freedom of religion
On 24 October 2019, local authorities in Selangor issued a formal letter to Maryam Lee requesting a statement with regard to an ongoing investigation. The investigation is being conducted under Section 10 (a) of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995, which criminalises different forms of expression that “insults or brings into contempt the religion of Islam”, in relation to a book authored by her. The book, titled Unveiling Choice, retells Maryam Lee’s personal reasons for taki...
If you are a designer, an artist, an illustrator or passionate about freedom of expression, internet rights and the power of tech, we invite you to take part in this contest! What is the contest about? APC invites artists, cartoonists, illustrators, designers, doodle enthusiasts and anyone passionate about human rights online, in particular social movements, freedom of religion, freedom of expression and the power of technology, to develop a transformative campaign image design that will repr...
This piece was originally published by FORUM-ASIA From 4-6 October 2017, FORUM-ASIA, APC, Bytes for All, Pakistan and Global Partners Digital are organising a regional consultation in Bangkok on the State of Freedoms of Assembly, Association, Expression and Religion on the Internet in Asia. Day 1 The first day started with words of welcome from the four organisers by: Chat ...
India is the land of many religions. However, by any measure, religious freedom has been under grave and constant attack in the country. Minority communities, especially Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence, largely by Hindu nationalist groups. Numerous bloggers, writers, filmmakers, artists and people from the Dalit communi...
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the organisations supporting this joint statement welcome the appointment of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed as the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and his report to be presented at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). We look forward to engaging with the mandate to address the persistent implementation gaps concer...
Desecrating Expression: An account of freedom of expression and religion in Asia builds on the global discussion around the intersection between the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion. The study focuses on nine countries in Asia – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam – which each have seen a significant n...
Violations of freedom of expression in the name of religion, are increasingly taking place online, and disproportionally impact women and sexual minorities. This was the focus of a statement launched by APC and Bytes for All, Pakistan to contribute to the last report of the UN Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Religion or Belief’s, released in light of the upcoming Human Rights Council session...
Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are internationally guaranteed, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing rights to be enjoyed by all individuals without any form of discrimination. Yet, freedom of religion has often been pitted against freedom of expression, especially as fears of violent extremism and xenophobia have spread in recent times, resulting in violations of...
Sadaf Baig from Bytes for All Pakistan, in Jakarta. On 3-5 June, more than 70 human rights defenders, activists and journalists got together for the Regional Consultation on Expression, Opinion and Religious Freedom in South Asia. The event, which was organised by Bytes for All Pakistan, in collaboration with APC, FORUM-ASIA, Global Partners Digital, the Internet Democracy Project, ICT Watch a...
Interviewing David Kaye at the regional consultation on expression, opinion and religious freedom in Asia UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye, who just published a report on the importance of encryption and anonymity for human rights, gave the opening keynote address at the Regional Consultation on Expression, Opinio...
