NewzIntel.com

Category: NGOs

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Oxfam reaction to Israel’s attack on Gaza despite ceasefire

    Source: Oxfam –

    Reacting to Israeli strikes on Gaza, Clémence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Gaza, said: 

    “It is indefensible that Israel has breached the ceasefire agreement by carrying out airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds. The ongoing targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure cannot be justified under any circumstances.  

    “The ceasefire glimmer of hope should have been protected for the two million people trying to survive in terrible conditions across Gaza and for the remaining Israeli hostages. 

    “Israeli authorities have also ordered new evacuations across Gaza forcing civilians—who have already been displaced multiple times—to flee again with no safe place to go to. These forced displacement orders are violating international law. 

    “The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Since the start of the month, which was also the beginning of Ramadan, Israel placed Gaza under a full siege, cutting off food, fuel and all humanitarian aid. One week ago, it cut electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant that supplied clean water to around 500,000 people. Meanwhile, Gaza’s already collapsing medical system is struggling to absorb the rising number of casualties. Hospitals are low on supplies and ambulances are unable to reach the wounded. 

    “This crisis persists due to the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. This must end. International law is not optional, nor is it selective—it exists to protect all civilians, everywhere, and must be upheld universally. 

    “All parties must now work to restore a permanent and sustainable ceasefire for all Palestinians and Israelis.” 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Cholera and Mpox cases increasing dangerously in DRC as aid cuts push health systems to near-collapse

    Source: Oxfam –

    Preventable diseases are sweeping the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cholera cases increased by 326, Mpox by 269, and measles by 95 people in North Kivu alone, during the last week of February, according to Oxfam’s partners on the ground. 

    In January, new cases of cholera infections in the country more than doubled to over 3,850, and 67 people died, which is three times more deaths than the previous month, Oxfam calculates based on WHO data.  

    Ongoing violence and USAID funding suspension is accelerating the collapse of DRC’s fragile health system, leaving millions defenseless against preventable diseases like cholera.   

    Since the start of the conflict this year, DRC has faced major setbacks in controlling cholera and Mpox. The country lacks testing centers and functional hospitals. The destruction of displacement camps during the violence, including vital water and sanitation infrastructure, is making the situation worse. 

    “This is turning into a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe. People are drinking water straight from contaminated rivers and springs because water tanks and sanitation facilities have been destroyed. When you combine this with a collapsed health system, cholera is spreading like wildfire,” said Oxfam DRC Country Director, Dr Manenji Mangundu.  

    “Imagine a hospital without supplies, people drinking untreated water, and patients without much money still being asked to pay for their care. It’s a disaster.” he added.   

    The suspension of USAID-funded programs in the DRC is already having devastating consequences for vulnerable communities. These abrupt cuts are an immediate threat to the lives of 7.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) who are already struggling for food, water and shelter. The worst-affected areas include Kirotshe and the city of Goma, where displaced families in overcrowded conditions have little to no access to clean water. More than 70 health facilities and testing centers in North Kivu have been completely destroyed. Those that are running are unable to cope with the multiple outbreaks of preventable diseases.   

    “Our hospital was 100 percent dependent on humanitarian support,” said Kamara Wabomundu, staff member of the CCLK/Bulimba Health Zone Central Office, one of Oxfam partners. “When our funding was cut, everything collapsed—we had no backup plan. Neither the hospitals nor the communities were prepared. We are asking people to pay for care when they can’t even afford their next meal,” added Kamara. 

    “USAID was the leading donor in DRC and most aid agencies here relied on its funding to provide life-saving assistance. The international community needs to understand that the systems are rapidly collapsing in DRC. Every moment of inaction means more lives are being lost that could be saved,” added Dr Mangundu 

    The closure of banks and microfinance institutions has made the situation even worse, paralyzing the distribution of emergency aid through cash transfers. The shutdown of Goma and Kavumu airports has also driven up food prices, making them too expensive for millions of people. 

    /ENDS 
     

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO) from January 1 to 26, 2025, 3,853 cases of cholera infections and 67 deaths were confirmed which represents a 112 percent increase from the previous month in infection rates as well as a 235 percent increase in deaths in DRC. Data on February infections and deaths comes from Oxfam partners working in DRC.  

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the leading humanitarian donor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Last year’s report indicates that it provided over $838 million in 2024 alone, including $414 million specifically for humanitarian needs resulting from the ongoing conflict and displacement.  

    According to the UN  2025 Humanitarian Response Plan, there are 7.8 million Internally Displaced People (IDP) in DRC — among the world’s highest displacement figures.  

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: The ceasefire in Gaza must be restored immediately News Mar 18, 2025

    Source: Doctors Without Borders –

    In the early hours of March 18, Israeli forces attacked multiple areas in the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of people, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. These attacks come nearly two months after the ceasefire was announced on January 19.

    Following the attacks, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams received mass casualties at Nasser and Al-Aqsa hospitals, the MSF field hospital, and MSF’s Attar clinic.

    “We received many bodies and body parts, most of them children and women,” said Dr. Mohammed Qishta of Nasser Hospital. “The bodies were everywhere in the emergency room, with complete confusion.”

    Claire Magone, general director of MSF France, gave the following statement today:

    “We are horrified by the attacks launched by Israel today on the people of Gaza, shattering the nearly two-month-old ceasefire. Out of the hundreds killed, according to the Ministry of Health, MSF received 75 dead on arrival and scores of wounded in just three of the facilities we support.

    “Our staff were completely taken by surprise and found themselves once again having to deal with influxes of mass casualties, many of whom were children.

    Palestinians in Gaza will simply not be able to withstand this, neither physically nor mentally. Their hopes of recovering at least part of their previous lives are being shattered.

    Claire Magone, general director of MSF France

    “In line with the tactics that the Israeli authorities have applied since October 2023, they have once again chosen to collectively punish the people of Gaza—with the explicit approval of their closest ally, the United States—striking with an intensity not seen since the early stages of the war. For over 15 months before the ceasefire, people in Gaza were indiscriminately killed, mutilated, wounded, and displaced.

    “Israeli forces undertaking these latest ruthless attacks and evacuation orders make us fear that a new phase of military operations in Gaza is about to begin. Palestinians in Gaza will simply not be able to withstand this, neither physically nor mentally. Their hopes of recovering at least part of their previous lives are being shattered.

    Voice notes from Gaza: “We received many bodies and body parts”

    Read more

    “Since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, people have been struggling to restore the basics of their day-to-day lives after a drawn out, devastating military campaign, which has annihilated the very fabric of society in Gaza. Israel has once again cut access to humanitarian aid and basic goods.

    “MSF calls for the ceasefire to be immediately restored and for Israel to not restart its campaign of destruction and the nightmarish, massive bombing on the people of Gaza. MSF also calls for the blockade to be lifted, and for people to regain unrestricted access to basic supplies and aid. Injured people and patients requiring urgent medical care should be allowed to seek care outside of Gaza, provided their right to a safe and dignified return is granted.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: “A watch-and-learn moment”: Marshall Islands ratifies historic UN ocean treaty

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    SYDNEY/MAJURO, Friday 14 March 2025 — The Republic of Marshall Islands has become one of the first Pacific nations to ratify the historic Global Ocean Treaty, sending a powerful message to other world leaders: no more harm to the oceans.

    It comes as Greenpeace’s flagship vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in Majuro to begin its six-week mission to elevate calls for nuclear and climate justice alongside the Marshallese community; and support independent scientific research into the impacts of decades-long nuclear weapons testing by the US government, including the impacts on the ocean – a main source of food, culture and livelihood for the Marshallese people.

    On the ratification of the treaty, Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: 

    “We congratulate the Government of the Marshall Islands for its commitment to protecting the global oceans by inking the Global Ocean Treaty into law,” he said.

    “The Marshall Islands continues to show its strength as a fearless and powerful custodian of its waters and lands. The ratifying of the treaty is a loud, clear message to the world that the Pacific Ocean and the world’s seas must be safeguarded. To the Global North, this must be a watch-and-learn moment.”

    The Marshall Islands is the second Pacific nation to ratify the treaty. It follows Palau as the first country in the world to ratify last year, showcasing strong ocean protection leadership from the Pacific region.

    “The global ocean connects us all. From the Marshall Islands to Tuvalu, Australia, Hawaii and beyond, we are all connected by these life-sustaining waters. It’s time for governments to follow the leaders and protect our blue planet for the good of our collective future,” Gounden added.

    The ratification comes after Marshall Island announced its first protected ocean sanctuary in January, which will protect a mammoth swathe of water in the country’s north.

    The historic Global Ocean Treaty is the most significant multilateral environmental deal since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Adopted in June 2023 and currently signed by 112 countries, it will only enter into force once it is ratified by at least 60. Including the Marshall Islands, 20 countries have ratified the treaty. Australia has signed, but is yet to ratify

    Greenpeace is urging governments worldwide to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty quickly to achieve the 30×30 target and start developing proposals for marine protected areas in the high seas.

    —ENDS—

    Notes

    Photos of the Rainbow Warrior arriving in Majuro can be found here

    Archival footage and images from the US nuclear weapons testing collected here 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israel/OPT: Israeli air strikes kill over 400 Palestinians across Gaza in unilateral resumption of mass attacks

    Source: Amnesty International –

    ‘The world cannot stand by and allow Israel to continue inflicting staggering levels of death and suffering on Palestinians in Gaza’ – Agnes Callamard

    Responding to a series of Israeli strikes across the occupied Gaza Strip overnight which killed at least 414 Palestinians, including 174 children, and hospitalised over 550 more, signalling a unilateral end to the truce with Hamas, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

     

    “Today is a desperately dark day for humanity. Israel brazenly resumed its devastating bombing campaign in Gaza killing at least 414 people in their sleep, including at least 100 children, and again wiping out entire families in a matter of hours. Palestinians in Gaza – who have barely had a chance to start piecing together their lives and continue to grapple with the trauma of Israel’s past attacks – have woken up once more to the hellish nightmare of intense bombardment.

     

    “Israel’s genocide and its unlawful air strikes have already caused unprecedented humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Today, we are back to square one. Since 2 March, Israel has re-imposed a total siege on Gaza blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid, medicine, and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, in flagrant violation of international law. Israel has also cut off electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant. And today the Israeli military has once again started issuing mass ‘evacuation’ orders displacing Palestinians.

     

    “Amnesty International’s researchers spoke to medical staff working at three hospitals in Gaza City and North Gaza governorate who described scenes of unspeakable horror beginning in the early hours of the morning. Al-Shifa, once the largest medical complex in Gaza, now largely destroyed by past Israeli military raids, had only three beds to receive the wounded.

     

    “Al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital in Gaza City – the only hospital with a functioning intensive care unit – was forced to treat some of the 80 wounded it received in the corridors and in the hospital’s yard. The Indonesian hospital is the only hospital in North Gaza Governorate that is barely functioning. It is still in the process of being rebuilt, following Israel’s previous military campaign. 

     

    “The near-total decimation of the healthcare system in Gaza, particularly in the north, and the desperate shortages in medical equipment and supplies, exacerbated by Israel’s unlawful siege, effectively means a death sentence for many of those with serious injuries and illnesses, including those that in normal conditions would be easily curable. All the while, Israeli authorities continue to impose extremely tight restrictions on medical evacuations outside Gaza. 

     

    “The resumption of Israel’s attacks also puts the lives of 24 remaining Israeli hostages believed to be alive at risk. This is also a cruel blow for hostages and Palestinian detainees as well as for their families. We remind all parties that civilian hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be released.

     

    “The world cannot stand by and allow Israel to continue inflicting staggering levels of death and suffering on Palestinians in Gaza. We urge all states to uphold their obligations to prevent and punish genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, by pressing Israel to end its attacks and to facilitate the unconditional and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.

     

    “States must come together and demand an immediate resumption of an enduring ceasefire, an end to Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the dismantling of its system of apartheid and unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Georgia: Authorities freeze bank accounts of organisations supporting activists to ‘kill peaceful protest’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the freezing of bank accounts belonging to five Georgian NGOs that provide financial and legal assistance to detained protesters, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said: 

    “The Georgian authorities’ decision to freeze the accounts of civil society organisations who have been providing crucial financial support to arbitrarily detained protesters, helping them with payments of fines and legal representation, is yet another blatant attack by the Georgian authorities on human rights.  

    “This measure seeks to further undermine the rights to peaceful assembly and association and violates Georgia’s international human rights obligations. 

    “The Georgian authorities must immediately end their relentless crackdown against civil society and peaceful protest. The arbitrary asset freezes must be lifted without delay.” 

    A chilling effect 

    On 17 March, three Georgian NGOs – Nanuka’s Fund, managed by journalist Nanuka Zhorzholiani, Prosperity Georgia, run by former prime minister and businessman Nika Gilauri, and the NGO Human Rights House Tbilisi – announced that they had been informed by their banks that the Tbilisi City Court had issued an urgent injunction to freeze their accounts. Two other NGOs, Fund for Each Other 24/7 and Shame Movement, have also had their assets frozen. 

    The frozen funds have been providing financial assistance to individuals fined for participating in the ongoing anti-government protests or dismissed from their jobs due to their civic activism. Local activists have warned that this latest assault could effectively “kill the entire protest movement.” 

    Nanuka Zhorzholiani of Nanuka’s Fund was the first to report the assets freeze, with the other four NGOs later confirming similar measures being taken against them. None were notified of any concerns of financial irregularities prior to the freezing. The Prosecutor’s Office later issued a statement saying the funds had been seized as part of an investigation into “sabotage’’. The prosecution statement claimed the funds bore responsibility for alleged violence and property damage linked to ongoing protests, though no official evidence or further details have been provided. 

    The Government of the ruling Georgian Dream party has recently intensified its crackdown on civil society and all dissent by weaponising the country’s criminal justice system and introducing a series of unduly restrictive legislative amendments targeting free expression and public assemblies. 

    Changes to the “Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” have drastically increased fines, extended so-called administrative detention for violations of the law from 15 to 60 days, and banned actions like covering one’s face. 

    Additional legislative measures have targeted civil society organisations and independent media, including restrictions on foreign funding, expanded state control over grants, and introduced new offences such as insult of officials. 

    These amendments, coupled with the expansion of law enforcement agencies’ powers, have severely undermined the right to peaceful assembly, and placed a huge financial and legal burden on protesters. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israeli air strikes kill over 400 Palestinians across Gaza following unilateral resumption of mass attacks  

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to a series of Israeli strikes across the occupied Gaza Strip overnight which killed at least 414 Palestinians, including 174 children, and hospitalized over 550 more, signalling a unilateral end to the truce with Hamas, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

    “Today is a desperately dark day for humanity. Israel brazenly resumed its devastating bombing campaign in Gaza killing at least 414 people in their sleep, including at least 100 children, and again wiping out entire families in a matter of hours. Palestinians in Gaza – who have barely had a chance to start piecing together their lives and continue to grapple with the trauma of Israel’s past attacks – have woken up once more to the hellish nightmare of intense bombardment.

    Palestinians in Gaza – who have barely had a chance to start piecing together their lives and continue to grapple with the trauma of Israel’s past attacks – have woken up once more to the hellish nightmare of intense bombardment.

    Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard

    “Israel’s genocide and its unlawful air strikes have already caused unprecedented humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Today, we are back to square one. Since 2 March, Israel has re-imposed a total siege on Gaza blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid, medicine, and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, in flagrant violation of international law. Israel has also cut off electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant. And today the Israeli military has once again started issuing mass ‘evacuation’ orders displacing Palestinians.

    “Amnesty International’s researchers spoke to medical staff working at three hospitals in Gaza City and North Gaza governorate who described scenes of unspeakable horror beginning in the early hours of the morning. Al-Shifa, once the largest medical complex in Gaza, now largely destroyed by past Israeli military raids, had only three beds to receive the wounded.

    “Al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital in Gaza City – the only hospital with a functioning intensive care unit – was forced to treat some of the 80 wounded it received in the corridors and in the hospital’s yard. The Indonesian hospital is the only hospital in north Gaza Governorate that is barely functioning. It is still in the process of being rebuilt, following Israel’s previous military campaign.  

    “The near-total decimation of the healthcare system in Gaza, particularly in the north, and the desperate shortages in medical equipment and supplies, exacerbated by Israel’s unlawful siege, effectively means a death sentence for many of those with serious injuries and illnesses, including those that in normal conditions would be easily curable. All the while, Israeli authorities continue to impose extremely tight restrictions on medical evacuations outside Gaza.  

    “The resumption of Israel’s attacks also puts the lives of 24 remaining Israeli hostages believed to be alive at risk. This is also a cruel blow for hostages and Palestinian detainees as well as for their families. We remind all parties that civilian hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be released.

    “The world cannot stand by and allow Israel to continue inflicting staggering levels of death and suffering on Palestinians in Gaza. We urge all states to uphold their obligations to prevent and punish genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, by pressing Israel to end its attacks and to facilitate the unconditional and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid. “States must come together and demand an immediate resumption of an enduring ceasefire, an end to Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the dismantling of its system of apartheid and unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: China: Authorities must ensure labour activist’s Wang Jianbing’s full freedom after unjust imprisonment

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to today’s release of Chinese labour activist Wang Jianbing after he served a three-and-a-half-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power”, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

    “Wang Jianbing, alongside his co-defendant, the #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin, was convicted in an unfair trial following extended pre-trial detention. His release today should mark the end of his unjust treatment and deprivation of liberty.

    “However, we remain concerned that, despite having completed his prison sentence, Wang may face continued unlawful restrictions on his freedoms and the risk of re-detention. Upon his release from jail this morning, Wang was not permitted to return to his residence in Guangzhou, but was escorted by police more than 2000km to his parents’ home in remote northwestern Gansu province. 

    “Amnesty has for years documented instances of Chinese authorities targeting activists with surveillance and harassment even after they have been convicted in courts and served out their sentences. For example, in the months following her release from prison in May 2024, citizen journalist Zhang Zhan faced harassment from local police, and was ultimately re-detained on trumped up charges.

    “The Chinese authorities must ensure all arbitrary restrictions on Wang Jianbing are immediately lifted and guarantee the full enjoyment of his human rights, including to freedom of expression and association.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: DRC: M23’s rampant human rights abuses demand international action

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Hundreds of dead bodies collected in under a month

    Alarming increase in rapes and other sexual violence in North and South Kivu

    On one night, over 130 people were abducted from Goma hospitals by M23 fighters

    ‘We were whipped. We were made to lie down and beaten on our buttocks and hands’ -Civilian account of hospital abduction

    ‘The world must not turn a blind eye to the crimes taking place in eastern DRC’ – Tigere Chagutah

    Since capturing the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in January, the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group has raided hospitals, abducted patients, including civilians and hospitalised Congolese soldiers, and subjected them to acts of torture, Amnesty International said today.

    Amnesty interviewed 25 survivors, eyewitnesses, civil society activists, human rights defenders, journalists inside the DRC and in exile. They also documented cases of gang rape committed by M23, as well as acts of ill-treatment against human rights defenders after the group seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on 27 January, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, on 16 February.

    Amnesty is calling on the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, the European Union and other international actors to increase pressure on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and treat detainees humanely, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

    Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said:

    “Since taking control of Goma, the M23 has instilled a climate of fear and vicious reprisals among the local population. The alarming scale and frequency of abuses in eastern Congo should shock the world. The violence has been enabled by decades of impunity for serious abuses and human rights violations.

    “M23 and the Congolese army, which are bound to international humanitarian law, must be held to account for the rapes. The world must not turn a blind eye to the crimes taking place in eastern DRC.”

    Hospital abductions

    On the night of 28 February and the morning of 3 March, M23 armed fighters forcibly entered Heal Africa and CBCA Ndosho hospitals in Goma where they abducted more than 130 people. These included members of the Congolese army, some of whom had been wounded, and caregivers. They were taken to a stadium in the city where some were tortured. M23 fighters forced some abductees to lie on the ground, whipped them, and pressured them to join M23. Some civilians were released, but many individuals remain missing.

    “(At the stadium), M23 asked civilians to stay together,” said a person who was abducted in the hospital raids. “We were whipped. We were made to lie down and beaten on our buttocks and hands.” They said: ‘If you’re a soldier, admit it.’”

    Sultani Makenga, the military leader of M23, said in a recent interview that members of the Congolese army at the hospitals pretended to be patients or caregivers. He said M23 found 14 weapons in the hospitals and that hospital staff had alerted them to the situation. He also said M23 detained those who did not belong in hospital.

    Under international humanitarian law, all persons who are wounded and sick must be respected and protected. Civilians must not be targeted. Torture, inhumane treatment and targeting civilians or wounded members of the military, may constitute war crimes.

    Hundreds of dead bodies found in South Kivu

    Amnesty received eyewitness accounts and numerous photos of dead bodies frequently found in neighbourhoods in Bukavu, a city of more than one million residents. From 17 February to 13 March 2025, the Congolese Red Cross collected 43 dead bodies in Bukavu, including 29 civilians. Across South Kivu province, during the same period, the Congolese Red Cross collected 406 bodies, including 110 civilians.

    Human rights defenders, journalists and civil society workers targeted

    Amnesty has documented cases of human rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists who have been detained by M23 in recent weeks. They were held in both makeshift and official detention centres, some were tortured and threatened. Dozens of activists have gone into hiding or fled Congo in search of safety.

    Outside the country, threats continue. A human rights defender, who has documented violations committed by M23 since 2023, said that he had received a text message that said: “If we find you, you’re going to be in trouble. Stay where you are.”

    Another defender described how M23 arbitrarily arrested and whipped him after he was recognised by an M23 official. He was briefly detained for speaking out against violations committed by M23 before Goma was taken over.

    People deprived of their liberty, including civilians and members of the military or the M23, are protected under international humanitarian law. M23 must treat humanely all people who it detains. Acts of torture or inhumane treatment may constitute war crimes.

    Alarming levels of sexual violence

    Humanitarian organisations have reported an alarming increase in rapes and other sexual violence cases in North and South Kivu. Survivors told Amnesty how they were raped by M23 fighters and threatened with death.

    In one case, a woman said M23 fighters suspected she was a spy. She said five M23 fighters, wearing military uniforms and armed with weapons, gang-raped her. In another case, two men in Congolese military uniforms raped a pregnant woman and abducted her husband.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Hungary: Pride ban is full-frontal attack on LGBTI people and must not be signed into law 

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the passing of a bill that will ban Pride marches in Hungary and allow authorities to impose fines on organizers and participants as well as use facial recognition software to identify attendees, Dávid Vig, Director of Amnesty International Hungary, said: 

    “This law is a full-frontal attack on the LGBTI community and a blatant violation of Hungary’s obligations to prohibit discrimination and guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.  

    “On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride in June, this harmful ban turns the clock back three decades, further undermining the hard-won rights of LGBTI people in Hungary. It is unfortunately just the latest in a line of discriminatory measures taken by the authorities that targets and stigmatizes LGBTI individuals and groups. 

    On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride, this harmful ban turns the clock back three decades

    “The spurious justification for the passing of this law – that events and assemblies would be ‘harmful to children’ – is based on harmful stereotypes and deeply entrenched discrimination, homophobia and transphobia. The Hungarian president must not sign this bill into law and authorities must instead ensure that LGBTI people are able to freely express their identities as well as organize and participate in public events.” 

    Background 

    The bill modifies the Act on the Right of Assembly making it a crime to hold and an offence to attend events that violate Hungary’s Propaganda Law legislation, which prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to under-18s. 

    A fine of up to 200,000 HUF (500 EUR) may be applied for people who attend the pride if banned. 

    The new law was submitted in the Hungarian Parliament on 17 March and rushed through in an expedited procedure today, without consultation. The law is due to enter into force on 15 April. 

    The right to freedom of peaceful assembly has increasingly come under attack across Europe, with state authorities stigmatizing, impeding, deterring, punishing and cracking down on people organizing and participating in peaceful protests. In a recent report, Amnesty International documented restrictions to the right to protest in 21 countries, including Hungary. Hungary is among the countries flouting its international and regional human rights obligations to respect, protect and facilitate peaceful assemblies, to remove obstacles and to avoid unwarranted interferences with the right to exercise the right of peaceful assembly. See https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/8199/2024/en/

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Georgia: Authorities freeze accounts of organizations supporting protesters, to “kill the peaceful protests”

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the freezing of bank accounts belonging to five Georgian NGOs that provide financial and legal assistance to detained protesters, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said:

    “The Georgian authorities’ decision to freeze the accounts of civil society organizations who have been providing crucial financial support to arbitrarily detained protesters, helping them with payments of fines and legal representation, is yet another blatant attack by the Georgian authorities on human rights. This measure seeks to further undermine the rights to peaceful assembly and association and violates Georgia’s international human rights obligations.”

    “The Georgian authorities must immediately end their relentless crackdown against civil society and peaceful protest. The arbitrary asset freezes must be lifted without delay.”

    The Georgian authorities’ decision to freeze the accounts of civil society organizations who have been providing crucial financial support to arbitrarily detained protesters, helping them with payments of fines and legal representation, is yet another blatant attack by the Georgian authorities on human rights

    Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director

    Background

    On 17 March, three Georgian NGOs – Nanuka’s Fund, managed by journalist Nanuka Zhorzholiani, Prosperity Georgia, run by former prime minister and businessman Nika Gilauri, and the NGO Human Rights House Tbilisi – announced that they had been informed by their banks that the Tbilisi City Court had issued an urgent injunction to freeze their accounts. Two other NGOs, Fund for Each Other 24/7 and Shame Movement, have also had their assets frozen.

    The frozen funds have been providing financial assistance to individuals fined for participating in the ongoing anti-government protests or dismissed from their jobs due to their civic activism. Local activists have warned that this latest assault could effectively “kill the entire protest movement.”

    Nanuka Zhorzholiani of Nanuka’s Fund was the first to report the assets freeze, with the other four NGOs later confirming similar measures being taken against them. None were notified of any concerns of financial irregularities prior to the freezing. The Prosecutor’s Office later issued a statement saying the funds had been seized as part of an investigation into “sabotage’’. The prosecution statement claimed the funds bore responsibility for alleged violence and property damage linked to ongoing protests, though no official evidence or further details have been provided.

    The government of the ruling Georgian Dream party has recently intensified its crackdown on civil society and all dissent by weaponizing the country’s criminal justice system and introducing a series of unduly restrictive legislative amendments targeting free expression and public assemblies.

    Changes to the “Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” have drastically increased fines, extended so-called administrative detention for violations of the law from 15 to 60 days, and banned actions like covering one’s face.

    Additional legislative measures have targeted civil society organizations and independent media, including restrictions on foreign funding, expanded state control over grants, and introduced new offences such as insult of officials.

    These amendments, coupled with the expansion of law enforcement agencies’ powers, have severely undermined the right to peaceful assembly, and placed a huge financial and legal burden on protesters.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: DRC: M23’s rampant human rights abuses demand concerted international action

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Since capturing the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in January, the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group has raided hospitals, abducted patients, including civilians and hospitalized Congolese soldiers, from their beds and subjected them to acts of torture, Amnesty International said today.

    The organization also documented cases of gang rape committed by M23, as well as acts of ill-treatment against human rights defenders after the group seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on 27 January, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, on 16 February. Amnesty International is calling on the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, the European Union and other international actors to increase pressure on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and treat detainees humanely, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

    “Since taking control of Goma, the M23 has instilled a climate of fear and vicious reprisals among the local population. The alarming scale and frequency of abuses in eastern Congo should shock the world. The violence has been enabled by decades of impunity for serious abuses and human rights violations,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

    Since taking control of Goma, the M23 has instilled a climate of fear and vicious reprisals among the local population. The alarming scale and frequency of abuses in eastern Congo should shock the world

    Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

    Amnesty International interviewed 25 survivors, eyewitnesses, civil society activists, human rights defenders, journalists inside the DRC and in exile.

    Abductions at hospitals

    On the night of 28 February and the morning of 3 March, M23 armed fighters forcibly entered Heal Africa and CBCA Ndosho hospitals in Goma where they abducted more than 130 people. These included members of the Congolese army, some of whom had been wounded, and caregivers. They were taken to a stadium in the city where some were tortured. M23 fighters forced some abductees to lie on the ground, whipped them, and pressured them to join M23. Some civilians were released, but many individuals remain missing.

    “(At the stadium), M23 asked civilians to stay together,” said a person who was abducted in the hospital raids. “We were whipped. We were made to lie down and beaten on our buttocks and hands. They said: ‘If you’re a soldier, admit it.’”

    Sultani Makenga, the military leader of M23, said in a recent interview that members of the Congolese army at the hospitals pretended to be patients or caregivers. He said M23 found 14 weapons in the hospitals and that hospital staff had alerted them to the situation. He also said M23 detained those who did not belong in hospital.

    Under international humanitarian law, all persons who are wounded and sick must be respected and protected. Civilians must not be targeted. Torture, inhumane treatment and the taking of hostages by M23, if targeted against civilians or wounded members of the military, may constitute war crimes.

    “All patients and caregivers, including soldiers in need of medical care, should be immediately released and returned to hospitals so they can continue their treatment,” said Tigere Chagutah.

    Hundreds of dead bodies found in South Kivu

    Amnesty International received eyewitness accounts and numerous photos of dead bodies frequently found in neighborhoods in Bukavu, a city of more than one million residents. From 17 February to 13 March 2025, the Congolese Red Cross collected 43 dead bodies in Bukavu, including 29 civilians. Across South Kivu province, during the same period, the Congolese Red Cross collected 406 bodies, including 110 civilians.

    Human rights defenders, journalists and civil society workers targeted

    Amnesty International has documented cases of human rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists who have been detained by M23 in recent weeks. They were held in both makeshift and official detention centres, some were tortured and threatened. Dozens of activists have gone into hiding or fled Congo in search of safety.

    But even outside the country, threats continue. A human rights defender, who has documented violations committed by M23 since 2023, said that he had received a text message that said: “If we find you, you’re going to be in trouble. Stay where you are.”

    Another defender described how M23 arbitrarily arrested and whipped him after he was recognized by an M23 official. He was briefly detained for speaking out against violations committed by M23 before Goma was taken over.

    People deprived of their liberty, including civilians and members of the military or the M23, are protected under international humanitarian law. M23 must treat humanely all people who it detains. Acts of torture or inhumane treatment may constitute war crimes.

    Alarming levels of sexual violence

    Humanitarian organizations have reported an alarming increase in rapes and other sexual violence cases in North and South Kivu. Survivors told Amnesty International how they were raped by M23 fighters and threatened with death.

    M23 and the Congolese army, which are bound to international humanitarian law, must be held to account for the rapes.  

    Tigere Chagutah

    In one case, a woman said M23 fighters suspected she was a spy. She said five M23 fighters, wearing military uniforms and armed with weapons, gang-raped her. In another case, two men in Congolese military uniforms raped a pregnant woman and abducted her husband.

    “M23 and the Congolese army, which are bound to international humanitarian law, must be held to account for the rapes. The world must not ignore the crimes taking place in eastern DRC,” said Tigere Chagutah.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: NIGER: “THREATENED AND BROUGHT TO HEEL”

    Source: Amnesty International –

    There was nothing to eat at night. In this cell, the smell of my urine began to bother me [as there were no washrooms and I was forced to urinate in a bucket], as well as the smell of paint. All the time they didn’t let me wash or change my clothes […]Hadiza*, an activist who was arbitrarily detained.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Niger: Authorities failing to uphold their commitment to respect human rights since military coup

    Source: Amnesty International –

    The Nigerien military-led authorities have failed to uphold their commitment to respect human rights and protect civil liberties, said Amnesty International in a new report documenting the clampdown on former regime officials and critical voices since the July 2023 coup.

    The report, “Niger: Threatened and Brought to Heel: Human Rights and Civic Space under pressure since the 26 July Coup”, sheds light on the deterioration of civic space and violations of civil and political rights since the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum.

    Amnesty International documented human rights violations including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, abuses of detainees’ rights and violations of the right to a fair trial and of press freedom. The victims of arbitrary detention include former President Mohamed Bazoum, his wife, seven cabinet members of the fallen regime, journalists and human rights defenders.

    The Nigerien authorities made a commitment to respect the rule of law and human rights.
    Our report shows that they have clearly failed.

    Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa

    “Upon taking power, the new authorities justified their coup on a continued worsening of the security situation and poor economic and social governance. They made a commitment to respect the rule of law and human rights. Our report shows that they have clearly failed, with a sharp escalation of human rights violations since the coup. They must now keep their commitment”, said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa.  

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Peru: Amendment of the APCI law paves the way for impunity

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Lima, 13 March 2025

    Amnesty International expresses its objection and concern for the recent approval of the ruling amending Law 27692, a law that established the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), as it threatens Peru’s civic space and unduly restricts the rights of association, freedom of expression and access to justice. 

    On the grounds of seeking to strengthen the work of the APCI, the law undermines civic space, which is essential for citizen engagement, accountability of authorities and justice, as it increases undue control over the work of civil society organizations and leaves the door open to arbitrary restrictions, discretionality and censorship. It is important to note that civil society organizations already have to provide accountability and are subject to regular monitoring and oversight procedures. Amnesty International recognizes the importance of these procedures but questions the discretionary nature that they could have under the provisions of the recently approved norm.  

    “Any work carried out by civil society organizations using international development funds will have to be approved in advance by the state, leaving decisions at the discretion of the authorities. This could even lead to organizations who are critical of the authorities being removed from the APCI register,” said Marina Navarro, Executive Director of Amnesty International Peru.  

    Any work carried out by civil society organizations using international development funds will have to be approved in advance by the state, leaving decisions at the discretion of the authorities. This could even lead to organizations who are critical of the authorities being removed from the APCI register

    -Marina Navarro, Executive Director of Amnesty International Peru

    Among other issues, this law could threaten access to justice. By classifying as a “very serious” offence the use of development funds to “advise, support or finance, in any form or modality, administrative, judicial or other actions in national or international instances against the Peruvian state”, the right of Peruvians and the entire population to access justice is jeopardized.  

    “This law hinders access to justice for victims of various human rights violations in Peru – such as state repression, environmental pollution or violence against women – who in the past have been able to access justice with the support of civil society organizations. The law fuels impunity for authorities who violate human rights”, stated Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.    

    This law hinders access to justice for victims of various human rights violations in Peru – such as state repression, environmental pollution or violence against women – who in the past have been able to access justice with the support of civil society organizations. The law fuels impunity for authorities who violate human rights

    -Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International    

    The organization warns that this norm could have a negative impact on the accountability and transparency of the state and pave the way for impunity. 

    We therefore urge the Executive not to approve and observe this norm, on the grounds that it violates human rights. We also urge them to respect the international human rights treaties to which Peru is a party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights, which guarantee the right to freedom of association and expression, as well as the right to participate in public affairs. 

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: The ceasefire in Gaza Palestine must be immediately restored

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    In the early hours of 18 March, Israeli forces launched strikes right across the Gaza Strip, Palestine, shattering the ceasefire which had been in place since mid-January 2025. In Gaza, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have so far received hundreds of wounded patients, and many more who arrived at facilities dead on arrival.

    MSF is urging Israel not to restart hostilities and to immediately restore the ceasefire and lift a two-week long blockade on supplies. Responding to the latest developments, Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France, issued the following comments:

    “We are horrified by the attacks launched by Israel today on the people of Gaza, shattering the nearly two-month-old ceasefire. Out of the hundreds killed, according to the Ministry of Health, MSF received 75 dead on arrival and scores of wounded in just three of the facilities we support.

    Our staff were completely taken by surprise and found themselves once again having to deal with influxes of mass casualties, many of whom were children.

    In line with the tactics that the Israeli authorities have applied since October 2023, they have once again chosen to collectively punish the people of Gaza – with the explicit approval of their closest ally, the United States – striking with an intensity not seen since the early stages of the war. For over 15 months, before the ceasefire, people in Gaza were indiscriminately killed, mutilated, wounded, and displaced.

    Israeli forces undertaking these latest ruthless attacks and evacuation orders make us fear that a new phase of military operations in Gaza is about to begin. Palestinians in Gaza will simply not be able to withstand this, neither physically nor mentally. Their hopes of recovering at least part of their previous lives are being shattered. 

    Since the ceasefire came into effect on 19 January, people have been struggling to restore the basics of their day to day lives after a drawn out, devastating military campaign, which has annihilated the very fabric of society in Gaza. Israel has once again cut access to humanitarian aid and basic goods.

    MSF calls for the ceasefire to be immediately restored and for Israel to not restart its campaign of destruction and the nightmarish, massive bombing on the people of Gaza. MSF also calls for the blockade to be lifted, and for people to regain unrestricted access to basic supplies and aid. Injured people and patients requiring urgent medical care should be allowed to seek care outside of Gaza, provided their right to a safe and dignified return is granted.”

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Greenpeace USA demands Congress defend the Constitution

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Greenpeace US Democracy Director Folabi Olagbaj addresses the crowd at at DC rally . © Tim Aubry / Greenpeace

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2025) –  In response to the unlawful detainment of student activist and U.S. legal permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, Greenpeace USA has signed on to a letter alongside a coalition of organizations urging Congress to uphold their oath to defend the Constitution. We believe Congress must act now to protect the rights of those they claim to represent, and demand the immediate release of Mr. Khalil from ICE custody. Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaign Director, Dr. Folabi Olagbaju said:

    “In my home country of Nigeria, I have seen climate activists killed for daring to fight for a clean and just future. Like Mr. Khalil, I was also a student activist – one who was forced to watch my fellow classmates be killed for peacefully and nonviolently protesting the military dictatorship. When I came to the United States, I believed its foundation in democracy meant that people could speak out without fear of persecution, detainment, or death. That is no longer the case.

    “The detention of Mahmoud Khalil sends a chilling message that dissent is no longer just being silenced, it is being punished. This is happening as the defenders of our freedom remain silent. As we’ve said before, universities have a responsibility of protection to uphold in regard to their students. Hiding behind statements about an obligation ‘to comply with the law’ holds no merit when those laws are being weaponized to violate constitutional and human rights. It is an egregious dereliction of duty to stand by as this administration attempts to illegally detain and deport a legal permanent resident of the United States.”Greenpeace USA encourages individuals to sign this petition to demand Mr. Khalil’s release and the dismissal of the threats against his legal status.

    Contact: Madison Carter, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, [email protected]

    Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Taxing Europe’s Super-Rich: The Gamechanger

    Source: Oxfam –

    Ahead of tomorrow’s EU Tax Symposium, Gabriel Zucman, lead economist at the EU Tax Observatory, has set out a proposal to tax the super-rich in the EU.  

    In response, Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU tax expert, said:  

    “Zucman’s study exposes the truth: Europe has money to fight the climate crisis, strengthen social security nets and maintain its role as a global leader in aid – it just needs the political will to tax its wealthiest citizens. 

    “At next week’s EU budget talks, one thing must be crystal clear: taxing Europe’s super-rich is the gamechanger to end extreme inequality in Europe and finance the EU’s budget.” 

    Notes to editors  

    The EU Tax Observatory’s new study is available here. It shows that a minimum tax of 2% and 3% on billionaires and centimillionaires in 23 EU countries could bring in respectively €67 billion and €121 billion for European governments.  

    Oxfam recently published report “Takers not Makers” highlights: 

    • Billionaire wealth in the EU surges by nearly €400 million per day in 2024, with a new billionaire nearly every week
    • 74% of billionaire wealth in the EU is derived from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections.
    • The richest 1% in 12 EU countries extracted €84.4 billion from the Global South in 2023. 
       

    Next week, EU leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss the next EU budget and new own resources. Oxfam and allies are calling for wealth taxes to finance the EU budget.

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Brussels-Syria Conference: International Community Should Walk the Talk

    Source: Oxfam –

    Reacting to donors’ pledges made at the Brussels conference on Syria today, Oxfam in Syria Country Director, Moutaz Adham, said:      

    “The pledges are appreciated but now donors must act on them, especially at this critical moment. 

    “The country has seen seismic changes and there is growing hope for a new Syria. Yet, the reality remains that most people face the choice between food, education or healthcare. Poverty coupled with persistent violence is shattering hope for recovery and peace. This is compounded by the uncertainty about Syria’s future and what awaits. 

    “The growing global trend of aid cuts is alarming. Donors must ensure there is enough aid so Syrians can rebuild their lives – both now and in the long-term. Syrians themselves must be at the forefront of all discussions on their country’s future. The peace process must be led by Syrians and inclusive of all groups.” 

    “Persisting violence, poverty and dwindling resilience are erasing hope for recovery, stability, and peace. Global leaders must stand firmly behind the Syrian people, now and in the future.  

    Spokespersons are available for interview. 

    Oxfam joined 150+ NGOS in signing onto a statement calling for long-term support to Syrians ahead of the Brussels IX conference.  

    Since 2013, Oxfam has been working in Syria and with Syrians in neighbouring countries and the communities hosting them. Together with partners, we make sure people have clean water, distribute cash so people can put food on the table and cover their essential needs, support women to start their businesses, support farmers to start farming again by distributing seeds and doing trainings, and bakers to start baking again by fixing damaged bakeries. 

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Trapped, Pushed Back and Tortured: Poland’s Crackdown on Refugees at Europe’s Border

    Source: Oxfam –

    • New report from Oxfam and its Polish partner, Egala, details violence and torture facing people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border.
    • The report exposes Poland’s illegal pushback policy, bankrolled by the EU.
    • Oxfam and Egala is urging the EU to investigate human rights abuses and pushbacks at this European border and invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.   

    Today, Egala and Oxfam published a new report, “Brutal Barriers”, detailing the frightening and sometimes deadly journey of people trying to reach safety in Europe. Survivors’ testimonies reveal the violence inflicted by both Polish and Belarusian authorities on people seeking asylum as well as the treacherous conditions people face in crossing the swamplands of the primeval Białowieża forest. 

    The report documents abuses by the Polish authorities including shooting people with rubber bullets, setting dogs on them and giving them water laced with pepper spray. There are accounts of people being detained without food or water, having their clothes confiscated and being forced to strip naked.    

    Polish authorities have also forcibly pushed people back, including those in urgent need of medical care. This has included reported pushbacks of people who are unconscious or immobile, and even a case of a pregnant woman who was pushed back and subsequently suffered a miscarriage. Some have even reportedly been forcibly returned while receiving medical care in hospitals.  

    “Pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border are generalized and systemic. We continuously come across people in the forest who have been pushed back to Belarus by Polish authorities”, said Aleksandra Gulińska, Egala Advocacy Lead.    

    Poland and Belarus have created a ‘death zone’ at Europe’s border. People are trapped in the forest for weeks or months, without food or water, exposed to extreme weather, with temperatures plummeting to minus twenty degrees in winter. People are unable to escape the forest as they are blocked on both sides by either the Polish or Belarusian authorities.  

    Accounts from those forcibly pushed back to Belarus paint a bleak picture of what awaits them on the Belarusian side of the border. Survivors describe the conditions as ‘hell’ with reports of violence, including sexual violence, robberies, and torture – from electrocution to waterboarding to cutting off of body parts.  

    “This is the ‘hell’ Poland is sending people back to, and it is sponsored by the EU,” said Sarah Redd, Oxfam Ukraine Advocacy Lead. 

    Local organizations and volunteers face increasing harassment and criminalization. Last year, Poland declared parts of the border an exclusion zone, making it harder for organizations like Egala to provide life-saving assistance. Aid workers are forced to choose between helping people in need and facing the criminalization or harassment of their staff and volunteers. 

    “We are among the very few who witness firsthand the hellish experience of people trying to seek safety. It’s terrifying to think about what would happen if no-one was there to help them”, said Gulińska. 

    The report also documents instances where the Polish authorities forced people to sign papers renouncing their intention to seek asylum, using intimidation and physical violence.  

    These reports of pushbacks are all part of Poland’s systemized pushback policy, with the latest move being a temporary block to people’s rights to claim asylum at its borders. With concerns over the escalation in Ukraine, European security sits at the top of the agenda. However, European leaders must ensure that these efforts do not include violations of fundamental human rights, as aid groups are witnessing at the Poland-Belarus border.  

    “Poland has abandoned its commitments to the rule of law and to protecting people fleeing war and persecution. It has instead replaced EU law with razor wire, torture and violence, creating an illegal pushback policy funded by the EU”, said Redd.  

    “The EU must stop bankrolling this pushback policy and shut down any future plans that gamble with people’s lives. The EU and European countries need to invest in an asylum system that actually works and allows people to rebuild their lives. This is not about politics – it’s about what is right”, said Redd.

    Egala is a grassroots organization providing humanitarian aid, medical support and legal assistance to people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border. Oxfam partnered with Egala in 2023 as part of its response to the humanitarian crisis at the Poland-Belarus border.  

    The report collects extensive existing evidence as well as testimonies from Egala volunteers and workers on the ground and the voices of refugees themselves in order to document the human consequences of restrictive, illegal and inhumane policies at this border. Below is a selection of testimonies – see the report for more: 

    “It’s June, the middle of summer, and I just met a man with first-degree hypothermia. He was emaciated and he hadn’t drunk anything”, Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.   

    “The second man had a leg injury and an initial degree of hypothermia. As his condition was not improving, the volunteer explained that they could try call an ambulance. About an hour after calling the official emergency number, the border guards arrived – without an ambulance. All three men were taken to the Border Guard post. At this point the Egala volunteers lost contact with them”, said Olga, Egala employee – name changed to protect identity.  

    “What would happen if we weren’t here? There would be a lot of dead bodies in the forest”, said Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.  

    Photos will be uploaded shortly here. There is a shorthand available – please reach out for more information.   

    In 2024, nearly 600 cases of violence by the Polish authorities were reported according to information provided by WeAreMonitoring.  

    The Polish government has taken several steps to create an illegal policy of pushbacks and violence including: 
     

    • September 2021: Poland created an exclusion zone at the border barring humanitarian workers and journalists. The zone was later reduced following legal action.  
    • June 2024: The Tusk government reintroduced the exclusion zone. The Polish authorities have yet to respond to requests from Egala to enter the zone to provide humanitarian assistance.  
    • July 2024: Poland enacted a law exempting Polish authorities from prosecution for improper use of weapons at the border.
    • February 2025: Poland suspended the right to asylum at the Poland-Belarus border – effectively legalizing pushbacks.  
       

    Oxfam and Egala are calling on the EU to: 
     

    • Redirect EU funding and support away from border walls and surveillance, and instead invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.
    • Publicly condemn the human rights abuses occurring at the border.
    • Investigate breaches of EU asylum law by Poland and, if justified, initiate infringement proceedings.
    • Ensure that Poland implements the EU Migration Pact – in particular, an independent monitoring of human rights violations, such as pushbacks.  
       

    Oxfam and Egala call on the Polish government to: 
     

    • End illegal pushbacks and process asylum cases in accordance with human rights standards and EU law.  
    • Repeal laws decriminalizing firearm use and suspending the right to asylum.
    • Allow safe access to humanitarian and human rights organizations at the border area. 
       

    In 2022, the EU allocated over 67 million euro to Poland under the Border Management and Visa Policy Instrument to cover ‘the additional needs for support related to the situation at the border with Belarus’. In 2024, the EU topped up this funding by 52 million euro to enhance border surveillance.  

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  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Defending Our Future: The Energy Transfer SLAPP Case and the Fight for Free Speech

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    I am scared. I am angry. And I am heartbroken.

    As a young climate advocate, I have always believed that speaking up can change the world. That when we raise our voices for our planet, people will listen. That when we fight for a future where clean air and water are not privileges but rights, justice will be on our side. But this lawsuit against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace entities in the USA by Energy Transfer feels like a punch to the gut—a brutal reminder that those who destroy our home will stop at nothing to silence those who protect it.

    This is not just a lawsuit. It is an attack on our future. A warning shot aimed at every single person who dares to challenge the greed that fuels the climate crisis. If they can go after Greenpeace with a $300 million lawsuit, what is stopping them from coming after me? Or you? Or the millions of young people who refuse to stand by as our future is stolen from us? 

    We are running out of time. The climate crisis is already here. It is in the super typhoons that rip through our homes, tearing apart walls and washing away entire neighborhoods. It is in the unbearable heat that suffocates our cities, turning streets into furnaces and claiming lives in deadly heat waves. It is in the rising seas swallowing entire communities, forcing families to abandon the lands their ancestors called home. It is in the devastating droughts that turn fertile lands into wastelands, leaving nothing but cracked earth and dying crops. It is in the raging wildfires that reduce forests to ash and choke the air with smoke.

    Yet instead of holding polluters accountable, they are trying to silence those who fight to protect what little we have left. What kind of world does that leave us with? One where speaking the truth is punished? Where corporations decide who gets to thrive and who gets left behind? Where the next generation inherits nothing but disasters, displacement, and destruction?

    I refuse to accept that. We refuse to accept that.

    This case is not just about Greenpeace. It is about every young person who dreams of a future worth living in. It is about our right to fight for that future without fear. It is about ensuring that the voices of the youth are not drowned out by the wealth and power of those destroying our planet.

    But let me be clear: we are not alone. We are millions, standing shoulder to shoulder, refusing to be silenced. They can try to intimidate us, but they cannot break us. And we will keep fighting—because we have no other choice. This is our home. This is our future. And we will defend it with everything we have.

    We stand with Greenpeace. We stand with every environmental defender. We stand for justice, for truth, and for a world where young people are not punished for caring about the only planet we have.

    To everyone reading this: Stand with us. Speak up. Take action—share this message, join the movement, and demand accountability. Our voices, our actions, and our solidarity are stronger than their fear tactics. The future belongs to those who refuse to be silenced. And we will not be silenced.

    The fight is far from over. Stand with us, raise your voice, and make it clear: those who seek to silence us will never succeed. We will speak. We will fight. And we will win—because justice demands it, and the planet we call home is worth fighting for.

    Activists gathered in Cebu joined the call to defend free speech. © Greenpeace

    Prince Sarmiento is a Bohol-based volunteer of Greenpeace Philippines.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Campaign exposes “Dirty Dems” who betray the people for corporate donors

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    SACRAMENTO, CA — (March 17, 2025) Greenpeace USA, in collaboration with the California Working Families Party and Courage California, is launching a new campaign to hold legislators accountable for their campaign donations and voting records. The campaign, titled “Dirty Dems,” will shine a spotlight on Democratic lawmakers who have taken the most money from the oil and gas industry and voted against critical climate, economic justice and other progressive priority legislation. 

    Amy Moas, Ph.D., Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner said: “The Dirty Dems are selling out our future. This campaign will expose the politicians who deserved to be called out – the Democratic lawmakers who have chosen corporate money over the health and safety of their communities. We will no longer stand by while these legislators block vital progress that our families and communities demand.”

    Jane Kim, State Director of the California Working Families Party, said: “The Working Families Party is shining a light on elected officials who put billionaire polluter profits ahead of the health and safety of California’s working families. Despite being a super blue state, it is alarming that the majority of our state legislature is supported by Bil Oil. Having a D next to your name isn’t enough- we need champions who will fight for our future.”

    Starting this week, “Dirty Dems” will reveal at least one legislator each week, detailing their harmful votes, connections to the fossil fuel industry, and the damage they have caused to local communities. The first “Dirty Dem” to be exposed today is Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen, who represents South Sacramento’s Elk Grove area. Since entering the legislature in 2022, Nguyen has already taken over $31,000 in donations from Big Oil, including $20,000 during the last legislative session alone. She has also accepted gifts from the Western States Petroleum Association, the largest trade association representing oil and gas in California.

    Nguyen’s voting record paints a troubling picture. She has abstained from voting on a shocking number of critical climate and environmental protection bills, including those aimed at reducing toxic pollutants (AB 674), cleaning up idle oil wells (AB 1167 and AB 1866), and improving climate financial disclosure (SB 253 and SB 261). Nguyen also voted against protections for grocery workers (SB 725), against increasing the number of paid sick days (SB 616) and against strengthening labor law enforcement (AB594). These actions, or lack thereof, have directly harmed the very communities she was elected to serve.

    Moas Said: “Real leadership means answering to the people, not to corporate donors, Assemblymember Nguyen and others like her are on the wrong side of justice. Their actions are allowing the climate crisis’ devastating effects to run rampant, delaying protections essential workers desperately need, and exacerbating the economic inequality our families face. The time to act is now, and we won’t stop until we’ve held every one of these Dirty Dems accountable.”

    Contact: Gigi Singh, Communications Manager at Greenpeace USA
    (+1)  631-404-9977, [email protected]  Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Iran: Authorities continue to ‘crush’ women’s rights activists with arbitrary arrest, flogging and death penalty

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Authorities threatened women, warning them against gathering for International Women’s Day

    Since 8 March, five women’s rights activists arrested, arbitrarily detained in solitary confinement and interrogated without their lawyers

    Journalists and singers also targeted – a male singer was flogged 74 times for performing a protest song

    ‘Women in Iran are held captive by authorities who fear the power of women…The women’s movement has passed the point of no return…’ – Leila Pashaei, activist

    ‘Instead of addressing systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, they are attempting to crush Iran’s women’s rights movement’ – Diana Eltahawy

    Iranian authorities have escalated their crackdown on women’s rights defenders, journalists, singers and other activists demanding equality or who defy compulsory veiling using arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, flogging, and even the death penalty in a bid to quash Iran’s women’s rights movement, Amnesty International said today.

    Since International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March, the Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested at least five women’s rights activists. These arrests come amid an intensified crackdown that has included summoning women’s rights activists and journalists for interrogation, and arresting women singers for performing without the mandatory hijab while shutting down their social media accounts. In the lead up to IWD, the authorities flogged a male singer 74 times for performing a protest song against Iran’s discriminatory compulsory veiling laws and, in February, a women’s rights activist was sentenced to death.

    Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa Regional, said:

    “In the wake of the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022, the Iranian authorities consider the widespread defiance of women and girls demanding their rights as an existential threat to the political and security establishment. Instead of addressing systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, they are attempting to crush Iran’s women’s rights movement.

    “The international community must use their leverage to press the Iranian authorities to stop harassing women’s rights activists and immediately release those arbitrarily detained. They must also pursue legal pathways to hold accountable Iranian officials reasonably suspected of committing widespread and systematic human rights violations against women and girls, including through the implementation of compulsory veiling.”

    The mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur are set for renewal at the ongoing 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (24 February to 4 April). On 18 March, the Council is set to hold a joint interactive dialogue with both mandates.

    Women’s rights activists arrested for participating in IWD events

    In the lead up to IWD, the Iranian authorities threatened women, warning them against gathering and demanding their rights.

    Since 10 March 2025, Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested four Kurdish women’s rights activists, namely Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Sohaila Motaei and Souma Mohammadrezaei after they participated in IWD events in Kurdistan province. They are being arbitrarily detained in solitary confinement cells at a detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, and have been interrogated without their lawyers.

    Baran Saedi was arrested from her family home in Sanandaj on 10 March. She was previously detained during the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022 and released on bail after two months.

    Mohammadrezaei was arrested at her workplace in Sanandaj on 10 March. Security forces had previously summoned and threatened her on multiple occasions in relation to her women’s rights activism.

    Sohaila Motaei was arrested in Dehgolan on the evening of 10 March. She was previously briefly arrested in January for protesting death sentences against women prisoners. She was also detained during the Woman Life Freedom uprising and sentenced to five years in prison for charges including “spreading propaganda against the system.”

    Leila Pashaei was arrested from her home in Sanandaj on 10 March after speaking against compulsory veiling, child marriage, violence against women, and executions of women in Iran during an event on IWD. During the speech she said:

    “Women in Iran are held captive by authorities who fear the power of women…The women’s movement has passed the point of no return…. Women worldwide, especially in the Middle East, will never be silenced again.”

    Pattern of Suppression and Intimidation

    The recent arrests occurred within the context of a broader campaign to suppress women’s rights activism and defiance of compulsory veiling through a range of coercive measures. Activists, journalists, singers and other public figures are among those targeted through arbitrary detention, torture through flogging, coercive interrogations and threats, and shutting down social media accounts.

    On 11 March, Nina Golestani, a writer and women’s rights activist, was arbitrarily arrested at her parents’ home in Gilan province by the Intelligence Unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to a statement by her husband, Javad Sajadi Rad, on Instagram, IRGC agents stormed her parents’ home, searched it and confiscated her personal belongings. They then took her away for interrogations and subsequently transferred her to Lakan prison in Rasht, Gilan province. She was released on bail on 16 March.

    On 7 March, a day after several women journalists participated at a media event in Tehran without headscarves, the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency issued a statement calling their actions “contrary to public decency”. The journalists were interrogated at the office of the prosecutor in Tehran’s Evin prison and judicial cases were opened against them.

    On 5 March, singer Mehdi Yarrahi’s flogging sentence of 74 lashes was carried out in connection to his song called “Your Headscarf (Roosarito)” commemorating the first anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom uprising.

    On 27 February, singer Hiwa Seyfizade was arrested during a live performance in Tehran. An official announced that she was arrested for “unauthorised solo singing”, which is banned for women in Iran. She was released on bail on 1 March 2025. Her Instagram account has since been closed, with two posts from the Public Security Police on her page stating: “This page has been blocked [by order of the judicial authorities] due to the production of criminal content.”

    In February, imprisoned women’s rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death for a second time on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), solely in relation to her human rights activities, including supporting women’s rights. The Supreme Court had overturned a prior death sentence by a Revolutionary Court in October 2024, sending the case back to lower courts.

    On 14 December 2024, singer Parastoo Ahmadi was detained after she livestreamed a concert in which she appeared unveiled in public in a shoulder-baring dress. The video went viral, amassing two and a half million views. She was released on bail several hours later.

    On 13 December 2024, Reza Khandan, a human rights defender, was arrested to serve an unjust prison sentence in relation to his campaigning against compulsory veiling. Reza Khandan, who is the husband of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in January 2019.

    Compulsory veiling laws

    Iran’s compulsory veiling laws, which apply to girls as young as seven, violate a whole host of rights, including the rights to equality, freedom of expression, religion and belief, privacy, equality and non-discrimination, personal and bodily autonomy. These laws also inflict severe pain and suffering amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

    In its March 2024 report, the Fact-Finding Mission found that the Iranian authorities have “committed a series of extensive, sustained and continuing acts that individually constitute human rights violations, directed against women [and] girls…and, cumulatively, constitute what the mission assesses to be persecution.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Iran: Authorities target women’s rights activists with arbitrary arrest, flogging and death penalty

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Iranian authorities have escalated their crackdown on women’s rights defenders, journalists, singers and other activists demanding equality or who defy compulsory veiling using arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, flogging, and even the death penalty in a bid to quash Iran’s women’s rights movement, Amnesty International said today.

    Since International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March, the Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested at least five women’s rights activists. These arrests come amid an intensified crackdown that has included summoning women’s rights activists and journalists for interrogation, and arresting women singers for performing without the mandatory hijab while shutting down their social media accounts. In the lead up to IWD, the authorities flogged a male singer 74 times for performing a protest song against Iran’s discriminatory compulsory veiling laws and, in February 2025, sentenced a women’s rights activist to death.

    “In the wake of the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022, the Iranian authorities consider the widespread defiance of women and girls demanding their rights as an existential threat to the political and security establishment. Instead of addressing systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, they are attempting to crush Iran’s women’s rights movement,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office.

    “Ahead of a key UN Human Rights Council session tomorrow to deliver findings on the human rights situation in Iran, and in the context of the Council’s ongoing negotiations to extend the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Iran and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, the international community must stand up against impunity and for the rights of women and girls in the country.

    Instead of addressing systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, they are attempting to crush Iran’s women’s rights movement

    Diana Eltahawy, MENA Deputy Regional Director

    “States must use their leverage to press the Iranian authorities to stop harassing women’s rights activists and immediately release those arbitrarily detained. They must also pursue legal pathways to hold accountable Iranian officials reasonably suspected of committing widespread and systematic human rights violations against women and girls, including through the implementation of compulsory veiling.”

    The mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur are set for renewal at the ongoing 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (24 February to 4 April 2025).  On 18 March, the Council is set to hold a joint interactive dialogue with both mandates.

    Women’s rights activists arrested for participating in IWD events

    In the lead up to IWD, the Iranian authorities threatened women, warning them against gathering and demanding their rights.

    Since 10 March 2025, Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested four Kurdish women’s rights activists, namely Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Sohaila Motaei and Soma Mohammadrezaeiafter they participated in IWD events in Kurdistan province. They are being arbitrarily detained in solitary confinement cells at a detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, and have been interrogated without their lawyers.

    Baran Saedi was arrested from her family home in Sanandaj on 10 March 2025. She was previously detained during the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022 and released on bail after two months.

    • Soma Mohammadrezaei was arrested at her workplace in Sanandaj on 10 March. Security forces had previously summoned and threatened her on multiple occasions in relation to her women’s rights activism.
    •  

    Sohaila Motaei was arrested in Dehgolan on the evening of 10 March. She was previously briefly arrested in January 2025 for protesting death sentences against women prisoners. She was also detained during the Woman Life Freedom uprising and sentenced to five years in prison for charges including “spreading propaganda against the system.”

    Leila Pashaei was arrested from her home in Sanandaj on 10 March 2025 after speaking against compulsory veiling, child marriage, violence against women, and executions of women in Iran during an event on IWD. During the speech she said: “Women in Iran are held captive by authorities who fear the power of women…The women’s movement has passed the point of no return…. Women worldwide, especially in the Middle East, will never be silenced again.”

    Pattern of Suppression and Intimidation

    The recent arrests occurred within the context of a broader campaign to suppress women’s rights activism and defiance of compulsory veiling through a range of coercive measures. Activists, journalists, singers and other public figures are among those targeted through arbitrary detention, torture through flogging, coercive interrogations and threats, and shutting down social media accounts.

    On 11 March 2025, Nina Golestani, a writer and women’s rights activist, was arbitrarily arrested at her parents’ home in Gilan province by the Intelligence Unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to a statement by her husband, Javad Sajadi Rad, on Instagram, IRGC agents stormed her parents’ home, searched it and confiscated her personal belongings. They then took her away for interrogations and subsequently transferred her to Lakan prison in Rasht, Gilan province. She was released on bail on 16 March 2025.

    On 7 March 2025, a day after several women journalists participated at a media event in Tehran without headscarves, the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency issued a statement calling their actions “contrary to public decency”. The journalists were interrogated at the office of the prosecutor in Tehran’s Evin prison and judicial cases were opened against them.

    On 5 March 2025, singer Mehdi Yarrahi’s flogging sentence of 74 lashes was carried out in connection to his song called “Your Headscarf (Roosarito)” commemorating the first anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom uprising.

    On 27 February 2025, singer Hiwa Seyfizade was arrested during a live performance in Tehran. An official announced that she was arrested for “unauthorized solo singing”, which is banned for women in Iran. She was released on bail on 1 March 2025. Her Instagram account has since been closed, with two posts from the Public Security Police on her page stating: “This page has been blocked [by order of the judicial authorities] due to the production of criminal content.”

    In February 2025, imprisoned women’s rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death for a second time on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), solely in relation to her human rights activities, including supporting women’s rights. The Supreme Court had overturned a prior death sentence by a Revolutionary Court in October 2024, sending the case back to lower courts.

    On 14 December 2024, singer Parastoo Ahmadi was detained after she livestreamed a concert in which she appeared unveiled in public in a shoulder-baring dress. The video went viral, amassing two and a half million views. She was released on bail several hours later.

    On 13 December 2024, Reza Khandan, a human rights defender, was arrested to serve an unjust prison sentence in relation to his campaigning against compulsory veiling. Reza Khandan, who is the husband of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in January 2019.

    Background

    Iran’s compulsory veiling laws, which apply to girls as young as seven, violate a whole host of rights, including the rights to equality, freedom of expression, religion and belief, privacy, equality and non-discrimination, personal and bodily autonomy. These laws also inflict severe pain and suffering amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

    In its March 2024 report, the Fact-Finding Mission found that the Iranian authorities have “committed a series of extensive, sustained and continuing acts that individually constitute human rights violations, directed against women [and] girls…and, cumulatively, constitute what the mission assesses to be persecution.”

    For more information or to arrange an interview please contact [email protected]

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: California’s dirty democrats exposed!

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Dirty. Deceitful. Democrats. They take industry money and cover for the oil and gas industry’s lies and deception and then claim to do so in the interest of working people. They hide behind their political party affiliation hoping we won’t notice.

    Well, the jig is up. This spring, Greenpeace USA, California Working Families Party and Courage California, along with other local and statewide allies are exposing California’s Dirty Dems — the Democratic State Assembly Members and Senators who take the most money from the oil and gas industry and have a poor voting record on progressive issues. 

    Californians, who are paying for the climate crisis with their lives, homes, money, and so much more, are tired of corrupt politicians making callous decisions about our future. It’s time to hold our leaders accountable to the families and communities they serve. 

    Are you ready to meet these Dirty Dems? Each week we will surprise the messiest Democratic legislators with events in their district to confront their climate records and demand they pledge to do better. Words aren’t enough — it’s time for action.

    Urge your legislator (Dirty Dem or not!) to take the no fossil fuels money pledge.

    Thousands of candidates and elected officials have already taken the pledge. Make sure your legislator knows that true leaders answer to the people, not to corporate donors. 

    Are you in Assembly Member Nguyen’s district? Demand that she do better by your community and take the no fossil fuel money pledge.

    Stephanie Nguyen — Assembly Member, District 10

    Stephanie Nguyen chooses corporate money over clean communities.

    Representing the 10th District of South Sacramento’s Elk Grove area, Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen has directly accepted $31K from the oil and gas industry, as well as personal gifts from the Western States Petroleum Association (the largest trade association representing the oil and gas industry in California). And during her election in 2022, a PAC funded primarily by big oil companies, including Chevron, spent $900K to get her elected.

    Assembly Member Nguyen has a shocking pattern of abstaining from voting on progressive priorities. She has received an F grade across the board from multiple environmental and environmental justice scorecards since she has been in office and she is on Courage California’s Hall of Shame.

    A few of the lowlights of Nguyen’s time in office:
    — Skipped the vote on a bill aimed at reducing noxious pollutants (linked to asthma and cancer) from being released into our communities
    — Skipped votes on multiple bills aimed at ensuring the oil and gas industry pays to clean up idle wells quickly and not stick taxpayers with the bill
    — Skipped the vote on a bill allowing the Civil Rights Department to better investigate and enforce civil rights violations
    — Voted against protections for grocery workers, against increasing the number of paid sick days, and against strengthening labor law enforcement

    Are you in Rep Nguyen’s district? Demand that she do better by your community and take the no fossil fuel money pledge.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: EPA aligns with corporate polluters in devastating public betrayal

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    WASHINGTON, DC – (March 17, 2025) In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) plan to abandon critical regulations and climate rules, John Noel, Greenpeace USA Deputy Climate Director, said: 

    “We are deeply disturbed by this calculated betrayal of public health and the environment by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who seems to believe his job is to serve corporate polluters rather than the American people. This decision isn’t just a setback—it’s an all-out assault on communities nationwide, opening the floodgates to more pollution, more harm, and a worsening climate crisis.

    “For decades, these EPA regulations have been a critical line of defense against harmful pollution, protecting public health and tackling the climate crisis. Yet even these safeguards have never been enough. This year alone, our country has been ravaged by extreme hurricanes, devastating wildfires, and record-breaking heat—in large part, consequences of pollution. Instead of holding these industries accountable, the EPA is giving them a free pass. 

    “EPA exists to protect our health and environment—not to gut the very safeguards that protect us. As the climate crisis grows, the agency must reverse this reckless course and recommit to its core mission: protecting people and, not the economic interests of polluting corporations.”

    Contact: Gigi Singh, Communications Manager at Greenpeace USA
    (+1)  631-404-9977, [email protected]  Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: MSF vehicles shot during hospital evacuation amid escalating violence in Port-au-Prince Haiti

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Port au Prince – Four Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) vehicles were fired upon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as we were evacuating our staff from Turgeau emergency centre. We strongly condemn this intentional shooting, in which our staff suffered minor injuries. The evacuation from the centre was taken as a precautionary measure after brutal street fighting moved closer to the centre and we were forced to suspend our activities on 15 March. This MSF convoy was clearly identified, and we had coordinated the movement with authorities.

    “This attack serves as stark reminder that no one is safe amidst the ongoing violence between armed groups and law enforcement,” says Benoit Vasseur, head of mission for MSF in Haiti. “Despite our precautions, we have been targeted, and this is unacceptable. We urgently call on all parties for the respect of medical staff, facilities and patients at all times.”

    Since end of February, the situation in Turgeau, where MSF runs a referral and emergency centre, has sharply worsened. On 12 March alone, our emergency centre treated 27 victims of violence, including women and children, from the surrounding area. During the night of 14-15 March, the violence escalated further. Armed groups moved within metres of the hospital, threatening to turn it into a frontline.

    One of the four MSF vehicles shot while evacuating Turgeau emergency centre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 2025.
    MSF

    “We had to make the painful decision to suspend activities at the MSF Turgeau emergency centre to protect our staff and patients. Currently, it is impossible to continue operations at the hospital, but we are committed to reopening our facility as soon as the situation allows us to do so safely,” says Benoit Vasseur.

    Before suspending activities, MSF successfully referred all patients from the emergency centre to other medical facilities. Between 24 February 24 and 2 March, our teams at the Turgeau emergency centre treated 314 patients. In February 2025 alone, our teams conducted over 2,500 medical consultations and more than 400 physiotherapy sessions at the Turgeau emergency centre.

    This is the second time in less than four months that MSF has been forced to suspend operations at the health facility. On 22 November 2024, MSF halted all activities in Port-au-Prince following multiple attacks and repeated threats against medical staff. After months of engagement with authorities and assurances from all parties regarding the protection of MSF’s medical mission, we partially resumed operations in January, reopening the Turgeau hospital on 20 January 2025.

    However, the resurgence of violence and the deliberate attack on our vehicles during this evacuation make it clear that these assurances and engagements with authorities have failed to translate into real safety for our staff and patients.

    Our MSF team has been providing emergency medical care in Turgeau since 2021. MSF maintains multiple medical programmes in other areas of Port au Prince and Haiti, notably for maternal and newborn care, severe burns, trauma and sexual violence. Continuing these vital medical services requires clear guarantees about the security of our movements.

    MSF is an international medical humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for victims and survivors of sexual violence.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Mozambique: Two years without justice for protester shot in the eye with rubber bullet

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Ahead of the two-year anniversary of Inocêncio Manhique losing his eye due to unlawful use of force by security forces, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè, said: 

    “Two years ago, security forces shot Inocêncio Manhique in the eye with a rubber bullet during a peaceful protest. To date, as a promised investigation has stalled, Manhique has received no justice for this crime. 

    “Inocêncio Manhique’s case is emblematic of the impunity that security forces enjoy in Mozambique. Indeed, security personnel have gone on to violently suppress peaceful assemblies, with reports of more than 300 people killed in the widespread crackdown on protests since last October’s elections. 

    “Authorities must ensure justice for Inocêncio Manhique by disclosing the results of any investigation they may have conducted into his case. They must also ensure that investigations into all reports of human rights violations committed during the ongoing post-election crackdown are prompt, transparent, independent, and impartial.” 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: “I will not stop asking until I know the whereabouts of my husband”

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Itai Dzamara is a journalist and pro-democracy activist who was forcibly disappeared ten years ago on 9 March 2015 after he criticized the Zimbabwean government about the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. He has not been seen or heard from since and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown. Ten years on, Itai’s wife, Sheffra, has shared her story with Amnesty International

    Everyone knew Itai Dzamara as a journalist and pro-democracy activist who was forcibly disappeared on 9 March 2015 after he criticised the Zimbabwean government.

    Itai was my husband and best friend. He was a great father to our two children Nokutenda and Nenyasha. He was always there for us making sure that we are happy.

    Itai was amazing. He loved to eat sadza (staple food made from white corn) and fish, and would cook it for us on Sundays after church. He used to play soccer on weekends, and he was a big fan of Manchester United. Itai would always wear his Man U jersey whenever they played matches.

    My husband was a kind man. He had people at heart, and that is what led him to write a petition to Zimbabwe’s then-president Robert Mugabe on 17 October 2014, demanding he step down. Following this petition, police arrested Itai and fellow activists and interrogated them for eight hours at Harare Central police station. Itai was fighting for every Zimbabwean regardless of political parties.

    The man who stood against former President Mugabe

    The Constitution of Zimbabwe and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which the country is a state party guarantee the right to peaceful assembly. When Itai started these peaceful protests, the Zimbabwe Republic Police would beat and arrest him and his colleagues.

    Their group, Occupy Africa Unity Square, would hold peaceful protests at a public park opposite Zimbabwe’s parliament building. At one protest in November 2014, police beat Itai until he collapsed. Then they kept on beating him while he was unconscious. He was admitted for treatment for his injuries for two weeks.

    9 March 2015, the day Itai was abducted, was a normal day.

    He went to the barbershop at 9am wearing black shorts and his Manchester United jersey. Looking back at that morning, there are so many things I wish I had said to him. As I was preparing his breakfast for when he returned, my brother came running in, and told me that my husband was taken from the barbershop, by men driving a white Isuzu with no registration number.  

    When I heard this, fear engulfed me. I knew that it was an abduction. It was bad, I started shaking and crying. I did not know what to do or who to call, but I wanted to hear the facts directly from the people who witnessed the abduction. I took my daughter and put her on my back – she was two years old then – and went straight to the barbershop. When I arrived, I was still shaking. Even the barber and his colleague were shaking too as they told me what happened.

    “They told me the whole thing was like a movie.”

    It was very fast. Five men walked in and said they were looking for a cattle thief. While Itai was perplexed, the men grabbed him and said they were taking him to the police to be questioned. Itai has not  been seen since then.

    I walked back from the barber like a zombie. I felt the whole world falling down on me. My head was spinning. I was not myself; I was confused and did not know what to do. I was shattered. I wanted to scream and cry but when I looked at my daughter and son, I knew I had to control myself.

    I got home and changed my clothes, not realizing that I was wearing my skirt inside out. That’s how confused I was. I left my kids with my sister, and went with Itai’s brother Patson, and our lawyer to report the case to the police, who promised to investigate.

    When I returned home around 6pm, I was afraid to go through the gate thinking maybe the abductors would come back and abduct  us as well.  I had to be strong for my kids. I did not sleep that night. My heart was pounding so hard. At 4am, I left the house and went to the barbershop hoping, praying that maybe, they would have brought him back, but he was not there.

    The next day, my kids and I were taken to an organization where we stayed for a month for our safety. I lost weight from fasting and praying for my husband to be released from his abductors. I could not eat or sleep. My heart was always beating fast. I would cry at night so that my kids didn’t t see me.

    10 years later and everyone is still asking ‘where is Itai?’

    Life has not been the same since Itai was abducted. The last 10 years have been hard. I am reminded of him every time I look at my kids because both look like their dad. It hurts not to have Itai in my life and to see my kids missing him and growing up without a father who loved them so dearly. I don’t have any answers, but I feel blessed to have my two kids. When I look at them l feel God’s grace.

    The police never came back to give any update. As far as I know, they never even investigated the case. They were not interested in finding Itai. Even the Zimbabwe High Court order could not get the police find my husband or tell us what happened to him.

    As a family we did everything to get answers. For the past 10 years the government of Zimbabwe has ignored my requests and turned a blind eye to the demand for answers by everyone including friends, activists, civil society organizations, media and the international community.

    I will not stop asking until I know the fate and whereabouts of my husband.

    I wish for Itai to one day walk through the front door and hug me and the kids or to wake up to find that this was all a bad dream. If I must live without him, then I need answers, I need to know where he is.

    Amnesty International has made multiple recommendations to the government of Zimbabwe to uphold human rights and enable a safe environment for human rights defenders, activists and civil society to do their work without fear of reprisals. In the past decade, Amnesty International has campaigned and called for an independent  commission of inquiry to thoroughly, impartially, transparently and effectively  investigate the alleged enforced disappearance of Itai Dzamara, establish his fate or whereabouts and bring to justice those suspected of criminal responsibility in fair trials.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Türkiye: Acquittal of Saturday Mothers protesters brings seven year ordeal to an end

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the acquittal of 45 members of the Saturday Mothers, prosecuted after their 700th peaceful vigil for their forcibly disappeared loved ones was banned and violently dispersed in August 2018, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake said:

    “Almost seven years after the Saturday Mothers’ 700th peaceful vigil was violently broken up by riot police, 45 people standing trial for participating in the vigil have finally been acquitted and their ordeal ended. A prosecution that should have never seen the light of day, dragged on for years.

    For more than one thousand Saturdays, the Saturday Mothers have become a powerful symbol of the importance of peaceful protest

    “The authorities must draw the necessary conclusion from this long-awaited outcome: Saturday Mothers/People have the right to meet on Galatasaray Square every Saturday to demand justice for their disappeared loved ones. We call on the Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya to ensure that all ongoing restrictions on the Square are lifted immediately and permanently.

    “For more than one thousand Saturdays since 1995, the Saturday Mothers and their supporters have become a powerful symbol of the importance of peaceful protest. We must defend this right even in the face of crackdown, violence, detention and prosecutions.”

    Background 

    Members of the Saturday Mothers/People are relatives of victims of enforced disappearances during the 1980s and 1990s who have been holding a peaceful vigil every Saturday at the same spot since May 1995. The 700th vigil, on 25 August 2018, was subject to a ban by the Beyoğlu district governor on the spurious grounds that the authorities had not been notified 48 hours prior to the vigil.  

    Police broke up the vigil using tear gas and water cannons and detained 46 people who were later released but indicted two years later in 2020 on the charge of “attending illegal meetings and marches without weapons and not dispersing despite warning.” The first hearing in the trial, initially of 46 people, took place in March 2021. In 2024, one of the 46 defendants was separated from the case because of their absence from the trial proceedings.  If found guilty, the 45 defendants could each have faced up to three years in prison. 

    MIL OSI NGO –