Rights concerns over Ugandan license plate tracking
14/11/2023: Uganda’s new surveillance system allows the government to track the real time location of all vehicles in the country. Human Rights Watch has called for the system to be scrapped, on grounds of privacy and rights to freedom of association.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Democracy ‘in trouble’ across the world
2/11/2023: Nearly half the countries across the world are seeing a decline in the robustness of their democracy, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Several established democracies including Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and the UK are deteriorating.
Source: DW
UN Human Rights Council puts abusers in guardian role
9/10/2023: Elections for new members of the UN Human Rights Council are anticipated in October. In 2023, only 30% of member countries were classified as "free" by the US think tank Freedom House. As the number of authoritarian regimes has grown globally, their presence on the Human Rights Council has increased.
Source: DW
Southeast Asia: Why is free speech not a priority?
2/10/2023: Southeast Asian countries are ranked among the worst in the world for standards of press freedom and media rights, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. A majority of respondents in three of the four surveyed Southeast Asian states agree with their governments that national "harmony" must come before free speech.
Source: DW
New map reveals state-sanctioned violence against protesters
19/9/2023: Authorities across the world are increasingly resorting to unlawful use of force and repressive legislation to crush protests, according to Amnesty International. Its new interactive map charts the numerous human rights violations perpetrated against protesters around the world.
Source: Amnesty International
Global survey of democracy uncovers mixed feelings
14/9/2023: An annual global survey from the Open Society Foundation reflects both positive and negative aspects of the state of democracy worldwide. A disconcertingly large minority of young people surveyed (42%) feel that military rule is a good way of running a country. A similar number (35%) feel that having a strong leader who does not bother with elections or consulting parliament/congress is also acceptable.
Source: Inter Press Service
Anniversary of UN’s damning Xinjiang report revives call to action
31/8/2023: Amnesty International has described the response of the international community to documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang as "woefully inadequate." The 2022 UN report merits more robust action to seek meaningful change in China’s repressive policies.
Source: Amnesty International
Saudi Arabia: mass killings of migrants at Yemen border
21/8/2023: According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. Over this period, the country has spent billions on sports-washing to try to improve its image.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Foreign observers say Zimbabwe poll not free and fair
26/8/2023: Most observer missions have reported that although the recent elections in Zimbabwe were generally peaceful, the electoral processes did not meet international standards. In its preliminary report, the European Union Observation Mission referred to “an environment that was not always conducive to voters making a free and informed choice.”
Source: The East African
10 years later: Why are Egyptian human rights ignored?
3/7/2023: Egyptian activists complain the international community often talks about Egypt's crisis-ridden economy, but says far less about its dreadful human rights situation. Why is one seen as more important than the other?
Source: DW