Human Rights Day 2025: Rethinking Rights for a New Era

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, we’re marking Human Rights Day, observed every year on December 10th to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948. To mark the occasion Co-host Mathias Risse speaks with four of our Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy Fellows to share their perspectives on why human rights still matter and why they may be more important now than at any point in the 77 years since the Declaration was adopted.Together they discuss: what Human Rights Day means in our current moment globally, the most pressing human rights issues today, misinformation and state repression, whether the international system can constrain abusive states, the state of global legal structures and local grassroots movements, designing a human rights system to meet our present challenges, the impact of the Trump administration globally, what advice they have for young people entering the field today, and a lighting round of questions including their recommendations for articles and books they think everyone should read.Today’s guests include:Desirée Cormier Smith, a seasoned U.S. diplomat and former Foreign Service Officer who served as the inaugural Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice at the State Department, leading global efforts to advance racial, ethnic, and Indigenous rights in foreign-policy contexts.Maggie Dougherty, former Senior Director for International Organizations at the White House National Security Council, where she coordinated U.S. engagement with the UN and other multilateral institutions on human rights, democracy, and global governance. She has also served as a policy advisor to both UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Senator Marco Rubio.Kelly Fay Rodríguez, previously the U.S. Special Representative for International Labor Affairs, working to embed labor rights, supply-chain accountability, and inclusive economic justice into American foreign-policy and trade frameworks.And Jessica Stern, the first, and thus far only, U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, who led the State Department’s diplomatic efforts to protect and promote LGBTQI+ rights around the world.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Robin Bronen, co-founder of the Alaska Institute for Justice (AIJ) about the pressing effects of climate change on communities in Alaska - the fastest warming region in the United States - and the implications for human rights. A human rights attorney and interdisciplinary social scientist on the issue of climate-forced displacement, Robin Bronen retired from AIJ in 2024 after 19 years as co-founder and Executive Director. Established in 2005, AIJ originally sought to serve an unmet need for legal services for immigrant individuals and families in Alaska and now serves over 7,000 clients living in Alaska from countries around the world. Since the time of the organization’s founding, AIJ expanded to launch the Alaska Climate Justice Program that works with Alaska Native communities on climate adaptation and resilience, including assisting clients and communities as they advocate for state and national policy-level changes. Bronen has worked with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to implement President Obama’s Climate Change Task Force recommendation to address climate displacement as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Climate Change Office. The Federal Bureau of Investigation awarded AIJ the 2012 FBI Director’s Community Service award for its work with human trafficking victims, and the International Soroptimist’s awarded Bronen the 2012 Advancing the Rights of Women award. Bronen was named one of USA Today’s Women of the Year.On this episode they discuss: the recent increase in climate effects on Alaskan communities, Robin’s background that led her to co-founding AIJ, an overview of the immigrant and refugee communities that are a central part of Alaska, how she and her team managed to sustain the non-profit over multiple decades, why translation services are crucial to opening access to public services, Robin’s research on forced climate relocation that led AIJ to expand its focus to the impacts of the climate crisis, the status and make up of Native Alaskan communities, how has the connection between human rights and climate change became central to AIJ’s work, how the institute fairing under the current Trump administration, what actions individuals and communities can take to protect themselves, and why climate forced relocation is the most intense human rights challenge related to the climate crisis.

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Antonio Ingram II, Senior Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, about the impact of anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) legislation on educational equity and political participation.Antonio Ingram II serves as lead counsel in the Simon v. Ivey lawsuit challenging Alabama's SB 129 law that prevents state agencies, local boards of education, and institutions of higher education from sponsoring DEI programs or offices. He served as part of the litigation team in South Carolina NAACP v. Alexander, a federal lawsuit challenging South Carolina's racially discriminatory congressional and state house legislative map. Ingram co-authored a US Supreme Court amicus brief in 303 Creative v. Ellenis, where he opposed intersectional anti-black and anti-LGBTQIA + public accommodations discrimination. In addition to his litigation work, he has successfully engaged in policy advocacy and spearheaded campaigns at the state and national level to oppose legislation banning critical race theory and DEI.On today’s episode they discuss: his work on advancing racial justice and educational equity, his involvement in significant legal cases challenging discriminatory laws and practices, the impact of anti-DEI legislation - particularly Alabama's SB 129 - and its broader implications on educational and societal equity, his personal insights on the importance of maintaining open pipelines for marginalized communities, and the role of local and state advocacy in combating these legislative challenges.

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji who served as president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2018-2021. Together they discuss his new book, “End of Immunity: Holding World Leaders Accountable for Aggression, Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity.” Prior to joining the ICC in 2012, Judge Eboe-Osuji was the Legal Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during which time he anchored the High Commissioner's interventions in cases involving human rights questions. Before joining the international public service, he practiced law as a barrister in Canada (his adoptive country) and Nigeria (his birth country). He taught international criminal law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa and has an extensive record of legal scholarship and publications, including the books International Law and Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts (2013), and Protecting Humanity (2010). He is a former fellow at the Carr Ryan Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School.On today’s episode they discuss: his journey that led him to becoming president of the ICC, why he felt it was important to write a book about the history of immunity for heads of state, his thoughts on the 2024 US Supreme Court ruling to grant immunity to US presidents, looking to the kings and emperors of the past to understand why we built international systems ending immunity, how we could enact an international law that upholds an actionable “right to peace”, and his view on Trump’s desire to annex of Canada. 

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Timothy Patrick McCarthy speaks with Dr. Leo Varadkar, the former Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, of Ireland from 2017-2020 and again from 2022-2024. Together they discuss a range of topics on contemporary human rights and global democracy on the occasion of Dr. Varadkar’s new memoir, “Speaking My Mind”.Leo Varadkar grew up in Dublin, the son of an Irish mother and an Indian father. He studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin, but practiced as a doctor for just a short time before becoming a full-time politician after election to Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) in 2007. He became a cabinet minister in 2011 and in 2017, at the age of 38, he became Taoiseach, the youngest ever to serve in the office. A first of many in the role, he was the first gay Taoiseach as well the first person of color. Dr. Varadkar received international recognition for his leadership of Ireland’s public health and economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led Ireland through Brexit, preventing a hard border between North and South, maintaining Ireland's place at the heart of the European Union, its single market and upholding the Good Friday Agreement. The Governments he participated in lifted Ireland’s ban on abortion and improved LGBT rights including the introduction of marriage equality and a gender recognition law. He also prioritized equality between men and women including gender pay gap reporting, greater diversity on state and corporate boards and linking state funding for political parties to election candidate quotas. He is currently a Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as a Senior Fellow at the Global LGBTQI + Human Rights Program at the Carr Ryan Center for Human Rights.On today’s episode they discuss: what are some of the greatest challenges to global human rights today, Dr. Varadkar’s childhood that led him to his career in politics, how the Irish political system compares to the structures in the United States, the trust and personal relationships at the center of keeping together a coalition government, the challenges and burdens of being a “first” as Taoiseach, his experience coming out as gay in office and navigating that politically, the storytelling at the heart of the campaign to pass the referendum on marriage equality , where the passage of marriage equality in a catholic country sits globally in LGBTQI, coming from a center-right party in Ireland and presiding over many progressive changes, his view on the strategic tension between incrementalism and sweeping change, how his medical practice influenced his governance, Ireland’s history as a post-colonial nation and its current connection to oppressed peoples around the world, his thoughts on solidarity, Irish reunification, and why he named his new memoir "Speaking My Mind". 

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Dr. Keisha Blain, Professor of Africana Studies and History at Brown University, about her new book “Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights.”A 2022 Guggenheim Fellow and 2022 Carnegie Fellow, Dr. Blain is one of the most innovative and influential young historians of her generation. An award-winning historian of the 20th century United States with broad interests and specializations in African-American history, the modern African diaspora, and women and gender studies, she completed her PhD in history from Princeton University in 2014 and in 2020 she was a fellow at the Carr Ryan Center. A former columnist for MSNBC, Dr. Blain is now the editor-in-chief of “Global Black Thought”, a journal featuring original, innovative, and thoroughly researched essays on black ideas, theories, and intellectuals in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. In addition to her latest book, Dr. Blain is the author of the book, “Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom, “Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America”, and “Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy”.On today’s episode they discuss: what led her to write about the contributions of black female leaders to the foundations of human rights, how these figures understood human rights at the time, how they built networks and created what we know of as the human rights movement today, what particular strategies stood out in her research, as well as a few case studies from the founding of this international movement.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Ken Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch about his new book “Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments”.Ken Roth was executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. In the three decades under his leadership, Human Rights Watch conducted investigations in over 100 countries to uncover abuses, and pressured offending governments to stop them. In his new book, Roth writes about grappling with the worst of humanity, taking on the biggest villains of our time, and persuading leaders from around the globe to stand up to their repressive counterparts. He is currently the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor at the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs.In this episode they discuss: why he wrote “Righting Wrongs”, the nature of HRW’s investigations and a few case studies from his tenure, his own German Jewish family’s exodus from Germany during Nazi rule, his personal journey that lead him to the idea of human rights, his views on China in regards to human rights, what advice he has for new people entering the field, the online trolling of HRW for its reporting on human rights abuses by the Israeli Government, his views on anti-semitism and the lessons of the Holocaust, the differences between the Biden and Trump administration’s foreign policy, as well as his perspective on what constitutes genocide and the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.Ken Roth's new book is availble here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739898/righting-wrongs-by-kenneth-roth/

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Anna Romandash about the impacts of misinformation in the global narrative around the war in Ukraine.Anna Romandash is an award-winning journalist from Ukraine and an author of “Women of Ukraine: Reportages from the War and Beyond” (2023). She has spent years documenting human rights violations, digital threats, and misinformation from her reporting on the ground in Ukraine. Currently a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center, her work focuses on making technology more inclusive and digitalizing democracy to better the lives of people in developing democracies.In this episode they discuss: the use and limits of journalism in reporting, how emergency services are managing under Russian bombardment, the impact of misinformation on the funding coming into Ukraine, where to access truthful information from outside the country, the imperative of journalists being on the ground, the effect of the shifting support of the US on morale in Ukraine, whether international systems are capable of holding Russia accountable, examples of the misinformation narratives pushed by Russia, the impact of AI in the misinformation war, the battle between democratic vs authoritarian systems, and what’s at risk if this war fades from attention.

Justice Matters is celebrating its 100th episode today with co-host Mathias Risse's conversation with Jessica Stern about the state of LGBTQI+ rights around the world.Jessica Stern is one of the world’s most distinguished LGBTQI+ human rights leaders. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Stern served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons, where she led U.S. foreign policy efforts to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTQI+ people globally. She is also the former Executive Director of Outright International and a co-founder of the United Nations LGBTI Core Group.In this episode they discuss: the current state of LGBTQI+ rights globally, her personal journey into activism, her role as the former US Special Envoy for LGBTQI+I Rights, her work with Outright International, the challenges and progress in the fight for equality, her response to recent criticism of LGBTQI+ Rights advocacy, the importance of allyship and the interconnectedness of human rights issues, the role of the UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the ongoing struggles faced by LGBTQI+  individuals globally.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Aminta Ossom speaks with Yara Sallam about the experiences of women human rights defenders in Egypt and Tunisia as well as her personal history following the Arab Spring that led her to write about burnout and well-being in human rights activism.Yara Sallam is a prominent feminist activist and human rights defender who has worked for several Egyptian and international human rights organisations. She was awarded the North Africa Shield Award in 2013 for her work with Nazra for Feminist Studies and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. In 2020 she published Even the Finest of Warriors a book about how feminist activists manage different aspects of their private lives and concurrently deal with the difficulties of being in the public space. The book looks at case studies of female activists in Egypt and Tunisia dealing with aspects of psychological health, general exhaustion, financial security, as well as growing old.In this episode’s conversation they discuss: what inspired her to write Even the Finest of Warriors, the impact of activism on well being, the personal and political intersections of activism, redefining resilience, building community and collective care, evolving perspectives on activism and aging, and Yara’s own resilience in this work.