Libya: UN envoy’s resignation diminishes hopes for democracy
19/4/2024: The UN Support Mission in Libya was launched in 2011 to facilitate a political process that would lead to elections. After 18 months as UN special envoy, the Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily has been unable to make progress, as the country remains divided by two rival governments.
Source: DW
82 Chibok girls still in captivity ten years since abduction
14/4/2024: It is 10 years since 276 girls were abducted from Chibok secondary school in Nigeria by Boko Haram fighters. Parents and relatives of the girls who remain in captivity say they have been abandoned. Amnesty International says the Nigerian authorities have not learned any lessons or taken effective measures to prevent attacks on schools.
Source: Amnesty International
European court rules climate inaction breaches human rights
9/4/2024: The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Swiss government violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to curb climate change. The decision is likely to encourage other campaign groups to bring cases against governments that are parties to the ECHR.
Source: Climate Home News
Uganda: Court upholds Anti-Homosexuality Act
4/4/2024: Uganda’s Constitutional Court has upheld most provisions of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, thereby sustaining discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In defiance of international law, the judges ruled that the Act does not violate fundamental rights to equality and nondiscrimination.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Why is Saudi Arabia heading top UN women’s rights forum?
2/4/2024: Saudi Arabia has been chosen to chair the UN's leading gender equality forum, the Commission on the Status of Women. International rights organizations are concerned about the country's oppressive track record and the potential impact on women's rights globally.
Source: DW
EU migration deal with Egypt rewards authoritarianism
15/3/2024: EU negotiations seem likely to award a package of between four and eight billion euros to support Egypt’s border control in preventing migrants embarking for Europe. Human Rights Watch opposes the agreement, having previously documented arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees by Egyptian authorities, as well as deportations constituting refoulement.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Senegal’s top opposition leaders released from prison
15/3/2024: Senegal’s top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has been freed along with key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Their release comes after a crisis triggered by President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the February 25 presidential vote.
Source: Al Jazeera
Citizenship Amendment Act is a blow to Indian constitutional values
14/3/2024: The widely criticized Citizenship Amendment Act, enacted in 2019, has finally been operationalized by India's Ministry of Home Affairs. The Act fast-tracks Indian citizenship pathways for undocumented migrants of some religions but not for others. Amnesty International says this is a blow to Indian values of equality and religious non-discrimination.
Source: Amnesty International
Why Kenya has not abolished the death penalty
14/3/2024: 22 member countries of the African Union have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, and a further 17 have not carried out an execution in 10 years. Kenya is amongst the latter, retaining the death penalty out of simple inertia rather than any evidence-based consideration of its effectiveness or popularity.
Source: The East African
Hong Kong: Article 23 legislation takes repression to ‘next level’
8/3/2024: Amnesty International argues that Hong Kong’s proposed national security law would import Chinese legal concepts in a way that is deeply disturbing. Such laws have been used in mainland China to violate the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
Source: Amnesty International