Tags Human rights
Tag: human rights
CSOs and experts warn of dangers posed by the new UN cybercrime treaty
A large array of civil society organizations and experts has called on the state delegations participating in the concluding session of the United Nations (UN) Ad Hoc Committee to ensure that the proposed Cybercrime Convention is narrowly focused on tackling cybercrime, and not used as a tool to undermine human rights.
In their joint statement, the signatories - organizations from...
Without an access ramp to the cafeteria in Stiv Naumov dormitory in Skopje, a student in wheelchair was forced to eat alone in his room
In the cold and rainy periods, I was waiting in the rain in front of the cafeteria building for one of the kitchen staff to get me my meal and come back. If there was an access ramp, I would have gone myself into the cafeteria and would have eaten my meals with other students.
This is how Darko Stojanovski,...
The future of mass surveillance in Serbia?
This article was written by Ana Toskić Cvetinović, executive director of the civil society organization Partners for Democratic Change Serbia, a member of the Increasing Civic Engagement in the Digital Agenda (ICEDA) network. An edited version is republished by Global Voices with permission.
Under the content-sharing agreement between "Global Voices" and Meta.mk, we republish the text below:
“The modern totalitarian...
The state of online free expression worldwide in 2022
"From internet shutdowns, crackdowns on expression and closed-door partnerships to attempts to restrict anonymity and end to end encryption, in many places, digital rights are under threat," writes IFEX.org in this article republished by Meta.mk. This statement was originally published by the IFEX member Electronic Fronteer Foundation - EFF.org on 27 December 2022.It’s been a tumultuous year for free expression...
Slovenian left-wing “Levica” made child adoption by same-sex couples a legal right
The amendment to the Family Code went into full force in Slovenia on the 31st of January 2023, thereby decreeing that marriage is no longer just a union between a man and a woman, but a union between two persons, and same-sex couples are now able to adopt children, Radio-Television Slovenia reported.
According to the elaboration of the Slovenian Ministry...
“е-Society.mk”: The best cybersecurity weapons are the prevention and the education of the society
(This content is a translation of the original article in Macedonian, published on the 6th of December 2022)
We must have trained and educated citizens with both knowledge and skills if we want to counteract the cybersecurity challenges, while the country must be efficient and provide appropriate legislation. This, among the other things, was highlighted in the panel discussion “Cybersecurity...
Defamation lawsuit against Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK sets a dangerous precedent
Just a few days before receiving the EU Award for Investigative Journalism in Serbia 2022 on November 16, the Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK was sentenced in a SLAPP defamation lawsuit by a Serbian court for publishing news about a criminal trial, quoting the defendant's claim that a criminal gang had ties to the Interior Minister.
SLAPP suits, short for strategic lawsuits against...
Stojanovski for Lokalno: Political and Media Circles Have Been Accustoming Macedonians for Years That Hate Speech Is Something “Normal”
Since the Russian-Ukrainian crisis started, a propaganda war started on social media in our country, full of hate speech and “cheering” for one of the warring parties. Certain political and media circles have for years been accustoming the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia that hate speech is something “normal” and that calls for violence are a “normal” part...
Truthmeter.mk: Thirty Children with Cerebral Palsy Live In Isolation in Ohrid, the State Is Silent
Children with cerebral palsy in Ohrid live in complete isolation. They do not have any day care centers. Parents complain that their children are discriminated against and excluded from society, Truthmeter.mk writes.
Author: Sonja Rilkovska
Children with cerebral palsy from Ohrid face total isolation. Excluded from the educational process and social life, fully disconnected, they are locked in their homes. There...
Truthmeter.mk: Small Steps Towards Big Changes For Children With Disabilities in Macedonian Education
Educational inclusion is a process that lasts more than two decades, which is being delayed not only due to bad laws but also due to low public awareness, Truthmeter.mk writes.
Author: Zoran Dimovski
Forty students with disabilities from Polog, starting this school year have educational assistants who provide support in learning, within the schools where they attend classes.
This type of support...
Truthmeter: Serbian authorities spy on visiting Russian citizens on behest of Kremlin
Backroom cooperation and ties between Serbia and Russia lead to spying on Russian opposition figures having a meeting in Belgrade. After the spy tapes were delivered to Kremlin an arest of Russian opposition leader takes place. Another story showing how far undemocratic regimes are willing to go to stay in power completely disregarding the rights of their citizens, writes...
Global Voices: Russian censors block website of legal aid non-profit OVD-Info
OVD-Info, a prominent Russian legal aid and human rights organisation, announced on December 25 that its website had been blocked by Roskomnadzor, Russia's internet and media regulator, writes “Global Voices”. Meta.mk republishes the original article, under the cooperation agreement with “Global Voices”.
Though the state registry revealed that the website was blocked due to a December 20 verdict from a Moscow-based district...
Missing Belarusian activist found dead in Ukraine
This story by Tanya Lokot originally appeared on Global Voices on August 3, 2021. It is republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-Only license.
Belarusian activist Vital Shyshou, who went missing in Ukraine on August 2, has been found dead in a park near his home in Kyiv, according to police reports.
Shyshou, who left Belarus in the autumn of 2020 fearing...
Violence against women is on the rise in Mexico. How do Mexicans perceive it?
This story by Timothy S. Rich, Alianna Casas and Carolyn Brueggemann originally appeared on Global Voices on August 2, 2021. It is republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-Only license.
In Mexico, femicides increased by 137 percent between 2015 and 2020, with the government only formally tracking femicides as a specific crime in 2012. Mexico’s justice system remains woefully ineffective as only 27 percent...
Second Pride Parade in Skopje [Photo gallery]
The second Pride Parade in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, took place on the 26th of June, under the motto "Outside the Walls".
After a one-year pause due to the pandemic, this year over a thousand supporters gathered in the capital and, in their own words, protested the oppressive policies, the homophobia and the transphobia, but at the same...
Helsinki Committee: Number of hate speech complaints on the rise in North Macedonia
From 1st of January to 30th of April this year there were 298 complaints about various categories of hate speech lodged at the web platform govornaomraza.mk, shows the monitoring of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, carried out with a special focus on three pilot-municipalities: Shtip, Bitola and Tetovo.
"There was a notable increase of the number of complaints compared...
Zaev: We do not want to join NATO to attack, but for world peace and respect for human rights
After yesterday's strong warnings from Russia's ambassador to Macedonia, Oleg Shchebak, regarding its intention to become a NATO member, prime minister Zoran Zaev said today that the country wants to join NATO for peace in the world and respect for human rights.
At today's press conference, Zaev expressed hope that the two countries will focus on building friendship, and not...
Hate speech is increasingly more present, says the Ombudsman
With regret, I have to report that an increasing number of hate speech in recent years has been on the rise, which is very worrying, and I urge the institutions to prevent it, said the Ombudsman, Ixhet Memeti, while presenting the annual report on human rights in Macedonia in 2016.
At the same time, the Ombudsman warned of the huge...
Memeti: We still have dysfunctional and politicized institutions
We still have politicized and dysfunctional institutions that implement party agendas, said today the National Ombudsman, Idzet Memeti, at the presentation of the annual report on the Degree of Provision, Respect, Advancement, and Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, in 2016, reports "Nova TV".
According to Memeti, last year, in the sphere of respect and the protection of human rights, there...
State Department: Macedonia is dominated by corruption and disrespect for the law
The most significant human rights problems stemmed from pervasive corruption and from the government’s failure to respect fully the rule of law, including continuing efforts to restrict media freedom, interference in the judiciary and impeding the work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office charged with investigating and prosecuting crimes relating to and arising from illegally intercepted communications, as well as...
