GENEVA – A group of United Nations human rights experts* urged Malaysia to withdraw the Sedition Act of 1948, after receiving allegations of increasing criminalisation of criticism of the government or its officials. “The Sedition Act is reportedly used in a way that prevents Malaysians from expressing and debating, freely and openly, a diverse range of political opinions and ideas,” the experts said. The 1948 Act, which carries sentences of up to three years in jail and five for recidivists, outlaws vague offenses, such as expressing ‘any… Continue reading →
(Press release provided by InformAction) (NAIROBI/WASHINGTON, DC) – InformAction is proud to announce that Co-Director Maina Kiai will receive the prestigious Freedom Award, in Washington DC, on Oct. 1, 2014, in recognition of his ‘invaluable contribution to the cause of freedom and democracy’. The award from Freedom House honors his work in Kenya as a prominent civil society leader, and as an internationally renowned human rights defender. It comes at a time when Kenya’s civil society – demonized as ‘evil society’ – faces increased… Continue reading →
In our capacity as Special Procedures mandate-holders of the United Nations Human Rights Council, we would like to express our concern at the possible adoption by the Congress of the Republic of Colombia of Bill No. 85 (Senate) of 20131. This bill aims to restructure and expand the scope of the jurisdiction of military and police courts. In October 2012, we raised similar concerns with regard to Legislative Act No. 2 of 2012, which was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Colombia in its judgment C-740 of… Continue reading →
GENEVA – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today urged the Government of Ethiopia to stop misusing anti-terrorism legislation to curb freedoms of expression and association in the country, amid reports that people continue to be detained arbitrarily. The experts’ call comes on the eve of the consideration by Ethiopia of a series of recommendations made earlier this year by members of the Human Rights Council in a process known as the Universal Periodic Review and which applies equally to all 193 UN Members States. These… Continue reading →
Issue No. 7 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Kiai makes official visit to Oman; says it’s time for sultanate to build on economic development and fully embrace human rights • UN experts urge Bahrain to release human rights defender Maryam Al-Khawaja • Iran: Kiai condemns the recent wave of arrest and sentencing of civil society actors • UN experts urge Tasmania to drop bill that would limit… Continue reading →
