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UN Human Rights Council Elections

Freedom House strongly urges United Nations members to block seven countries from obtaining seats on the Human Rights Council, including three countries that are among the world's most repressive regimes. Member states will vote on 18 new council members on Tuesday, May 12. An analysis from Freedom House and UN Watch finds that nearly two-thirds of the 20 countries running for seats either have poor or questionable human rights records.

Global Press Freedom at Risk

Cartoon by Ed Stein

Global press freedom declined for a seventh straight year in 2008, with journalists subject to an increase in violence and punitive laws. Freedom House revealed the findings from Freedom of the Press, its annual study of 195 countries and territories, at an event May 1 in advance of World Press Freedom Day.
Read the report

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Zimbabwe's "Window of Opportunity"

Zimbabwe's finance minister said negotiating the Global Political Agreement with some of the perpetrators of last year's election violence was an "excruciating experience," but it provided an opportunity to reestablish peace and begin on a path toward reform. Tendai Biti made the remarks at an event in Washington April 27 organized by Freedom House and the National Endowment for Democracy.
Watch a video of Biti's remarks

Press Releases

Freedom House Condemns Pakistan, China for Uighur Extraditions

May 07, 2009 - Freedom House condemns Pakistan's recent decision to violate international law by handing over a group of Uighur exiles to the Chinese authorities. The case is a disturbing sign of China's growing influence in the region and illustrates how vulnerable Uighurs, a Muslim minority group in Western China, are to persecution both inside and outside China.

U.S. Web Freedom Bill Critical to Combating Censorship

May 07, 2009 - Freedom House strongly supports the Global Online Freedom Act, a new bill to prevent U.S. technology companies from assisting repressive regimes in their efforts to identify, silence and punish democracy and human rights activists on the internet. The GOFA bill is critical to combating the growth of internet censorship and Congress should move it quickly through the committee stage and onto the floor of the House for a vote.

EU Initiative with Former Soviet States Must Include Civil Society

May 06, 2009 - Freedom House urges the European Union to give civil society a meaningful role in developing the Eastern Partnership, a new initiative aimed at strengthening ties with six former Soviet Republics. The partnership is expected to be announced tomorrow in Prague at a summit of high-level representatives from Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

UN Urged to Reject Abusers in Human Rights Council Elections

May 05, 2009 - Freedom House and UN Watch strongly urge United Nations members to block seven countries from obtaining seats on the Human Rights Council, including three countries that are among the world's most repressive regimes.

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In the News

Caucasus: Don't Let the EU's Eastern Neighborhood Initiative Become a Paper Tiger

May 07, 2009 - Eurasianet, by Vladimir Shkolnikov

Razing Russia's 4th Estate

May 07, 2009 - Moscow Times, by Christopher Walker

Human Rights Activists Troubled by Administration's Approach

May 05, 2009 - Washington Post, by Glenn Kessler and Michael D. Shearp

Pakistan's Genuine Democrats in Peril

May 05, 2009 - Huffington Post, by Damian Murphy

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