On July 1, 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) passed the HRC32 Resolution, reaffirming the right to freedom of expression online and condemning any government action to block or disrupt internet access. The passage is a major win for civil society despite authoritarian regimes’ efforts to introduce amendments to the resolution which would…
Zimbabwe’s Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD) released a statement in response to the recent violent clashes between protestors and Zimbabwean authorities. The protests were triggered by the deteriorating economic conditions in the country and turned violent as riot police and military were deployed in response. The subsequent increase of heavily armed police and military…
On June 19, 2016, Francisco Pancho Marquez Lara and Gabriel San Miguel, two Venezuelan activists, were arrested during a traffic stop by the Venezuelan National Guard on charges of having “opposition paraphernalia” in their car. Both are members of Venezuela’s opposition party, Voluntad Popular, and were traveling to the rural state of Portuguesa…
On July 10, 2016, human rights defender and independent political analyst, Kem Ley, was murdered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ley is the founder of the grassroots organization Khmer for Khmer, and was murdered days after speaking with Radio Free Asia about a recent Global Witness report that documented the corruption of the Prime Minister of…