Human Rights

As the United States pulls away from global multilateral institutions like the United Nations, CSIS scholars undertake research and analysis on the critical role that human rights and democratic values play in a comprehensive and sustainable foreign policy.

Photo: Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union/Getty Images

Photo: Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union/Getty Images

Rethinking the Legal Profession’s Role in Business and Human Rights

With a key U.S. court path to corporate accountability closed and no federal due diligence mandate, lawyers are among the last safeguards for human rights. CSIS experts outline how counsel, bar associations, and courts can use existing professional rules to guard against rights harms and silencing tactics.

Commentary by Zamira Djabarova and Lana Baydas — October 15, 2026

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Benjamin Jensen

Benjamin Jensen

Director, Futures Lab and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department
Will Todman

Will Todman

Chief of Staff, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department; and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

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Rethinking the Legal Profession’s Role in Business and Human Rights

With a key U.S. court path to corporate accountability closed and no federal due diligence mandate, lawyers are among the last safeguards for human rights. CSIS experts outline how counsel, bar associations, and courts can use existing professional rules to guard against rights harms and silencing tactics.

Commentary by Zamira Djabarova and Lana Baydas — October 15, 2026

Without Parallel: North Korean Human Rights and the Russia Axis

CSIS and the George W. Bush Institute are inviting you to an event, Without Parallel: North Korean Human Rights and the Russia Axis, featuring a panel discussion refocusing attention on North Korean human rights by examining conditions at the Alabuga drone-production facilities in Russia. 

Event — October 14, 2026

The 1926 Slavery Convention’s Centennial in Context

What do you do when you realize moral failure has underwritten your life? This is the story beyond the 1926 Slavery Convention, which was deeply imperfect, but 100 years ago constituted the international community's first attempt at ending the moral scourge of slavery.

Commentary by John Cotton Richmond — September 22, 2026

The United States and China: Still Not Number One

In December 2020, the Trustee Chair published the first iteration of Not Number One, which provided global rankings of the United States and China covering a wide array of metrics. Nearly six years later, the Trustee Chair has updated the analysis to see if any of the tables have turned.

Blog Post by Nina Gohel — September 11, 2026

Will LLMs Help or Hinder the Democratic Process?

With growing reliance on LLMs for information gathering, it is critical to examine how this technology will impact elections and other exercises in political accountability.

Commentary by Andrew Friedman — September 9, 2026

New Approaches to Address the Role of Gold in Sudan’s Civil War

Revenues from gold are a key driver of the conflict in Sudan. Recent EU sanctions are a start, but much more needs to be done to ensure the gold trade no longer finances bloodshed in the world’s most abandoned humanitarian crisis.

Commentary by Andrew Friedman and Brad Brooks-Rubin — August 11, 2026

A Global Forced Labor Import Regime Is Emerging—Can It Work?

USTR announced sweeping tariffs across 60 economies to address unfair trade practices related to the importation of forced labor-made goods. This presents significant opportunities for promoting workers' rights as well as potentially dire risks to those same rights.

Critical Questions by Laura T. Murphy — July 31, 2026

Protecting Human Rights at the World Cup: Progress on Paper, Gaps on the Ground

As the 2026 World Cup draws to a close, this article examines FIFA’s evolving commitments to human rights, its record at recent tournaments, and factors that will determine whether protections for workers, fans, and players improve, stall, or decline at future tournaments.  

Critical Questions by Gretchen Scott and Andrew Friedman — July 15, 2026