A summary of human rights violations in North Korea

Is North Korea fighting a food crisis?

North Korea is facing a food crisis placing it on the brink of famine. Read (or watch) Al Jazeera’s detailed take on the food crisis unfolding in North Korea. Since the 1950s, the country has relied on a collective agriculture system. But...

North Korea country profile

North Korea has often been described as one of the world’s most secretive societies. Learn the basics about the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea with this breakdown from the BBC. North Korea emerged in 1948, following the end of the Second World War. Today, it remains one of the few countries still (nominally) under communist rule. Key facts unpack the realities of everyday life inside North Korea.

An overview of North Korea’s military capabilities

With one of the world’s largest conventional military forces, North Korea is often perceived as a security threat. This multimedia backgrounder by CFR breaks down North Korea’s military capabilities. North Korea has the world’s...

Interactive charts on human rights around the world

This website provides comprehensive data visualizations tracking human rights around the globe. While human rights have become much more protected, this varies between countries. Users can find information on how the protection of human rights has...

10 ways that Saudi Arabia violates human rights

This article outlines the ways Saudi Arabia is violating human rights. Saudi Arabia is among the world’s top executioners, employing torture both while in police custody and as a punishment following unfair trials. In addition, Saudi Arabian...

A timeline of Russia-North Korea relations

North Korea and Russia have often had aligned interests, yet their relationship has experienced many highs and lows. Al Jazeera’s explainer outlines the key events defining Russia-North Korea relations. Russia and North Korea were allies during...

What missiles does North Korea have?

In recent years, North Korea has tested a variety of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as both submarine-launched missiles and hypersonic missiles, which can fly at low altitude (to escape radar detection) and at several times the speed of sound. Dive into this visualization by the BBC to break down what missiles North Korea currently has.

Listening to K-pop in North Korea is punishable by execution

As far as we know, North Koreans are instead listening to music that serves as public service announcements or some catchy electronic music for dancing.

Amnesty International’s fight for women’s rights

Amnesty International’s “Women’s Rights” page looks at the history of women’s rights, what women’s rights actually are, and what Amnesty is doing to protect women and girls. Women and girls still face discrimination on the basis of sex...

K-pop idols have reduced rights due to their contracts

In 2024, the South Korean government ruled that celebrities are not entitled to the same rights as workers. This decision was made in response to the band NewJeans, whose members raised concerns about workplace harassment. The South Korean labor ministry instead found that the content of their contracts indicates that they do not hold the same legal status as other workers in the country. The dispute highlights the ongoing debate about the entertainment industry's treatment of idols.

There is a nature preserve in Korea's DMZ

In almost every way, the Demilitarized Zone is a depressing place, a testament to humans' inability to make peace. There is one surprising upside: Keeping people away has allowed nature to thrive. Recently released images offer a 360-degree view of some of the hundreds of endangered species making a comeback in the DMZ, including white-naped cranes, mountain goats, musk deer, and golden eagles.

The story of the 1945 Minnesota Starvation Experiment

Amid the severe conditions of World War II, researchers were eager to learn the effects of starvation in a controlled study. This podcast dives into a yearlong study of 36 men at a Minneapolis college who endured a six-month period of semi-starvation, where their caloric intake was halved. Results from the experiment became a landmark study in human starvation.

Hear Eleanor Roosevelt speak about human rights

On International Human Rights Day, Roosevelt addressed a TV audience to explain the importance of the Declaration of Human Rights. She discusses her work and plans to spread information about the United Nations' efforts.

A summary of the 2020 census

This summary of the 2020 census shows an aging America and wide racial gaps between generations. The information provides the national and geographic composition of the nation’s age and racial-ethnic makeup. New statistics for 2020 show that the...

The disparity in life expectancy between wealthy and impoverished nations has notably narrowed

In 1950, people in Norway lived to age 72, on average, while those in Mali lived to just 26. By 2015, the countries with the worst conditions had made such significant progress that the global average life expectancy had surpassed the rate of any nation in 1950.

The UN found that the Islamic Republic of Iran used genocidal tactics after the revolution

A 2024 report classified Iran's mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s as genocide and crimes against humanity, finding that thousands were arbitrarily killed under Khomeini's orders by "death committees" targeting perceived religious and political enemies.

As of 2022, scientists estimate that 117 billion people have been born on Earth

Although no demographic data exist for more than 99% of the time humans have existed, this value can be estimated by tracking approximate population sizes over different periods and the birth rates within those periods. In 2022, about 6.8% of humans that have ever been born were alive.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

The US and South Korea have a robust, if delicate, alliance

The deep ties between South Korea and the United States go back decades, but the relationship hasn’t always been frictionless. When two off-duty American servicemen accidentally killed two South Korean middle-school girls in 2002, it set off anti-American protests that led South Korea to seek a more balanced relationship. The Council on Foreign Relations traces key moments in the two countries’ seven-decade history.

More than 4,000 people died from cholera in 2023

This global health threat sickened more than half a million people in 2023 and killed 4,007 people. That's a 71% increase in deaths as compared to a year earlier. (Report only offered in PDF format.)

A majority in surveyed countries approve of the UN

A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that a median of 58% across 35 countries viewed the UN favorably, while 31% held unfavorable views. Notably, younger adults tended to view the UN more positively than older generations. The report offers a detailed, country-by-country analysis of global perceptions of the UN.

Learn how governments around the world restrict internet access for their citizens

Various countries around the world, including China, Russia, and Iran, control their local DNS infrastructure, allowing them to block access to online content by preventing the internet "phone book" from finding the IP addresses for specific URLs. Government-controlled internet service providers can also cut off access entirely or throttle specific traffic.

North Carolina was the first state to ban payday lending

In 2001, the North Carolina state legislature let a 1997 law that permitted the small-dollar loans expire—effectively banning payday loans. In 2005, the NC bank commissioner ruled that Advance America, a payday lending company, had been operating in the state illegally.

US federal researchers are blocked from putting certain human cells in animals

In 2015, US policymakers put a halt to any government-funded work that would insert human stem cells into animals. The reasoning was that human cells might spread through the animal's body and perhaps to its brain, blurring the line between humans and nonhumans. The ban remains in place today even as gene-edited pig parts are being placed in humans.

Understanding how the commodification of water has contributed to global water scarcity

In 2010, the UN General Assembly recognized access to water and sanitation as a basic human right, noting that an estimated 884 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. The treatment of water as a commodity and reserves as property has contributed to unequal access and competition over its use, which is expected to intensify due to climate change.

The global nuclear arms regime has slowly eroded over the past few decades

Both Russia and the United States have withdrawn from key Cold War-era arms-control pacts. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point, as it suspended its participation in inspections and data-sharing agreements.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.