IFEX Regional Briefs

Monthly free expression round ups produced by IFEX’s Regional Editors, based on IFEX member reports and news from the regions. 

Biden’s betrayal, an Alternative Dubai Expo, and unjustifiable Facebook censorship in Palestine

September 2021 in Middle East and North Africa: A free expression roundup produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Naseem Tarawnah, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Women crack glass ceilings, #FIFAfrica2021 conversations and continental #IDUAI celebrations

September 2021 in Africa: A free expression round up by IFEX’s Regional Editor Reyhana Masters, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region. An audio discussion relating to this piece, focusing on #IDUAI with Gilbert Sendugwa of the Africa Freedom of Information Centre and Lamin Jahateh, of the Gambia Press Union, is available here.

Dancing in the dark, a culture of secrecy and a roadmap for digital human rights in Latin America

September 2021 in the Americas: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Paula Martins, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Attacks against alternative media, #FreeZhangZhan, and historic RTI victory in Sri Lanka

September 2021 in Asia-Pacific: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s regional editor Mong Palatino, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Civil space and the right to information under pressure

September 2021 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Ray of hope in Zambia, shadow over north-eastern DRC, and the need for stronger whistleblower protection

August 2021 in Africa: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Reyhana Masters, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region. An audio discussion relating to this piece, and focusing on Zambia’s election, is available here.

Mass surveillance, press crackdowns, and punishing prisoners of conscience – impunity reigns in MENA

August 2021 in Middle East and North Africa: A free expression roundup produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Naseem Tarawnah, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

“A perfect storm”: Current expression issues in the Americas

August 2021 in the Americas: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Paula Martins, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Kabul, Afghanistan, 31 August 2021. Taliban special force fighters (R) and a journalist get up after falling from a vehicle at the airport, after the withdrawal of US troops from the country, WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Protecting journalists in Afghanistan, #Lawan protest in Malaysia, and shrinking civic space in Hong Kong

August 2021 in Asia-Pacific: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s regional editor Mong Palatino, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

August: An unhappy anniversary and 38,581 insults

August 2021 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

An activist holds up a banner during a demonstration against alleged government spying on journalists and human rights defenders outside the Attorney General's Office, in Mexico City, Mexico, 23 June 2017, Miguel Tovar/LatinContent via Getty Images

Regulating online streaming, millions invested in surveillance and a call to protect online civic space

July 2021 in the Americas: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Paula Martins, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Supporters of President Kais Saied set up the Tunisian flag on the roof of a store as riot police stand guard in front of the parliament building, in Tunis, 26 July 2021, after Saied decided to freeze parliament and sack Hichem Mechichi’s government. Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto

Spyware, hunger strikes, and alleged coups: A summer of suppression in MENA

July 2021 in Middle East and North Africa: A free expression roundup produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Naseem Tarawnah, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

‘The Smartphones are listening’: Regulating exports and abuses of cybertools

Reflecting on events from the first half of 2021, IFEX’s Middle East and North Africa Editor explains how increasingly sophisticated digital surveillance tools are being sold to and deployed by authoritarian states in the region to target human rights defenders, and how civil society is defending the right to privacy and digital free expression.

The smartphone versus the baton

Reflecting on events from the first half of 2021, IFEX’s Europe and Central Asia Editor explains how the Lukashenka regime’s crackdown on Belarus’s independent media and civil society is being challenged at every turn – and often thwarted – by small groups of journalists and activists in the diaspora.

Is resistance futile? Learning from recent efforts to resist Asia’s digital authoritarians

Reflecting on events from the first half of 2021, IFEX’s Asia and Pacific Editor explains how recent massive citizen protests and pushback against Asia’s digital authoritarians can provide lessons on what we need to do to support the region’s pro-democracy movements and human rights campaigns.

Hit or Miss? Assessing the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa

Reflecting on events from the first half of 2021, IFEX’s Africa Editor looks at how a more inclusive online platform may help provide journalists and media outlets with the support needed to survive the growing intimidation, harassment, threats and assaults sweeping the continent.