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A new Russian law would brand all foreign-funded organisations as foreign agents.

In Cambodia today, hundreds of thousands of people are being alienated from their homes, farmlands, forests and fisheries as the country’s ruling elites and foreign investors plunder the country for private profit in the name of ‘development’. In rural areas, more than 2 million hectares – 12 percent of Cambodia’s total landmass – has been granted to private companies as concessions for the development of agro-industrial plantations.

Enrique Peña Nieto, the young face of Mexico’s oldest political party, was chosen by Mexican people to lead the country out of arguably the most turbulent period in its history since the Mexican Revolution. Peña Nieto’s PRI, which governed Mexico for 71 years until losing in 2000, has staged a comeback since the candidate was chosen.

It has been five years since the EU adopted its Strategy for a New Partnership with Central Asia. As EU foreign ministers prepare to take stock of progress so far, a number of civil society organizations, including Norwegian Helsinki Committee, would like to suggest ways to improve the effectiveness and impact of EU action to promote human rights in Central Asia.

The implementation of land reform under President Benigno Aquino III is “the worst since 1988”, according to the Save Agrarian Reform Alliance (SARA), a national coalition of farmers’ groups and NGOs, including FIAN Philippines, which are campaigning for the implementation of agrarian reform.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, NHC expresses concern with recent developments in the Russian Federation related to the on-going crackdown against opposition leaders and human rights activists, as well as the adoption of restrictive legislation on public rallies. President Putin pledged to inspire “greater participation of citizens in public affairs” and to have “more consultations with different sectors of society about legal reforms” on the day of his inauguration, Secretary Bjørn Engesland says. Recent developments stand in sharp contrast to these words.

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee participated in a picket in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Oslo, passing on a statement to Counsellor Vitalii Pantus. The statement comes as a reaction to the recent violent attacks on a peaceful demonstration organized by Ukrainian LGBTI organizations, where several activists were victims of violence.

The Public Hearing on the Human Rights Situation in the Peasant Communities of Bajo Aguán, Honduras, was convened by nine organisations and international networks that in recent years have been monitoring the human rights situation in Honduras and in particular that of the peasant communities in the Bajo Aguán region. This monitoring effort has been carried out in coordination with local organisations.

On 16 April Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly Vanadzor, a partner organisation of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, was subject to harassment by a large crowd on the eve of a public movie screening. Police authorities did not protect the human rights defenders, and damage was made to the premises of the organisation.