Human rights news in washington, Costa Rica and Switzerland

– On March 27, 2023, the OHCHR launched a new country report concerning freedom of expression in Yemen. In the report, the OHCHR recalled that the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds is guaranteed to all individuals, without distinction of any kind. In addition, the OHCHR affirmed that freedom of expression also includes a free, uncensored, and unhindered press and media, which are essential in society to ensure freedom of opinion and expression. Regarding Yemen specifically, the OHCHR pointed out that the ongoing conflict in the country has entered its ninth year due to conflict-driven propaganda and disinformation which led to ideological and socio-political conflicts throughout the country. In this sense, the parties to the conflict have characterized critical voices in society as foreign actors who want to threaten national security, which has directly delegitimized the work of journalists and even caused self-censorship. The consequences of this scenario were manifold: many of the journalists who wanted to maintain the integrity of their work left the country, women journalists suffered severe bullying on the internet, and threats, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and killings continued to be a constant reality in the country.

On July 7, 2022, the ECtHR ruled that Italian authorities did not respond with the requisite promptness and diligence in dealing with domestic violence in the case of “M.S. v. Italy”. The applicant, M.S., an Italian national, was assaulted, harassed, and threatened for years by her then-husband, D.P., for which reason she filed several complaints against him. However, the State authorities began to take measures late, for which reason the ECtHR held the State responsible for the period in which it did not take effective measures.