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Democracy & Human Rights

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan gathered by the thousands on September 30 to stage protests marking the first anniversary of...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the United States by the end of November when Israel officially becomes the 41st member of...

Europe’s lawmakers see opportunity for regime change a year after Iran’s latest uprising

On September 21, representatives of various political groups held a meeting in the European Parliament to discuss the situation in Iran one year after...

What’s the end game for the military men seizing power in West Africa?

As socio-economic problems and the inefficiency of civilian governments in the region have made recent coups popular, coup makers are eventually going to become...

Former UN judges, prominent jurists & politicians demand Iran’s leaders be held accountable for 1988 massacre

During an international conference on August 21, former UN Judges, renowned legal experts, and prominent politicians from the US, Europe, and Africa called on...

Cambodia’s Hun Manet is a puppet prime minister; his father will still pull the strings

The handing over of power by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to his son Hun Manet is an attempt to maintain the old regime,...

The Beleri case as bellwether for democracy in Albania

The standard definition of a political prisoner is: “One imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for...

The Iranian opposition issues an urgent call to action to prevent a political prisoner’s execution

This morning, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, a judge at Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, capital of the northeastern Razavi Khorasan Province, sentenced to death...

Freedom of speech and expression require considered thought by lawmakers

The cornerstone of any functioning democracy is the ability to speak freely without fear or favour and be confident that our right to say...

Iranians hold rallies to protest police raid on opposition’s Albania-based HQ

Protests were held outside Albanian embassies and consulates in at least ten cities on June 20th and 21st following a raid by police on...

EU parliamentarians, former world leaders demand policy changes, recognition of Iranian resistance

On May 24, dozens of members of the European Parliament held a meeting in Brussels to discuss prospective changes in policy toward the Iran....

Global Equality Fund: Spain becomes the 18th member country

On the occasion of Spain joining the Global Equality Fund, the Governments of Spain and the United States issued the following joint statement, dated...

Countering online extremism online: Can New Zealand’s Ardern make the Christchurch Call live up to its potential?

On May 15, 2019, two months after the horrendous Christchurch massacre, policymakers led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel...

The Iranian regime is becoming ruthlessly paranoid about ethnic Azeri demands for civil rights guarantees

Complete disregard for the well-being of Iran’s Azeri minority has sparked a wave of intense anger within the community.

Cambodia’s current government is the face of tropical Fascism

There is no hope that the authoritarianism that the world sees in places like Russia, China and Cambodia can ever be interpreted as a peaceful and benign phenomenon, or that it should be accepted by an implicit racist or discriminatory assumption that some cultures just don’t have a democratic tradition and aren’t quite capable of ever developing one.

Opponents of ayatollahs vow Iranian women will transform the country into a democratic republic

Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi say a democratic revolution is unfolding in Iran. Rajavi was the keynote speaker of an international conference in Brussels on...

Iranian diaspora’s push for democracy: Rejects the past, advocates for the future

In recent rallies and conferences, including in Paris, Berlin, London, Belgium, Oslo, Rome, Washington, DC and Toronto, Iranian expatriates and associated organizations have called...

Thousands of Iranians hold pro-democracy rally in Paris

On a cold and wintry day in Paris, some 10,000 supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, gathered to mark...

Turkey’s seismic shift

This breakthrough in normalization between Armenia and Turkey comes amid a much wider context, well beyond the simple validation of earthquake diplomacy to elevate crisis response over conflict retention. 

NE Global interviews Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

Iranians have tried every other possible way to work for change, for many years. Those who thought they could reform the regime have continually been disappointed. Now they know that they have no other solution.

Sudan is unlawfully prolonging ex-president Al-Bashir’s trial

The 1989 coup in Sudan, known in the country as the National Salvation Revolution, is still awaiting a final decision from the Sudanese judiciary,...

Iranian opposition leader marks Western New Year and 100 days of unrest in Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been rocked by more than 100 consecutive days of unrest, with residents of more than 300 cities and...

We are fighting for the freedom of all Iranians. Where does Europe stand?

Western governments should recognize the Iranian people’s right to defend themselves, and they should isolate the regime completely.

Musk plans to profit from Twitter, not create a town square for global democracy

As a privately owned company, Twitter will now only answer to Musk and his underlings, not to shareholders.

Ukraine and the establishment of a new European order

Once beholden to various empires throughout its history, Ukraine has morally discredited the notion of empire-building in Europe.

EU politicians slam Tehran’s sanctions targeting European supporters of Iran’s organized resistance

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s decision on October 26 to sanction several MEPs, as well as...

The Iranian people have committed to a revolution, so where is the West?

Huge changes have occurred in Iran's political landscape since the start of the protests two months ago. Western governments, however, need to unequivocally and immediately back the movement instead of playing lip-service to vague notions of solidarity and outrage.

Human rights abuses are becoming commonplace in Sudan

The Sudanese government has introduced some reforms but nothing to improve the existing legal base with regard to compliance with international human rights. 

The South Caucasus peace process should address war crimes issues

The EU must do more to ensure peace in the South Caucasus.

Ahead of EU ministerial meeting, lawmakers offer support for Iranian protesters’ right to resist

Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 members sent a unanimous signal on October 12 after coming to an agreement on a plan to impose...

The genocide in Ukraine cannot become ordinary

Though Russia’s war against Ukraine is contained on Ukrainian soil, it would be naïve to interpret the framing of this war as a conflict...

My message from Hiroshima

On Saturday, August 6, I proudly stood with Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, and the people of Hiroshima in memory of an unprecedented catastrophe.Seventy-seven years...

PACE launches motion for a resolution in support of constitutional reforms in Kazakhstan

In a motion for a resolution in support of constitutional reforms in Kazakhstan, an Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) group of deputies...

Why Russia needs to be isolated

Vladimir Putin does not want, nor can he conceive, of Ukraine as part of the European world order. Proof of this has not only...

EU wants Eurojust strengthened

The European Commission has proposed to amend the Eurojust Regulation to give the Agency the legal possibility to collect, preserve and share evidence on...

Europe’s information space at war: When do we start fighting back?

Alongside the conventional war in Ukraine, Russia is waging another one much closer to us. It appears on our computers, our phones and tablets....

As media independence backslides across the EU, will Brussels act?

In a move reflecting the anti-corruption agenda of Bulgaria’s new government, the parliament passed a bill that will abolish “golden passports” – a scheme...

The EU must address its own rule of law issues before reforming the Western Balkans

A damning recent report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) indicates that the EU has achieved next to nothing with the €700 million...

Let us celebrate democracy and let us make it stronger

The eyes of the world's leading foreign policy wonks were all on Washington, DC, after President Joe Biden met with fellow democratic leaders at...

Why Biden shouldn’t use the ‘Summit for Democracy’ to start more Cold Wars

On December 9 and 10, President Biden will host a virtual “Summit for Democracy.” The gathering will bring together leaders from 110 countries who...

Ukrainian president seeks total control over media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has had two options since he was elected in 2019: either to improve the reality that he faced or to...

The power of investigative journalism

In February 2018, a young Slovak investigative journalist named Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend, Martina Kusnirova, were brutally murdered in their home in Velka...

The EU and the hijab

Given my relentless, savage, repetitive and – if I may say so – eminently fair criticism of the European Union, I could easily forgive...

Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?

Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...

On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy

A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...

Enough of the Durban depravity

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the so-called “World Conference Against Racism”, otherwise known as Durban I. The 2001 conference was to be...

Under Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s LGBTQ community fears the worst

The recent election of Ebrahim Raisi as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran has sent shockwaves through the country's LGBTQ community, with many...

A monster miracle from a cave

In the history of sport, there have been many unforgettable victories. True testaments of teams achieving the unthinkable. The 1980 Winter Olympics men’s hockey...

If Europe is serious about fighting antisemitism, it must skip Durban 20

Countries are lining up to declare they will not attend the20th anniversary of the UN’s notorious 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban,...

From Vienna to Tripoli, the Muslim Brotherhood’s impact is felt on both sides of the Mediterranean

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has recently undertaken a number of legislative initiatives that target Islamist groups and movements, which are active within the country,...

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