Antisemitism is pernicious, poses real harm to Jewish communities around the world, and requires meaningful action to combat it.

So how should we fight it?

A group of 60 human rights and civil rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, has some ideas. They’ve written an open letter to Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres and Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations. You can read the full letter here.

One critical suggestion: make sure you respect human rights when combatting antisemitism.

This seems obvious, but it is an important reminder. In the letter, the group urged the United Nations not to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. This definition has been misused to falsely label some criticism of Israeli government policies and/or advocacy for Palestinian rights as antisemitic.

UN leaders should ensure efforts to combat antisemitism “do not inadvertently embolden or endorse policies and laws that undermine fundamental human rights, including the right to speak and organize in support of Palestinian rights and to criticize Israeli government policies,” say signatories including HRW, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Palestinian human rights group Al Haq, and the International Federation for Human Rights.

They also point out there are alternatives for the flawed IHRA definition of antisemitism. At least two other definitions are less open to misuse: the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Document.

It is crucial to fight the scourge of antisemitism. But let’s do it the right way.

Pressure is growing on Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni to reject a bill that tramples on the human rights of LGBT+ people. Under this law, sexually active gay men and lesbians could face the death penalty.

Lawmakers use rhetoric of defending ‘traditional family values’ against foreign influence as justification for this bill, yet the law targets ordinary Ugandans and casts basic human rights as foreign. The clock is ticking, as Museveni has 30 days since its passage through parliament on March 21 to sign the bill into law or reject it.

He has said that “Uganda will not embrace homosexuality and the West should stop seeking to impose its views” - a false dichotomy. A number of African countries, including Angola, Botswana, Gabon, Lesotho, and Mozambique, have decriminalized same-sex relations. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights condemns violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It calls for perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Now a group of courageous mothers of LGBT+ people in Uganda has weighed in. “As mothers, we can no longer stand on the sidelines and watch as our children continue to be bashed and threatened in such a dangerous and deliberate manner. We request you, our cherished President not to assent to Anti- Homosexuality Bill, and we ask that you instead task Parliament to enact laws that protect all Children from all forms of violence and discrimination.”

(by Alice Autin & Aiza Rodrigues Akhtar)  

During their colonial rule in Namibia, in just four years between 1904 and 1908, German colonizers massacred Ovaherero and Nama people and seized 80% of their land.

Now, if Germany truly wants to right the wrongs of its colonial past, these communities must be at the center of that process.

But, when the German government made a reparation deal in 2021 with the Namibian government, the Ovaherero and Nama people got no say in it. They were only presented with the final text.  

In response, Namibian opposition and representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama people brought a case before Namibia’s high court, demanding renegotiations of the reparation deal. This is an unprecedented move to challenge the agreement that was made without them – addressing colonial crimes before a court of a former colony.  

We’ll be watching the decision. 

(compiled by Aiza Rodrigues Akhtar)  

• U.S: Martin Luther King Jr: 55 years after his assassination (El País)  
• Jordan: Iraqi refugee women sew up a storm, and a future (Aljazeera)
• New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern to tackle online extremism in a new role (The Guardian) 
• Lebanon: A Path Toward Judicial Independence (HRW)