Journal.

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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