surveillance
Monday 22.2.2021 Honduras - Latest Developments -
Justice for Keyla: nursing student’s suspected homicide sparks outrage in Honduras
In early February 2021, police forces in Honduras repressed protests for justice in the case of Keyla Martínez, a nursing student who died under police custody in La Esperanza, Intibucá. Read more
Thursday 18.2.2021 Colombia - Latest Developments -
A deadly January in Colombia
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) warned that January 2021 had been the most violent start to a year since the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian State in 2016. Read more
Monday 8.2.2021 Myanmar - Latest Developments -
Civil disobedience movement mobilises against Myanmar coup despite net shutdown, arrests
On 1st February 2021, the Myanmar military regime seized power in a coup, arrested the civilian leaders of the national and state governments and announced a one-year “state of emergency.” Since then the military regime has blocked access to the internet as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Journalists have reported credible threats and some local journalists had reportedly gone into hiding. There have also been arrests of civil society activists following the coup. Pro-democracy activists have launched a civil disobedience movement in response Read more
Friday 5.2.2021 Haiti - Latest Developments -
Presidential decrees could restrict civic space in Haiti as unrest and insecurity grow
Since November 2020, international organisations and national and international civil society have warned of an upsurge in unrest and gang and police violence in Haiti. Read more | Read in French
Friday 5.2.2021 Venezuela - Latest Developments -
Escalation of attacks against independent media and civil society organisations in Venezuela
In January 2021, international human rights and press organisations alerted to a crackdown on the press in Venezuela. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 25.1.2021 Paraguay - Latest Developments -
Campesinos and Indigenous peoples mobilise in Paraguay
In October and November 2020, thousands of rural workers, Indigenous peoples and social organisations mobilised for a series of demands, including social justice, land redistribution and support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 21.1.2021 China - Latest Developments -
China continues Hong Kong crackdown, persecution of activists and journalists for their reporting
In recent months, the authorities have continued the crackdown on activists in Hong Kong with mass arrests of the opposition and activists, charging individuals under the draconian National Security Law and jailing pro-democracy activists, including Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. The ‘Hong Kong 12’ youth activists were also convicted in an unfair trial. There has also been a lack of accountability for police violence during 2019 protests. On the mainland, activists and journalists have been arrested, while Zhang Zhan, a 37-year-old former lawyer and citizen journalist was sentenced to four years in jail for her reporting on Wuhan. Human rights groups reported that a big data program for policing in China’s Xinjiang region arbitrarily selects Turkic Muslims for possible detention
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Friday 15.1.2021 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuban government backtracks on talks with protesters and uses COVID-19 regulations to harass critics
As previously reported on the CIVICUS Monitor, in November 2020 the arrest of musician Denis Solís González led artists and activists with Movimiento San Isidro to mobilise for his release. On 26th November 2020, the Cuban authorities raided the movement’s headquarters and detained 14 activists who had been on hunger strike for several days. Read more
Friday 27.11.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuban rapper Denis Solís of Movimiento San Isidro imprisoned; several artists on hunger strike
85 civil society organisations expressed their concern at Cuba’s re-election to a fifth term on the UN Human Rights Council on 13th October 2020. For the organisations, this not only rewards Cuba’s poor human rights record, but it also undermines the integrity of the Council to hold abusive governments accountable for their actions in the region and across the globe. Read more | Read in Spanish
Friday 30.10.2020 Qatar - Latest Developments -
Rights groups concerned at violation of migrant workers’ association rights, COVID-19 tracing apps
Human Rights Watch published a damning report on Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, including its failure to protect workers from wage abuses, denial of their rights to form unions and failure to abolish the kafala system; Invasive COVID-19 contact tracing apps which launched, according to Amnesty International, pose a serious risk to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly due to the compromising of users’ digital privacy and security; Read more
