Trump's and Netanyahu’s attack on Iran is an illegal act of aggression -- no different from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or Rwandan president Kagame’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
While some in the West are willing to forsake democracy for the far right, large numbers of people in the global South who live under autocracies repeatedly take to the streets to show they want democracy. This is no time for fatalistic despair. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
On book tour in New Zealand, I joined TVNZ's Q&A to discuss the defense of human rights in this hostile era. We address Israel-Gaza, China, Iran, Russia-Ukraine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, and more. www.1news.co.nz/2026/02/22/n...
My assessment of the new Syrian government so far — the major progress it has made and the considerable challenges before it, with Fadel Abdul Ghany. opiniojuris.org/2026/02/20/a...
I will be speaking today in Auckland, New Zealand about the issues from my book, Righting Wrongs. I'll be joined by Helen Clark and Amanda Ellis at an event sponsored by Global Women. globalwomen.org.nz/event/perspe...
To understand whether recent war-time attacks on civilians spell the end of international humanitarian law, examine the reaction. It has been weaker than it should be but still considerable, meaning it is premature to pronounce the law dead. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump didn't pull the trigger for the Minneapolis killings, but he bears political responsibility for having greenlighted his deportation agents’ regularly lawless conduct. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I joined India's NewsX World to discuss the hypocrisy of Western nations in closing their eyes to serious abuses by Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey -- and even India. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIkO...
Censorship to defend Israel is the WRONG response to the horrible Bondi Beach massacre. Australia keeps getting it wrong, first with the disinvitation of a Palestinian writer from the Adelaide Festival, now with the over-the-top hate-speech law. I explain: www.deepcutnews.com/p/censorship...
I have been writing a lot for the Guardian over the past couple of years. I am thrilled that they have now chosen to name me a columnist. www.theguardian.com/profile/kenn...
We have a statute of limitations (usually 5 years) for most crimes. Why isn't there a statute of limitations for undocumented migrants recognizing that after a certain point we should respect the lives they've built in the United States? I explain in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My friend and colleague Sari Bashi's memoir launches today - it's a heartfelt story of an impossible Israeli-Palestinian love that triumphed, against the odds and against Israeli law. I was moved by it, and I hope you'll check it out: ummforat.com/en/buy-upsid...
Regardless of whether Israel calls it a "settlement" or an "outpost," it is still illegal. Israel violates Art. 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention by transferring its population to occupied territory. These are all war crimes designed to block a Palestinian state, as I explain on Al Jazeera.
As Putin's invasion of Ukraine proceeds, it is worth remembering when he signaled his break from the West -- his infamous 2007 speech at the Munich Security Conference. This dramatic podcast recalls that moment through interviews with eyewitnesses, myself included. open.spotify.com/episode/2y1J...
I'm thrilled that the Observer has chosen my book Righting Wrongs as the "paperback of the week." observer.co.uk/culture/book...
What would the world look like if every state acted like Trump? I describe that might-makes-right world, and its extraordinary dangers and pitfalls, in my latest article in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
No matter how you slice it, Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit. My Guardian op-ed:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"This interview is compelling because he reflects on the moral and psychological toll of spending a lifetime documenting the worst forms of cruelty while explaining why, paradoxically, the work strengthened rather than eroded his faith in humanity." theysaidso.org/kenneth-roth...
Five years on, Beijing is apparently still afraid of me. I sought to fly Cathay Pacific from New York to Australia, transiting thru Hong Kong. Immigration authorities blocked me. Evidently my spending even a few hours in the airport was too scary for them. www.nytimes.com/2020/01/12/w...
Does today's proliferation of human rights problems mean the demise of human rights? No, not given the pushback, as I discuss with Leslie Vinjamuri of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on the new Deep Dish podcast. globalaffairs.org/commentary/p...
The two shipwrecked survivors of a Trump-Hegseth attack on a suspected drug-running boat who were then killed in a double-tap strike were murdered. So were the other 85 victims of the 22 attacks. Congress should be scrutinizing them all. I explain in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
On Human Rights Day, we reaffirm no exemptions are permitted -- not for Israel committing genocide in Gaza, the United Arab Emirates arming the genocidal Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, Putin committing war crimes in Ukraine, China persecuting Uyghurs in Xinjiang, or Trump. www.un.org/en/observanc...
Zohran Mamdani is rewriting the political rules around support for Israel. If support for Israel is no longer de rigueur in New York, it may soon not be obligatory in Washington. That is good news for Palestinians. I explain:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I'm thrilled that my book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, has made the Economist's list of Best Books in 2025: www.economist.com/culture/2025...
Trump's peace plan for Ukraine is a Kremlin dream, a Ukrainian nightmare. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
There is no conceivable justification for Trump's saber-rattling toward Venezuela:
1. No U.N. Security Council mandate.
2. No conceivable "self-defense."
3. No mass slaughter to allow humanitarian intervention.
It is plainly illegal, as I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump deserves credit for ending the genocide, at least for now. But we must maintain pressure on him to complete the job by forcing the Israeli government to accept a Palestinian state, which is the only viable lasting solution to the conflict. I explain: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
At a London book festival, I discuss how even today, the public's sense of right and wrong still can be used to restrain governmental misconduct -- a major theme from my book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. iai.tv/video/a-worl...
The Nobel Peace Prize for Venezuela's pro-democracy leader, Maria Corina Machado, reminds us that as autocrats seize power in parts of the world, most of people of the world want democracy -- accountable government that is best placed to serve them. www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...
