News & Alerts - World Movement for Democracy

Egypt Escalates Crackdown against Human Rights Activists with Abduction and Torture

Since anti-corruption protests began on September 20, 2019, the government of Egypt has arrested more than 3,120 people, including respected civil society leaders and the lawyers defending them. On October 12, 2019, armed plainclothes officers kidnapped Egyptian activist and journalist Esraa Abdelfattah in an escalating crackdown on civil society leaders. Abdelfattah is detained under investigation for “disseminating false news” […]
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January 17, 2020

Nicaraguan Authorities Torture Imprisoned Civil Rights Activist

The Nicaraguan civil rights activist Ulises Rivas reports that he was tortured during his four month imprisonment, and fears having his prison sentence extended at his court appearance on January 15. Rivas was targeted by Nicaraguan authorities in reaction to his participation in protests against a gold mine project in his home district of Chontales, […]

January 17, 2020

Detention of Prominent Cuban Political Prisoner Passes 100 Days

As has been widely reported, Cuba has detained dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer since October 1, 2019, without informing him of the charges against him or bringing him before a judge – a violation of the decades old United Nations resolution “Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or […]

January 17, 2020

Report Explores New Strategies to Support Independent Professional News Media

The Center for International Media Assistance released a report this month on a debate happening among international donors over which approaches will prove to be most effective at preserving independent journalism. With the news media’s current business model in continuous crisis, donors are realizing their role may be crucial in ensuring what’s considered a pillar […]

January 17, 2020

Equatorial Guinea Watchdog Calls for the IMF to Consider Human Rights in Its Lending Decisions

EG Justice, a human rights group focused on Equatorial Guinea, has pointed out the disconnect between the International Monetary Foundation’s approval of a loan in November 2019 to that country and its accompanying requirement that the government “strengthen the rule of law through an effective implementation of existing laws.” EG Justice, in coordination with Amnesty […]

January 17, 2020

Young Political Leadership School of Africa Succeeds in Training a New Generation of Politicians

As a woman’s rights activist for most of her life, Mariam Alhassan was familiar with the challenges facing female political candidates in the northern Ghanaian Tamale area where she grew up, so she wasn’t fazed by the discrimination she faced when she first ran for office in 2018. But, rather than become discouraged at that […]

January 7, 2020

New Year’s Day Message

Happy New Year! 2020 will be an important year for the World Movement for Democracy. We will launch several new initiatives focusing on democratic transition while continuing to fight to expand democratic space and build international solidarity with democracy activists around the world. As we celebrated our 20th anniversary last year, we learned from thousands […]

December 12, 2019

Analysis of Peru’s Political Turmoil and 2020 Elections

Participacion de la Sociedad Civil en la Cumbre de las Americas (PASCA) has released an analysis of the unusual move by Peru’s President, Martin Vizcarra, to disband Congress and call for new elections. Although controversial and risky, Vizcarra’s measure does have democratic legitimacy, PASCA argues. It has also released a detailed historical analysis of Peru’s […]

December 12, 2019

New Podcast & Story Series on Female Activists in Africa Released

DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders have launched a new series of stories and podcasts illustrating the lives of women human rights defenders called “The Three Women.” Covering stories of African activists working on issues such as women’s rights, LGBT rights, and land rights, the stories are designed to provide a more complete portrait of the daily lives […]

December 4, 2019

New Resources Offer Ways to Empower Grassroots and Local NGOs

The Global Fund for Community Foundations held their “Pathways to Power: a Symposium on People-Led Development” in November 2019, exploring numerous new development models to empower grassroots organizations. Participants discussed how local, on-the-ground groups can be more effectively brought in alongside international NGOs as co-creators in a variety of ways, and how best to facilitate […]

December 3, 2019

Azerbaijani Activists Appeal to the UN Committee Against Torture

In the face of arbitrary arrests and torture, Azerbaijani civil society activists have appealed to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), asking them to intervene to prevent further violence. The appeal, signed by 21 people, says that in response to peaceful rallies on October […]