Category: Security and freedom

  • The Euro-Mediterranean region: an area of interdependence and shared struggles for human rights and the rule of law

    The Euro-Mediterranean region: an area of interdependence and shared struggles for human rights and the rule of law

    En 2018, ASF a pris la décision de créer un hub régional dans la région Euro-Méditerranée, basé à Tunis, dans le but de mutualiser les moyens et de renforcer et harmoniser son action dans la région. L’aspect novateur du bureau régional est d’assumer pleinement les liens historiques, économiques, politiques et culturels qui existent entre les…

  • Working in Niger after the coup d’état

    Working in Niger after the coup d’état

    Since the opening of te ASF office in Niger in 2023, the country has experienced major political upheaval, including the coup d’état in July 2023. This article outlines how ASF and its partners adapted their action to the evolving context to better accompany local populations in their needs of justice.

  • De-securitizing & decriminalising migration and poverty: Advocating for a non-discriminatory approach in European policies

    De-securitizing & decriminalising migration and poverty: Advocating for a non-discriminatory approach in European policies

    As it is turning away from its foundational values of solidarity and non-discrimination, rooted in international and regional frameworks on human rights, the European Union has entered a crisis of democratic and moral legitimacy. In this Policy Brief, based on the discussion heldd during the European Citizen’s summit, ASF invites the EU to stop considering…

  • Tunisia: People in migration threatened by the rise of discriminatory rhetoric and policies

    Tunisia: People in migration threatened by the rise of discriminatory rhetoric and policies

    Because of its geographical position and proximity to the European coast, Tunisia has long been considered a major transit country for sub-Saharan migrants. However, heightened security measures and the militarization of the European Union’s borders, as well as border outsourcing policies, have meant that Tunisia has become a country of settlement for many people in…

  • Policy Brief – Analysing Civic Space in East Africa through a judicial lens

    Policy Brief – Analysing Civic Space in East Africa through a judicial lens

    For the past years, civic space has been described as “shrinking” in many countries around the world. The adoption of restrictive laws, the harassment of journalists, the arrest and detention of human rights defenders, the suspension of activities or freezing of accounts of civil society organisations, are common tactics used by states to restrict civic…

  • Congolese civil society alarmed by the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty

    Congolese civil society alarmed by the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty

    Civil society actors and international human rights organisations working in the Democratic Republic of Congo are very concerned by the decision of the government of Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo to lift the moratorium on the execution of the death penalty, communicated by circular note No 002 of 13 March 2024. The signatory organisations deplore this…

  • No to the introduction of “malicious undermining of State authority” in the Belgian Penal Code

    No to the introduction of “malicious undermining of State authority” in the Belgian Penal Code

    ASF joins more than 500 signatories from associations, universities, the judiciary and civil society in warning of the danger of the introduction in the new Belgian criminal code of the offence of malicious attack on the authority of the State.

  • Ituri: Impact of the state of siege on criminal justice

    Ituri: Impact of the state of siege on criminal justice

    En mai 2021, l’État congolais a décrété un régime exceptionnel d’état de siège dans la province de l’Ituri pour tenter de mettre fin à plus de trois décennies de violence dans la région. L’ituri est le théâtre de guerres, d’insurrections et de violents conflits armés sur fond de crise de légitimité politique, de crise identitaire…

  • East Africa – Protecting civic space: A public interest litigation approach

    East Africa – Protecting civic space: A public interest litigation approach

    In 2022, ASF’s East Africa office launched a project covering three countries in the region: Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. The objective of the project is to contribute to the advancement of the rule of law through the understanding and usage of regional human rights treaty bodies, mechanisms and instruments by local civil societies organisations.

  • ASF’s East Africa regional hub

    ASF’s East Africa regional hub

    In recent years, ASF has progressively adopted a regional approach to its activities in East Africa. To lead the organisation development in the region and enable the implementation of strong and coherent regional strategies, a regional hub was created in Kampala in 2021.