![]() Iranian-Canadian artist Simin Keramati sits in the PaykanArtCar during its unveiling at the Oslo Freedom Forum on June 13, 2023. “Human rights are always on the agenda for the United States. desire to penalize the country has been further complicated by recent diplomatic efforts to resolve a long-running conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.Ī State Department spokesperson, however, referred POLITICO to a recent comment from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the issue more broadly. policy toward Azerbaijan or other specific cases cited in this story. The State Department declined to comment on U.S. But, because Russia’s war on Ukraine has hurt energy markets, the “West needs Azerbaijan’s oil and gas, and our dictator enjoys it,” Yunus said. Many human rights activists applaud the United States and its European and Asian allies for supporting Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia’s invasion, a major topic at this year’s forum.īut some said that the war has become an excuse for Western leaders to go easy on abusive governments elsewhere in the world.Īzerbaijan’s strongman, Ilham Aliyev, should face far more economic sanctions from the United States and other governments, argued Leyla Yunus, a one-time political prisoner from the country. Those are usually depressing: Afghanistan is back under control of the Taliban, meaning women and girls’ rights are severely curtailed Iran’s Islamist regime has largely snuffed out a protest movement over the past year, partly by ramping up executions and many voices say democracy in the United States, still a beacon of hope for this crowd, faces danger, amid moments like the Jan. ![]() Other data sets are fragmented at best, so rights activists are left with anecdotes. It has been on a downward slide for 17 years. One frequently cited source is Freedom House’s “worldwide freedom index,” a measure of democracy’s strength. There’s no solid way to quantify the reasons for the activists’ frustration no single data set captures every win or loss in a field that draws everyone from advocates for political prisoners to those crafting anti-corruption laws. “Now, I really believe we should dream big, but we should be very pragmatic about our expectations.” Since then, it’s been defeat and degradation,” Seif said. Seif’s brother, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, is a political prisoner there. But the Arab country is now under the arguably more brutal dictatorship of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the recipient of billions worth of U.S. More than a decade ago, she joined groups who successfully called for the overthrow of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Sanaa Seif has learned from bitter experience. They know that while autocratic regimes are refining their methods, the countries that say they support human rights, such as the United States, can be unreliable when their own interests are at stake. But the conversation here in Oslo centered on the need to rethink the human rights movement’s actions and tools at a moment when autocracy has gained strength worldwide and technology offers both promise and peril. The advocates have no intention of abandoning their collective and individual fights. ![]() “It’s a long game,” she tries to explain to them. Prasow said she’s having a harder time convincing funders to support the work of her organization, which focuses heavily on freeing political prisoners, as positive results feel too few and far between. “We can’t even point to Tunisia anymore,” bemoaned Andrea Prasow, executive director of The Freedom Initiative, referring to the north African country’s return to autocracy after years of being the sole democratic success of the Arab Spring. Just a few years ago, for instance, democracy campaigners in Sudan celebrated the ouster of a dictator today, military leaders who took advantage of that moment have plunged the country back into war. Even what seemed like initial victories often morphed into losses. For Yaacoub and 1,400 others gathered at the forum, the last 15 years have been marked by far more failures than successes.
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