Issued by 7/7 Survivor Sajda Mughal OBE Sixteen years ago, on that fateful day in July, I narrowly escaped death. If I had not been running late and had got on at my usual carriage, I would not have been so lucky. As we remember those whose lives were violently taken from them, I …
Prevent: preventing the full enjoyment of human rights
Many people know about the discriminatory effects of the Prevent strategy, but there are also important human rights implications. Whilst the Prevent duty is widely criticised for its Islamophobic effects, a problem that is not discussed to the same extent, even though it is certainly worth the attention, is the effect it may have on …
What do we do about extremism and hate in our security forces?
Recently, there has been an increase in reported cases of members of the armed forces or police being found to have engaged in racism or extremism. Historically, the security forces — in this piece, referring collectively to the military and police — have had a complicated relationship with minority communities. Whilst this is a general …
The Misuse of the Label “Terrorist”: How governments label people as terrorists without charging a crime of terrorism
The Capitol riots in the U.S. on 6 January 2021 led to outcries from many well-intentioned citizens from both parties to label the white supremacist extremists that stormed the U.S. Capitol as terrorists. Joe Biden, the President-Elect at the time, echoed these claims dubbing the rioters “domestic terrorists”. Indeed, White people are often not held …
Facebook’s Oversight Board: long-awaited accountability or smokescreen for culpability?
How trusting or sceptical should we be of Facebook’s Oversight Board and its decisions? In response to years of criticisms of its algorithms and decisions on what content should be allowed, Facebook established its own Oversight Board, as a sort of independent appeals body that would review past controversial decisions and publish fully transparent decisions. …
Tackling abuse on social media
Reports of social media abuse have dramatically increased during the pandemic. With social media giants being under more scrutiny than ever before, they have decided to start tackling abuse. This blog will explore the ways they aim to keep us, and our children, safe from abuse online. Covid-19: a rise in social media abuse, …