Mexico: Shelve regressive bill to curb civil society groups
11/3/2022: A bill being considered by Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies would severely restrict the work of civil society groups in Mexico and violate Mexico’s international legal obligations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said. The bill would prohibit non-profit organizations from trying to influence laws if they receive funding, directly or indirectly, from foreign governments or corporations.
Source: Amnesty International
UN rights chief decries 81 executions in Saudi Arabia
14/3/2022: High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has condemned the beheading of 81 people by Saudi Arabia during the course of a single day. Ms. Bachelet voiced her concern over the extremely broad definition of terrorism in Saudi legislation.
Source: UN News
UN commissioner to travel to Xinjiang on long-delayed visit
8/3/2022: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has announced the first visit to China by a UN rights team since 2005. She has been promised unfettered access to the troubled western Xinjiang province.
Source: DW
Dramatic deterioration in respect for women’s rights
7/3/2022: Amnesty International has warned that catastrophic attacks on human rights and gender equality over the past twelve months have lowered protection for and upped threats against women and girls across the globe. On International Women's Day the organization called for bold action to reverse erosions of human rights for women and girls.
Source: Amnesty International
The human rights situation in Russia
4/3/2022: The UN Human Rights Council has been alerted by campaign organisations to the intensified crackdown on human rights in Russia. A fully-fledged witch hunt against independent groups human rights defenders media outlets and political opposition is decimating civil society.
Source: Human Rights Watch
US State of the Union: democracy and human rights
28/2/2022: By comparison with the dismal performance of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden refreshingly promised a foreign policy guided by human rights. But despite some positive steps Biden's approach has been disappointingly conventional.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Russian censorship reaches new heights
28/2/2022: Russian authorities have threatened to fine or block 10 Russian independent media outlets if they do not delete publications about the war in Ukraine.
Source: Human Rights Watch
International Court to rule on case for justice for Rohingya
28/2/2022: Hearings at the International Court of Justice on Myanmar's objections to the case on alleged genocide against Rohingya Muslims have came to a close. The Court could take a year before it decides on whether the case can proceed.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Democratic resilience under pressure
23/2/2022: For the first time since 2004 the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index counts more autocratically governed states than democracies. Civil society engagement offers a ray of hope directed in many places against rising levels of inequality and efforts to dilute democratic standards.
Source: Transformation Index
Victory for media freedom as Tanzania lifts newspaper ban
11/2/2022: The lifting of the ban on four newspapers that have been barred from publishing since 2016 and 2017 for exposing alleged corruption and human rights violations is a positive step. Tanzanian authorities can do more to guarantee media freedom.
Source: Amnesty International