To His Excellency Omar Marwan, Egyptian Minister of Justice: Open Letter to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice We, the undersigned, call for an open and transparent investigation into the jailing and death of Shady Habash, a 24-year-old filmmaker who died in custody earlier this month. Furthermore, we call on you to immediately release all artists […]
Organisations which support human rights, press freedom and journalists are calling on United Nations mechanisms and member states to help save the lives of four Yemeni journalists who were sentenced to death in April 2020 in the capital Sana’a on charges of “spying” and “spreading false news.” Of the six other journalists in the same […]
Chairpersons of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies Ms. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights RE: UN human rights treaty bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic Dear Chairpersons of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies and High Commissioner Bachelet, We, the undersigned non-governmental organisations, write to you concerning the functioning of the […]
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, lawyers, journalists, and activists, urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Alaa Abdel Fattah, our courageous friend, human rights activist, and blogger. Alaa has been on a hunger strike for over two weeks in protest to his continued illegal detention, prohibition of communication with his family, and […]
The conflict in Yemen is entering its sixth year, resulting in what is considered the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world. On 10 April, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the country. The warring parties, donor states, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) must take immediate and urgent steps to […]
In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic outbreak, we, the undersigned organizations, urge the governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Oman to permanently lift the ban on all Voice Over IP (VoIP) platforms used for voice and video internet calls. Gulf countries have for a long time banned voice and video internet call apps […]
ALQST, ACAT-France, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and MENA Rights Group have welcomed Germany’s decision to extend its arms embargo on Saudi Arabia and call on other governments to follow suit, as the Yemen war marks its fifth year. Furthermore, the organisations urge the German authorities to expand it […]
On March 5, 2020, the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, ALQST and MENA Rights Group delivered a joint oral statement before the Human Rights Council (HRC) during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. The NGOs expressed concern over the crackdown on […]
At the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, States will consider a resolution extending for three years the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders. Civil society organisations from across the world are calling on all States to support the consensus renewal of the mandate, and to resist any […]
