Hong Kong: baseless convictions of activists
31/5/2024: Three judges handpicked by the Beijing-controlled Hong Kong chief executive have convicted 14 pro-democracy activists and former elected lawmakers under the draconian National Security Law. According to Human Rights Watch, many aspects of the detention and trial proceedings have violated international due process standards, including prolonged pretrial detention and denial of a jury trial.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Executions soar to highest number in almost a decade
29/5/2024: A total of 1,153 executions took place in 2023, marking an increase of more than 30% from 2022. The five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the USA. Iran alone accounted for 74% of all recorded executions.
Source: Amnesty International
Mali talks propose junta rule for three more years
11/5/2024: Participants in Mali's national dialogue have recommended extending the military-led transition to democracy by three years. An alliance of political parties and civil society organisations refused to participate in the national dialogue. The substantial delay is likely to deepen concerns about democratic backsliding in West and Central Africa, where there have been eight coups over the past four years.
Source: The East African
Chad declares interim President Deby winner of disputed vote
10/5/2024: Chad's junta has become the first of the coup-hit countries in West and Central Africa to stage a return to constitutional rule via the ballot box. But the International Crisis Group has said that “several problems in the run-up to the balloting cast doubt on its credibility”.
Source: The East African
Amnesty report unhappy with African states on human rights
4/5/2024: In its annual international report Amnesty International says that African governments continue to be largely indifferent to calls to tackle impunity over human rights, thereby disregarding the rule of law. Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Kenya are named in the report.
Source: The East African
2024 World Press Freedom Index – journalism under political pressure
3/5/2024: Of the five indicators used to compile the rankings in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, it is the political indicator that has fallen most. The Index reveals a worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from the state or other political actors.
Source: Reporters Without Borders
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