Blog Post Feb 24, 2023 February 24, One Year Later: Hope on the Humanitarian Front On Feb. 24, the Russian army, on the orders of Vladimir Putin, began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation of just over 43 million people. The attack —preceded by the annexation of Crimea, an armed conflict in the Donbas region, and never-ending propaganda on Russian TV —has upended world order and undermined the international security system that has been forming since the end of World War II.
Press Release Feb 22, 2023 HRF Announces New Grants for North Korean Human Rights The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce five grants to help strengthen the work of civil society organizations in South Korea focused on improving North Korean human rights, education, and resettlement.
Blog Post Feb 15, 2023 Crises Compounded in a Forgotten Dictatorship The combination of a 12-year conflict caused by a dictator who glorifies and celebrates his atrocities, a global pandemic, and now a natural disaster would surely have the world concerned and anxious to help. But, this has not been the case.
Op-Ed Feb 9, 2023 ‘Women, life, freedom’: Chants of protest in Iran Forty-four years after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Tehran is once again feeling the wrath of its citizenry. Then, it was the Shah and his “modern ideals” the people sought to, and successfully did, overthrow. Now, a different regime — the Islamic Republic — is in power and in the people’s crosshairs.
Announcement Feb 8, 2023 Meet HRF Freedom Fellow Pema Doma Human Rights Foundation Freedom Fellow Pema Doma is a Tibetan human rights and climate campaigner who was a key organizer in #NoBeijing2022, a global campaign against China’s hosting of the Winter Olympic Games.
Press Release Feb 1, 2023 HRF Succeeds in Joint UN Petition: Cuba Condemned for Detention of Artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara & Hamlet Lavastida The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) issued an opinion concluding that the June 2021 and July 2021 arrests of Cuban artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Hamlet Lavastida, respectively, were arbitrary and violated international law.
Blog Post Feb 1, 2023 Two Years After the Coup, Burma’s Struggle for Democracy Continues Two years ago today, Burma’s junta, led by military chief Min Aung Hlaing (MAH), seized power in a coup and overthrew the newly elected government.
Blog Post Jan 25, 2023 Champion of Solidarity: African Democracy Defenders Standing With Ukraine Last month, thousands took to the streets of China in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s severe pandemic lockdowns. The demonstrations were not only a rallying cry for the end of the country’s rigid COVID restrictions; they were also a showcase of the people’s determination for freedom and human rights.
Blog Post Jan 23, 2023 Bolivia’s Jailing Opposition Leaders on Absurd ‘Terrorism’ Charges A Dec. 28 police operation involving over 40 heavily armed officers — most of them in plain clothes and wearing masks — violently arrested Luis Fernando Camacho, one of Bolivia’s most important opposition leaders and governor of the region with the country’s largest city, and swiftly moved him to La Paz in a military helicopter.
Press Release Jan 23, 2023 HRF Condemns the Assassination of Thulani Maseko in Eswatini The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) mourns the death of renowned Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and calls for a credible, independent investigation into his assassination on Jan. 21, 2023.
Blog Post Jan 11, 2023 Meet HRF Freedom Fellow Volya Vysotskaia Meet HRF Freedom Fellow Volya Vysotskaia, a Belarusian human rights activist who exposes repression and torture by state officials.
Blog Post Jan 11, 2023 Trials in Absentia: Lukashenko’s Latest Act of Repression The anti-government protests in Belarus over the last two years may have died down, but the country remains marred by violent repression and the clamping down on dissidents.
Blog Post Jan 9, 2023 From Egypt, Sisi’s Long Arm of Repression Targets Americans Too While Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received star treatment during President Joe Biden’s US-Africa Leaders Summit, an American citizen and vocal critic of the Egyptian regime, Sherif Osman, languished in an Emirati prison for 46 days on spurious charges.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of Democracy: Combatting Authoritarianism in Latin America The Cuban and Nicaraguan regimes have engaged in some of the most ruthless repression campaigns in recent history.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of Freedom: The Fearless Women of Iran & Afghanistan The condition of women and girls is a significant indicator of the democratic status of a country and 2022 proved that, in many places around the globe, the diagnosis isn’t good: The systematic assault on women’s rights under authoritarian regimes was illuminated time and again, especially in the Middle East and South Asia.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of the Forgotten: The Overlooked Dictatorships of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos Last month, thousands took to the streets of China in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s severe pandemic lockdowns.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of Courage: How Ukraine is Fighting For its Future Last month, thousands took to the streets of China in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s severe pandemic lockdowns.
Op-Ed Dec 8, 2022 Hollywood Should Stand with Protesters against China’s Oppression For too long, America’s film industry has complied with the Chinese government’s censorship demands. Now is the time to fight back.
Report Nov 18, 2022 Qatar’s Human Rights Record in the World’s Spotlight Qatar, a country ruled by a monarchic authoritarian government, is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Hosting the top global football tournament is the result of a decade-long project by the government of Qatar to strategically exploit the prestige and popular appeal of sports to grow its global influence, cultivate a favorable image in popular culture, and boost its economy.
Report Nov 18, 2022 Arabic Edition of Qatar Human Rights Report Qatar, a country ruled by a monarchic authoritarian government, is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Hosting the top global football tournament is the result of a decade-long project by the government of Qatar to strategically exploit the prestige and popular appeal of sports to grow its global influence, cultivate a favorable image in popular culture, and boost its economy.