Speak! Journal: Volume 11, Issue 1

The Speak! team is happy to present this year’s print edition. You can view the journal by clicking the link here: Speak!_Vol. 11 Continue reading →

Down the Line of Succession: How Likely is Reform in Saudi Arabia?

Following the recent death of Saudi King Abdullah on Jan. 23, the ascendance of his half-brother, King Salman, to the throne has cast new light on the line of succession, leading to speculation over the future of reform in the country. Under King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia had experienced cautious, very limited reform. His initial policies … Continue reading →

Boko Haram: A Danger to Nigerian Democracy?

As Nigeria nears its Feb. 14th* presidential elections, Boko Haram continues to expand its stronghold in the north in the course of its crusade to establish an Islamic state. Its most recent attack occurred on Saturday as the insurgents infiltrated the northeastern capital, the city of Maiduguri. This assault is one in a long string … Continue reading →

Explaining the “Umbrella Revolution”: Hong Kong’s 2014 Protests for Democracy

Two months since the beginning of the Hong Kong protests, what began as an energetic and widely-backed movement that captured international attention has largely collapsed in the face of continued Chinese refusal to grant any concessions. The protests, named the “Umbrella Revolution” for demonstrators’ use of umbrellas to protect themselves from pepper spray attacks by … Continue reading →

Brazil’s Poor Evicted As Olympics Approach

In Brazil, many of the poor living in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas are being forcibly evicted from their homes due to the process of expansion initiated by the World Cup held this past summer and the upcoming 2016 summer Olympics. Approximately 1.4 million people currently live in the favelas, or slums, of Rio de Janeiro, … Continue reading →

Protests Erupt in Mexico over Missing Students

Protests over the disappearance of 43 students spread from Iguala to Mexico City, calling for an accelerated government investigation and the demise of the President, Enrique Peña Neito. On September 26, students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos College at Ayotzinapa, Mexico traveled by bus to the nearby city of Iguala. There, Mayor José Luis Abarca’s … Continue reading →

Canada’s Lackluster Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Amid the chaos from the Syrian Civil War as well as rising violence from Islamic State (IS) militants, millions of Syrians are being forced to flee their homes. Since the outbreak of the civil war in March 2011, over nine million Syrians have been uprooted. More than six million remain internally displaced, while an additional … Continue reading →

In Focus: Does the Nobel Peace Prize Achieve its Goal?

At the beginning of October, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She is the first person to receive the Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child and the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. Yousafzai, a children’s rights activist and journalist, became famous in October … Continue reading →

Montreal’s Taxi Industry Called into Question

After a 26-year-old women claimed she was assaulted by a taxi driver in Notre-Dame-de-Grace on October 9, concerns have been raised over Montreal’s taxi industry and the safety of female passengers. As reported by CTV, the 26-year-old woman described her attack in an interview with Montreal radio station CJAD, saying, “It happened very quickly, he … Continue reading →

HeForShe Campaign: The New Gender Equality Movement

After Emma Watson, actress and United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador, gave a speech at the UN on September 30, the topic of gender equality has avalanched back into social media. More particularly, it is raising awareness about the UN’s HeForShe campaign, the Women Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality. The campaign was developed by UN Women … Continue reading →

Indigenous Awareness Week: Audra Simpson Calls for a New Academic Standard

Audra Simpson’s lecture on aboriginals in academia was assuredly a highlight of this year’s Indigenous Awareness Week. Hosted at McGill and running from September 15th through to September 19th, this week’s events covered topics ranging from traditional dance to the impacts of the institutionalization of indigenous children. This year marked the 4th Indigenous Awareness Week … Continue reading →

After Atrocity: Optimizing UN Action Toward Accountability for Human Rights Abuses

On September 17th, McGill University’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism was host to “After Atrocity: Optimizing UN Action Toward Accountability for Human Rights Abuses” presented by Mr. Steven Ratner, a Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law from the University of Michigan Law School. Held at the New Chancellor Day Hall, the lecture was … Continue reading →

In focus: Violent Protests and Media Censorship in Venezuela

Since February 2014, Venezuela has experienced an outbreak of demonstrations that have led to unlawful violence perpetrated by security forces and government supporters against anti-government protestors, many of whom are unarmed civilians. Journalists and others found documenting the demonstration also face increasing personal risk as media censorship methods turn violent. “The Venezuelan government has openly … Continue reading →

Bill 52 Controversy Evaluates Patient’s Right to Death

While suicide was formally removed from Canada’s criminal code in 1972, it is still considered illegal today to aid another person in ending his or her own life through euthanasia. Contested in the legal and medical sectors around the world, euthanasia has gained widespread attention as it pushes the envelope on what can legally be … Continue reading →

Sudan and Egypt Accused of Trafficking and Torture of Refugees

Since 2004, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have fled their home country to escape government repression. Yet increasingly, in the past three years, they have found themselves subject to human trafficking and put in circumstances worse than those they had left behind. According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), thousands of Eritreans have fled to … Continue reading →

Food Insecurity in the Sahel

Food insecurity has been a persistent problem in the transition zone from the Saharan Desert to the African Savanna, commonly known as the Sahel region, since the food crisis in 2005. This is not only a problem of environmental circumstances due to droughts or destructive land use practices, but also an issue pointing to shortcomings … Continue reading →

Doctor Sentenced for Child-Trafficking; One-Child Policy to Blame?

A doctor in rural Fuping County in China’s Shaanxi Province has received a suspended death sentence for selling seven infants into child-trafficking. The sentencing court has announced that while working as an obstetrician at the Fuping Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital, the doctor, Zhang Shuxia “fabricate[d] reports about the infants, saying they had suffered from … Continue reading →

Youth Arctic Coalition Initiates Coordinated Activism on the Arctic

The North conjures images of an untouched land. However, youths who know and who have experienced the North also know that the region’s natural beauty is under threat from prospects of resource development and environmental degradation. These issues are among the chief concerns of the Youth Arctic Coalition (YAC), a new independent forum fostering youth … Continue reading →

8-Year-Old from China with Lung Cancer; Air Pollution Blamed

On Nov 11, 2013, Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported that an 8-year-old girl from Jiangsu, a northeastern province of China, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. She is the youngest person in China, possibly the world, to be afflicted with the disease. According to Xinhua’s website, xinhuanet.com, the girl’s disease is being attributed to … Continue reading →

Aid May Harm Typhoon Haiyan Recovery Efforts

The twenty-first century has been marked by countless natural disasters. Just to name a few –  a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011, severe monsoon flooding that affected 17.2 million in northwestern Pakistan in 2010, and a cyclone that killed as many as 100,000 in Burma in 2008. According to the … Continue reading →