By the Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

From Nairobi to Nashville, Gen Z activists are doing more than raising their voices—they’re shifting paradigms. In an era defined by climate collapse, digital surveillance, and authoritarian creep, young people across continents are not only resisting injustice but redefining what civil rights activism looks like.

This is not your traditional protest generation. It’s something more expansive, tech-savvy, and unapologetically intersectional. Whether they’re occupying parliaments, flooding the streets, or launching viral campaigns from their bedrooms, Gen Z is setting the tone for global human rights advocacy.

Kenya: Hashtag Justice Becomes a National Movement

In 2024, outrage erupted across Kenya following the death of 26-year-old Jeff Mwathi, whose mysterious fall from a window after visiting the home of a high-profile influencer exposed long-standing tensions between the public and police. The hashtag #JusticeForJeff quickly became a rallying cry as young Kenyans used TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram to demand accountability, not just for Mwathi’s death, but for rampant gender-based violence and state corruption.

Protests swelled across Nairobi. Online activism compelled the Kenyan police to reopen investigations. The movement demonstrated that when digital storytelling meets grassroots energy, justice can no longer be ignored.

Iran: Digital Defiance in the Face of Brutality

Following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian “morality police” custody, Gen Z girls in Iran risked everything to speak out. Their videos—unveiling hair, chanting in school hallways, burning hijabs—circulated globally even as the government shut down the internet and deployed brutal crackdowns.

The movement grew into a broader human rights campaign under the slogan “Women. Life. Freedom.” And though the regime tried to silence them, their courage ignited international solidarity, placing the Iranian government’s abuses under a global microscope.

Brazil: Indigenous Gen Z Protecting Ancestral Lands

In Brazil, Indigenous youth are at the forefront of the battle to stop environmental devastation and land theft. In 2023, young leaders from multiple tribes led an occupation of Brazil’s Ministry of Health in Brasília, protesting Bill PL 490, which would limit Indigenous land rights and expand access for mining interests in the Amazon.

Their livestreams and real-time videos exposed both government inaction and media silence. The occupation delayed legislative votes, inspired solidarity actions, and brought Indigenous resistance into global environmental and human rights conversations.

United States: Youth Power at the Polls and in the Streets

Gen Z in the U.S. is leveraging both protest and political strategy. In 2023, after a mass shooting in Nashville, high school students led a mass walkout and protest at the Tennessee statehouse. Their message: do more than mourn—legislate.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, Gen Z helped defeat an anti-abortion ballot initiative in 2022. Through TikTok, memes, and Discord organizing, young voters turned out in record numbers to protect reproductive rights, proving their ability to move public policy, not just public opinion.

🌟 The Future Is Already Here

The next global rights movement isn’t coming, it’s already live. In 4K. With captions. Led by young people who watched the world fall apart and decided to rebuild it differently. So, when we ask where the next civil rights leaders are, we should be looking down at our phones.

They're already speaking.

The question is: Are we listening?

— Lustitia Aequalis

By the Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

George Williams spent 50 years behind bars without ever being tried for a crime. Not because he was dangerous. Not because of evidence. But because he was poor, mentally ill, and forgotten by a system that was never built to protect him.

His story is not only a devastating failure of justice—it’s a global warning about what happens when mental illness is criminalized instead of treated, and when governments forget the people they incarcerate.

Who Is George Williams?

In 1970, George Williams was arrested in Jamaica for allegedly killing someone during an episode of mental instability. He was just 20 years old. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was declared unfit to plead—and from that moment, he was never tried, never sentenced, and never released.

He remained locked away in the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre—known for its overcrowding and inhumane conditions—for five decades. No medical rehabilitation. No legal advocacy. No care.

In June 2024, Jamaica’s Supreme Court ruled that the government must pay $121 million Jamaican dollars (approximately $783,000 USD) in compensation. The judgment called it a “grave and egregious” violation of Mr. Williams’ constitutional rights. But justice delayed is not justice delivered.

What This Reveals About Global Human Rights Failures

George Williams’ story is not an isolated failure— it reflects a worldwide pattern of human rights violations at the intersection of mental health and policing.

• In the United States, nearly 1 in 5 inmates has a serious mental illness, and police are more likely to use force against those in crisis.

• In Nigeria, individuals with mental illness are often chained in religious institutions or locked in prisons indefinitely.

• In India, outdated colonial-era laws still allow people with psychosocial disabilities to be detained for years without their consent.

Around the world, poverty + mental illness + race or marginalization = invisibility.

Where Lustitia Aequalis Stands

At Lustitia Aequalis, we believe that justice must be accessible, humane, and centered on dignity, not punishment. Our mission is rooted in accountability, transparency, and civil protections for everyone, including those who are most vulnerable.

We are currently beta testing the Witness App to protect individuals during police encounters, especially those who may be unable to advocate for themselves in moments of crisis. Human rights should never be conditional on mental health, wealth, or proximity to power.

What Can Communities Do?

George Williams’ story compels us to act. Here’s how communities can align public safety with human dignity:

1. Push for Crisis Response Teams, Not Just Police

Support programs where mental health professionals respond to non-violent crisis calls instead of police officers alone. Cities like Eugene, Oregon (CAHOOTS model) and Denver have already shown these programs reduce arrests and deaths.

2. Demand Oversight and Mental Health Screening in Jails

Call for regular audits of detention facilities, transparency about inmate conditions, and independent monitoring bodies—especially for those held without trial.

3. Fund Mental Health, Not Just Prisons

Advocate for more public mental health clinics, mobile crisis units, and early intervention services in schools and underserved communities.

4. Know Your Rights—and Help Others Know Theirs

Educate your community about due process, detention limits, and the rights of people with mental illness during arrest. Our Witness App will help document abuse and protect individuals when they can’t protect themselves.

5. Speak the Names of the Forgotten

Hold vigils, share their stories, and demand reparations for victims of unjust incarceration. George Williams is not a footnote— he is a warning.

✊🏽 Justice Must Be Proactive—Not Just Posthumous

George Williams lost 50 years of his life. He never saw a courtroom. He never got a chance to tell his side of the story. And while no amount of money can return his stolen time, we can ensure no one else suffers in silence the way he did.

At Lustitia Aequalis, we fight so that mental illness is treated with care, not cuffs. So that incarceration is never a substitute for healthcare. And so that no human being ever disappears into a system built to forget them.

Let George’s story be the last of its kind.

By the Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

In the summer of 2023 and again in early 2024, France erupted— not in celebration, but in rage. What began as youth-led protests against police brutality and racial injustice quickly evolved into a national crisis, exposing the fragility of civil liberties in even the world’s oldest democracies.

As flames lit up the streets of Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, what also burned— less visibly— were the guarantees of freedom of assembly, press, and protest. What’s happening in France is not isolated. It’s a mirror for global civic unrest, showing us just how quickly democracies can shrink space for dissent.

🚨 What Sparked the Protests?

The most recent wave of civil unrest was ignited by the police killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old of North African descent, during a routine traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Video footage clearly contradicted the police account, triggering outrage and renewing conversations about racial profiling, police violence, and systemic neglect of marginalized communities.

Tens of thousands— many of them youth of color— took to the streets demanding justice. But instead of engaging with their grievances, the French state responded with mass arrests, curfews, school shutdowns, and police mobilization, including the use of drones for surveillance.

🧱 A Pattern of Authoritarian Drift

France’s reaction to protest has grown more aggressive in recent years. During the Yellow Vest protests (2018–2019), thousands were injured and detained. In 2020, France proposed the “Global Security Law,” which criminalized filming police officers—an authoritarian attempt to blur state accountability. Currently, there isn’t a single, unified “Global Security Law” that universally dictates security measures for all countries. 

In 2023, protests against pension reforms were met with mass police raids, kettling, and beatings. French civil society watchdogs and international rights groups warned of a disturbing normalization of violence and surveillance in response to peaceful dissent.

🌍 Why France’s Crisis Is a Global Red Flag

While France brands itself as a “liberty-first” democracy, its crackdown on protest reflects a global pattern:

• In India, protestors against discriminatory citizenship laws have been detained en masse.

• In Nigeria, youth-led #EndSARS protests were met with deadly force.

• In the U.S., peaceful BLM and Hispanic communities’ protestors were tear-gassed, surveilled, and many were detained by ICE.

• In Iran and Russia, protesters are tortured, missing, or killed.

Across borders, the message from many governments is the same: we will not tolerate your dissent, especially if you are young, poor, or racialized.

🧠 What Does This Mean for Your Rights?

The shrinking space for protest doesn’t just affect frontline activists—it threatens the foundation of democracy itself. When governments label protest as criminality, surveillance as safety, and resistance as terrorism, your freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and even the right to exist in public become conditional.

And when we let those rights slip—whether in France or Ferguson— we risk normalizing authoritarianism under the guise of public order.

🔧 How Lustitia Aequalis Responds

At Lustitia Aequalis, we defend the rights to protest, resist, and be heard. We’re building tools like the Witness App to record, encrypt, and store evidence of police encounters and state violence. No more erased footage. No more lost stories.

We stand with youth in France— and everywhere— who refuse to stay silent.

Because protest is not a threat. It’s a right. And in moments of crisis, it’s a necessity.

✊🏾 What Can You Do?

Here are 5 ways you can take action:

1. Stay informed – Follow human rights watchdogs like Amnesty International France and Ligue des droits de l’Homme.

2. Document safely – Learn how to legally film police in your country. Use secure tools like the upcoming Witness App.

3. Support protests – Donate to bail funds, mutual aid groups, and media collectives on the ground.

4. Hold leaders accountable – Demand that your elected officials condemn and investigate excessive force at home and abroad.

5. Connect the dots – France’s crisis is not foreign. It’s a reflection. Your country may be next.

💬 Final Word: If They Can Silence France, They Can Silence You

Liberté, égalité, fraternité—the national motto of France— is not just aspirational. It’s under siege. And when democratic nations begin to suppress the very freedoms they claim to defend, global civil society must rise in solidarity.

At Lustitia Aequalis, we believe peaceful protest is sacred. Surveillance is not safety. And resistance is not a crime.

We see you. We stand with you.

And we will keep educating and fighting until freedom is more than a slogan.

— Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

By the Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, it didn’t just strip away a federal right to abortion—it sent shockwaves around the world, fueling authoritarian lawmakers and emboldening religious and political hardliners from Latin America to Eastern Europe.

What we’re witnessing now is a coordinated global rollback of reproductive freedom, with grave consequences for bodily autonomy, medical ethics, and the very definition of human rights.

The U.S. Case That Captivated—and Alarmed—the World

Marlise Munoz and Adriana Smith, both pregnant American women, were kept on life support against their families’ will because of a state law that prevented doctors from withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from any pregnant patient, regardless of medical viability or the women’s wishes.

They were both declared brain-dead, yet state officials insisted their bodies remain hooked up to machines because of their fetuses.

These cases drew international outrage and were emblematic of the dehumanization of pregnant people under extremist abortion laws and their families had no legal recourse.

🌍 How the U.S. Decisions Sparked Global Pushback

After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe, several governments worldwide moved swiftly to introduce or strengthen anti-abortion laws:

• El Salvador continues to jail women for miscarriages, calling them homicides— some sentenced to 30+ years.

• Poland, already known for one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, has increased criminal penalties for providers.

• Honduras locked abortion bans into its constitution to prevent future governments from restoring the right.

Even in countries where abortion was recently liberalized— like Argentina and Colombia— far-right backlash movements are growing, aiming to reverse hard-won progress.

⚖️ Why This Is a Civil and Human Rights Emergency

Access to abortion isn’t just about choice, it’s about life, safety, healthcare, and equality under the law. Restricting it has ripple effects on:

• Healthcare rights: Delays or denial of care for miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and maternal complications.

• Economic justice: Poor and uninsured people suffer the most.

• Privacy and surveillance: Medical decisions become criminal evidence in some states or countries.

And in many cases, the state now has more control over a pregnant person’s body than the person themselves.

📱 How the Witness App Can Help

At Lustitia Aequalis, we’re building the Witness App with a specific mission: to defend marginalized people in moments when the system fails them, including in healthcare settings.

For individuals—especially Black, brown, undocumented, uninsured, or low-income people— navigating reproductive healthcare has become a legal risk, not just a medical one. That’s why the Witness App will allow users to:

🔐 Key Features for Reproductive Justice & Medical Defense

• ✅ Securely store and download personal health records— especially crucial for those without a primary care doctor or consistent insurance.

• ✅ Record conversations with medical staff or law enforcement (where legally allowed) during care denial, consent violations, or mistreatment.

• ✅ Track medication access, referrals, and reproductive health history to avoid care gaps.

• ✅ Timestamp and log refusals of service that may violate civil rights laws, HIPAA, or hospital policy.

• ✅ Document consent— or lack thereof—for surgeries, D&Cs, or interventions in states where reproductive rights are criminalized.

🧭 Tips for Using the Witness App in Healthcare Settings

1. Always know your state’s consent laws about recording. In many U.S. states and other countries, one-party consent allows you to record without informing the other party.

2. Keep a current photo of your ID and insurance card inside the app’s encrypted storage.

3. Use the “Quick Record” feature discreetly if you’re being denied treatment or coerced into procedures.

4. Download your records before appointments so they’re accessible even without internet or a doctor’s office portal.

5. Share your files with your trusted legal rep or advocate if facing criminalization for miscarriage, abortion, or reproductive care decisions.

🤝 The Path Forward: Resistance = Reclaiming Power

Roe may have fallen in the U.S., but around the world, grassroots movements are rising. From the Green Wave in Latin America to #MyBodyMyChoice rallies in Europe, people are refusing to surrender bodily autonomy.

We must link arms across borders to say:

🗣️ Healthcare is a human right. Pregnancy is not a prison. Privacy is not optional.

The Witness App is one tool in a growing arsenal to protect and empower those who are often left behi

By the Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

As global displacement reaches record levels, with over 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, the line between refuge and repression is becoming increasingly blurred. The U.S./ Mexico border, long a symbol of hope or hardship, has become a frontline of human rights violations, militarized policing, and legal abandonment.

The asylum system is in crisis, and those fleeing violence often encounter more of it when they seek safety.

Mexico’s Shifting Role: From Transit Nation to Border Enforcer

Once viewed primarily as a migrant corridor to the United States, Mexico has become a de facto extension of the U.S. border. Under diplomatic pressure and economic incentive from Washington, Mexico has ramped up militarized enforcement against migrants, detaining tens of thousands within its own borders.

According to Human Rights First, the U.S. government has increasingly relied on bilateral agreements and “Remain in Mexico” policies to externalize its asylum obligations, shifting enforcement and deterrence onto Mexico, without providing adequate support for due process or safety.

In 2023 alone, the Mexican National Guard, a militarized police force created in 2019, detained over 460,000 migrants, often without proper access to legal representation, medical care, or asylum screenings.

⚖️ When the Law Becomes the Threat

From Tapachula in the south to Tijuana in the north, migrants and asylum seekers face:

• Arbitrary detention and extortion by immigration agents and police

• Assaults, kidnappings, and disappearances are often tied to cartel or state-linked actors

• Inaccessible or delayed asylum proceedings, especially for Black migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Indigenous people

Rather than receiving humanitarian protection, many encounter state-sponsored violence, corruption, and impunity, violating both international human rights law and domestic constitutional protections.

🧍🏽‍♀️🧍🏿‍♂️ Who’s Being Hurt?

The most vulnerable migrants are the most likely to be targeted or ignored:

• Black migrants, especially from Haiti and African nations, report extreme racism and abuse in Mexican detention centers and shelters.

• Women and girls are at constant risk of sexual assault,  yet often cannot report crimes due to fear of deportation or retaliation.

• LGBTQ+ asylum seekers face harassment and are often denied safe housing placements.
  
  

For these populations, the journey becomes another trauma, not a path to safety.

🌎 The Global Context: Borders Are Becoming Battlegrounds

The U.S.–Mexico corridor is not alone. Across the globe:

• Libya detains and tortures migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean.

• Poland has violently repelled asylum seekers at its Belarusian border.

• Australia maintains offshore detention centers, widely condemned for inhumane conditions.

These cases illustrate a disturbing trend: governments outsourcing cruelty and militarizing borders instead of upholding international protections.

🤝 What Does Justice Look Like?

Justice for asylum seekers requires more than policy tweaks; it requires a radical recommitment to human dignity.

Lustitia Aequalis believes:

• No human being is illegal. Migration is a human right, not a crime.

• Safety must travel with you. Wherever you are, human rights go with you.

• Law enforcement should protect, not persecute. But asylum seekers too often meet police batons before legal aid.

That’s why tools like our upcoming Witness App are being designed with mobile dignity in mind— to empower migrants, refugees, and displaced people to carry their truth with them, even when systems fail.

📱 How the Witness App Supports Mobile Justice

Migrants often lack access to secure documentation and legal proof of their journey or abuse. The Witness App aims to change that:

✅ Capture and store encounters with border patrol, police, or traffickers, even offline
✅ Upload asylum-related documents or legal correspondence, stored in encrypted files
✅ Record verbal abuse, threats, or forced removals, where legal
✅ Create a mobile record of your health and human rights history, useful when crossing borders or requesting aid
✅ Share your evidence securely with lawyers, advocates, or journalists—on your terms

🧭 What Can the Community Do?

• Support local shelters and legal aid groups working at border zones (e.g., Al Otro Lado, RAICES, Haitian Bridge Alliance)

• Push your lawmakers to end harmful deterrence policies like Title 42 and remain-in-place orders

• Challenge xenophobic narratives that frame migration as invasion

• Use your platform to amplify migrant voices— not just their pain, but their leadership and agency

• Donate to tech-for-justice projects that build safety infrastructure like the Witness App

🔚 Final Word: Migration Is Not a Crisis—Violence Is

The crisis at the border is not caused by people fleeing danger; it’s caused by systems that meet them with more danger. In a world of walls, paperwork, and pushbacks, dignity is what’s on the line.

At Lustitia Aequalis, we don’t just ask what’s legal. We ask what’s just.

And until borders protect people— not just sovereignty— we will keep building tools, telling stories, and demanding more.

Because no one should have to prove their humanity to be safe.

— The Lustitia Aequalis Editorial Team

📊 Cast your vote now—and help us shape the future tools, campaigns, and advocacy work of Lustitia Aequalis.

🖤 Your input fuels action. Let’s be heard—together.