HRC46 | IN CUBA, READING POEMS CAN LAND YOU IN JAIL

Cuban activist and academic Anamely Ramos describes the repression she and other cultural rights defenders face and - to coincide with the report of the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights to the Human Rights Council - calls for the right to freedom of expression and for artistic freedom to be respected.
 

OPINION | MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES ASKED TO PROTECT CIVIC FREEDOMS AND DEFENDERS 

Civic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association and assembly are essential to stable, profitable and sustainable businesses and investment environments in which companies thrive and economies prosper, writes Andrés Zaragoza, Programme Manager (Business and Human Rights) with ISHR. Multinationals have a role to play in protecting the “shared civic space” in Myanmar. 

 

SAUDI ARABIA | WOMAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL IS HOME, BUT NOT FREE

ISHR, as part of the Free Saudi Activists Coalition, welcomes the release of two women human rights defenders from detention. On 10 February 2021, it was reported that Loujain Al-Hathloul and Nouf Abdulaziz had been released conditionally from prison after spending over two and a half years in detention solely for advocating for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, including the right to drive and the dismantling of the male guardianship system.

MYANMAR  | URGENT UN ACTION HOLDS PROMISE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION, BUT STATES MUST STAND FIRM

In a dedicated, urgent session, the UN Human Rights Council sought to address current and future human rights violations stemming from the military takeover in Myanmar; with some countries re-engaging on the one hand, and other, new Council members emboldened in their own rights violations on the other, the meeting was on many fronts the first test for the Council in 2021.

REPRISALS | UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE FINDS THE MALDIVES VIOLATED FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTION

The UN Human Rights Committee has ruled that the Supreme Court of the Maldives violated the freedom of expression of two former members of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) when it carried out reprisals against the HRCM for engaging with the UN.

DEFENDER'S STORY | NICOLINE NWENUSHI WAZEH TUMASANG FROM CAMEROON

"I hope for a future built on compassion, unity and hope." Nicoline Nwenushi wazeh Tumasang, a courageous and inspiring human rights defender from Cameroon shares her story of hope, resilience and fight for gender equality.