In response to the pandemic, governments around the world have been enacting new policies to protect public health — including many that are necessary to slow the spread of the virus. But in a time when authoritarianism is also on the rise, some governments are exploiting the public health crisis to impose dangerous policies that could impact civil society long after the pandemic ends.
Hungarian journalists accused the government on Wednesday of putting lives at risk by barring the media from covering the full extent of what is now the world’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.
Read this article by Marton Dunai for Reuters about how independent news outlets have been blocked and barred from hospitals so as not to report on the pandemic.
This article by Human Rights Watch discusses the recent spike in ongoing anti-Asian racism and xenophobia worldwide. Government should take urgent steps to prevent violence and discrimination linked to Covid-19. In some instances, government leaders and senior officials have directly or indirectly encouraged hate crimes, racism, or xenophobia by using anti-Chinese rhetoric.
This newsletter briefing by the European Parliament documents attempts in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia to curtail media freedom, from shutouts to taxes to harassment of reporters.
For example in Poland, publishing groups have signed an open letter stating their firm opposition to the use of Covid-19 as an excuse to introduce "another, new, exceptionally heavy burden on the media".
This week marks the anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic by the WHO, as well as the implementation of many “stay at home” orders in the US and worldwide. Join AFSC staff as we reflect on the past year and what lies ahead: Pauline Muchina examines efforts to make vaccines accessible and global advocacy efforts, and Under the Mask team members Lucy Roberts and Libby Chase share resources that can help navigate misinformation campaigns and track instances of restricted freedoms masquerading as safety precautions.
In this interview, Brankica Petković, a researcher and project manager at the Peace Institute in Ljubljana speaks with CIVICUS about the recent right-wing shift in Slovenia. She speaks about the impact of this new government at the start of the pandemic, the treatment of rights-based organisations by media outlets, smear campaigns against NGOs and restrictions to citizen protest.
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has signed a sub-decree on the establishment of a National Internet Gateway which was released publicly on February 16th, 2021. Cambodian CSOs have raised deep concern that articles of this sub-decree are broad, vague, and strongly restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens and CSOs in Cambodia.
Read this article in the Guardian written by UN Secretary General António Guterres, outlining the pandemic of human rights abuses now being faced around the world, creating "enormous fragilities in our societies".
Throughout history, governments have exploited crises to impose dangerous, authoritarian policies. This pandemic is no exception. As governments have attempted to contain the spread of COVID-19, many have imposed extreme measures and restrictions on civic rights.