public vilification
Wednesday 10.8.2022 Ireland - Latest Developments -
CSOs raise concerns over lack of consultations during parliamentary process
Irish civil society is becoming increasingly alarmed by the government’s abuse of the legislative process in the Irish Parliament. Recent controversies have emerged regarding the adding of extensive last-minute amendments to important legislation, with no time for scrutiny, and the guillotining of debates. For example, in late March 2022, the revised Electoral Reform Bill was published by the Irish parliament. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) was disappointed to note that the recommendations which the organisation fought to have included in the pre-legislative scrutiny report on civil society freedom haven’t been included in the revised Bill. Read more
Wednesday 10.8.2022 El Salvador - Latest Developments -
El Salvador: Thousands join LGBTQIA+ Pride March
On 25th June 2022, thousands of people joined the LGBTQIA+ Pride March in San Salvador. A key demand of the demonstration was the approval of a Gender Identity Law that would create an institutionalised mechanism for legal recognition of gender identity for transgender persons. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 10.8.2022 Bangladesh - Latest Developments -
Bangladesh authorities intensify persecution of rights group Odhikar, journalists, and critics
In recent months, civic space violations have continued to take place, including the judicial harassment of human rights group Odhikar and their staff as well as ongoing attacks by ruling party youth activists, carried out with impunity. There have been cases of arrests and attacks against journalists, the use of blasphemy charges against teachers, and the seven-year conviction of a student for a social media post critical of the government. Regulations to increase control over the digital space has also been proposed in the government. Read more
Tuesday 19.7.2022 Kosovo - Latest Developments -
Students call for educational reforms; labour day protests
Several protests, marches and strikes took place for labour rights on International Workers Day. Separately marches were staged calling for increased quality in education and education reforms. The Association for Journalist's in Kosovo (AJK) denounced denigrating language, lawsuits & indictments against journalists Read more
Monday 18.7.2022 United States of America - Latest Developments -
USA: thousands demonstrate to demand gun control legislation
In May and June 2022, tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country to demand gun control after a wave of deadly mass shootings. On 11th June 2022, protesters turned out to more than 450 rallies nationwide, with the D.C. event of the March for Our Lives drawing thousands of demonstrators. Read more
Wednesday 13.7.2022 El Salvador - Latest Developments -
El Salvador: three years of Bukele government marked by human rights crisis
Monitoring by national and international human rights groups has reported mass human rights violations taking place in El Salvador under the state of exception. As previously reported on the CIVICUS Monitor, President Nayib Bukele first declared a state of exception on 27th March 2022, following a surge in gang-related killings. This measure has been extended three times since then. 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
Wednesday 29.6.2022 Ecuador - Latest Developments -
Ecuador: another crackdown on Indigenous-led protests
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Ecuador since 13th June 2022, when the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador – CONAIE) and other Indigenous organisations convened a national strike against the government’s economic and social policies. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 22.6.2022 Fiji - Latest Developments -
Media restrictions and vilification of activists intensifies climate of fear in Fiji
In recent months, the press freedom ranking for Fiji dropped drastically while the press was heavily restricted during the visit to the region of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Further, two human rights defenders came under attack from the prime minister for proposing a caretaker government, while a UN report showed that human rights defenders did not feel safe when criticising the government or discussing political issues in Fiji. Read more
Monday 20.6.2022 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: serious decline in freedom of expression and the press
The mayor of Chiclayo and president of the Association of Peruvian Municipalities (AMPE) used notarised letters to intimidate the newspaper Correo in Lambayeque, demanding that they rectify reports linking him to corruption and public administration irregularities. Read more
