Human Rights in the News: January 2023

Welcome to the January 2023 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important human rights stories from around the world.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Credit: Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

High schoolers threaten to sue DeSantis over ban of African American studies course
Giulua Heyward  |  NPR  |  January 25, 2023

Three Florida high school students have announced their intention to sue Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after the state Education Department rejected a new AP course about African American Studies.

Prison block (Credit: Emiliano Bar via Unsplash)

Lawsuit Alleges Federal Death-Row Conditions Violate U.S. Constitution and Human Rights Treaties
Death Penalty Information Center  |  January 19, 2023

A person incarcerated on death row in Indiana has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the U.S. federal government. The lawsuit, authored by the ACLU, states that prisoners on death row at Terre Haute prison in Indiana are forced into permanent solitary confinement–a violation of international human rights laws

Volker Türk stands in front of a blue background, behind many microphones (Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Volker Türk: the man charged with protecting the world’s human rights
Lizzy Davies  |  The Guardian  |  January 5, 2023

Three months after assuming the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk feared “From Myanmar and Sri Lanka to Haiti and Somalia [...] those curtailing the rights of others will be emboldened if the world looks the other way. ‘If [these situations] continue to be forgotten, those who benefit from it probably feel encouraged. So it is important that we keep the spotlight on [them],” he says.’”

San Diego skyline (Credit: Adobe Stock)

San Diego declares ‘housing as a human right’ but does it mean anything legally?
Phillip Molnar  |  The San Diego Union-Tribune  |  January 24, 2023

“The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to declare housing as a human right, a rare move for a city with a lot of housing issues. San Diego’s resolution states housing is a ‘fundamental human right and reaffirms its commitment to providing more housing and services geared toward putting a roof over the head of every San Diegan.’” The resolution, however, is not legally-binding.

People hold a yellow and purple banner reading “Intersex rights are human rights” (Credit: Nurphoto/Getty Images)

Intersex People Deserve Reparations for Non-Consensual Surgeries
Courtney Skaggs  |  Teen Vogue  |  January 25, 2023 

In this op-ed, research and intersex activist Courtney Skaggs makes the case for reparations for intersex individuals. “Reparations can begin to build trust with a community that is rightfully distrustful. They may include public apologies, public investigations of harm, paying intersex folks for their activism and education rather than making them volunteer their trauma stories and expertise,” Skaggs writes, “employing intersex people to provide care and work in affirming clinics, donating to intersex organizations, making space for intersex people to lead medical care reform and research, or providing low cost or free intersex affirming care.”

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