News

More than 240,000 people marched against the rapid rise of far-right political parties and extremist groups in Berlin on 13 October. The protestors travelled from all over Germany to demand increased solidarity with migrants and marginalised groups. The group called for solidarity in the face of growing far-right populism and racism that has been spreading across Germany. The protest was organised and joined by a number of groups including trade … Read more →

A 30-year old Bulgarian TV journalist, Victoria Marinova, was brutally raped and murdered in Bulgaria last week. Her body was found on 6 October near a river bank in Ruse, northern Bulgaria. She is the third journalist to have been murdered in Europe in just over a year and had just relaunched her TV show highlighting investigations that uncovered cases of corruption. Reports so far state that they are unsure … Read more →

The UK’s Counter-Terrorism and Border Security bill will have its second reading in the House of Lords on 9 October 2018. Serious concern has been raised over the bill’s infringement on fundamental freedom of expression. Index on Censorship, RSF and other human rights organisations are campaigning to highlight the threat that the bill poses to freedom of expression, notably its potential to discourage the primary source research that is fundamental … Read more →

Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege win joint prize for combatting war crimes Two brave human rights defenders are joint winners of the 2018 Nobel Peace prize for their work against sexual violence as a weapon of war. Nadia Murad is a Yazidi woman who was captured in 2014 by ISIS and gang raped in the town of Kojo in Sinjar, Iraqi Kurdistan. Dr. Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist, who … Read more →

‘Without food security there is no security’ The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly brought together the expertise of UN officials, governments and civil society to recommend solutions to the ever-growing issue of conflict-based food security. The Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley said, “If you don’t have food security, you’re not going to have any other security. So we have to address the fundamentals.” The … Read more →

The US has admitted to killing 1,114 civilians in air and artillery strikes in their coalition operation that targets Isis in Syria. The operation became known under the codename ‘Inherent Resolve’ and was formally established in October 2014 in response to the rising threat posed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The new move represents progress in US accountability, however the number of civilian casualties that the US has admitted … Read more →