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Democracy & Human Rights

The ruling of the EU Court on “Golden passports” and the consequences in Tirana

“Whatever the European Court decides," and “If it says it can’t be done, we won’t do it; if it says it can, we will.”This...

False economy: Washington will regret closing important diplomatic posts

At this point many readers will have seen press reports indicating that a large number of American embassies and consulates are being studied for...

Farewell to Pope Francis, the last champion of the left

The first political consequence of the death of Pope Francis is for sure that the left side of Italy’s political spectrum has lost its...

Zeno’s Arrow and Albania’s membership in the EU

Recently, the position of the incoming German government coalition (government) between the CDU/CSU and SPD parties regarding the enlargement of the European Union into...

U.S. sanctions officials for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy

The United States has imposed new sanctions on six Hong Kong and Chinese officials to punish China for the ongoing crackdown on democracy advocates...

Does the EU really stand for its basic values in the Balkans?

The visit of the EU Enlargement Commissioner Ms. Marta Kos to Albania on March 13-14 seems to have been another failed opportunity for the...

Despite slippage, Germany’s political center appears to hold

Germany’s February 23 parliamentary elections played out largely along predicted lines, with the main question on election day being how many parties would reach...

EU-Central Asia Civil Society Forum enhances regional cooperation, sustainable development

Almaty, the largest city and former capital of Kazakhstan, hosted the fifth EU-Central Asia Civil Society Forum on January 28-30, focusing on digital transformation,...

Righteous indignation over Maduro’s inauguration unlikely to change Venezuela’s dark reality

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela was sworn in on January 10 for his third six-year term. Promising that his third term would be one...

Interview: The spirit of democracy is still alive in the minds of the Korean people

During the Stratcom Summit '24 in Istanbul (mid-December), South Korean Professor Giwoong Jung, based at Seoul's Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, discussed his perspectives...

Resources for the Common Good: New Taxation in Times of Crisis

Do you wonder whether the world is crumbling before your eyes? If so, you are not alone. The global human rights map is alarming:...

Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses

Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...

Georgia’s political confrontation continues at low boil

It is difficult to find anyone other than current government officials from the “Georgian Dream” party that will claim the country’s October 26 Parliamentary...

Dear Democrats, about that Harris coronation last summer….

Back in July, we took exception to the decisions by the leadership of the Democratic Party to anoint Kamala Harris to take over President...

Maia Sandu’s slim win: Moldova struggles between Europe and tradition

The results of Moldova’s recent presidential elections and referendum are final. President Maia Sandu won a re-election bid, while a referendum to cement the...

Georgia’s democratic election dream becomes a screamer

Georgia’s October 26 Parliamentary elections did not hold up as “free and fair” even under the lightest of scrutiny. Despite the presence of a...

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar

It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...

Georgian officials sanctioned for anti-democratic actions and human rights abuses

In the continuing wave of new sanctions announcements this month against actors who are seen as undermining democracy and abusing human rights, the Biden...

Interview: Afghanistan military mission veteran lays out Hungarian EU Presidency goals

In 2008-2009, one of Hungary's most successful military missions took place in Bhaglan Province, Afghanistan. That mission was led by Zsolt Sándor, Hungary's current...

Venezuela’s democratic opposition leader driven out, despite probable victory

The departure on September 7 former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez for exile in Spain likely marks the end of the latest opportunity...

Washington hits back at Russia’s covert influence activities aimed at 2024 U.S. elections

In a wide series of actions on September 4, the Biden administration froze Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its...

Kazakhstan’s Legislative Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking

Human trafficking remains a significant global issue, affecting millions of people around the world. According to recent data, there are an estimated 27.6 million...

EU must strengthen financial protections for Hong Kong activists

Imagine leaving your homeland to escape tyranny, only to find the oppressive regime you fled can still reach you, manipulating your financial lifelines. This...

Unified western response to Venezuela’s fraudulent election stymied

Street protests expanded on July 31 in Caracas, as thousands took action to demand that President Nicolas Maduro accept defeat in Venezuela’s July 28...

Americans deserve far more than a coronation

After the NATO Summit in Washington on July 9-11, where Biden-watching essentially became the main focus, and the assassination attempt on former President Donald...

Genocide Rears its Ugly Head in Sudan’s Brutal War

The UN Security Council has called for a halt to the siege of the city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region, where 1.5 million...

U.S.-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue deepens political and economic ties

The sixth annual United States-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue (ESPD) was held in Washington D.C. on May 31.The U.S.-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue was...

Washington orders new sanctions against Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa

 On May 30, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ordered new sanctions measures to counter Russia’s destabilizing activities in...

Xi challenges a divided Europe

After the May 5-9 visit of President Xi Jinping to Europe most of the political analysts in Brussels who argued that the Chinese President's...

U.S.-Kazakhstan dialogue on human rights and democratic reforms continues

The United States and Kazakhstan convened the third annual U.S.-Kazakhstan High-Level Dialogue on Human Rights and Democratic Reforms on May 20 in Astana, focusing...

Georgia’s “Foreign Representatives Law” moves forward amid protests

On May 14, Georgia’s parliament approved (84/150) a hotly contested law on “Transparency of Foreign Interests” regulating the amount of aid local civil society...

North Macedonia: Resuming course towards the political dark side?

As most analysts predicted after the strong showing of the nationalist presidential candidate in the first-round presidential elections on April 24, VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian...

Kazakhstan: New law to protect women and children against domestic violence

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has recently signed key legislation largely criminalizing domestic abuse, ensuring women’s rights and safety of children which has been hailed...

G7 Italy 2024 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on Addressing Global Challenges, Fostering Partnerships

The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the...

The empty seat in Strasbourg

 When the newly elected European Parliament convenes this year on July 16 there will be an empty seat in the plenary hall within the...

Western corporations must be held accountable for their role in China’s Uyghur genocide

In recent testimony before the Senate, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that “the Biden Administration should be sanctioning human rights violations” there and...

Kyrgyz “Foreign Representatives Law” enacted amid criticism

On April 2, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov announced that he had signed a hotly contested bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign...

EU adopts safeguards on general purpose artificial intelligence

The European Parliament took an important step in regulating technology, approving on March 13 the EU's proposed Artificial Intelligence Act that aims to ensure...

U.S. joins International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children

On March 7, the office of the spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State issued a media note, clearly meant to be circulated in...

Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium sanctioned

The U.S. Government announced on March 5 a new set of sanctions on the members of the Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium based across Europe....

Zimbabwe: U.S. reconfigures sanctions to focus on corruption and human rights

On March 4, three separate U.S. Government Departments/Agencies issued Zimbabwe-specific sanctions guidance, demonstrating how complex and intertwined U.S. sanctions legislation has become and how...

New U.S. Russia sanctions widen scope, adding 500 new targets

The U.S. State Department released a comprehensive list of new sanctions measures on February 23, clearly the culmination of months of preparation in order...

Moldova’s 2024 elections: Why it matters

Since the war in Ukraine commenced, the neighboring Republic of Moldova, led by President Maia Sandu, has strongly supported Kyiv. As the tiny, landlocked...

Vatican, Kazakhstan encourage interfaith dialogue

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Italy last week where he signed several agreements and made his first official visit to the Vatican to meet...

Myanmar’s instability deepens as the world watches silently

Myanmar’s stability has eroded significantly since the 2021 military coup. But the coordinated attacks by multiple separatist and pro-democracy groups in late 2023 has...

For Turkey, the Kurds are always considered terrorists

“Hamas is a reality for Palestine. It is a political party … it entered the elections as a political party and won,” said Turkey’s...

Why Africa must be concerned about nuclear threats in Europe

Russia's threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, in response to Finland's membership in NATO has,...

Kafka in Kyiv — Why artists count in a time of war when the world has gone to hell one more time….

It was three o'clock in the morning and I was on a train heading to a war zone.I asked myself "why" I was going...

Playing politics with EU veto power – a very old game

In late November, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, standing alongside visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, told the media that he was against the “bilateralization”...

Africa will watch the DRC’s elections with bated interest

2023 and 2024 are going to be busy years as far as elections in Africa are concerned. About two dozen elections will occur in...

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