Civil Society On Wednesday, a court in Bahrain ordered the dissolution of the last major opposition group in the country. [Washington Post] This week, it was reported that labor activists investigating alleged abuses at a Chinese factory producing Ivanka Trump shoes were detained or missing. [Guardian] On Friday, hundreds of Palestinians protested Israeli troops across the West Bank and Gaza
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Civil Society On Wednesday, after eight weeks of protests, the death toll in Venezuela rose to 56 people. [LA Times] On Wednesday, anti-government protesters in Brazil set fire to a ministry building, and in response, President Michel Temer gave the army policing power to restore order. [Reuters] Violence & Humanitarian Crises On Wednesday, a bombing in Somalia, claimed by al-Shabaab,
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Civil Society On Friday, an estimated 11 activists were detained in Moscow while reading aloud Russia’s constitution. [Guardian] On Wednesday, the government in Venezuela announced it will deploy 2,000 soldiers in response to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators that have been protesting the government since April. [Guardian] Freedom of Expression & Access to Information On Thursday, independent experts from
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Civil Society On Thursday, five LGBT activists in Russia were detained while trying to submit a petition, requesting an investigation into the crackdown against gay men in Chechnya. [Guardian] On Monday, Xie Yang, a human rights lawyer in China, was tried for inciting state subversion. [Guardian] This week, the President of Tunisia deployed the army to protect businesses from sit-ins,
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While celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) at the recently concluded sixteenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), participants also discussed the particular issues that continue to affect indigenous populations around the globe, including land dispossession and violence. During the recent session, regional and universal
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Civil Society Hundreds of people protested in Belarus on Monday in opposition to the current government, despite officials banning the demonstration. [Washington Post] On Tuesday, an estimated 2,000 students demonstrated outside of the West Rand campus in Johannesburg, South Africa in protest of alleged nepotism, racism, and intimidation tactics on campus. [IOL] On Monday, May Day marches took place all
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Tunisia formally agreed last week to allow individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to directly access the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) with complaints of human rights violations against Tunisia. Tunisia joins seven other countries that also currently grant the Court the same jurisdiction. [AfCHPR Press Release] The government of Tunisia hosted a delegation of the AfCHPR in
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Civil Society On Wednesday, anti-government protesters marched in the streets of Caracas, Venezuela amid riot police while the government held counter-demonstrations. [Washington Post] On Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission in Ethiopia reported 669 deaths resulting from anti-government protests in the country. [BBC News] On Saturday, a United States aid worker was released from pretrial detention in Egypt after three years.
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Civil Society This week, Thai authorities warned that the online dissemination of information from two academics and a journalist critical of the government could violate Thailand’s Computer Crime Act. [Guardian] On Wednesday, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced a human rights lawyer to ten years in prison for using Facebook to “harm national unity.” [Washington Post] Last week, a TV reporter
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Recently, Venezuela’s Supreme Court made strides towards consolidating authority by claiming legislative power, prompting Venezuelans to protest and regional and universal stakeholders to condemn the actions of the Venezuelan government and offer their visions for response efforts. The Chief Justice later announced that the Supreme Court’s initial March 29, 2017 decision does not strip the legislature – which is seen as
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