There can be no doubt about the agendas of the governments who launched these attacks, even as theydress up their repression in nationalist rhetoric. Welcome March with discounts on gadgets for your home. The delegation was senttohelpfind a solution to the countrys escalating economic and political crisis. Black Lives Matter demonstration in Vienna Christopher Glanzl/Amnesty International Austria. Between March andJune,the governmentreleased4,208 prisoners undera presidentialamnesty order. Riot police setup cordon during a protest against the national security law on June 28, 2020 in Hong Kong, China . In Georgia, where Arbery lived, protests were staged at courthouses(Opens in a new tab) on May 8, which would have been his 26th birthday. Please give now to support our work, Trapping, Beatings in June Crackdown Reveal Abusive, Unaccountable System, Share this via Facebook Human Rights Watch documented at least 61 cases of protesters, legal observers, and bystanders who sustained injuries during the crackdown, including lacerations, a broken nose, lost tooth, sprained shoulder, broken finger, black eyes, and potential nerve damage due to overly tight zip ties. They are the only wayto inoculateagainst injustice and climate disaster, to buildinclusivesocieties that offer equal protection to all. Additionally, the Minneapolis Board of Education voted unanimously(Opens in a new tab) to end its contract with the police department in the city. As an 8 p.m. curfew neared, New York Police Department During 2020,authorities still failed to do justice for cases of abductionsand torture committed in 2019. Most were charged with Class B misdemeanors for curfew violations or unlawful assembly. Mr Bialiatski and three other top figures of the Viasna human rights centre he founded were convicted of financing actions violating public order and smuggling, Viasna . 03 Mar 2023 08:26:29 The Hong Kong democracy movement. The team raised serious concerns over Zimbabwes deteriorating human rights situation. Many people were detained during the protests. Human Rights Watch associate director Letta Tayler and advocacy director Jo Becker have welcomed statements by Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne that TT is open to offers of collaboration to repatriate the families of local men who went to fight for ISIS in Syria. Belarus jails Nobel winner Bialiatski for 10 years; EU, US protest FILE PHOTO: Human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, founder of the organisation Viasna (Belarus), receives the 2020 Right. The authorities arrested over 100. If you are able to help, please chip in today and help the fight for humanity and human rights to continue. Zimbabwes long-standing severe water and sanitation crisis was worsened by thecoronavirus pandemic and the governments imposition, on March 30, of a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. It describes the citys ineffectual accountability systems that protect abusive police officers, shows the shortcomings of incremental reforms, and makes the case for structural change. Commenting on the Public Order Bill, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty UK's Chief Executive Director said: These new attempts to reduce protest rights are in breach of international human rights law. These Protesters did march against Cov.19 illegal Lockdowns: all against Human Rights and freedom of Speech. Amnesty International UK depends on the generosity of our supporters to fund our ongoing fight for human rights. Benjamin Press is a nonresident research analyst in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Though underpinned by years of organizing, the momentous wave of Black Lives Matter protests seen in 2020 started in Minneapolis. Indeed, the interview began with her asking the pointed question, "Do you accept that women can have peaceful demonstrations for change and for their own rights. of the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights were arrested. It's far from comprehensive and some of these protests are ongoing but the demonstrations featured here illustrate how protest evolved in 2020. With much of the world implementing some form of social distancing, more routine protests, such as climate strikes and the LGBTQ Day of Silence, were moved online. 1. Bialiatski and three other top. Groups of conservative activists gathered at their respective state capitols to protest stay-at-home orders, and called for businesses to re-open. Huge demonstrations kept roiling politics in places as diverse as Chile, Hong Kong, and Lebanon, and new, shorter protestslike those over the downing of an airliner in Iranerupted regularly. Whilereceiving treatment for theirinjuries, thetriowere arrestedatthe hospitalandcharged with making false reportsabout their abduction. This year protesters of all ages have taken to the streets of the USA, Belarus, Poland, Nigeria, Thailand, Chile, Lebanon, and Hong Kong to stand up against injustice. Many incorporated their country's specific needs for progress, particularly in the context of colonial legacies. Briere was detained in May 2020, and later sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage. They should also empower independent accountability systems to provide a genuine check on police misconduct. They were arrested and jailed after massive protests over a 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a new term in office. Campaigns like WeThe15, launched during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games, aim to give disability rights more international visibility and protest against discrimination and social exclusion. Read 10 famous protests that shook the UK. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The movement in Hong Kong was initially spurred by a (now-withdrawn) bill proposed in mid-2019 that would have allowed Hong Kong to extradite criminal suspects to China for trial. Released after four days,hefled the countrya weekafter his release. Dr. Magombeti wasthen-leader ofthe Zimbabwe HospitalDoctorsAssociation(ZADHR)whohadorganizeda series of protests to demand better salaries forpublichealth workers. Bialiatski, alongside three other human rights activists, was tried on charges of financing protests in Belarus after the 2020 presidential election, which was widely considered fraudulent, as well . Despite the greatest public health challenge in over a centuryand the viral threat, lockdowns, and increasingly repressive environment it triggeredprotests remained an integral part of the global political landscape. The New York Police Department (NYPD) replied in part to Human Rights Watchs questions about the protest but did not respond to a request to interview senior police officials. Protesters around the country ran 2.23 miles, marking the date of Arbery's killing. Video footage captures an official from the NYPDs Legal Bureau instructing other officers: Legal Observers can be arrested. They are good to go! As Chantel Johnson made her way through her South Bronx neighborhood to meet up with protesters, one thought kept nagging her: Why the heavy police presence? About 10 minutes before an 8 p.m. curfew imposed after looting elsewhere in the city scores of police officers surrounded and trapped the protesters a tactic known as kettling as they marched peacefully through Mott Haven. The UN Human Rights Committee has a clear answer, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Malaysia: UN experts warn new bill restricts right to peaceful assembly, UN human rights report cites multiple root causes of deadly Chile protests, Iran protests: Live ammunition reportedly used, says UN human rights office, Human rights office decries disproportionate use of force in US protests, Zimbabwe: COVID-19 must not be used to stifle freedoms, says UN rights office. At least 13 legal observers who wear clearly identifiable hats and badges were also detained, in some cases violently, before being released. It created new protest triggers as public health measures became objects of political contestation, whether in the form of anger over lockdowns, economic displacement, or government mismanagement of the public health crisis. Then they dragged me on the ground and beat me with batons. Among other changes, the proposed law(Opens in a new tab) aimed to permit mainland Chinese security services to operate in Hong Kong, and to grant Beijing power to override local laws. Our new briefing on Protect the Protest highlights how protest is being threatened by governments across the world. The Washington Post - The hundreds of people who marched through the Bronx on June 4, 2020, to protest the police killing of George Floyd had no idea they would face what a watchdog group described as one of the "most aggressive police responses" in the country. I am excited by this truly landmark affirmation that protection of the right to peaceful assembly extends to remote participation, including online assemblies, saidClment Voule, reacting to a document released by the Committee. Activists of Amnesty International Austria demanded justice of George Floyd who was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, USA. Throughout the election and afterward, Trump routinely claimed that the election was seeped with fraud, despite election officials finding no evidence to back his claims. In early 2020, when little was known about the virus and it seemed like a localized problem, the protest surge that had marked the second half of 2019 continued. He is a leading authority on international support for democracy, human rights, governance, the rule of law, and civil society. . It firmly settles the debate about whether the right to peaceful assembly extends to online activities, says governments should not block or hinder Internet connectivity in relation to peaceful assemblies, and questions the chilling effect of surveillance technologies.. Share this via Twitter The 99-page report, Kettling Protesters in the Bronx: Systemic Police Brutality and Its Costs in the United States, provides a detailed account of the police response to the June 4 peaceful protest in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown community that has long experienced high levels of police brutality and systemic racism. On Feb. 23, Arbery, who was Black, was stalked and fatally shot by white men in a truckwhile on a run in Georgia. Protest is a Human Right In the UK, the right to protest is under threat. Chauvin was eventually charged with second-degree murder, despite the Floyd family's demand for a first-degree murder charge. Share this via WhatsApp These rallies also brought attention to the recent police killings of other Black Americans, like Breonna Taylor(Opens in a new tab), Rayshard Brooks(Opens in a new tab), Elijah McClain(Opens in a new tab), and Tony McDade(Opens in a new tab).