United Nations Human Rights Council

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Journalist Azimjon Askarov has been imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan since 2010 on trumped-up charges. Photo provided by Askarov's family.

Retrial of Azimjon Askarov to begin in Kyrgyzstan

New York, October 3, 2016–Kyrgyz authorities should fully abide by the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s calls to immediately release Azimjon Askarov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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CPJ welcomes UN Human Rights resolution on releasing jailed journalists, right to encryption

Washington, September 29, 2016–The United Nations Human Rights Council’s annual resolution on journalist safety for the first time urges all states to release arbitrarily detained journalists. The resolution, co-sponsored by 87 countries and adopted today in Geneva, raises new concerns about mounting attacks on journalists during elections and calls for states to protect the confidentiality…

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CPJ joins call to renew Iran special rapporteur mandate

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 34 other organizations in calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to vote in favor of renewing the mandate of the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The vote is scheduled to take place during the 31st session of the…

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CPJ raises concerns over UN agenda on preventing violent extremism

Preventing and countering violent extremism has been a major issue on the international agenda in the past year, prompting the United Nations Secretary-General to launch a Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism in December and the UN Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution last fall.

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A meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye is due to present his report on encryption there on June 17. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

UN report promotes encryption as fundamental and protected right

On Wednesday, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye will present his report on international legal protection for encryption and anonymity to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The report is an important contribution to the security conversation at a time when some Western leaders are calling for ill-informed and impossible loopholes…

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CPJ joins call to renew mandate of human rights rapporteur in Iran

The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 35 human rights groups, today joined a call for member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at the council’s 28th session.

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Sri Lanka moves to silence NGOs, press groups

The Sri Lankan government has taken yet another step to silence critical media coverage, banning non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from holding press conferences and issuing press releases, as well as running workshops or training sessions. The action, announced Sunday by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense, left the country’s many press groups wondering whether they are even…

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Rouhani has yet to deliver on press reforms in Iran

CPJ joined 26 other human rights and civil society groups on Wednesday in an open letter calling on the member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of Ahmed Shaheed, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. The public letter also urged the members to participate in…

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UN rights chief should push Sri Lanka on press freedom

When the human rights watchdog for the United Nations visits Sri Lanka this weekend she should forcefully address the government’s problematic record on press freedom.

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BBC halts service in Sri Lanka after broadcasts disrupted

New York, March 26, 2013–The BBC announced today that it has suspended all radio broadcasts in Sri Lanka following what it called “continued interruption and interference” by a national broadcaster in the country.

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