Category Archives: Human Rights

“Who are you?” Forensic anthropology and human rights.

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

From Arts & Letter Daily  comes a fascinating article,  Mengele’s Skull, that details “…the value of forensic anthropology to human rights…”  An excerpt: It was during the Mengele investigation that the procedures and techniques of forensic identification of human remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Argentina, Germany, Holocaust, Human Rights, Science, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The funeral cortege of Vaclav Havel.

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Posted in Czech Republic, Dissidents, History, Human Rights, Vaclav Havel | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vaclav Havel’s message to Belarusian dissidents.

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

“…I will use every opportunity to alert the international community of the human rights abuse in Belarus.”  Vaclav Havel’s last letter to Belarusian jailed dissidents:  Andrei  Sannikau, Mikola Statkevich, Mikalaj Autukhovich, Zmicer Bandarenka, Ales Bialiatsky, Zmicer Dashkevich, Eduard Lobau, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Belarus, Communism, Dissidents, Human Rights, Vaclav Havel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

International Human Rights Day.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

December 10th is International Human Rights Day, and the Law Library of Congress has a celebration on December 9th, free to the public.

Posted in Human Rights, United States | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The seed that multiplied.

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

The following quote from the article “All His Children – A sperm donor discovers his rich, unsettling legacy.” by Robin Romm in The Atlantic is unsettling: Describing the sensation of first seeing the biological children he’d never known, Raul told … Continue reading →

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Of pedophiles and pederasts.

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

“The horror!  The horror! “ So said Joseph Conrad in his Heart of Darkness.  All the latest news of abuse of children makes me think of those 4 words.  It also makes me wonder what it does say about adults … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Empathy, General, Human Rights, United States, Youth | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A horrific pictorial history of The Holocaust.

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

When a human life was labelled “life unworthy of life” (Lebensunwertes Leben): The Atlantic has the 18th installment of a 20 part pictorial history of World War II that must be seen to begin to comprehend the horror.

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Auschwitz, Empathy, History, Holocaust, Human Rights, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The tragic tale of the child migrants from the UK.

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Today, these children are grown-ups.  I had not heard of the wrenching history behind the child migrants, but an excerpt from a Background Note from the Australian Parliament explains: Under the Empire Settlement Act of 1922 and 1937, the British … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Culture, Empathy, History, Human Rights, Rule of Law, United Kingdom, War, World War II, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uzbekistan through the lens…

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

“…after looking through Akhmedova’s pictures, any foreigner unfamiliar with Uzbekistan would have the impression that “people in Uzbekistan live in the Middle Ages.” The photographer, Umida Akhmedova, was convicted of slander in her native country, for depicting her people as … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Culture, Dissidents, Human Rights, Uzbekistan | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The power of one: a Catholic priest’s life mission.

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Father Patrick Desbois, a French Catholic priest, has a mission: Yahad – In Unum is the leading research organization investigating the mass executions of 1.5 million Jews and Roma/Gypsy people in Eastern Europe between 1941 and 1944.  This is sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Crime, History, Holocaust, Human Rights, Roma, Romania, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The unbearable lightness of being: from historian to boiler-room operator to cloakroom attendant to national archivist.

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Only then will I be able to die – until that time, someone has to take care of all of this!

Posted in Communism, Czech Republic, Dissidents, History, Human Rights | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Women’s Rights in Afghanistan.

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Via ISAF.

Posted in Afghanistan, Culture, Gender, Human Rights | Tagged , | 1 Comment

American anti-semitism. UPDATED.

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I never thought I would see blatant anti-semitism in the US!  But, as the Bible says, there’s nothing new under the sun… If, indeed, it is true that this is used as part of the campaign against circumcision, it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Culture, Human Rights, United States | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The haunting faces of child laborers.

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

It wasn’t too long ago that children were employed in all sorts of jobs.  The haunting faces of these child laborers are depicted in a collection of photos:  American Child Labour c. 1900-1937.  Among all the squalor and harsh reality … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Economics, Human Rights, Rule of Law, United States, Youth | Tagged | Leave a comment

UNDP’s Rule of Law annual report.

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

The UNDP’s Annual Report:  Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations.

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