HRD killing
Tuesday 22.11.2022 India - Latest Developments -
Government agencies used to silence dissent in India as its rights record is scrutinised at the UN
In recent months we have continued to see raids and investigation of NGOs, detention of human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, restrictions on journalists and disruption of protests Read more
Wednesday 2.11.2022 Mexico - Latest Developments -
Mexico: attacks on environmental defenders on the rise
On 26th October 2022, environmental defender Filogonio Martínez Merino was found dead in the Piedra Blanca community, in the Santiago Jamiltepec municipality, Oaxaca. The defender, a member of the Consejo de Pueblos Unidos por la Defensa del Río Verde (Council of Peoples United for the Defence of the Río Verde - COPUDEVER), was one of the key local leaders in the resistance against the hydroelectric projects known as ‘Paso de la Reyna’ and ‘Río Verde’. Read more
Thursday 27.10.2022 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: attacks on journalists as political polarisation remains prominent
On 8th July 2022, a group of presumed government supporters attacked journalists who were waiting outside the Public Prosecutor’s Office to cover a hearing in a case involving President Pedro Castillo’s family. The assailants began chasing and insulting the journalists, calling them “sold out press” and “trash.” Read more
Thursday 15.9.2022 Myanmar - Latest Developments -
Myanmar junta continues to arrest, torture activists despite global outrage around executions
In recent months, the junta executed four activists leading to global outrage, However despite this, reports of torture of detainees have persisted as well as the arrest, detention of lawyers as well as activists. A report published found that trade unions and civil society organisations are facing an existential threat. There have been ongoing anti-coup protests and arrests while journalists continue to remain at risk. Read more
Tuesday 30.8.2022 South Africa - Latest Developments -
Worrying trends: Vilification of CSOs and killings of HRDs
CSOs jointly condemned the public vilification of the Helen Suzman Foundation by the Home Affairs Minister; non-profit law firm vilified for representing local community in court; grassroots movement Abahlali baseMjondolo's members killed in targeted attacks; Land Rights and Woman Human Rights Defender Gunned down; High Court declares protest levy fees unconstitutional ; Read more
Thursday 25.8.2022 Venezuela - Latest Developments -
Venezuela: Teachers protest for decent wages; killing and detention of HRDs
On 30th June 2022, Uwottujja leader and human rights defender Virgilio Trujillo Arana was shot and killed in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas state. He was a member of Organización Indígena Piaroas Unidos del Sipapo (Oipus), an Indigenous organisation, and coordinated Autana’s Uwottujja Indigenous guard, a group created to defend ancestral territories from illegal mining and other illicit activities. Read more
Friday 19.8.2022 Mexico - Latest Developments -
Mexico: President vilifies civil society activists
In July 2022, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador made recurring statements vilifying activists who have campaigned to halt the construction of a section of the Maya train project until environmental concerns are addressed. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 18.8.2022 Iraq - Latest Developments -
Reports and monitoring missions document extreme repression and violence against activists
In response to mounting pressure from human rights defenders in Iraq, the Ministry of Interior arrested Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Nizar, who was affiliated with the Rapid Response Division, on charges of killing protesters during a 2019 crackdown; Protesters summoned for their participation in protests on 25th October 2019; Body of civil society activist Haider Sabri found in Basra city with a bullet wound to the head; Read more
Wednesday 10.8.2022 Colombia - Latest Developments -
Colombia: human rights defenders and local leaders impacted by violence in rural areas
On 26th July 2022, the UN Human Rights Office published a report on the rising violence in rural areas of Colombia. According to the study, violence fell dramatically after the signing of the Peace Agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016, but increased again as non-state armed groups and criminal organisations expanded their presence, particularly over the past two years. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 13.7.2022 Brazil - Latest Developments -
Brazil: Anger at government inaction after Indigenous advocate and international correspondent are killed in the Amazon
After a ten-day search, the bodies of Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were found in the Itaquaí river, in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest near Brazil’s border with Peru. Pereira and Phillips went missing on 5th June 2022 as they returned from a reporting trip in the region where they were documenting Indigenous rights defenders’ efforts to monitor predatory criminal activities such as illegal fishing and logging. Read more
