Freedom House

The Jordanian government began, on 2 June 2013, to block over 200 news websites for failing to register and obtain licenses under a recently amended and controversial Press and Publications Law.

As European governments and media sectors felt the impact of the economic crisis, state-run and private media suffered cuts, declines in advertising revenue, and even the closure of outlets. This in turn had the effect of exacerbating existing problems, such as declining print circulation and the concentration of media ownership.

Over 50 NGOs worldwide signed a joint appeal to the U.N. against the ill-treatment and torture of detained human rights defenders, activists and photojournalists in Bahrain, calling for U.N. and Red Cross visits.

The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan strongly condemns a series of repressive legislative amendments that Azerbaijan’s National Assembly adopted on 14 May 2013. The existing penalties for criminal defamation and insult have been extended to online content and public demonstrations.

The Baha’i faith was founded in 19th Century Persia and currently constitutes the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The percentage of the world’s population living in societies with a fully free press has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to a Freedom House report.

The member states of the United Nations should hold Azerbaijan to account during its Universal Periodic Review on 30 April 2013 for its failure to protect basic human rights, says the International Partnership Group on Azerbaijan.

Even though 36% of respondents to a poll classified their religious identity as “Atheist” or “Non-Religious”, the interests and right to free expression of nonbelievers are frequently ignored in discussions of religious freedom around the world.