View previous stories
	Nicaragua must end witch-hunt against dissenting voices by United Nations News   Dec. 2018   Oxfam condemns cancellation of legal registration of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights.   Oxfam condemns the Nicaraguan National Assembly’s decision yesterday to cancel the legal registration of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), the country’s most prominent human rights organization.   “No context justifies cancelling the legal registration of organizations defending human rights. Such measures increase the vulnerability of Nicaragua’s citizens in the face of growing human rights violations and abuses committed by the Nicaraguan government, and further distance us from the possibility of reaching a solution to the crisis in the country,” said Simon Ticehurst, Oxfam Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean.   “We are gravely concerned by increasing attacks on and threats against civil society in Latin America. Organizations complying with the law, their mandate and objectives are being criminalized. It is the duty of States to preserve and protect civil society, not attack it,” added Ticehurst. http://bit.ly/2QDCpZ4   Aug. 2018   Following weeks of civil unrest in Nicaragua, a group of 11 UN independent human rights experts has urged the Government to stop the violent repression of protestors, which has left at least 317 people dead and 1,830 injured, stressing that "no one should be detained for the exercise of their human rights”.   “We are appalled that many human rights defenders, journalists and other opposition voices are being criminalised and accused of unfounded and overly punitive charges such as ’terrorism’,” the UN experts said, warning that this is “creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among different communities and among civil society representatives in the country.”   Street protests against social security reforms began in April and were immediately violently suppressed by security forces and groups affiliated with the governing party. One hundred days later, the protests have “decreased in number and intensity following the removal of roadblocks by the Government” according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), but the UN experts said that dissident voices - ranging from rural community leaders and students, to journalists and Catholic Church leaders – are still being subjected to intimidation, threats, collective detention.   “We deplore what appears to be a smear campaign aimed at discrediting or vilifying human rights defenders as ‘terrorists’ and ‘coup-mongers’, and apparent attempts to undermine the opposition,” the human rights experts’ statement read.   “We are also deeply concerned that new legislation adopted earlier in July by the Nicaraguan Congress to target money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, could provide the authorities with increased leeway for arrests and criminal proceedings against protesters, and be misused,” the UN experts stressed.   “Impunity, violence and repression have never been a breeding ground for peace and stability and will certainly, on the contrary, plunge the country into deeper social and political unrest,” the experts warned.   They reminded the Government of the importance of keeping a clear and up-to-date record of the names and locations of people who have been deprived of their liberties and stressed that those who face legal proceedings must be guaranteed their right to a fair trial, with all the guarantees of due process.   “We exhort the Government of Nicaragua to immediately demobilise paramilitary groups and to investigate the extrajudicial executions, killings and reports of enforced disappearances with due diligence, without delay and through the use of effective, impartial and independent procedures,” the statement read.   “We also urge the Government to refrain from engaging in practices of criminalisation against human rights defenders and other activists, including through the inappropriate use of national security and counter-terrorism legislation,” said the independent experts, requesting that full access into detention centres and other locations be granted to human rights groups so they can continue assessing the situation in the country. http://bit.ly/2nr8nH7 Visit the related web page
	Transforming lives in local communities with cooperation and solidarity by TNI, Open Democracy   What do Barcelona, Cádiz, Cochabamba, Dar-es-Salaam, Grenoble, Lagos, Port Louis, Solapur and Richmond have in common? These nine cities have helped to transform the lives of their city-dwellers in some way - and form part of the the Transformative Cities Initiative 2018.   Transformative Cities features stories of change and transformation realized through the actions of local communities around the world.   Communities in Lagos, Grenoble and Cochabamba have waged their own water wars to guarantee access to this basic human right; Richmond, Cádiz and Port Louis have each seen their own energy revolution of late; Dar-es-Salaam, Solapur and Barcelona have applied transformative approaches to achieve affordable housing for some of their communities.   Transformative Cities highlights the projects of progressive local governments, municipalist coalitions, social movements and civil society organizations working to tackle and find solutions to pressing systemic economic, social, political and ecological challenges. Transformation in one area such as water management does not necessarily mean transformative practice elsewhere in the city.   Nevertheless, the atlas showcases inspiring stories of communities challenging entrenched power and boldly developing alternatives. These range from small villages in Bolivia to international cities like Paris.   The cases highlight how public solutions based on principles of cooperation and solidarity rather than competition and private profit have been successful in meeting people’s basic needs – and perhaps just as importantly in creating a spirit of confidence and empowerment that strengthen communities for many other challenges.   "Utopia lies at the horizon. When I draw nearer by two steps, it retreats two steps. If I proceed ten steps forward, it swiftly slips ten steps ahead. No matter how far I go, I can never reach it. What, then, is the purpose of utopia? It is to cause us to advance." – Eduardo Galeano   http://transformativecities.org/atlas-of-utopias/ http://www.opendemocracy.net/transformative-cities Visit the related web page
	View more stories