Press Release Sep 19, 2016 ‘Independent’ Think Tank Honors African Dictator as ‘Global Citizen’ HRF president Thor Halvorssen and HRF Chief Strategy officer Alex Gladstein on the Atlantic Council, which has chosen to give an award to the corrupt dictator of Gabon.
Press Release Sep 12, 2016 Why Is Atlantic Council Honoring the Dictator of Gabon? Next week the Atlantic Council, a Washington D.C.-based policy organization, will celebrate the dictator of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, by presenting him with a prestigious award previously bestowed on Robert DeNiro and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos.
Press Release Aug 24, 2016 HRF to Angola: Withdraw Secret Social Media Bill Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns Angola’s obscure Statute of Journalists Bill and calls on the National Assembly to both make it public and reject it immediately.
Blog Post Jul 29, 2016 HRF to Gabon: Stop Violence Against Peaceful Protesters; Release Youth Activists and Union Leaders Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the Gabonese government’s crackdown on activists and union leaders, and calls for their immediate release. In recent weeks, more than 30 civil society leaders were arrested and imprisoned for organizing demonstrations in opposition to president Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is seeking a second term in the upcoming August election.
Press Release Jul 18, 2016 Zimbabwe: HRF Welcomes Dropped Charges Against Mawarire; Urges Authorities to Stop Arbitrary Arrests Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the release of civil society leader Evan Mawarire and the court’s ruling that his rights were violated. Mawarire is a popular evangelical pastor who started the “#ThisFlag” movement to protest against police brutality and the destruction of the economy under President Mugabe’s rule.
Press Release May 12, 2016 Uganda: HRF Condemns Social Media Blackout Ahead of Presidential Inauguration Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the Uganda Communication Commission’s (UCC) order blocking access to major social media platforms ahead of President Yoweri Museveni’s controversial fifth term inauguration.
Press Release Apr 20, 2016 HRF to the Gambia: Investigate Extrajudicial Executions of Political Opponents Last week, Gambian armed forces forcefully dissolved a peaceful demonstration calling for electoral reforms and arbitrarily arrested 25 activists.
News Mar 28, 2016 HRF to Nigeria: Withdraw Social Media Bill Targeting Free Speech The vaguely drafted bill, officially called “An Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions; And Other Matters Connected Therewith,” seeks to prevent “false” and “abusive statements,” published through “text message, tweets, WhatsApp or through any other social media post,” against any person or “institutions of government.”
Press Release Mar 28, 2016 Angola: HRF Condemns Convictions and Demands Release of Youth Activists HRF calls on the Angolan government to vacate the convictions and release the activists immediately.
Blog Post Dec 22, 2015 Facing Worldwide Scrutiny, Angola Releases Political Prisoners After one week of intensive international media attention on Angola’s dictatorship, 15 political prisoners were released from prison into house arrest this past Friday.
Blog Post Dec 17, 2015 Nicki Minaj Shouldn’t Be Performing for Dictators HRF president Thor Halvorssen and HRF International Council member George Ayittey in Slate on Nicki Minaj’s upcoming performance for Angolan dictator José Eduardo dos Santos.
Press Release Oct 29, 2015 HRF Deplores Election of Dictatorships to Top UN Human Rights Body The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) deplores yesterday’s U.N. General Assembly vote electing the authoritarian regimes of Burundi, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Togo, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela as members of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for a three-year term.
Press Release Oct 20, 2015 HRF, Lantos Foundation, UN Watch to Host Event Opposing Election of Authoritarians In anticipation of the upcoming elections of the 2016-2018 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), the Lantos Foundation, and UN Watch will host a luncheon at the United Nations at 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 27, in opposition to bids from a collection of authoritarian states to sit on the council.
Press Release Aug 10, 2015 RECAP: HRF puts Gabon’s human rights and corruption crisis in the news This week HRF drew attention to human rights violations and corruption in the Central African country of Gabon by challenging a recent PR trip by Argentine football star Lionel Messi.
Press Release Aug 7, 2015 HRF condemns assassination attempt against OFF speaker from Burundi The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the assassination attempt against prominent human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, and calls on the government of Burundi to thoroughly investigate, prosecute, and punish the perpetrator.
Press Release Jul 31, 2015 Celebration of Gabon’s Dictator On July 17, Argentine football superstar and children’s rights advocate Lionel Messi visited Gabon to endorse and celebrate Ali Bongo, a dictator who has ruled the African country after succeeding his father Omar Bongo in 2009.
Press Release Jul 1, 2015 HRF Welcomes the Release of Swazi Lawyer Thulani Maseko The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes yesterday’s release of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and journalist Bheki Makhubu in Swaziland after their appeal was granted by the country’s highest court.
