Photo by Gemma Chua-Tran on Unsplash Members of the European Parliament have voted to give consent for the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (IC). All EU Member States have previously signed up to the convention but six countries have yet to ratify the accord. Following today’s…
Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita Speaking at a High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development convened by the UN Economic and Social Council, Nasser Bourita the Foreign Minister of Morocco stressed the importance of continuing the implementation of the Marrakesh Compact. The Marrakesh Compact represents an open informal group…
At least twenty journalists have been attacked by far-right hate groups gathered in a counter-rally against today’s Tbilisi Pride March, according to the latest reports. In addition, Far-right crowds that gathered on Tbilisi’s main Rustaveli Avenue last night to prevent Tbilisi Pride March set for later today, dismantled tents erected by opposition and civic activists outside the…
On June 26, the President of the European Parliament went to the Holy See to meet Pope Francis and the Vatican Secretary of State, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The conversation with the Holy Father, focused on the need to protect the weakest and most vulnerable: the rights of people are the measure of all…
Remembering the Tank Men of Tiananmen Square June 4 marks the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in which thousands of civilians were brutally murdered by the Chinese Communist Party’s death squads, writes Jianli Yang. Thirty-two years later, most of the survivors, including myself, have become parents and grandparents. But despite the passage of time,…
Leading Experts And Human Rights Defenders Condemn And Ridicule The Award Of Vienna’s Highest Honour To The Chinese Ambassador, writes Peter Zoehrer. The award of the State of Vienna’s Great Gold Medal to Chinese Ambassador Li Xiaosi has drawn sharp criticism from leading experts on human rights and religious freedom in China. “We are astonished and embarrassed by this…
Parliament has adopted resolutions assessing the human rights situation in Bolivia, and the COVID-19 situation in Latin America. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on the Latin American continent, MEPs say, expressing their solidarity towards all victims and their families, as well all those affected by the health, economic and social crises. The…
MEPs have adopted an urgency resolution on the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, in particular the case of Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel sentenced to death in 2014 on blasphemy charges, calling on the Pakistani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them and to overturn their sentence. The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament strongly…
The recent departure from China of a veteran journalist shines a light on how that nation’s regime suppresses journalism from other countries, writes Jianli Yang. Late last month, after nine years in China, BBC Beijing correspondent John Sudworth clandestinely left with his family for Taiwan. His move followed a propaganda campaign against him for his…
According to an August 2020 survey by the National Democratic Institute, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, only 41% of Roma households in Hungary have access to both cable and mobile internet and 13% report no access to the internet at all. A November 2020 report from Hungary’s deputy ombudsperson for national minorities acknowledged that for Roma…
