Kartik Raj

@[email protected]
356 Followers
29 Following
32 Posts
europe researcher, human rights watch, focused on poverty, inequality and socioeconomic rights. https://www.hrw.org/about/people/kartik-raj
Kartik RajApr 21, 2023

I'm really glad that @humanrightswatch has joined 90+ groups in backing the Guarantee #OurEssentials campaign in the UK -- convened by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Trussell Trust -- which seeks to ensure that UK social security payment levels are set to a level that is sufficient to ensure people's rights and a dignified standard of living.

Here's an explainer about what the human rights argument for doing so is. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/19/uk-social-security-should-guarantee-adequate-living-standard

Find out more using the hashtag in burdwurld.

UK Social Security Should Guarantee Adequate Living Standard

Faced with a cost-of-living crisis and a generational high in inflation, more than 90 organizations today called on politicians across parties in the United Kingdom to ensure social security payments are set to a level that ensures recipients can enjoy their rights and live with dignity.

Human Rights Watch
Kartik RajApr 18, 2023

Important recent research from @humanrightswatch on the harm suffered by the Windrush generation in the UK. How
- institutional racism;
- a harsh set of immigration policies;
- a failure to understand colonial history;
- complicated bureaucracy to seek compensation;
- an unwillingness on the part of government to learn lessons from those it tasks to review its work
all boil together to create a toxic mix that does real harm to people's lives.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/17/uk-hostile-compensation-scheme-fails-windrush-victims

UK: “Hostile” Compensation Scheme Fails ‘Windrush’ Victims

A UK government scheme to compensate “Windrush scandal” victims is failing and violating their right to an effective remedy for human rights abuses they suffered at the hands of the Home Office. The Windrush generation that has lived in the UK for decades have had to meet impossible requirements in recent years to prove their residency rights, causing life-altering losses.

Human Rights Watch
Kartik RajFeb 13, 2023

Important new report about the situation of the Chagos Islanders by @humanrightswatch due to be published this week. The report looks at forced displacement of people from the islands, and ongoing colonial crimes by the UK and the US governments.

The report, "That's When the Nightmare Started," will be published on February 15.

Kartik RajFeb 13, 2023

As part of @humanrightswatch's engagement with the UN's processes for monitoring how well (or how badly) countries live up to their international human rights treaty commitments, we made the following submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights about the UK.

The purpose of the document is to help the Committee refine its agenda and develop a detailed list of questions for the government before the full examination.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/17/uk-submission-un-committee-economic-social-and-cultural-rights

The UK: Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

We write in advance of the 72nd pre-session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding its review of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Human Rights Watch
Kartik RajJan 18, 2023
Submission by @humanrightswatch to the UN Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights on the UK's rights record, covering:
- failure to incorporate protections in domestic law
-concerns around temporary accommodation (housing, education, health)
-impact on education of Covid-19 school closures
- inadequate social security support
-food insecurity
-protection of education from attack in armed conflict
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/17/uk-submission-un-committee-economic-social-and-cultural-rights
The UK: Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

We write in advance of the 72nd pre-session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding its review of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Human Rights Watch
Show threadKartik RajJan 13, 2023

And beyond the EU, we also cover the UK and the Western Balkans.

🇬🇧 https://t.co/DoIJtC9q6h
🇧🇦 https://t.co/dX0Lxj91Xg
🇷🇸 / 🇽🇰 https://t.co/dX0Lxj91Xg

Discover all the work the broader team does on Europe and Central Asia (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cacuasus, Central Asia) here: https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia

World Report 2023: Rights Trends in United Kingdom

Human Rights Watch
Kartik RajJan 13, 2023

Yesterday, @humanrightswatch launched its #Rights2023 report: https://t.co/qlmybPK3F1

My colleague Ben Ward has a thoughtful piece on creeping authoritarianism as it affects Europe: https://t.co/2e0wp2PQzY

Read chapters about the EU and EU countries our team covers:
🇪🇺 https://t.co/rjl0IRGxDy
🇫🇷 https://t.co/MNiiIXbicG
🇩🇪 https://t.co/63iRIXX8lp
🇬🇷 https://t.co/k2U3wVuotd
🇭🇺 https://t.co/4y2dsk7QKc
🇮🇹 https://t.co/HIHrlnVtWU
🇵🇱 https://t.co/CGm94CD4r4
🇪🇸 https://t.co/hz8GwFIQIS
+ more to follow

World Report 2023

The litany of human rights crises that unfolded in 2022 – from Ukraine to China to Afghanistan – has left behind a sea of human suffering, but it has also opened new opportunities for human rights leadership from countries around the world.

Human Rights Watch
Kartik RajDec 5, 2022
In hibernation until January 9. 🦣❄️
Show threadKartik RajNov 28, 2022
If you hit a paywall ($) with the Foreign Policy link in the original tweet, it's been republished here: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/27/qatar-cant-hide-its-abuses-calling-criticism-racist
Qatar Can’t Hide Its Abuses by Calling Criticism Racist

As the FIFA Men’s World Cup begins, Qatar is facing media scrutiny for the abuse and exploitation of migrant workers who built and delivered an estimated $220 billion of World Cup infrastructure—as well as discrimination against women and LGBT people. Qatari authorities are anxious to deflect attention from the country’s human rights record by claiming that the criticism is racist, because such criticism against a World Cup host is “unprecedented.” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the same, delivering a rambling speech on the eve of the World Cup.

Human Rights Watch
Show threadKartik RajNov 28, 2022
And yes, colonialism and the role of the West matters, as this essay notes very clearly. The Western imperial and colonial projects of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries continue to have effect and can actually help understand the context of why we are where we are with Qatar's racialized labor system.