The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Monday condemned India’s restrictions placed on public assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, pursuant to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA). In her statement at the 48th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet pointed out that the Indian government’s actions of frequently [...]

The Court of Justice of the European Union clarified Thursday that the protected designation of origin (PDO) “champagne” and similar designations are protected “vis-à-vis prohibited conduct in respect of both products and services.” The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), an organisation that protects the interests of champagne producers, brought an action in Spanish [...]

UN-backed group Tech Against Terrorism stated Monday that tech platforms should prohibit or restrict the distribution of content from the Taliban. Pursuant to this, the group has added the Taliban, which has retaken control of Afghanistan as a result of the withdrawal of US forces, to its Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP), which detects verified [...]

Various civil society and media organizations on Monday issued a letter presenting key recommendations ahead of the G7 summit on the situation in Afghanistan, in order to ensure the immediate protection of journalists, media workers, and their families in the country. The 54 organizations asked all G7 countries to make a clear and explicit commitment [...]

Leaders of 19 opposition parties in India participated in an online meeting on Friday to address alleged mismanagement by the central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The virtual meeting, which was broadcast live, was convened by Indian National Congress (INC) President Sonia Gandhi and two top opposition leaders from across the country. In [...]

India’s deputy defense minister issued a written response to a question raised in the Indian Parliament on Monday stating that the Defense Ministry has had “no transaction” with the Israeli company NSO Group Technologies, which developed the Pegasus spyware allegedly used to illegally surveil journalists, constitutional authorities, opposition leaders and other civilians. The statement was [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the military junta in Myanmar Tuesday to stop prosecuting journalists and added that punitive action against them is an assault on independent media. The group pointed out the arbitrary arrest of 98 journalists, out of which 46 are still in detention. It also outlined the usage of the newly enacted [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked Indian authorities Wednesday to free all detained Myanmar asylum seekers immediately. The organization also urged the authorities to investigate the deaths of two women who had escaped from Myanmar and died in state custody in June from COVID-19. HRW South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said that asylum seekers from Myanmar [...]

The Editors Guild of India Wednesday demanded an urgent inquiry by the Supreme Court into allegations of widespread surveillance of journalists, civil society activists, businessmen and politicians by Indian government agencies using Pegasus, a hacking software created by the Israeli company NSO Group. The Guild pointed out NSO’s claims that the Pegasus software is sold [...]

Justice Dikgang Moseneke, former South Africa Deputy Chief concluded Tuesday his inquiry into ensuring free and fair elections during COVID-19 and suggested postponement of local elections. The final report on the findings of the inquiry was submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa. The Commission stated that it will urgently study the report and [...]