Today’s podcast guest is Jane Olson, a noted humanitarian who has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She has chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, from 2004 to 2010, and chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network.
In this episode, we discuss the current rise in human rights abuses globally, what roles international organizations have played in combatting human rights abuses, and the importance of educating people about their basic universal human rights, including starting in schools.
Listen now; link in bio.
Full bio
Jane Olson has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, the largest US-based international human rights organization, from 2004 to 2010, having worked on behalf of HRW since 1988. She also chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network. LSN and HRW were among the five organizations to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997for the International Landmine Ban Treaty.
Jane is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a board member of both the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Direct Relief, based in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. She served as co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the WRC as a commissioner.
Jane has received numerous awards, including the 2010 inaugural Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch, and the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Award from Feminist Majority in 2005. California Senator Barbara Boxer presented the “Women Making History” Award to Jane in 2010. She received Public Counsel’s Community Achievement Award and the Silver Achievement Award from the Los Angeles YWCA.
Trump is cornered on multiple fronts, and the pressure is intensifying. The Iran war has become a grinding stalemate. War driven energy shocks are intensifying inflation. His approval ratings have sunk. Inside the Republican Party, restive lawmakers and donors increasingly doubt his judgment. Taken together, these trends sharply narrow Trump’s political options and suggest that his second term is entering a dangerous, potentially irreversible downward spiral.
In my latest podcast episode, I spoke with former Principal Deputy Director in the Secretary of State`s Office of Global Women`s Issues, Katrina (Kat) Fotovat about the backsliding on women`s rights between the first and second Trump adminstrations. Kat noted the shift in priorities between administrations, and the national security implications of such cuts to women`s issues.
Listen to the full episode via the link in bio; episodes also available on all major podcasting apps
A new Human Rights Watch report shows how Trump’s immigration policies are hurting some of the most vulnerable people, especially undocumented survivors of serious crimes. The US was once the place where people fleeing violence came to feel safe. Under Trump, that promise has been willfully abandoned.
#Immigration #UnitedStates #Migration #HumanRights
El Salvador is sliding deeper into authoritarianism as the government of President Nayib Bukele intensifies its crackdown on critics, journalists, and human rights defenders. One year after her arrest, prominent anti-corruption lawyer Ruth López remains imprisoned under judicial secrecy without a transparent public trial. Human Rights Watch warns that her detention has become a symbol of the collapse of judicial independence and democratic freedoms in the country. López investigated alleged corruption inside Bukele’s administration and exposed serious human rights abuses under the state of emergency. Since her arrest, activists, lawyers, and journalists have faced intimidation, detention, and exile. Rights groups warn that El Salvador is increasingly mirroring authoritarian governments where dissent is criminalized and fear replaces democracy.
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Saudi Arabia continues to face mounting international criticism over its treatment of migrant workers, as leading United Nations human rights experts call for the complete abolition of the kafala sponsorship system. The system ties workers’ legal status to employers, leaving millions vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. In a statement released on April 29, UN experts cited ongoing reports of wage theft, workplace violence, passport confiscation, excessive recruitment fees, and worker deaths that often go uninvestigated. Human Rights Watch says many migrant workers still face conditions amounting to forced labor despite years of promised reforms by Saudi authorities. Rights groups warn that abuses continue even on major projects linked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, raising serious concerns about accountability and labor rights enforcement.
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Today’s podcast guest is Jane Olson, a noted humanitarian who has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She has chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, from 2004 to 2010, and chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network.
In this episode, we discuss the current rise in human rights abuses globally, what roles international organizations have played in combatting human rights abuses, and the importance of educating people about their basic universal human rights, including starting in schools.
Listen now: soundcloud.com/alon-ben-meir/on-the-issues-episode-148-jane-olson
Full bio
Jane Olson has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, the largest US-based international human rights organization, from 2004 to 2010, having worked on behalf of HRW since 1988. She also chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network. LSN and HRW were among the five organizations to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997for the International Landmine Ban Treaty.
Jane is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a board member of both the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Direct Relief, based in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. She served as co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the WRC as a commissioner.
Jane has received numerous awards, including the 2010 inaugural Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch, and the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Award from Feminist Majority in 2005. California Senator Barbara Boxer presented the “Women Making History” Award to Jane in 2010. She received Public Counsel’s Community Achievement Award and the Silver Achievement Award from the Los Angeles YWCA.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Trump is cornered on multiple fronts, and the pressure is intensifying. The Iran war has become a grinding stalemate. War driven energy shocks are intensifying inflation. His approval ratings have sunk. Inside the Republican Party, restive lawmakers and donors increasingly doubt his judgment. Taken together, these trends sharply narrow Trump’s political options and suggest that his second term is entering a dangerous, potentially irreversible downward spiral.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
