Blog Post Feb 13, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #61 This week, we highlight how authoritarian regimes are manipulating digital assets. The Central African Republic launched a government-backed meme coin that crashed spectacularly within a day of launch as regime insiders cashed out for profits, leaving the public with worthless tokens.
Blog Post Feb 10, 2025 The Playbook: How Saudi Arabia uses tennis to present a facade of women’s reforms When Saudi Arabia hosted one of the most important events in professional women’s tennis, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, in November, it wasn’t, of course, without controversy. The New York Times put it this way:
Blog Post Feb 6, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #60 In India, the central bank has taken a significant step toward launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee. In partnership with fintech firms Mobikwik and Cred, the digital rupee is now available to 180 million users through a new “e₹ wallet,” a CBDC wallet app designed for public use.
Blog Post Jan 31, 2025 The prize that matters for Swaziland In December, the Secretary of State honored prominent Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko with the Human Rights Defender Award.
Blog Post Jan 30, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #59 This week, authoritarian regimes augmented their control and monitoring of online spaces in an attempt to suppress the dissenting voices of those they have financially repressed.
Blog Post Jan 23, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #58 In Iran, officials are accused of exploiting a recent currency devaluation to profit at the public’s expense.
Blog Post Jan 16, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #57 In Burma, the military junta introduced a far-reaching cybersecurity law that criminalizes privacy tools like VPNs and mandates online platforms to store and share user data with state officials.
Blog Post Jan 11, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #56 Welcome to 2025! As the year begins, authoritarian regimes have swiftly escalated financial repression, intensifying efforts to dismantle civil society, undermine due process, and suppress dissent.
Blog Post Jan 8, 2025 Corruption Trails CBDC Projects in China, Nigeria, and Lebanon Central bankers have a corruption problem. Recently, Yao Qian, the former head of the People’s Bank of China’s research into central bank digital currency (CBDC), was removed from office and expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for engaging in corruption.
Blog Post Dec 26, 2024 Financial Freedom Report #55 In Russia, the State Duma passed sweeping amendments granting officials the ability to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.”
Blog Post Dec 19, 2024 Authoritarian incumbents claim most of 2024 elections across Africa More than 15 national elections took place across the African continent (including North Africa) in 2024.
Blog Post Dec 19, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #54 After 53 years of tyranny, the Syrian regime has been overthrown.
Blog Post Dec 19, 2024 Legitimizing Aggression in Russia’s 2024 Vote Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia entered a period of profound political and economic change.
Blog Post Dec 19, 2024 Elections In Georgia: At the Crossroads between Russia and Europe Countries that once were democratic continued the descent into authoritarianism.
Blog Post Dec 18, 2024 Wear Your Values Holiday Gift Guide Wear Your Values aims to raise awareness about the human rights abuses worldwide that occur throughout the fashion industry’s supply chains.
Blog Post Dec 18, 2024 A Stolen Election and the Ongoing Struggle for Democracy In the days leading up to Venezuela’s July 28 elections, Venezuelans around the world were largely overcome by a sense of renewed, although fragile, faith in liberation.
Blog Post Dec 17, 2024 Elections in MENA: Youth as the Key to Change Sixty-five elections were held around the globe in 2024.
Blog Post Dec 16, 2024 How Elections in Asia Mirror Global Challenges to Democracy Sixty-five elections were held around the globe in 2024. What emerged from these polls was the realization that global democracy is at a critical juncture, especially with the disturbing trend of tyrants manipulating electoral systems to maintain their filthy grip on power.
Blog Post Dec 13, 2024 HRF Freedom Fellowship Spotlight: Samady Ou Born and raised in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Samady Ou was profoundly influenced by the experience of growing up under a dictatorship.
Blog Post Dec 12, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #53 This week, governments and financial institutions around the world advanced policies that amplify the divide between state interests and the daily economic realities of citizens.
