Reflections on the 31st Session of the Human Rights Council
31 March 2017
DefendDefenders hit the ground running at the first session of
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DefendDefenders hit the ground running at the first session of
Oral statements to the Council Open letters and press releases
A joint report with contributions from DefendDefenders’ Technology team assesses Internet freedom and the digital resilience of civil society.
Although Burundians continue to face human rights violations committed with impunity, the Government has been unwilling to cooperate or engage with the UN Commission of Inquiry. In an Oral Intervention DefendDefenders calls on all members of the UN Human Rights Council to remind Burundi of its obligations and preserve the credibility of the Council.
The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) concluded
Governments in the sub-region continue to restrict legitimate expressions of dissent, individually and collectively, online and offline, through repressive legislation, physical attacks, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and harassment.
Throughout the East and Horn of Africa sub-region, the fundamental right to expression continues to be undermined by attacks both on an individual and collective level. Governments have forcibly closed NGOs and media outlets, and obstructed online expression through Internet and social media shutdowns. At the same time, journalists and human rights defenders face intimidation, physical attacks, arrests and detentions as a result of their work.
Twelve civil society organisations, coming from all regions, call for urgent action towards suspending Burundi from the Human Rights Council given the combination of its flagrant refusal to cooperate with the Council and the gross and systematic violations of human rights occurring in the country.
On the opening day of its 59th Ordinary session, DefendDefenders calls
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