freedom of assembly and association

Democracy is dying in digital darkness
Democracy is dying in digital darkness 03 April 2023 Vasundhara Sirnate and Gaurav Jain

Last year saw the highest number of internet shutdowns ever recorded. Such enforced digital darkness is a slippery slope of easy authoritarianism that we see spreading globally, one that countries like India, with the world's highest number of shutdowns, are using to gain undemocratic compliance from their citizens.

APC calls for Iran to immediately stop violence against citizens and blocking of internet access during the latest protests
APC calls for Iran to immediately stop violence against citizens and blocking of internet access during the latest protests 05 October 2022 APC

The Association for Progressive Communications is outraged by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iran as well as deeply alarmed by the ensuing violent crackdown on protests, violations of women’s rights, and widespread internet shutdowns across the country. 

Iranian women’s fight for right to life and freedom faces surveillance, internet shutdowns, violence and murders
Iranian women’s fight for right to life and freedom faces surveillance, internet shutdowns, violence and murders 03 October 2022 Hija Kamran for GenderIT.org

In Iran, women are protesting to demand bodily autonomy and their right to live, in the wake of the state-backed murder of a 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the morality police. The government is responding by killing more women, attacking protestors and censoring the internet to contain the information.

Civil society organisations reject attempts to silence and criminalise social movements in the context of protests in Ecuador and demand that human rights are respected
Civil society organisations reject attempts to silence and criminalise social movements in the context of protests in Ecuador and demand that human rights are respected 22 June 2022 Various

The undersigned organisations and activists firmly reject the violent repression, arbitrary arrests and use of surveillance technologies to intimidate, harass, persecute and silence defenders of human rights and nature in Ecuador in the context of the protests that started on 13 June 2022.

Advocating for human rights online and offline in 2020
Advocating for human rights online and offline in 2020 01 November 2021 APCNews

We want people, especially those facing discrimination and oppression, to have greater power and autonomy through digital technologies to exercise their full range of human rights online and offline. Check out our achievements in this area in 2020.

HRC47: Joint oral statement on internet shutdowns in the context of protests
HRC47: Joint oral statement on internet shutdowns in the context of protests 01 July 2021 ARTICLE 19, Access Now and APC

In recognition of the 250 organisations in the #KeepItOn Coalition against internet shutdowns, we urge all states to immediately and unconditionally cease shutting down, throttling, or blocking the internet.

HRC47: Joint oral statement on Colombia
HRC47: Joint oral statement on Colombia 28 June 2021 Various

Karisma, FLIP, ILEX, CEJIL, IFEX, Derechos Digitales and APC urge the Human Rights Council to call on the Colombian state to guarantee, respect and protect the exercise of human rights online and offline in the country.

International civil society organisations demand that the Colombian government immediately stop its repression of the protests and guarantee the exercise of human rights, offline and online
International civil society organisations demand that the Colombian government immediately stop its repression of the protests and guarantee the exercise of human rights, offline and online 05 May 2021 Various

We firmly reject the violent repression in Colombia in response to the massive protests which began on 28 April. The Colombian state has the obligation to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee freedom of assembly and association and freedom of speech, on the internet and on the streets.

Regulating freedom of association amidst the COVID-19 response in South Africa
Regulating freedom of association amidst the COVID-19 response in South Africa 02 December 2020 Tusi Fokane for CIPESA

The global infodemic accelerated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic has raised important debates on how best to respond to the proliferation of false and misleading information online.

The erosion of digital rights in the fight against COVID-19 in Kenya
The erosion of digital rights in the fight against COVID-19 in Kenya 29 September 2020 Victor Kapiyo for CIPESA

Kenya confirmed its first Covid-19 case on March 12, 2020, and as of August 26, 2020, the country had recorded at least 559 deaths, 32,803 confirmed cases, and 19,055 recoveries, with 429,513 persons tested. Even before the first case was confirmed in Kenya in February 2020, the government had moved to establish the National Emergency Response Committee on Covid-19 to coordinate its preparednes...

« Go back