42 | Who deserves human rights?

42 | Who deserves human rights?

From The Monkey Dance by The Monkey Dance

January 21, 2026 · 1h 32m · Episode 45

About this episode

Lena Riemer discusses the legal basis for human rights, migration issues, and the erosion of these rights in current policies.

Every human has the same fundamental rights. That might sound trivial, but the universal access to human rights is being actively debated in courts around the world as well as in public and political discourse. Lena Riemer joins the podcast to talk about the legal basis for granting every human being the same fundamental rights, how this applies to cases of migration, and her experiences both as a lawyer and as a legal scholar. We chat about how human rights are being eroded and circumvented by policies, how some governments are actively working to obfuscate violations of human rights law, and the dehumanization of individuals who are forced to migrate from their homes due to some combination of conflict and climate change. As a heads up, this conversation gets emotionally trying at times given the subject matter. You can also watch the episode on our youtube channel If you want to read more of Lena's work and on the topic in general: 1. Lena's blog post on recent jurisprudence on climate change and human mobility and advancements in front of the Inter-American Court of human Rights: Leading the Way: The IACtHR's Advisory Opinion on Human Rights and Climate Change 2. Lena's blog…

People in this episode

Host: The Monkey Dance

Guest: Lena Riemer

Topics covered

  • human rights
  • migration
  • legal discourse
  • climate change
  • dehumanization

Keywords

  • human rights
  • migration
  • legal scholar
  • climate change
  • dehumanization

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Inter-American Court of human Rights, Opinio Juris

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