Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

President Mohamed Morsi now possesses authorities beyond those enjoyed by any president or monarch in Egypt’s modern history, say rights groups.

Egyptian human rights organizations were recently excluded from participating in a meeting the President had with civil society groups.

IFEX-TMG supports media strike in Tunisia on 17 October to protest media appointments and the failure to guarantee media freedom in the draft Constitution.

Sixty NGOs worldwide called for libel law reform as a defamation bill was reviewed in the UK House of Commons. Join over 60,000 and sign a petition calling for libel reform here.

The ongoing crackdowns on rights defenders and democracy activists being carried out by Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were raised before the Council by CIHRS, other international civil society groups, as well as several rights defenders from the Gulf region.

IFEX members this week welcomed UN Human Rights Council resolutions on journalists’ safety, support for media workers in Somalia and peaceful association.

While welcoming Tunisia’s acceptance of 110 of its 125 recommendations during a UN review last week, the IFEX-TMG calls on the country to implement them without delay and end the criminalisation of defamation.

Bahraini human rights defenders reported threats against them as a result of their participation in a UN review process; while IFEX members call on authorities to follow through on free expression recommendations.