Concerns over Myanmar's upcoming elections by UN Office for Human Rights, agencies   4 Dec 2025   Tanzania: UN experts condemn post-election lethal crackdown and digital blackout. (OHCHR)   UN human rights experts today condemned reported widespread and systematic human rights violations in Tanzania following the general elections on 29 October 2025, including allegations of hundreds of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and mass arbitrary detentions targeting protesters, opposition figures, and civil society across the country.   “The Government must provide information on the fate and whereabouts of all disappeared persons and ensure the identification and dignified return of the remains to their families,” the experts said. “All restrictions on media coverage must be lifted, as they are incompatible with Tanzania’s international obligations.”   The experts noted that elections proceeded amid long-standing concerns, including arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances of opposition figures, and legislative changes that undermined the fairness of the electoral framework. Leaders from the two main opposition parties were barred or disqualified from contesting, and in some cases detained or forcibly disappeared prior to the poll.   Following the elections, protests erupted across the country, particularly led by youth, against the ruling political party. The Government’s response was allegedly the immediate and lethal use of force against these protesters by security forces, including military and police personnel. The experts said that disturbing reports indicate officers were given orders to “shoot to kill” during an enforced curfew.   The experts noted that the number of people extrajudicially killed in the aftermath of the elections is estimated to be at least 700 individuals, with other estimates pointing to thousands of potential victims. They noted chilling reports on the disappearance of victims’ bodies from morgues, and allegations that human remains are being incinerated or buried in unidentified mass graves. Family members who identified remains were reportedly forced to sign false statements about the cause of death to receive the bodies.   Widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions of hundreds of protesters, human rights defenders and civil society activists followed the post-election protests, the experts noted. Many detained opposition leaders and protesters, that account for over 1,700 individuals, reportedly face serious offenses like treason, conspiracy to commit an offense, and armed robbery.   They expressed concern that the Directorate for Public Prosecutions applied the principle of nolle prosequi, which they considered will be an obstacle the due process.   The experts noted that a complete internet shutdown was imposed from 29 October to 3 November 2025, further compounding the crisis. “This blackout severely curtailed the ability of human rights defenders and journalists to carry out their work and document violations,” they said.   The experts also expressed alarm at reports of transnational repression, including extensive surveillance targeting human rights defenders and civil society organisations involved in monitoring the violations in neighboring countries.   They urged the Government of Tanzania to launch a prompt, impartial, independent, thorough, and effective investigation into all reported killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations.   The experts took note of the establishment of a commission of inquiry to inform the public and the international community about the causes of the protests and human rights violations.   “The new commission should be independent and make proposals to ensure accountability, justice and reparation, including guarantees of non-recurrence, and full participation of victims and civil society organisations,” they said.   Ahead of planned demonstrations on 9 December 2025, the experts called on Tanzanian authorities and security forces to prevent further violations and protect people’s right to peaceful assembly.   The experts are in contact with the Government on this issue and expressed their readiness to provide technical assistance to Tanzanian authorities.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/tanzania-un-experts-condemn-post-election-lethal-crackdown-and-digital   Dec. 2025   Concerns over Myanmar's upcoming elections   Next month some of the people of Myanmar will start voting in an election imposed by the junta. This military-controlled ballot will be conducted in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence putting the lives of civilians at risk.   The growing insecurity and the lack of measures to protect civilians raise serious concerns about the safety of voters who choose or are forced to participate.   These elections are also taking place in an environment in which the military is actively suppressing participation. Many major political parties are excluded and over 30,000 of the military’s political opponents, including members of the democratically elected government and political representatives, have been detained since 2021.   Discrimination also looms large in the electoral process, with Rohingya, Tamils, Gurkhas, and Chinese, among others, excluded from voting. Civil society and independent media have little to no voice. The military has stepped up mass electronic surveillance to identify dissidents, and there are fears this will be used at the polling stations.   Additionally, the military lacks control over large areas of the country and it will be unable to cover the entire country in a meaningful and representative manner. Some 56 townships, in which martial law declarations remain active, will be excluded. Some 31 townships in the first round will have no actual voting due to the absence of candidates.   Far from being a process that could spear-head a political transition from crisis to stability and the restoration of democratic, civilian rule, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk says this process seems nearly certain to further ingrain insecurity, fear and polarization throughout the country. The utmost priority must be to end the violence and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.   Given the situation, it is also egregious for any State to forcibly return Myanmar nationals who had fled the country in fear. Against this backdrop of very serious human rights violations, the High Commissioner urges the United States to reconsider its plans to end its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, programme with respect to Myanmar.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2025/11/concerns-over-myanmars-upcoming-elections http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/myanmar-un-expert-urges-asean-not-step-backward-recognising-juntas-sham   Dec. 2025   Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Global Protest Tracker   Anti-government protests flooded streets across the globe in 2025, from Sub-Saharan Africa to Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia. New demonstrations emerged in more than seventy countries. Of those catalogued in Carnegie’s Global Protest Tracker, twenty-seven occurred in countries ranked “partly free” with respect to people’s access to political rights and civil liberties, twenty-six “free,” and seventeen “not free.”   Anger against government corruption fueled a sizeable portion of the protests catalogued in the Global Protest Tracker this year. The two other main triggers were antidemocratic overreach and economic hardship.   Specific corruption scandals or allegations sparked demonstrations in multiple regions. In March, North Macedonia erupted in protests condemning the alleged corruption and bribery that led to a deadly nightclub fire. Over 45,000 people in Spain took to the streets to criticize Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for the various political and corruption scandals surrounding his administration. The persistent issue of corruption in the Gambia brought out protesters who demanded government accountability. The Gen-Z protests in Nepal, which garnered significant media attention, were also spurred by issues of nepotism and corruption, and eventually led to Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli’s resignation. Around the same time, the Philippines saw Gen-Z protests against a corruption scandal involving the country’s flood control projects.   Other corruption-related protests were triggered less by specific scandals or allegations and more by simmering underlying public anger over corruption and other forms of government malfeasance. Mongolia’s protests in May initially emerged to condemn the lavish spending of the son of Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, but they developed into a broader anti-corruption movement that ousted Oyun-Erdene. In Indonesia, Gen-Z protests against parliament members’ high salaries were partially driven by longstanding anger toward perceived government corruption. Morocco’s Gen-Z protests were similarly fueled by anger over corruption, though they initially stemmed from Moroccans’ frustration over inappropriate government spending and the neglect of government services.   In Mexico, the death of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo triggered nationwide demonstrations against corruption and violent crime. The ongoing protests in Serbia, which began in November 2024 over the Novi Sad train station roof collapse, evolved into anti-corruption protests and general protests against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic.   Antidemocratic overreach by governments, a major theme of protests in 2024, continued driving demonstrations this year. Fury over broad governmental claims to expanding power triggered many protests. In Indonesia, students and pro-democracy activists protested revisions to the nation’s military law, which permitted military officers to serve in civilian government posts and thus widened the military’s role in civilian affairs. Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s bid for a third term in upcoming elections mobilized thousands who opposed his extended rule.   Mali experienced protests after the military junta extended its rule for another five years and dissolved all political parties. The removal of presidential term limits in Togo triggered deadly protests, led by Gen-Z and other activists angered by Faure Gnassingbe’s extended rule and concerned over the state of democracy in the country. In Ukraine, thousands took to the streets over a law that they feared would undermine the independence of anti-corruption agencies by placing them under the supervision of the presidentially appointed prosecutor general.   Brazil’s “shielding” bill, which provided greater immunity to lawmakers, also prompted enraged citizens to demonstrate against its passage. The United States experienced multiple protests throughout the year against the perceived authoritarian actions of President Donald Trump and his administration.   Governmental targeting of political opposition or civil society also pushed citizens to the streets in various places. Anger over attacks on internal dissenters or opposition figures triggered protests in Israel over the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, in Ivory Coast over the ban of opposition candidates in the 2025 presidential election, and in Turkiye over the arrests of various opposition figures (which have been ongoing since 2024). Threats to civil rights and liberties prompted numerous demonstrations, such as those in Slovakia criticizing an NGO bill that held similarities to Russia’s foreign agent law, in the United Kingdom decrying a Supreme Court ruling against transgender rights, and in Hungary denouncing the ban against Pride demonstrations and criticizing a foreign funding bill that also resembled Russia’s foreign agent law.   Economic hardship also drove many demonstrations in 2025. Several countries experienced protests over unpopular austerity measures, including Belgium, Indonesia, France, Slovakia, Romania, and Argentina. Frustrated by the ongoing economic struggles in their countries, demonstrators argued that the various reforms—which impacted pensions, education, and worker benefits—would only worsen the existing hardships. Demonstrators in other countries protested generally against high costs of living.   In Greece and Chile, workers demanded greater protections and benefits from the government. In Angola and Ecuador, increased fuel prices drove hundreds to thousands of disgruntled protestors to the streets. Spain’s high rent prices, exacerbated by the region’s tourism boom, triggered massive protests from aggrieved residents who demanded government action in increasing affordable housing.   Some protests that began in 2024 sustained their momentum throughout 2025. The anti-corruption protests in Serbia and the election- and EU accession-related protests in Georgia have occurred almost daily since their emergence last year. Other protests, such as those in Turkiye against the arrest of opposition figures, in France and Belgium involving farmers and the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, and in Israel against ultra-Orthodox conscription, continued intermittently throughout 2025 in response to major government actions. Protests against the Israeli government regarding the war in Gaza also continued to erupt every month across the globe, from Italy and Morocco to Malaysia and Australia.   Some observers have seized on the surge of youth-led protests in countries such as Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Peru, Timor-Leste, Madagascar, Morocco, and Mexico during the latter months of 2025 to put forward the idea of a rising global “Gen-Z movement.” Although this cluster of youth-led protest movements is significant, it is not a new trend.   Young people led numerous protests throughout the year, including in Serbia, Mongolia, and Togo, and more than twenty significant anti-government protests in 2024. Looking back even further, data from the Global Protest Tracker reveals that the rates of youth-led protests between 2017 to 2019 were similar or higher to the rate of youth-led protests in 2025. As such, while it is noteworthy that the 2025 Gen-Z protests have drawn inspiration from one another and united under common symbols it remains uncertain whether they will combine to constitute a substantially interconnected wave of protests.   http://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/12/global-protests-2025-genz-corruption-economy
	In 2024 alone, billionaires’ wealth soared by $2 trillion while poverty barely budged by Oxfam, Development Finance International   Sep. 2025   Stand with Billions, Not Billionaires. Change the System. (Economic Justice Mobilisation)   We live in a critical moment in history. Humanity is confronted with massive economic and climate injustice, because the system is rigged — and we are all paying the price. This unjust economic system advantages rich countries to the detriment of poorer nations, fossil fuels over clean energy, and billionaire oligarchs over everyone else.   The super-rich and large corporations control the media, manipulate politicians and dodge taxes — increasing their political power and trapping billions of people in poverty.   While billionaires, big corporations and rich nations hoard wealth and power, climate disasters and crushing debt push billions deeper into poverty. The richest 1% pollute more than the poorest 66%, yet vulnerable communities bear the devastation — with floods, fires, and storms wiping out lives and livelihoods. The wealthiest countries owe an enormous debt for this damage, which impacts women, youth and marginalised groups the hardest.   At the same time, nearly one in three countries face a catastrophic debt crisis — the biggest in a generation. Instead of funding healthcare and schools, low-income countries are forced to pay billions to wealthy creditors, at crushing interest rates, while institutions like the IMF and World Bank impose brutal austerity. When public services fail, women and girls bear the heaviest burden, as they perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work.   At the heart of this injustice is an outdated global financial system that fuels inequality and the climate crisis. We must fight back — and there is a better way.   2025 is a Jubilee Year — a rare opportunity to cancel debts and start afresh. Let’s create a new financial system to prevent future debt crises, end austerity, create a progressive tax system and tackle climate change. We pledge to stand together and make our values and demands visible everywhere, so that every government feels the urgent pressure to act.   Here’s what we’re fighting for:   Cancel the Debt: End the debt crisis today by canceling unsustainable and illegitimate debts — no strings attached — and requiring rich countries to pay their climate debts to support communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.   Change the System: Transform the outdated, rigged financial system with a fair, democratic and transparent one under the United Nations — including a binding debt framework and international tax convention. Everyone deserves a voice in shaping the future, not just a few billionaires.   Choose Hope and Justice: Debt cancellation cannot be done in isolation. To build just economies we must (a) tax the super-rich and large corporations to curb inequality, (b) guarantee public services including health care, education, and social protection for all, and (c) accelerate a just transition for people and planet, including a fair, equitable and timebound transition away from fossil fuels as well as the protection of biodiversity and community livelihoods.   But the clock is ticking. With only five years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, we're failing. At this rate, ending poverty will take 230 years—but the world's first trillionaire could emerge in less than a decade.   This is not a time to be defined by tyranny, oligarchy, exploitation, and greed. Instead, we are defined by our courage to fight for justice, our solidarity and a determination to build a just and equitable world. We can rewrite the rules. We can change the system. We choose Hope and Justice — for Billions, Not Billionaires.   * 1071 civil society organisations from 115 countries have signed the Economic Justice statement: http://economicjustice.global   * Joint Civil Society call urging President Ramaphosa to Confront Extreme Inequality at the G20: http://gi-escr.org/en/our-work/on-the-ground/joint-letter-urging-president-ramaphosa-to-confront-extreme-inequality-at-the-g20   * G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality Final Report: http://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202511/g20-global-inequality-report-full-and-summary.pdf   Aug. 2025 (Oxfam International)   In reaction to the United Nations’ 2025 edition of “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” (SOFI) report launched today, showing only a slight progress in reducing hunger and warning that over half a billion people could be chronically hungry by 2030—nearly 60% of them in Africa — Emily Farr, Oxfam’s Food and Economic Security Lead, said:    “We are witnessing the collapse of a moral contract. While some regions have seen some modest gains, the world is veering dangerously off track, leaving the poorest and more vulnerable behind. As top donors, including the G7, push through a historic 28% cut to aid by 2026, 2.6 billion people —over a third of humanity —still cannot afford a healthy diet. These are not just statistics. These are lives unravelling and futures stolen.   “This is not a crisis of scarcity — it is a crisis of inequality. Climate chaos, conflict unchecked, and broken policies—driven by greed and impunity—are tearing apart global food systems and entrenching inequality.   In 2024 alone, billionaires’ wealth soared by $2 trillion while poverty barely budged. Since 2015, the world’s richest 1% have amassed $33.9 trillion — enough to end global poverty 22 times over. Yet hunger persists, not by accident, but by design. As fields flood and crops wither, aid is slashed, and a few corporate giants profit from the wreckage.   Low-income countries are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create. While global food price inflation peaked at 13.6 percent, it soared to 30 percent in the poorest economies— wiping out household budgets and access to food.   In Africa, 1 in 5 people remain chronically hungry, with women and children hit hardest by deep cuts in nutrition programs.   “We cannot afford a global food system built on injustice and indifference. Despite a modest improvement, we are nowhere the pace needed to meet global goals. The tide can still be turned, but only if governments act with urgency and unity: restore gutted aid, crack down on food profiteers, and invest in local farmers and local food systems that feed people, not profit margins.”   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/oxfam-reaction-sofi-2025-rep   The richest 3,600 Europeans now hold as much wealth as the poorest 181 million. (Oxfam)   In 2025, the EU counted nearly 500 billionaires, 39 more than in 2024. In the last year alone, a new billionaire was created, on average, every 9 days in the EU. Altogether, the richest 3,600 Europeans now hold as much wealth as the poorest 181 million – equivalent to the populations of Germany, Italy and Spain combined.   Europe faces a deep inequality crisis: the richest 1% in the EU own nearly a quarter of all wealth while half the population shares just 3%. Decades of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations has resulted in the super-rich paying proportionally less taxes than ordinary citizens, eroding fairness, democracy, and social cohesion. The EU lacks harmonized policies to curb extreme wealth concentration and tax avoidance of the wealthiest.   Decades of tax policies have been rigged to benefit the super-rich while squeezing ordinary people. Since the 1980s, EU governments have cut taxes for the super-rich and companies, while relying more heavily on taxes paid mainly by ordinary Europeans, such as wage and consumption taxes.   Today, 8 in every 10 euros of tax revenue in the EU comes from taxes paid primarily by ordinary Europeans. Corporate income tax, the tax companies pay on their profits, makes up just 9% and taxes on wealth only 0.4%. Ordinary Europeans mostly earn through wages, which are, on average, taxed at a higher rate. By contrast, the super-rich grow even richer while paying less, using investments and holding companies that are taxed at lower rates or not at all in some EU countries. Meanwhile, wealth itself is barely taxed.   Oxfam calls for bold reforms, such as an EU-wide or national tax on the super-rich and transparency mechanisms like an EU assets registry, to fund social needs, climate action, and development. Taxing the super-rich is widely supported, is feasible and is urgent.   http://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/a-european-agenda-to-tax-the-super-rich-a-solution-to-inequality-in-the-europea-621736/ http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/eu-billionaires-wealth-surges-over-eu400-billion-first-half-2025   Australia's tax system is providing huge tax discounts to the wealthiest, reports Oxfam Australia.   “Our tax system is deepening inequality because it fails to tax wealth. Today, billions of dollars in budget revenue is given away to the wealthiest in the form of tax discounts and because our tax system does not effectively tax the super-rich. Instead, it allows them to amass wealth and fund lavish lifestyles through untaxed growth in assets and investments. It’s time we tax income from wealth like wages, and that starts by scrapping the 50% capital gains discount on profits from sales of investments,” says Oxfam.   In a new report, The Elephant in the Room: Australia’s failure to tax wealth, presents new analysis showing what a wealth tax for Australia’s richest could raise. According to Oxfam Australia, if Australia’s 161 billionaires were taxed at a rate of 5% in 2025, this could have raised $33.5 billion alone.   $33.5 billion per year is enough to raise social support payments above the poverty line, build 50,000 new social housing properties a year, invest in better health and social services and offer greater support for international aid.   “Everywhere, ordinary people are feeling the squeeze from rising costs in housing, healthcare, transport, grocery prices. Yet while households struggle with cost of living pressures, our tax system allows unbridled wealth growth at the top and starves the budget of the revenue needed for the delivery of adequate public services. Wealth taxes and ending tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the rich and corporations are critical to funding health, housing, education and social security — the foundations of social cohesion and economic resilience,” said Dr. Muli.   http://media.oxfam.org.au/2025/10/24000-millionaires-pocket-half-of-capital-gains-tax-break-oxfam-australia/ http://media.oxfam.org.au/2025/06/number-of-australian-billionaires-more-than-doubles-in-10-years-turbocharging-inequality-oxfam http://www.oxfam.org.au/2025/01/takers-not-makers-how-billionaires-profit-while-billions-struggle   July 2025   Africa’s richest four hold more wealth than half the continent - Oxfam, Development Finance International   Today, just four of Africa’s richest billionaires hold $57.4 billion in wealth — more than the combined wealth of 750 million people, or half the continent’s population, according to a new Oxfam report.   The report – Africa’s inequality crisis and the rise of the super-rich – launched ahead of the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, warns that the explosive concentration of wealth is accelerating inequality, driven by policies that enrich elites while starving public services.   Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa, said:   “Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible."   Africa is one of the most unequal regions in the world and has some of the highest poverty rates. Nearly half (23) of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are African, while extreme poverty has soared: seven in ten people living in extreme poverty today are in Africa, compared to just one in ten in 1990. Hunger is also worsening, with nearly 850 million Africans experiencing hunger — an increase of 20 million since 2022.   Despite deepening poverty and widening inequalities, African governments remain the least committed globally to narrowing the gap — slashing budgets for public services like education, health and social protection, while imposing some of the world’s lowest wealth taxes on the ultra-rich.   On average, the continent collects just 0.3% of GDP in wealth taxes. This is less than any other region and well below Asia (0.6%), Latin America (0.9%), and OECD countries (1.8%). Over the past decade, that already meagre share has dropped by nearly 25%.   For each dollar African countries raise from personal income and wealth taxes, they collect nearly three dollars from indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) — levies that deepen inequality.   The consequences are glaring. Half of Africa's population live in 19 countries where income inequality has worsened or stagnated over the past decade. The richest 5% in Africa now hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth, more than double the combined wealth of the remaining 95% of the continent’s population.   Fatouma, a mother of 10 children who sells vegetables in El Afweyn, Somalia says: "Meat is a luxury we cannot afford in many homes. I earn about two dollars a day while the price of one kilo of flour has tripled."   As debt burdens mount, governments across the continent are squeezing the poor – gutting essential public services – while shielding the wealthiest from fair taxation.   An earlier report by Oxfam and Development Finance International found that 94% of African countries with active World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans (44 out of 47 countries) have slashed spending on education, health and social protection in 2023-2024 to repay debt. This significantly undermines the AU’s goal of reducing inequality by 15% over the next 10 years.   “The solution is not far-fetched: tax the rich and invest in the majority. Anything less is a betrayal. If African leaders are serious about their commitments, they must stop rewarding the few and start building economies that work for everyone,” added N’Zi-Hassane.   Some African governments are already proving that fairer economies are possible. Morocco and South Africa collect 1.5% and 1.2% of their GDP from property taxes, respectively — among the highest in the continent. In Seychelles, the poorest 50% have seen their income share grow by 76% since 2000, while the richest 1% have lost two-thirds of theirs. The government also guarantees universal healthcare, free quality education, along with a robust welfare system for the most vulnerable.   A modest tax on Africa’s richest - just 1% more on wealth and 10% more on income – could generate $66 billion a year for the continent (2.29% of Africa’s GDP), according to the report. This would be more than enough to close the funding gaps needed to deliver free quality education and provide electricity to every home and business still in the dark.   "Every African woman, man and child deserves to live in dignity. When a handful of billionaires are allowed to hoard obscene wealth while millions are trapped in poverty, the system becomes not just broken but morally bankrupt. As leaders meet for AU Summit, delay is indefensible. Taxing the super-rich isn’t just fair — it’s essential for building the Africa we want," said N’Zi-Hassane.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/africas-richest-four-hold-more-wealth-half-continent-oxfam http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/africas-inequality-crisis-and-rise-super-rich http://www.equals.ink/p/the-rise-of-africas-super-rich-part http://www.equals.ink/p/taxing-africas-super-rich-part-2 http://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/the-commitment-to-reducing-inequality-index-2024-621653/
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