ARTICLE 19

Human rights organisations have sadly become accustomed in recent years to state led initiatives to reign in the work of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). They have been forced to look on as governments introduce legislation that is designed to cut away at NGO purse strings, and in particular at threads of foreign funding.

IFEX members appeal to the King to end restrictions on news websites, nearly five months after Jordanian regulators blocked some 300 sites under a new licensing provision of the Press and Publications Law.

A number of civil society groups, trade unions and organisations have expressed shock at the charging of Malaysian human rights defender Lena Hendry for being involved in the screening of a Sri Lankan documentary.

IFEX members call on Brazil’s Congress to promptly pass the Marco Civil bill and on President Roussef to ensure its due implementation, as a measure to protect the right of Brazilians to an Internet that is free and open to all.

An event held in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly created space for the international community to coordinate strategies to push back against growing restrictions on civil society organisations.

Freedom of expression and information are key in the battle to fight poverty, notes ARTICLE 19, in advance of International Right to Know Day, celebrated on 28 September.

The arrest of Umesh Yadav in the 2009 slaying of an outspoken Nepalese journalist and women’s rights activist who was critical of the region’s Maoists may mean justice will finally be served.

ARTICLE 19 is urging the Brazilian Congress to adopt “Marco Civil da Internet” Bill, a new law that offers progressive protection for freedom of expression online and establish guidelines for the regulation of the internet in the country.