Navalny dies in Russian prison
16/2/2024: The Kremlin bears responsibility for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to Human Rights Watch. Under international law, states have obligations to exercise a “duty of care” to anyone in custody, and all deaths in custody must be effectively investigated.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Civil society and NGOs ‘under assault’ in Asia
12/2/2024: The CIVICUS Monitor data for 2023 shows the Asia Pacific region as having the highest number of “closed” countries constricting civil society and NGO operability. The crackdown against fundamental freedoms correlates with a rise in authoritarian governments in the region.
Source: Devex
How is Germany handling its migration partnerships?
9/2/2024: The aim of migration partnerships is not only to fight irregular migration but to replace it with regular migration. Europe has over 50 partnerships in place but they have failed to halt large movements of refugees. In Germany most migrants are from countries where there are massive human rights violations and war.
Source: DW
Cholera outbreak in southern Africa: a multinational fight
8/2/2024: A cholera crisis has engulfed southern Africa with the disease spreading rapidly in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and the DRC. In Zimbabwe, the situation is critical with suspected and confirmed cases reported in 61 out of 64 districts. Leaders of the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community have pledged to increase investment in water and sanitation infrastructure in the region.
Source: DW
The Zero Draft to create a Pact for the Future has landed
7/2/2024: A draft agreement to seal September’s much-anticipated Summit of the Future has been released by the co-facilitators, Namibia and Germany. Built on the proposals made in Secretary-General António Guterres’s Our Common Agenda, the draft commits member states to the principles of human rights and to "fill critical gaps in global governance, and accelerate efforts to keep our past promises and agreements.”
Source: PassBlue
Pakistan needs more than elections to be a democracy
6/2/2024: Both former prime ministers of Pakistan, Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, have disregarded the Charter of Democracy, a 2006 pledge by Pakistani politicians to refrain from colluding with the security establishment to derail democratic processes. By doing that, they have undermined conditions necessary for a rights-respecting democracy.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Election delay in Senegal puts rights at risk
5/2/2024: Senegal’s President Macky Sall has announced that presidential elections, slated for February 25, will be delayed indefinitely. Senegal has long been considered a beacon of democracy in the inceasingly troubled region. This is now at risk.
Source: Human Rights Watch
How Africa data gaps fuel poor governance
2/2/2024: Lack of data in critical sectors in Africa is undermining public policy, according to a new study by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. In 14 African countries, the last population census was conducted before 2010, impeding plans to deliver the UN's Sustainable Development Goals such as the eradication of extreme poverty.
Source: The East African
To work toward world peace, invest in education
1/2/2024: The chief executive officer of the Global Partnership for Education highlights recent research that shows how countries with higher primary and secondary school completion rates are in general more peaceful. There is consequent concern that resources dedicated to education in middle- and lower-income countries have been dwindling.
Source: Devex
Why Kenya is hopeful but hesitant about the Loss and Damage Fund
31/1/2024: The new Loss and Damage fund established at COP28 is a crucial development for Kenya, a nation grappling with the ravages of climate change. However, there are concerns about the selection of the World Bank as administrators and about the tiny amount committed so far to the Loss and Damage Fund by developed nations.
Source: African Arguments