Human Rights

Governments and corporations are driving the demand for water, land and organic resources of all kinds as never before. Citizens are fighting for their rights and working to preserve their livelihoods. Our study "Tricky Business" shows how the mechanisms of expropriation work. [external_media:soundcloud.com/boellstiftung/tricky-business-bollfocus]

In this study, the Heinrich Böll Foundation with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) want to show how the mechanisms to narrow the space for civil society work. At the same time, the study focusses counterstrategies and proactive strategies to push back against civil society restrictions.

The public discourse in Indonesia has turned against LGBT people. However, behind closed doors, the Indonesian government still supports projects for LGBT groups.

Over the past years, tens of thousands of men, women and children in Syria havee become subject to forced disappearances in Syria. On July 12, the film "Syria's Disappeared" was screened in which survivors of Syrian prisons and relatives of some tortured to death speak out.

When the 19 member countries and the EU gathered in Hamburg for the G20 Summit one important topic was not on the agenda: from China to Mexico, Turkey to Russia, Saudi Arabia to India – the respect for fundamental human rights can no longer be taken for granted.

The current discourse on renewable energy tends to centre on the positive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security, while the risks of social and environmental injustice are largely ignored.

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Sexual and gender minorities remain dangerously vulnerable to human rights abuses across much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite immense legal and cultural barriers, civil society activists around the continent are rising up to improve the lives of LGBTI people. Brian Pellot spoke with two leading activists in Uganda and Botswana.

Political transition in Myanmar from a military to a civilian government holds the promise of opening up political spaces to previously marginalized groups. However, the dividend of the country’s democratization process seems to be still far off for the LGBTI community.

Despite the empowerment of the LGBTI movement during the last 20 years, LGBTI people in Russia face extensive legal discrimination, widespread homophobia and even massive violence.