human rights

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    Essential Farmworkers Deserve Pesticide Protections

    Essential Farmworkers Deserve Pesticide Protections

    By Iris Figueroa and Amy K. Liebman COVID-19 is having disproportionate impacts on our nation’s two million farmworkers, who as essential workers continue to toil in the fields despite numerous deadly outbreaks and no federal COVID-related workplace protections. COVID-19 has pulled back the veil on the strikingly poor workplace conditions of these essential workers, built […]

    Child Labor Linked to Palm Oil in Girl Scout Cookies, Snack Brands

    Child Labor Linked to Palm Oil in Girl Scout Cookies, Snack Brands

    Tens of thousands of children in Indonesia and Malaysia work to harvest the palm oil that ends up in several beloved Western snacks, including Girl Scout cookies. An in-depth Associated Press report published recently used U.S. customs records and the most up-to-date information from producers, traders and buyers to link palm oil harvested using child […]

    Move of Rohingya Refugees Poses Environmental and Human Rights Concerns

    Move of Rohingya Refugees Poses Environmental and Human Rights Concerns

    On December 4, about 1,600 Rohingya traveled across the Bay of Bengal in seven navy boats from Chattogram to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh plans to move 100,000 families to the island. The move poses serious concerns, both with regard to the environment and human rights. Located about 18.6 miles (30 km) from the mainland, Bhasan Char […]

    Niger Delta Still Waiting for Big Oil to Clean Up Devastating Pollution

    Niger Delta Still Waiting for Big Oil to Clean Up Devastating Pollution

    By Jenna McGuire In 2011, a ground-breaking report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on oil pollution in Ogoniland highlighted the devastating impact of the oil industry in the Niger Delta and made concrete recommendations for clean-up measures and immediate support for the region’s devastated communities. Now, nearly ten years later, a new report published […]

    Fighting for a Just COVID-19 Response

    Fighting for a Just COVID-19 Response

    By Derrick Z. Jackson As much as hurricanes Katrina and Maria upended African American and Latinx families, the landfall of the coronavirus brings a gale of another order. This Category 5 of infectious disease packs the power to level communities already battered from environmental, economic, and health injustice. If response and relief efforts fail to […]