Lacuna returns after a summer break with a series of articles which give voice to vulnerable and marginalised individuals and communities.

In our lead article, “Hear No Evil See No Evil: The UK and the Iraq Allegations“, Andrew Williams tells the story of widespread allegations of abuses by British soldiers in Iraq. The front pages of the national newspapers have been full of the allegations in recent weeks and months. But they only tell a partial story.

We also tell a less well-known story: photojournalist Ángel López Soto and journalist Eva Mateo Asolas report on the human cost of the drought for women in Ethiopia, in two linked articles which tell the story in pictures and in words.

Finally in this edition, Sharifah Sekalala reflects on a recent UK High Court decision which opened the way to providing preventive treatment for both gay men and sex workers at risk of HIV infection in England.

REMINDER: Call for submissions on Environmental migration - deadline 30th November 2016

The Centre for Human Rights in Practice is undertaking a joint project with Mekelle University Center for Human Rights to identify the human rights and equality impacts of trade agreements in Ethiopia. The study aims to undertake a scoping study on the human rights impact of Ethiopian accession to the WTO and the Economic Partnership Agreement between African Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union.

The report is planned to be launched in Septmber.

Charra Tesfaye Terfassa, lecturer at Mekele University and the main author of the study said " We hope that the results of the scoping study will serve as the basis for a full scale study which we will seek funding for. In addition, this will the be the first equality and human rights impact assessment in relation to the trade agreements of a Least Developed Country. This study therefore hopes to offer insights in to how other studies of LDCs might be produced in the future."

Dr James Harrison, Co-Director of the Centre for Human Rights in Practice (CHRP), commented "It is great to this kind of initiative taking place. We very much hope that this will be the start of a longer term relationship between our two Centres."

To read more about CHRP's work on EHRIAs, please clck here.