Middle East and North Africa

Since 2019, Iraq has been plagued by constant demonstrations and protests against corrupt governance. In responding to these protests, many claim that the Iraqi government have disregarded not only human rights, but also civil and political rights such as freedom of expression & association.

As the 8th anniversary of the Yemeni Civil war approaches, hope to bring the bloody and brutal conflict to an end appears bleak. The HSC has today published an update on the situation in the country.

If the conflict is to continue in a legal manner, all parties to the conflict must understand the indiscriminate use of rocket/artillery to clear large areas will only result in more innocent lives being lost.

The attacks in Sa’ada are a sad reiteration of the disregard for civilian life in the ongoing conflict. The attack was one of many committed over the last 8 years that demonstrates how fast to act both sides to the conflict are in their ignorance towards their humanitarian obligations.

As with previous conflicts in Gaza, this latest exchange of hostilities saw Palestinian militant groups use civilian buildings for military purposes, with subsequent Israeli attacks targeting these same civilian structures to eliminate a military threat. However, Israel employs a strategy known as “Roof Knocking”, designed to limit the number of civilian casualties caused by their airstrikes.

In the last months of 2020, Israel normalized its ties with four Arab countries. In the case of Morocco, the US issued a proclamation, recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, making it the first country in the world to do so. What consequences such recognition will have on what is essentially a conflict in limbo is unclear.

Human Security Centre (HSC) Deputy Director Simon Schofield has had a comment piece on Turkey's regional policy published in the Jerusalem Post.

Human Security Centre (HSC) Senior Fellow Simon Schofield has had a comment piece examining the latest developments in Turkish foreign policy published in CapX. In the article, he outlines how Ankara's interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya, fostering of jihadists and colluding with powers such as Iran have left relations between Turkey and the West at a critical juncture.

The world of football is often less about the game on the field and much more about anything that happens around it. Governments exploit the sport for propaganda, investors for reputation improvement, and sports officials for personal gain.

Although it is not entirely clear if Mustafa al-Kadhimi will be able to form a cabinet within the 30-day timeline, one thing he does have is support amongst most parliamentary factions.