Op-Ed Apr 2, 2026 Loud on the Embargo, Silent on the Dungeons On the night of March 21, 2026, Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed for the third time in a month, the result of a fuel shortage triggered by a U.S.-imposed oil embargo, decades of underinvestment in a crumbling gridand, most consequentially, the post–Nicolás Maduro halt of Venezuelan crude, on which Cuba had depended for years to cover roughly a quarter of its oil needs.
Op-Ed Mar 23, 2026 Russia Is Failing Its Allies When It Matters Most The war in Iran, and especially the quick decapitation of the country’s leadership structure, has been a swift, remarkable display of American power and Israeli determination. But there is one other fact it has proven: an alliance with Moscow counts for little when a regime faces its greatest threat.
Op-Ed Mar 20, 2026 Tyranny Tracker: Identifying authoritarianism, illuminating freedom The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has launched Tyranny Tracker — a qualitative democracy index that classifies countries and territories as democratic, hybrid authoritarian, or fully authoritarian.
Op-Ed Mar 19, 2026 HRF Op-ed Featured in The Washington Post on the Political Opening in Cuba An opening that leaves political prisoners behind will only fund further repression.
Op-Ed Mar 13, 2026 Putin Bombs the Power Grid. The Children Keep Playing When the Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych risked disqualification for wearing a helmet displaying the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war during this year’s Olympics, it became clear: even sports equipment has become political.
Op-Ed Mar 13, 2026 Why Iranians cannot simply “take over” their government President Trump recently urged the Iranian people to “take over [their] government” once the US-Israel-led campaign on Iran has ended.
Op-Ed Feb 27, 2026 We’ve overestimated Russia for too long The recent anniversary of Russia’s expanded invasion, which is now stretching into its fifth year, is as good a time as any to take stock of the state of the war itself.
Op-Ed Jan 30, 2026 Don’t Forget the Many Ways Russia Tried To Justify Invading Ukraine As negotiations continue to drag on between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow, the Kremlin’s narrative about the war has centered on one potential solution: evicting Ukrainian forces from the Donbas.
Op-Ed Jan 9, 2026 Umar Khalid and the Erosion of Indian Justice Khalid’s case is a stark example of how the Modi government weaponizes anti-terror laws to indefinitely silence Muslim voices and crush dissent.
Op-Ed Jan 6, 2026 HRF in The Wall Street Journal on the Future of Venezuela Maduro’s vice president is wrong for Venezuela. If there’s a deal with her, Trump should void it.
Op-Ed Dec 13, 2025 As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity As paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.
Op-Ed Nov 14, 2025 Vietnam’s Trade Boom Shouldn’t Excuse Its Human Rights Crackdown There are real opportunities for Vietnam’s trading partners to insist that it honor its obligations under international human rights law.
Op-Ed Jul 14, 2025 Legitimizing repression: A retired New Zealand judge lends credibility to China’s crackdown The very last thing any person with integrity wants, or should want, is to be praised by the likes of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, the main man responsible for aiding and abetting the Chinese Communist Party in eroding democracy and freedom in Hong Kong.
Op-Ed Jun 17, 2025 Sarkozy-Gaddafi Trial Exposes Corruption’s Impact on Libyans The corruption trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in France is testing the country’s democratic resilience and the judiciary’s capacity to act as a counter-power to leaders bending democratic rules.
Op-Ed Jun 4, 2025 When even remembering is a crime: China’s Tiananmen Square massacre, 36 years on While the streets of Hong Kong may now fall silent on June 4, Tiananmen’s memory has not vanished — it has gone global.
Op-Ed May 29, 2025 Why the OAS can’t afford to be neutral on democracy in Latin America When leaders of international organizations proclaim neutrality, it may sound statesmanlike. However, in many parts of the world not taking sides is the equivalent of siding with dictators.
Op-Ed May 9, 2025 Why is Saudi Arabia at the Gold Cup? It’s the latest in the Kingdom’s soft power campaign Last month, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) held an official draw in Miami, Florida for the 2025 Gold Cup, the premier biennial tournament for men’s football on the continent.
Op-Ed Mar 19, 2025 Kirsty Coventry—the Soft Face of Zimbabwe’s Dictatorship—Could Be the Next President of the IOC | Opinion The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to select a new president this week to succeed Thomas Bach. In a field of seven candidates, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, Africa’s most decorated Olympian, could make history as the first woman to head the IOC.
Op-Ed May 6, 2025 How Years of American Policy Bumbling Boosted Putin Alexander Vindman argues that U.S. missteps and naïveté created the conditions for Russian imperialism’s return.
Op-Ed Sep 30, 2024 America’s Adversaries Are Targeting Its Cities and States Last week, federal prosecutors launched a bombshell indictment against sitting New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
