Human Rights

https://youtu.be/eZu4HCGp_Os On Sunday 4th October, a protest erupted in London in support of Punjab Farmers. Why are Punjab farmers fighting for change, and what inspired them to take to the streets for support?  These key moments in Sikh history contextualise the situation: For over 150 years since the annexation of Punjab by the British in 1849, the Sikh people have resisted foreign occupation in efforts for self-determination in accordance with the Sikh values of Patshahi and Miri-Piri In the 1960s, nearly 60,000 Sikhs were arrested for demanding the right to speak their native Punjab language rather than  Hindi Between 1984 and 1995, Sikhs fought a war for their independence  Recent changes proposed by the Indian government are seen as a further ...

What is privilege anyway? When conversations turn to privilege the temperature in the room can change, what was once a friendly and informative discussion about race soon turns into a standoff. More often then not this can be the case because there are common misconceptions about what it means to be privileged. Does speaking about privilege need to be so scary? NPN provides an introduction to privilege but for further information on how to educate yourself on both race and privilege please click here or visit https://youtu.be/peMINvzQjTU

What you need to know about the ICC in 5 Minutes or less Last week commemorated the anniversary of the Rome Statute, marking the birthday of the International Criminal court (ICC). Founded in 2002, the International Criminal Court, which is based in the Hague (Netherlands), was designed to be the court of last resort and a pillar of objective justice. The ICC prosecutes perpetrators of: GenocideWar crimesCrimes against humanityCrimes of aggression As a court of last resort, it is only meant to intervene when a country’s judicial bodies cannot bring a perpetrator to justice because their institutions are not robust enough to do so (or because the incumbent government is unwilling to do so). Sounds great. So what’s the catch? In the ICC, prosecution can only ta...

The Evolution of the Protest: 8 Historical Protests You Never Heard About I support the movement, but I don’t support vandalism or looting.”There is a 99% chance you have heard or read this sentence in the last six weeks.Why?Because in times of crisis -- as we are in now, the whole world, all at once -- we quickly forget our collective past in the interest of solving immediate problems. We focus on the here and now. Check your email. Skim the news. Then form a half-baked opinion, and carry on with your day.Mass media is especially guilty of this – carelessly tossing out words like “riot” instead of “protest”, underreporting the good, and overreporting the negative edge cases, the lone-wolf looter, the one bad egg. It’s dangerously easy to follow a double-standard...

His Statue Got Tossed in the River. But Who Was He, Really? Since George Floyd’s murder on 25 May 2020, waves of protests, petitions and outcries have ignited around the world – the UK is no exception. People everywhere are demanding a change to cultural pillars that are embedded and largely considered acceptable. One such pillar is statues and monuments, many of which are in the likeness of former slave-owners and imperialists, symbols of oppression and glorification of racism, slavery, and white supremacy. The transatlantic slave trade resulted in the sale and exploitation of millions of Africans for 400 years. According to the United Nations, approximately 17 million died during this time excluding those who died during transport (which one in six individuals...