UN body calls for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes - Wintour, Patrick (The Guardian, 2024)
Human rights council adopts resolution as Israel opens new routes into Gaza after Biden-Netanyahu phone call
Israel
Keywords: Gaza; Israel; Israel-Gaza war; Joe Biden; Middle East and north Africa; Palestinian territories; US foreign policy; US news; United Nations; World news

Tories planned to make millions from members’ data with ‘True Blue’ app - Burgis, Tom; Dyer, Henry (The Guardian, 2024)
Exclusive: senior party officials worked on commercial venture that would allow brands to sell products to supporters
United Kingdom
Keywords: Apps; Conservatives; Data protection; Politics; Technology; UK news

Documentary captures journalist’s gender transition while embedded with Taliban (PBS News Hour, 2024)
A new documentary now available on Amazon Prime and AppleTV offers an in-depth look at the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. "Transition" follows Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon as he undergoes a gender transition while embedded with a Taliban unit. Bryon and co-director Monica Villamizar spoke with Amna Nawaz about this turning point in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan

New short film highlights devastating impact less-lethal weapons are having on protesters globally - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
Amnesty International is launching a powerful film showing the devastating impact less-lethal weapons are having on protesters globally, with many suffering life-long injuries and permanent disabilities. The new film, which features Leidy Cadena who was blinded by police in 2021 during a protest which was part of the National Strikes in Colombia, shows the devastating impact such weapons can have.
Worldwide

Surge of interest in Ethiopian culture boosts case for return of treasures - Bakare, Lanre (The Guardian, 2024)
Poet who is curating country’s first Venice Biennale pavilion says ‘part of the heart’ of the country was looted and is being held in museums.
Ethiopia
Keywords: Africa; Art and design; Books; British Museum; Colonialism; Culture; Ethiopia; Lemn Sissay; Music; Poetry; The Weeknd; UK news; Venice Biennale; World news

Exhibition | Lost Liberties: The War Measures Act - Diefenbaker Canada Centre | University of Saskatchewan (Diefenbaker Canada Centre | University of Saskatchewan, 2024)
"Lost Liberties: The War Measures Act" is exploring the suspension of civil liberties in Canada during the First World War, the Second World War, and the 1970 October Crisis, Lost Liberties — The War Measures Act sheds new light on the enduring impact of the Act on Canada and its people. | On display until June 22, 2024 | Diefenbaker Canada Center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Canada

‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets - McKernan, Bethan; Davies, Harry (The Guardian, 2024)
Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants
Israel
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); Gaza; Israel; Israel-Gaza war; Middle East and north Africa; Palestinian territories; Technology; World news

A ProPublica Lawsuit Over Military Court Access Moves Forward - Megan Rose (ProPublica, 2024)
A federal judge ruled in March that ProPublica’s lawsuit against the secretary of defense should move forward, as the news organization seeks to increase public access to the military’s court proceedings and records. ProPublica sued in 2022, claiming the Pentagon has failed to issue rules ensuring that the services comply with a law that was supposed to make the military justice system more transparent.
United States of America

Racism, harassment and discrimination takes a terrible toll on ethnic minority NHS staff - Rhead, Rebecca (The Conversation, 2024)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time filled with uncertainty and fear, ethnically minoritised NHS staff have not only had to contend with the virus but also a workplace fraught with inequalities.
United Kingdom

‘I wanted to end my life’: ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ rebuilds destroyed business - Taylor, Diane (The Guardian, 2024)
Shah Muhammad Rais was devastated when Taliban destroyed his shop, but now he is sending books to Afghanistan via the internet.
Afghanistan
Keywords: Afghanistan; Books; Culture; South and central Asia; World news

Piloting Reparative Description and Metadata in SNAC via the Indigenous Description Group (Descriptive Notes, 2024)
Archivists have recognized the need to rethink how indigenous knowledge can be better represented, not only to heal previous harms but also to make information more accessible and usable for communities. The Indigenous Description Group, founded in Spring 2023 within the Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) cooperative, represents one effort to do this work in a pan-institutional and collaborative way.
United States of America

Explore the focus on community archives: Discover Brasil's strategy to preserve historical memory while addressing inequalities - G20 Brazil 2024 (G20 Brazil 2024, 2024)
A cooperation agreement between the National Archives of Brasil and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will enhance the country's archival policy and support the efforts of community archives serving socioeconomically vulnerable groups. This policy aims to guarantee access to memory rights and the tools necessary for documenting the diverse experiences of black, indigenous, rural, favela-dwelling, and LGBTQIAP+ communities.
Brazil
Keywords: community archives

Genocide Archives Released - Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
Human Rights Watch announced that it is releasing a series of archives highlighting the extraordinary efforts of human rights defenders in Rwanda and abroad, to warn about the planned 1994 genocide and attempt to stop the killings.
Rwanda

‘Fake news’ legislation risks doing more harm than good amid a record number of elections in 2024 - Jens, Samuel (The Conversation, 2024)
Vague definitions and heavy penalties mean that legislation could be used to stifle a free press.
Worldwide

2,200 “génocidaires” being released in 2024, who are they? - Sehene Ruvugiro, Emmanuel (JustiveInfo.net, 2024)
Thirty years after the 1994 genocide, thousands of convicted men and women have already been released from prison. Others, like Emmanuel Ruzigana, are on the point of being released after serving their sentences. The government estimates that, putting completed sentences and pardons together, 2,200 “génocidaires” - as they are known in Rwanda - could be released in 2024. Who are they and how are they preparing?
Rwanda

Protests Over Gaza Intensify at American Art Museums - Small, Zachary; Tracy, Marc (The New York Times, 2024)
A protest at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco led to the resignation of its leader and to a monthlong closure of its galleries. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts event was among the most dramatic in a series of demonstrations about the Israel-Hamas war that have rocked the cultural sector in recent months with protests, withdrawals and other calls for boycotts.
United States of America
Keywords: Appointments and Executive Changes; Art; Boycotts; Demonstrations; Protests and Riots; Israel-Gaza War (2023- ); Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museums; Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel; San Francisco (Calif); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Google to destroy browsing data to settle consumer privacy lawsuit - Stempel, Jonathan (Zawya.com, 2024)
Users alleged that Google's analytics, cookies and apps let the Alphabet unit improperly track people who set Google's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers to "private" browsing mode. They said this turned Google into an "unaccountable trove of information" by letting it learn about their friends, favorite foods, hobbies, shopping habits, and the "most intimate and potentially embarrassing things" they hunt for online.
United States of America

A New Chapter for Irish Historians’ ‘Saddest Book’ - O’Loughlin, Ed (The New York Times, 2024)
A globe-spanning research project has turned the catalog of a public archive destroyed in Ireland’s civil war into a model for reconstruction.
Ireland
Keywords: Archives and Records; Ireland; Libraries and Librarians; National Archives (Great Britain); Politics and Government; Restoration and Renovation; Trinity College (Dublin; Ireland); Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland; Yale University

Postmemory and the Partition of India: Learning to Remember | SpringerLink - Kapila, Shichi (Springer, 2024)
The book, examines the memories of the Partition of India in 1947; uses ethnographic and oral history methods to make meaning of the impact of partition events; argues for particular consideration of women, who were especially vulnerable to suffering during and after partition
India

Memory and Identity of Afro-Brazilian Archives - Modern Endangered Archives Program (UCLA Library, 2024)
A project to preserve Afro-Brazilian memory through archives containing documents of Afro-Brazilian activism (1964 - 1990s)
Brazil

Projet Archives des Femmes, Mali - Modern Endangered Archives Program (UCLA Library, 2024)
Amongst the recent and historical socio-political turmoil in Mali, women have worked to create a more just and equitable society. The personal collections of movement leaders document the work of women across Mali from the 1950’s onward.
Mali

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2024-04 (April) - SAHR Newsletter Woking Group (ICA, 2024)

Why Indigenous people are fighting for data sovereignty - Beaulne-Stuebing, Laura (CBC News, 2024)
Indigenous data sovereignty means that communities have control over their own information, researcher says.That's why it's important that Indigenous communities gather their own data, in their own way, says Echo-Hawk, who is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. This is Indigenous data sovereignty. "As individual nations … we have the ability to govern our own data. That means how it is gathered, how it is analyzed and how it is shared," Echo-Hawk told Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild.
Northern America
Keywords: Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Palestinians’ Right of Return Is a Basic Question of Justice - Burgis, Ben (Jacobin, 2024)
Denying Palestinian refugees the right to come back to the areas from which they were ethnically cleansed during the Nakba is deeply unjust.
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: Nakba

Belgium still struggling with its colonial ghosts - Jochecová, Ketrin (POLITICO, 2024)
By failing to publish a report on the nation’s colonial history, Belgium signals it is not yet ready to shake off its past.
Belgium

“Access under review”: Freedom of Information, Data Protection, and the Disappearing Archive - McLean, Alioson (History and Policy, 2024)
While many historians will be familiar with the limitations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when trying to obtain access to closed records at the National Archives (TNA), few will be aware that since 2012 thousands of previously open documents have been removed from public access under TNA’s Reclosure Policy.
United Kingdom

Polish war graves in Germany documented - S.A, Telewizja Polska (TVP World, 2024)
The Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation has information on 1,200 cemeteries or memorial sites where the remains of Polish citizens rest.
Western Europe
Keywords: Germany; Poland; World War II

Meta and Google accused of restricting reproductive health information - Strzyżyńska, Weronika (The Guardian, 2024)
Report claims posts on abortion and contraception have been deleted while misinformation on the feeds of social media users in Africa, Latin America and Asia has not been tackled
Worldwide
Keywords: Global development; Global health; Google; Meta; Reproductive rights; Society; Technology

Gaza: Security Council passes resolution demanding ‘an immediate ceasefire’ during Ramadan - UN News (United Nations News, 2024)
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza. There were 14 votes in favour with the United States abstaining.
Isreal-Gaza

Al-Yamamah arms deal report comes to light ending anti-corruption campaigners’ battle - Pegg, David; Evans, Rob (The Guardian, 2024)
Inquiry by National Audit Office into British-Saudi arms contract reveals evidence of MoD deception over bribery allegations. A suppressed official report on alleged corruption in a giant British-Saudi arms contract has been discovered in a public archive.
United Kingdom
Keywords: Arms trade; BAE Systems; Defence policy; Foreign policy; Military; Ministry of Defence; Saudi Arabia; UK news; World news

Mass grave of at least 65 migrants found in Libya desert, UN agency says - France 24 (France 24, 2024)
At least 65 migrants' bodies have been discovered in a mass grave in southwest Libya, the International Organization for Migration said on social media platform X on Friday.
Libya

English Nazi collaborators may have aided recapture of ‘great escape’ PoWs - Addley, Esther (The Guardian, 2024)
Document discovered by National Archives shows claim made after the war by recaptured RAF officer, but historians are sceptical
United Kingdom
Keywords: National Archives; Nazism; Second world war; UK news; World news

Dutch project tells wartime stories of intrepid ‘England voyagers’ - Boztas, Senay (The Guardian, 2024)
Hundreds of Engelandvaarders took various routes from occupied Netherlands to Britain to fight in second world war
Netherlands
Keywords: Europe; Netherlands; Second world war; World news

U.N. AI Resolution Passes Vote - Rishi Iyengar (Foreign Policy, 2024)
The resolution, which followed more than three months of negotiations among dozens of countries, calls on U.N. member states to ensure "safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems" that are developed responsibly and respect human rights and international law.
Worldwide

Public Prosecution finalises classification of crimes, digitisation of criminal legislation - Rola AlGhoul (Zawya.com, 2024)
Under the project, legal texts have been transformed into a digital format that is comprehensible and executable by information systems, employing advanced artificial intelligence techniques
United Arab Emirates

‘Man-made famine’ charge against Israel is backed by mounting body of evidence - Beaumont, Peter (The Guardian, 2024)
Prospect of Israel facing war crimes charges has moved closer after UN condemnation of Gaza aid restrictions
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: Famine; Gaza; Human rights; International court of justice; Israel; Israel-Gaza war; Law; Middle East and north Africa; Palestinian territories; Society; War crimes; World news

"We hope to offer renewed hope of discovering ancestors and even new connections to families across the globe." - Campsie, Alison (The Scotsman, 2024)
Around 15,000 young, vulnerable Scots were shipped to Canada alone in a forced emigration scheme designed to improve their life chances, but some were never heard from again.
United Kingdom

How Virginia Used Segregation Law to Erase Native Americans - Craig, Ashley R.; Smithers, Gregory (TIME, 2024)
Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act belongs to a settler colonial tradition extending back to the early 1600s. Some white Virginians, though, weren’t satisfied. They worried about a loophole in the law that would dilute the purity of white “blood.” Leading white supremacists had wanted the Racial Integrity Act to solidify Virginia’s black-white racial binary. To do so, they called for the Act to erase the presence of Native people. Some used the Act to do just this, engaging in a form of “bureaucratic genocide” to re-cast Native people as Black, rendering them less visible in the historical record.
United States of America

New UN Exhibit Highlights Post-Genocide Reconciliation in Rwanda, on Display at Headquarters, 27 March-Late April - Paulina Greer (UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 2024)
Coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda (7 April), the United Nations Headquarters in New York opens a new exhibit about the power of post-genocide reconciliation, the potentially deadly impact of hate speech and what visitors can do to say #NoToHate.
Rwanda

Open sources and the future of spying - Sam Roggeveen (Lowy Institute, 2024)
Countries spy to overcome an information deficit. But we now live in a world of information super-abundance.
Worldwide

When fame and medical privacy clash: Kate and other crises of confidentiality - Stewart, Heather (The Guardian, 2024)
The Princess of Wales is the latest person in the public eye to find there are questions about the security of their health history
United Kingdom
Keywords: Catherine; Gordon Brown; Health; Monarchy; Princess of Wales; Privacy; Society; Tony Blair; UK news; Winston Churchill

Missing migrants’ families say they were asked to pay hundreds for information on relatives - Ashifa Kassam; Leah Pattem (The Guardian, 2024)
Families say they were promised details of relatives’ whereabouts after contacting people they thought were linked to NGO in Spain
Europe
Keywords: Europe; Migration; Refugees; Spain; UK news; World news

Cryptic Conundrums: The Tug of War Between Privacy and Security - Brennan, Joseph (International Policy Digest, 2024)
U.S. tech companies pride themselves on protecting the data of their users. Increasingly, this commitment is being challenged by the government.
United States of America

Documents reveal alleged pattern of Israeli harassment of Unrwa workers on West Bank - Burke, Jason (The Guardian, 2024)
Exclusive: UN documents seen by the Guardian list hundreds of incidents, including claims workers were blindfolded and beaten.
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: Gaza; Israel; Israel-Gaza war; Middle East and north Africa; Palestinian territories; United Nations; World news

ICC Reporting Key to Catalyze National Justice - Vignoli, Maria Elena (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a court of last resort, stepping in only when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so. This is a key legal pillar known as the principle of complementarity. But because the ICC can only take on a few cases in a particular situation, comprehensive justice will invariably mean that the ICC and national authorities will need to work closely together.
Worldwide

Operation Legacy: How Britain covered up its colonial crimes - Diptée, Audra (The Conversation, 2024)
The World learned in 2011 of the secret British policy called Operation Legacy that was implemented in the 1950s. Its goal was to remove or destroy incriminating documents from former colonies in the months before each one became politically independent. This policy had an impact far and wide, and was implemented in British colonies throughout the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.
United Kingdom

Togoland: Germany's first and smallest African colony - Nebe, Cai (DW, 2024)
Germany's 30-year rule in Togoland (actual Ghana and Togo) seemed relatively peaceful compared to other German colonies, and Togoland was promoted as "a model colony." But it was a self-serving myth for German colonial administrators.
Ghana

Togoland: Germany's first and smallest African colony - Nebe, Cai (DW, 2024)
Germany's 30-year rule in Togoland (actual Ghana and Togo) seemed relatively peaceful compared to other German colonies, and Togoland was promoted as "a model colony." But it was a self-serving myth for German colonial administrators.
Togo

New NAGPRA rules: A sea change in federal regulations - Pember, Mary Annette (ICT News, 2024)
Museums, universities begin shuttering exhibits as federal requirements change for handling human remains, cultural items.
United States of America
Keywords: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; United States; repatriation

Joe Biden has just dealt a big defeat to big tech - Stiglitz, Joseph (The Guardian, 2024)
US president’s new executive order is an important step towards protecting sensitive personal data
United States of America
Keywords: Business; Data protection; Digital media; Joe Biden; Privacy; Social media; Technology sector; US news; World news

Rights advocates denounce 'systemic abuse' in Israeli prisons - AFP (France24, 2024)
In the shadow of the war raging in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face "systemic abuse" and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action.
Israel

Don’t forget Leonard Peltier - Nicholls, Will (Nation, 2024)
Leonard Peltier is the longest imprisoned Indigenous person in the United States. Even after almost 47 years behind bars he is considered a political prisoner by Amnesty International, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Congress of American Indians, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rev. Jesse Jackson, among many others who believe he should be immediately released.
United States of America

DRC: Reinstating executions shows a callous disregard for human rights - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
Congo’s government wants to resume executions, after a hiatus of two decades, in a bid to combat armed groups and gang violence, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said:
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Germany's Bundesbank confronts dark Nazi origins - Connor, Richard (DW, 2024)
Germany's central financial institution, the Bundesbank, commissioned a study to examine its roots. Research showed that the bank, set up after World War II, was founded on a past tightly interwoven with the Nazi Party.
Germany

Data protection in the EU: Children, migrants, and EU Commission - Julia Tar (The Tech Brief, 2024)
We look at data protection issues, including the regulation concerning the detection and removal of online child sexual abuse material, as well as Frontex’s handling of migrants’ data, and the recent news regarding the European Commission's violation of data protection rules in its use of Microsoft.
Europe

Digital health data compromise hailed as 'most important health legislation' in this mandate - Mersh, Amalie Holmgaard (Euractiv, 2024)
EU institutions struck a deal on the European Health Data Space, having finally landed an agreement on the thorny issue of opt-out for secondary use of health data.
Europe

Law, Migration, and the Construction of Whiteness: Mobility Within the - Myslinska, Dagmar Rita (Routledge, 2024)
Brexit supporters’ frequent targeting of European Union (EU) movers, especially those from Central and Eastern Europe, has been popularly assumed as at odds with the EU project’s foundations based on equality and inclusion. This book dispels that notion. By interrogating the history, wording, omissions, assumptions and applications of laws, policies and discourses pertinent to mobility and equality
Europe

How a wave of disinformation is endangering Rohingya refugees in Indonesia - Observers team (The Observers - France 24, 2024)
Dozens of photos and videos that have been either "doctored" or taken out of context so as to negatively portray Rohingya refugees have been circulating on Indonesian social media. This wave of disinformation…
Indonesia

UN Commission concerned by continuing patterns of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law - OHCHR (OHCHR, 2024)
Two years after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, civilian suffering is mounting as a result of Russia’s disregard for basic principles of humanitarian law and its human rights obligations.
Ukraine

The devastating persecution of trans people by the Nazis still echoes down the ages - Baska, Maggie (PinkNews, 2024)
Before WWII, Germany saw movements supporting transgender and gender non-conforming folks. It all changed when the Nazis took power.
Germany
Keywords: LGBTQ+ rights

Secret Iraq War cabinet documents released publicly - Brown, Andrew (The Canberra Times, 2024)
The National Archives of Australia released 14 declassified cabinet records relating to Australia’s involvement in the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Australia

India blocks access to documentary about death of Sikh activist in Canada - Cecco, Leyland (The Guardian, 2024)
CBC aired an investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing the Canadian government suspects India was behind.
India
Keywords: Americas; Canada; India; South and central Asia; World news

Strength Basing, Empowering and Regenerating Indigenous Knowledge Education: Riteway Flows - Davis, John (Routledge & CRC Press, 2024)
Strength Basing, Empowering and Regenerating Indigenous Knowledge Education demonstrates how to bring Indigenous Knowledges to the forefront of education practice and provides educators with the tools to enact culturally responsive curricula and pedagogies, ensuring positive educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and students
Australia

Rare, Wrongfully Obtained Manuscript Returned to Peruvian Government - Pennsylvania, Eastern District of, U.S. Attorney's Office (United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2024)
A rare sixteenth-century manuscript was repatriated to the Peruvian government at a ceremony today presided over by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.
Peru
Keywords: Peru; Press release; Repatriation; United States of America

Exhibition | Entangled Pasts, 1768–now - Royal Academy of Arts (Royal Academy of Arts, 2024)
The Royal Academy of Arts brings together over 100 major contemporary and historical works as part of a conversation about art and its role in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition and colonialism – and how it may help set a course for the future. Exhibition running until 28 April 2024 at the London Royal Academy of Arts
United Kingdom

Germany's colonial era: Battling oblivion with art - Harjes, Christine (dw.com, 2024)
Street names, monuments and graves of colonial rulers: The colonial era has left its mark on Germany and relates to Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and parts of present day Ghana. In the German city of Bonn, artist Cheryl McIntosh explores colonial history and its impact on the present. Includes links to three video recordings.
Germany

Transitional and Restorative Justice in Post Conflict Countries, Liberia - Let’s Talk Human Rights (Let’s Talk Human Rights, 2024)
This episode discusses the Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process, and ransitional justice and peacebuilding in Liberia, a nation marked by a tumultuous history of civil wars from 1989-1997 and 1999-2003. Discussion includes the critical role of memorialisation and the involvement of regional bodies in supporting Liberia's reconciliation journey. We confront the pressing issue of disconnect between youth and historical memory, emphasising the urgency of preserving Liberia's past to safeguard its future.
Liberia

Elihu Yale: The cruel and greedy Yale benefactor who traded in Indian slaves - Pandy, Geeta (BBC News India, 2024)
The truth of how Elihu Yale made his fortune had been largely forgotten - until now.
United States of America

Elihu Yale: The cruel and greedy Yale benefactor who traded in Indian slaves - Pandy, Geeta (BBC News India, 2024)
The truth of how Elihu Yale made his fortune had been largely forgotten - until now.
India

EU Parliament passes European Media Freedom Act, concerns over spyware remain - Taylor, Alice (Euractiv, 2024)
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), a landmark legislation to protect journalists and media freedom, though concerns remain over the use of spyware to monitor media.
Europe

What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs. - Topher Sanders,Dan Schwartz,Danelle Morton,Gabriel Sandoval (ProPublica, 2024)
Thanks to government loopholes, rail companies haven’t been scrutinized by the Federal Railroad Administration for scores of alleged worker injuries and at least two deaths.
United States of America

National Cyber Directorate warns State Archive: Israel's digital history could be erased - Aderet, Ofer (Haaretz, 2024)
The search function on the website of the Israel State Archives has been disabled since the site was attacked by pro-Palestinian hackers in November. The National Cyber Directorate has warned that critical material in the archives is highly vulnerable to irreversible damage
Israel
Keywords: 2023 Israel-Gaza War; Cyber Warfare; Israel

Growing secrecy limits government accountability - Cuillier, David (The Conversation, 2024)
After years of anecdotes, data provides a fuller picture of government agencies hiding their work from the public they ostensibly serve.
United States of America

Morocco-Algeria Tensions: Royal Archivist Recalls Morocco’s Historical Claims to Eastern Sahara - Faouzi, Adil (Morocco World News, 2024)
Bahija Simou, the director of Morocco’s Royal Archives, has brought the long-running border dispute between Morocco and Algeria back to the forefront after asserting on that Morocco has documents proving its sovereignty over the so-called mineral-rich “Eastern Sahara” region. By raising this issue now, Morocco may be attempting to pressure France, whose relations with Algeria have deteriorated, into explicitly recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco
Keywords: Algeria; Morocco; Western Sahara

Holocaust History, Holocaust Memory: Jewish Poland and Polish Jews, During and After the Holocaust - Ganor, Lea; Baumel-Schwartz, Judith Tydor (Routledge & CRC Press, 2024)
This volume is both a study of the history of Polish Jews and Jewish Poland before, during, and immediately after the Holocaust and a collection of personal explorations focusing on the historians who write about these subjects.
Europe

Leaked Document Details How The Kremlin Manages Russia's Elections - Grigoryev, Andrei (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2024)
A purported Kremlin election-strategy document leaked last month seems to show in detail how the authorities in Russia intend to produce 85 percent support for President Vladimir Putin in the March 15-17 vote.
Russian Federation
Keywords: Features; Russia

How Sudanese rights monitors are risking their lives to document the war - Yokes, Ela (The New Humanitarian, 2024)
How Sudanese rights defenders are risking their lives to document the war - The New Humanitarian puts quality, independent journalism at the service of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world
Sudan

Thousands could be owed Windrush compensation - Zeldin-O'Neill, Sophie; Jessett, Elliot (BBC, 2024)
The Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS) was established to provide compensation to people who suffered loss as a result of government policy and failings, which included the revelation that the UK's Home Office had kept no historic records of those granted permission to stay in Britain.
United Kingdom

'Chilling effect' on culture: Class action puts spotlight on prosecution of Aboriginal fishers - Milton, Vanessa (ABC News, 2024)
More than 10,000 people could be eligible for a compensation payout from the NSW government for the criminalisation of traditional fishing practices that are protected under Commonwealth native title law.
Australia
Keywords: NSW government; Racial Discrimination Act; abalone; class action; cultural fishing; fisheries; native title; prosecution

#Keepiton Sudan's internet shutdown threatens delivery of humanitarian and emergency services. - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
A near total communication blackout in Sudan following all network and internet shutdowns in early February poses serious risks to the coordination of emergency assistance and humanitarian services to millions of people caught up in the conflict.
Sudan

UN rights expert David Boyd: ‘Businesses are treating the environment like a free dumping ground’ - Langrand, Michelle (Geneva Solutions, 2024)
Over half of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015 can be traced back to some 25 fossil fuel companies, while the richest one per cent spew as much emissions as the poorest 66 per cent. These are some of the findings from the UN’s top expert on human rights and the environment’s latest report to the Human Rights Council.
Worldwide

Your personal data all over the web - is there a better way? - Mcmanus, Sean (BBC News, 2024)
Would it be better to keep your personal data in one place, rather than entering it into hundreds of websites?
Worldwide

Totem pole in Ottawa needs to be returned says First Nations chief - Slack, Kerry (APTN News, 2024)
A totem pole gifted to Scouts Canada in the 1960s needs to be returned says the carver's family from Kwakiutl First Nation.
Canada
Keywords: Kwakiutl First Nation; Repatriation

Empowering women and promoting gender equality in Asia and Africa through Memory of the World - UNESCO (UNESCO, 2024)
Throughout history, women have played pivotal roles in shaping the political, economic, scientific and cultural landscapes of societies worldwide despite tremendous obstacles. However, they remain largely underrepresented in the archives. This month of International Women's Day, UNESCO highlights their achievements in the documentary heritage inscriptions of Asia and Africa.
Worldwide
Keywords: women

Training | DPLA Metadata Working Group launches new reparative description workshop series - Digital Public Library of America (Digital Public Library of America, 2024)
DPLA’s Metadata Working Group is proud to announce Practical Approaches for Reparative Description, a workshop series designed for people working with cultural heritage data looking to deepen their understanding and practice of reparative description. Reparative description focuses on remediating or contextualizing potentially outdated or harmful language used in descriptive practices, ensuring accuracy and inclusivity (definition derived from Yale’s Reparative Archival Description). Register to the workshops held from 13 April to 10 May
Worldwide
Keywords: Event

Your Body, but Not Your Data - Fischer, Shira H. (Rand, 2024)
The public needs rigorous and thorough health research, but individual patients should have rights over their medical information. Today they have very little.
United States of America
Keywords: Data Analysis; Health Information Privacy; Health Information Technology; Medical Ethics

For years, I suspected MI5 interfered in the miners’ strike. The truth was even more shocking than I thought - Hollingsworth, Mark (The Guardian, 2024)
A document buried in the National Archives reveals how the security service abused its power to help the government win.
United Kingdom
Keywords: MI5; Politics; Politics past; The miners' strike 1984-85; UK news

Deepfakes and the possible risks for the EU elections - Julia Tar (Euractive, 2024)
Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, social media, and misinformation have become integral parts of our daily lives, and their influence on political elections, possibly including the upcoming EU elections in June, is significant.
Europe

Exhibition | Becoming Visible, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Launches First Digital Exhibition - Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian Institution, 2024)
Women's stories have been in a constant state of becoming visible, never quite coming into focus in American history. Even though historians have long documented the lives and work of women, their contributions have vanished from most popular narratives of U.S. history. Explore how five women’s stories have been recorded and remembered, and join our effort to expand the story of America.
United States of America

From Africa to Alabama: Stories of survivors of the last slave ship - Spinel, Barbara (Christian Science Monitor, 2024)
The horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade are often expressed in numerical terms whose enormity can be difficult to grasp. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, 12.5 million people in Africa were forced onto slave ships bound for the Americas; 10.7 million survived the crossing and entered a life of bondage. The story of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to arrive on U.S. shores, gives human dimension to those staggering statistics.
United States of America

Russian jailed for seven years for articles about Ukraine war - Papachristou, Lucy (Reuters, 2024)
A reporter for an independent Russian news outlet was sentenced to seven years in prison for articles he wrote about alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Russian Federation

Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov - International Criminal Court (ICC) (International Criminal Court (ICC), 2024)
Today, 5 March 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court judges issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Mr Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.
Ukraine

Australia urges Israel to provide evidence for allegations UNRWA staff were involved in 7 October attacks - Josh Butler (The Guardian, 2024)
UN ambassador says Australia also wants details of UNRWA reform before humanitarian funding is restored
Australia
Keywords: Australia news; Australian foreign policy; Australian politics; Israel-Gaza war; United Nations

Church of England told to invest billion pounds over slavery - DW (DW.com, 2024)
An advisory group has urged the Church of England to raise its fund for redressing slavery to ten times of its current worth. The church set up the fund after it admitted it had invested in the African slave trade.
United Kingdom

France enshrines abortion rights in Constitution with historic vote - euronews (euronews, 2024)
France will change its Constitution after lawmakers voted in a joint session of parliament.
France

Millions of research papers at risk of disappearing from the Internet - Wild, Sarah (Nature, 2024)
An analysis of DOIs suggests that digital preservation is not keeping up with burgeoning scholarly knowledge.
United States of America
Keywords: Information technology; Publishing; Scientific community

ICA SAHR – The use of the Khmer Rouge archives as judicial evidence - ICA International Council on Archives (2024)
Song Pheaktra and Helen Jarvis: The use of the Khmer Rouge archives as judicial evidence by the People's Revolutionary Tribunal (1979) and the Extraordinary Chambers for the Courts of Cambodia (2007-2022) Song Pheaktra will introduce the various categories of documents left behind by the Khmer Rouge when they left the S-21 prison (including so-called confessions; biographies; photographs; guard notebooks and name lists of over 18,000 prisoners), which have now been digitised and made available on the museum's web site. Helen Jarvis will then go on to discuss how these archives provided crucial evidence of the crimes committed in two major trials: the world's first genocide tribunal in 1979, later verified in more detail in the recently concluded hybrid Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. These archives were inscribed on both regional and international registers of UNESCO's Memory of the World, and the museum was the recipient of the 2020 UNESCO/MoW Jikji Prize for preservation of documentary heritage. Biographies Song Pheaktra graduated from the Royal University of Phnom Penh in 2022 with a Master Degree in History. In 2016, he began his career working with local NGOs on ethnic minority research and documentation, and later he moved to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. In 2018, he was appointed to be head of archives section and is in charge of several research projects at the museum. He leads the team of 12 staff to collect, preserve, digitise and the use of archival materials of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which is now recognized as the biggest archives existing from the Khmer Rouge regime. Pheaktra combines history and archives skill in his academic life. He participated in many seminars, workshops and training sessions on the archival profession, for example in September 2023 he joined a comprehensive course on Record and Archives Management in the Haute École de gestion de Genève, Switzerland. In 2021, he presented his master thesis on “S-21 Documentation and the Early Development of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives in the People’s Republic of Kampuchea”. Helen Jarvis, PhD University of Sydney, BA (Hons) Australian National University, Associate of the Library Association of Australia and former Head of the School of Information, Library and Archive Studies at the University of New South Wales. Helen is currently Chair of the Register Sub-Committee of Memory of the World’s Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) and was a member of MoW’s International Advisory Committee (2013-2018). Since the mid-1990s, Helen has worked in Cambodia on cultural heritage and documentation and justice for genocide. She was Documentation Consultant for Yale University’s Cambodian Genocide Program; a member of the Cambodian Government Task Force for the Khmer Rouge Trials; and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as Chief of Public Affairs and then Chief of the Victims’ Support Section. She works closely with Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in matters relating to archives and documentation. She was the author of the chapter “The Pathway to the Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage including in digital form”, in The UNESCO Memory of the World programme : key aspects and developments, edited by Ray Edmondson, Lothar Jordan and Anca Claudia Prodan. (Heritage Studies Series) Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2020. She holds both Australian and Cambodian nationality and is an Adviser to the Royal Government of Cambodia.

UK and US accused of obstructing inquiry into 1961 death of UN chief - Julian Borger (The Guardian, 2024)
Governments said to be ‘dragging their feet’ in handing over evidence relating to death of Dag Hammarskjöld
Worldwide
Keywords: Dag Hammarskjöld; UK news; US news; United Nations; World news

Spyware ruling a welcome step towards accountability for those targeted with NSO spyware - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
A US district court has ordered Israeli spyware firm NSO Group to disclose documents and code related to its notorious Pegasus spyware, to WhatsApp.
United States of America

Spyware ruling a welcome step towards accountability for those targeted with NSO spyware - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
The Amnesty International Security Lab has documented the massive scale and breadth of the use of Pegasus against human rights defenders and journalists across the world. It is vital that targets of Pegasus find out who has purchased and deployed the spyware against them so that they can seek meaningful redress.
United States of America

Leaked Communist Party document warns of 'hostile forces' - Head, Jonanthan (BBC, 2024)
A leaked internal document, known as Directive 24, issued by the Politburo of the Central Committee, flags a threat to national security brought on by Vietnam's growing international ties.
Vietnam

Using Open Source Internet Routing Tools to Monitor a Sanctioned Russian Bank - Logan Williams (bellingcat, 2024)
An open internet is a cornerstone of civil society, underpinning access to information in peacetime but even more so in times of conflict and under repressive regimes.
Russian Federation

China’s New State Security Rules Spark Fears Among Foreign Businesses - Tom Nagorski (The Cipher Brief, 2024)
China’s top legislative body adopted amendments to the country’s Law on Guarding State Secrets to include a new category of “work secrets,” broadening the scope of data and information sharing that will be considered a national security risk.
China

Training | UPCOMING WORKSHOPS - Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Network - Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Network (Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Network, 2024)
Friday, April 26th, 11am-2:30pm EST. This workshop on Disaster Planning for Digital Repositories delves deeply into the essentials of risk assessment and disaster planning for digital collections. Registration Deadline April 22nd
Worldwide
Keywords: Event

Manchester University Press - The seven veils of privacy - O'Hara, Kieron (Manchester University Press, 2024)
With the rise of big data and surveillance capitalism, our privacy is increasingly under threat. But discussions of how to protect privacy are often derailed by disagreements over what exactly it is. In this book, Kieron O'Hara sets out to demystify privacy. He reveals that much of the conflict around it results from taking different perspectives that veil key assumptions and disguise points of agreement.
Worldwide

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2024-03 (March) - SAHR Newsletter Woking Group (ICA, 2024)

Training | Black Canadians: History, Presence, and Anti-Racist Futures - University of Alberta (Cousera, 2024)
This online micro-course explores some of the major histories, migrations, artists and activists that have contributed to the presence and survival of Black people in Canada. The course tracks Canada’s evolving relationship to Blackness and Black people, while inviting learners to reflect upon the ways Canadian views of race and multiculturalism have influenced Black communities throughout the country. Four modules for a total of eight hours. Free registration available.
Canada

Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Asia - Anthony, Spires; Akihiro, Ogawa (Routledge, 2024)
This book represents a pioneering interdisciplinary effort to analyze Asian civil society under authoritarianism, a regime type that is re-appearing or deepening after several decades of increased political liberalization. The approach is organized in four main themes: actions under political repression, transitions to democracy, uncivil society, political capture and legal control.
Worldwide

Fake news campaign targets protesting Indian farmers - Elise Gallé-Tessonneau (The Observers - France 24, 2024)
Farmers in India have been organising large protests since early February calling for changes that would help them protect their livelihoods. These protests, however, have been the target of an online disinformation campaign.
India

Gender-Based Violence in the Global South: Ideologies, Resistances, Responses, and Transformations - Romana, Biholar; Dacia L., Leslie (Routledge, 2024)
This book amplifies the different voices and experiences of those facing gender-based violence (GBV) in the Global South. It explores the localised ways in which marginalised individuals design modes of coping with and address GBV, including cultural interpretations, and artistic and faith-based expressions.
Worldwide

Rome: Jesuit archives on the Holocaust to be digitalized - Rytel-Andrianik, Pawet (Vatican News, 2024)
The Archive of the House of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus signs an agreement with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to digitize archival material related to the Holocaust.
Holy See (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: Holocaust; Transparency

Ten Years of Occupation by the Russian Federation: Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine - The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (UN News, 2024)
The report cites human rights and humanitarian law violations since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Ukraine

The State Of Open Humanitarian Data 2024 - Sarah Telford (Center for Humdata, 2024)
In 2023, the demand for humanitarian data reached a record level as the world contended with the effects of war, climate shocks, food insecurity, displacement and disease in crises ranging from Gaza to Sudan. At the same time, data availability across priority humanitarian operations remained steady.
Worldwide

Two-year update. Protection of civilians: impact of hostilities on civilians since 24 February 2022 - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights; The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, 2024)
On 24 February 2022, Russian armed forces launched a full-scale armed attack on Ukraine. In the two years since, the civilian population in Ukraine has endured immense suffering and harm.
Ukraine

A Foreign Government, Oprah, and Fires in Maui: The Impact of Misinformation on Community Resiliency - Posard, Marek N.; Jensen, Jessica (Rand, 2024)
Crises and disasters are opportunities to undermine the national unity that forms in response to tragedy: U.S. adversaries may gain an advantage when there is discord among the American public. But even if information operations are cheap for foreign governments to execute, they also can be simple to counteract effectively through routine emergency management preparedness activities.
United States of America
Keywords: Community Resilience; Emergency Preparedness; Information Operations; Media Literacy; Social Media

How governments handle data matters for inclusion - Ruijer, Erna; Porumbescu, Gregory; Piotrowski, Suzanne J. (The Conversation, 2024)
Governments can exclude certain groups of people in policies and services not only by the type of data they collect but also how they collect, store, analyze and use the data.
Worldwide

Concerns raised over UK Data Protection Bill's impact on EU's GDPR - Tar, Julia (www.euractiv.com, 2024)
A letter sent by member of European Parliament Paul Tang, seen by Euractiv, raises questions regarding the potential effects of the UK's Data Protection Bill on the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Europe

China’s Hacker Network: What to Know - Moreno, J. Edward (The New York Times, 2024)
Documents leaked on a public website show that China is hiring private hackers to obtain sensitive information from foreign companies and governments.
China
Keywords: China; Classified Information and State Secrets; Content Type: Service; Cyberattacks and Hackers; Cyberwarfare and Defense; Espionage and Intelligence Services; GitHub Inc; International Relations; Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China; Surveillance of Citizens by Government

Empowering Humanitarian Response Through Crisis Informatics - Nethope (Nethope, 2024)
In the age of polycrisis, humanitarian organizations responding to emergencies must do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. Having the right information for targeting actions correctly, and making good decisions, is essential both for these organizations and those they serve.
Worldwide

“We Will Find You” - Sparks, Lily (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
The 46-page report, “‘We Will Find You’: A Global Look at How Governments Repress Nationals Abroad,” is a rights-centered analysis of how governments are targeting dissidents, activists, political opponents, and others living abroad. Human Rights Watch examined killings, removals, abductions and enforced disappearances, collective punishment of relatives, abuse of consular services, and digital attacks. The report also highlights governments’ targeting of women fleeing abuse, and government misuse of Interpol.
Worldwide

The Smithsonian’s Human Remains Task Force Calls for New Repatriation Policies - Wexler, Ellen (Smithsonian Magazine, 2024)
The report provides recommendations regarding the return of human remains in the Institution’s collections
United States of America

Some Museums Scrambled to Remove Native American Items From Display. These Museums Didn’t Need to. - Mary Hudetz; Logan Jaffe (ProPublica, 2024)
As major U.S. museums in recent weeks closed displays and exhibit halls containing Native American objects, the Museum of Us in San Diego hasn’t done the same. More than five years ago, its board of trustees adopted a policy on collections from Indigenous communities that addressed the concerns the new rules focus on.
United States of America

A cache of leaked Chinese hacking documents just confirmed experts' warnings about how compromised the US could be - Tan, Kwan Wei Kevin (Business Insider, 2024)
A cache of over 570 Chinese hacking documents was posted to GitHub last week. Cybersecurity experts say the files look authentic. The documents mentioned at least 20 hacking targets, including countries like the UK and India. The leaks come after multiple warnings by officials on the scales of China's hacking operations.
China

October 7 evidence pieced together in Israel, one terabyte at a time - Agence France-Presse (AFP) (Zawya.com, 2024)
The "Edut 710" project is one of several dozen initiatives feeding a "massive" database set up by the National Library of Israel, said Raquel Ukeles
Israel

How a wave of disinformation is endangering Rohingya refugees in Indonesia - Chaigne, Thais (The Observers - France 24, 2024)
Dozens of photos and videos that have been either "doctored" or taken out of context so as to negatively portray Rohingya refugees have been circulating on Indonesian social media.
Myanmar

‘Little by little, the truth is being discovered’: the archive rescuing China’s forbidden films - Hawkins, Amy (The Guardian, 2024)
A golden era of Chinese cinema was brought to a halt by Xi Jinping’s regime, but now, thousands of miles away, a rich world of banned documentaries and dramas is being studied and celebrated
China
Keywords: China; Culture; Documentary films; Film

Taylor Swift, the pope, Putin: in the age of AI and deepfakes, who do you trust? - Hurst, Alexander (The Guardian, 2024)
Rumours and gossip changed the course of French history. Now they’re weapons for ‘newsfluencers’ and dictators in the 21st-century information wars.
Worldwide
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); Deepfake; Europe; France; Media; Russia; Social media; Technology; World news

Does Portugal Have The Answer To Stopping Drug Overdose Deaths? - Mann, Brian (NPR, 2024)
Portugal treats addiction as an illness rather than a crime. No one has to pay for addiction care, and no one scrambles to navigate a poorly regulated recovery system. Could Portugal's approach help the U-S fight its opioid epidemic?
Portugal
Keywords: Fentanyl; Opioid

How a wave of disinformation is endangering Rohingya refugees in Indonesia - Thaïs Chaigne (The Observers - France 24, 2024)
Dozens of photos and videos that have been either "doctored" or taken out of context so as to negatively portray Rohingya refugees have been circulating on Indonesian social media.
Indonesia

10 million children displaced in 2023 - NGO - Euro News (euronews, 2024)
"When children lose their homes, they lose almost everything: their access to healthcare, education, food, and safety," a spokesperson for the organisation said.
Worldwide

The Haitian Revolution and American Slavery - Gershon, Livia (JSTOR Daily, 2024)
For both US politicians and enslaved Black Americans, the Haitian Revolution represented the possibility of a successful violent rebellion by the oppressed.
United States of America

The Haitian Revolution and American Slavery - Gershon, Livia (JSTOR Daily, 2024)
For both US politicians and enslaved Black Americans, the Haitian Revolution represented the possibility of a successful violent rebellion by the oppressed.
Haiti

Hong Kong: Governments Should Oppose Security Bill - Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
National governments should strongly oppose the Hong Kong government’s introduction of so-called national security legislation, which will further devastate human rights protections in Hong Kong, civil society groups said today in a joint statement.
China
Keywords: China

France and Algeria revisit painful past in battle to mend colonial wounds - RFI (RFI, 2024)
A commission of French and Algerian historians created to reconcile colonial difficulties has agreed proposals for the exchange of archives, remains and artifacts. It is hoped the 10-member body – set up in August 2022 by presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune – will help the countries turn the page on a shared and painful past.
Algeria

France and Algeria revisit painful past in battle to mend colonial wounds - RFI (RFI, 2024)
A commission of French and Algerian historians created to reconcile colonial difficulties has agreed proposals for the exchange of archives, remains and artifacts. It is hoped the 10-member body – set up in August 2022 by presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune – will help the countries turn the page on a shared and painful past.
France

‘Dahomey’ Review: Mati Diop Literally Gives Looted African Artifacts a Voice in Strange, Sensitive Doc - Solomons, Adam (IndieWire, 2024)
The French-Senegalese director’s first film since 2019’s “Atlantics” mulls the meaning of ancient treasures in defining identities
Benin

EU: Landmark Digital Services Act must be robustly enforced to protect human rights - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
Digital Services Act takes full effect in Europe
Europe

Profile: Aleksei Navalny, Dogged Anti-Corruption Crusader And Outspoken Kremlin Foe - Coalson, Robert (Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 2024)
Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny: an unyielding Putin critic noted for his courage and his devotion to nonviolent resistance and democracy. Through years of persecution and prison, his message to Russians has stayed the same: “I am not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either.”
Russian Federation
Keywords: Features; Russia

Israel occupation: ICJ goes to the heart of the “political deadlock” - janderson, Janet H (JusticeInfo.net, 2024)
2 decisive questions will be debated from Monday February 19 at the ICJ (the UN court). The answers could have a deep impact not only on the Israel/Palestine conflict, but also on the world legal order and a possible peace solution.
Israel
Keywords: Palestine (permanent observer to the UN)

‘A betrayal’: mother’s fight for justice as Indonesia elects Suharto era figure - Ratcliffe, Rebecca; Hariandja, Richaldo (The Guardian, 2024)
President-elect Prabowo Subianto has human rights abuses to answer for, says mother of student shot at 1998 protest
Indonesia
Keywords: Asia Pacific; Human rights; Indonesia; World news

From extradition risks to broader implications: Human rights expert breaks down Assange case - United Nations (United Nations News, 2024)
Ahead of Julian Assange’s upcoming court hearing in the UK, where extradition to the US is a possibility, a UN independent human rights expert has expressed concern about the potential for severe rights violations against the WikiLeaks founder. Alice Jill Edwards cautions that the repercussions of this case could significantly influence global journalism and freedom of speech. |
United Kingdom

Google stops notifying publishers of ‘right to be forgotten’ removals from search results - Hern, Alex (The Guardian, 2024)
Move comes after Swedish court rules that informing webmasters about delisted content is breach of privacy
Sweden
Keywords: Alphabet; Data protection; Europe; European Union; GDPR; Google; Sweden; Technology; World news

The Office of the Special Rapporteur condemns the violence against journalists in Honduras and calls on the State to protect and guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of the press. - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), 2024)
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder of journalist Luis Alonso Teruel Vega, as well as the persistence of acts of violence against journalists and media outlets in Honduras and urges the State to protect and guarantee the right to freedom of expression and of the press, in accordance with Inter-American standards.
Honduras

After Promising to Make Government Health Care Data More Accessible, the Biden Administration Now Wants to Clamp Down - Miller, T. Christian (ProPublica, 2024)
Researchers across the country fear a new proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will increase fees and decrease access to data used to support major health care reforms.
United States of America

Pandemic Journaling Project Archive Opens for Research - Murray, Mac (UConn Today, 2024)
Described as a form of 'archival activism', the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP), comprising nearly 27,000 entries, provides a window into how the pandemic impacted individuals and communities around the world.
Worldwide

Two OpenAI book lawsuits partially dismissed by California court - Creamer, Ella (The Guardian, 2024)
Comedian Sarah Silverman and novelist Paul Tremblay alleged the artificial intelligence software unlawfully scraped their work to train ChatGPT
United States of America
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); Books; ChatGPT; Computing; Culture; OpenAI; Publishing; Sarah Silverman; Technology; US news; World news

'The Settlers' depicts genocide of Chile's Indigenous people - Dege, Stefan (dw.com, 2024)
Nearly 150 years after the genocide of the Selk'nam people of Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia, a new film recounts the horrors of the mass murders that went nearly unnoticed by the rest of the world.
Chile
Keywords: Genocide

Slovakia excludes NGOs from disinformation fight - Silenská, Natália (www.euractiv.com, 2024)
Robert Fico’s government is mulling the exclusion of NGOs in the government’s plans to fight disinformation, which plans to scrap the former “non-conceptual” action plan “with elements of politicisation”.
Slovakia

French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network - Willsher, Kim; O'Carroll, Lisa (The Guardian, 2024)
Network operating in western Europe is ‘paving way for new wave of online manipulation’ in crucial election year, French agency says
Worldwide
Keywords: Cyberwar; Europe; European Union; France; Internet; Russia; Technology; Ukraine; United Nations; World news

French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network - Willsher, Kim; O'Carroll, Lisa (The Guardian, 2024)
Network operating in western Europe is ‘paving way for new wave of online manipulation’ in crucial election year.
France
Keywords: Cyberwar; Europe; European Union; France; Internet; Russia; Technology; Ukraine; United Nations; World news

‘People are scared’: Sweden’s freedom of information laws lead to wave of deadly bombings - Bryant, Miranda (The Observer, 2024)
Online access to home addresses is a cherished right. But as gangs target rivals with ease, innocent victims are caught in the blasts
Sweden
Keywords: Drugs trade; Europe; Freedom of information; Organised crime; Sweden; World news

Absence of Evidence: Israel’s Case Against UNRWA - Kampmark, Binoy (International Policy Digest, 2024)
Israel’s case against the UNRWA, the Palestinian aid agency, isn't exactly air tight. In fact, it looks incredibly thin and increasingly hollow.
Israel

Crime And Punishment In Communist Hungary - Chapple, Amos (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2024)
Hundreds of images made by police photographers in Budapest in the early 1970s have been released by the Hungarian photo archive Fortepan. Fortepan is a highly popular photo archive that draws from crowdsourced comments to glean information that is then verified, meaning further details of the images are likely to come to light in the coming days and months.
Hungary
Keywords: Features; Hungary; Photo Galleries

Robert Badinter, French minister who ended the guillotine, dies at 95 - RFI (RFI, 2024)
Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who played a key role in abolishing the death penalty in France in 1981, has died at the age of 95.
France

Japan court lets transgender man change official status without sterilisation in legal first - Associated Press (The Guardian, 2024)
Ruling comes months after supreme court ruled that requiring sterilisation before a change of gender in official records was unconstitutional
Japan
Keywords: Asia Pacific; Gender; Japan; Society; Transgender

EU Parliament supports automated data exchange for police cooperation, despite concerns - Clasen, Alina (www.euractiv.com, 2024)
The European Parliament adopted its position on the controversial Prüm II regulation, a Commission proposal for automated data exchange for police cooperation, despite concerns.
Europe

Ulez fines scandal: Italian police ‘illegally accessed’ thousands of EU drivers’ data - Tims, Anna (The Guardian, 2024)
Italy’s data protection body is investigating claims that police shared names and addresses with firm collecting penalties from drivers
Italy
Keywords: Brexit; Congestion charging; Data protection; Environment; Europe; European Union; Italy; London; Low emission zones; Motoring; Politics; Privacy; Road transport; TfL; Transport; Transport policy; UK news

EU agrees first law combatting violence against women - France 24 (France 24, 2024)
EU member countries and lawmakers reached an agreement on Tuesday on the bloc's first rules to tackle violence against women, the European Parliament and officials said.
Europe

A platform tries to map the reduction of artistic freedom in Brazil - Jornalismo, Nonada (Global Voices, 2024)
Art can cause strangeness, anger, sadness or joy; it all depends on who sees it. But although arousing emotion in the viewer is a characteristic of artistic endeavor, the themes of some exhibitions and works can lead to censorship and boycott. Brazil has been proof of that.
Brazil

Conference Call for Proposals | CFP: Ukranian Oral History Association - Publishing in the Archives Profession (Publishing in the Archives Profession, 2024)
Ukrainian Oral History Association (UOHA)—which unites, represents, and supports oral history scholars in Ukraine and abroad—is convening the international conference UOHA-2024 “Oral History in Wartime: Academic Knowledge and the Researcher’s Responsibility.” The conference will take place June 13-15, 2024. Applications for participation in the conference will be accepted until March 15, 2024
Ukraine

Amnesty International publishes an introduction to defending the rights of refugees and migrants in the digital age - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
A migrant is confronted by mass surveillance at a border crossing and is reminded of his uncertain future. Activists work to resist these systems.
Worldwide

The Suriname book prohibition in a global context of free expression - Fausia S. Abdul (Global Voices, 2024)
Suriname's book ban on corruption exposure is more than a local issue; it's a global wake-up call for the defence of free speech and press freedom against authoritarianism.
Suriname

The Price of Defiance in Russia - Lokshina, Tanya (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
Amid the Kremlin’s vicious drive to eliminate dissent, last week brought two disturbing new developments in the prosecution of Oleg Orlov, cochair of leading Russian human rights organization Memorial.
Russian Federation

‘Stolen and disrespected’: museum inters 200-year-old remains of Black Philadelphians - Pilkington, Ed (The Guardian, 2024)
Bones had been used to provide disproven scientific justification for white supremacy before being housed in the Penn Museum
United States of America
Keywords: Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; Race; US news

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Quit Regional Bloc - Allegrozzi, Ilaria (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
On January 28, the three military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced they would leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a move that would limit opportunities for their citizens to seek justice for human rights violations.
Western Africa
Keywords: ECOWAS; Mali; Niger

Forbidden Stories continues work of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalists - Langlois, Roméo; Chabour, Karina (France 24, 2024)
In the run-up to the presidential election on February 7 2024, repression intensified in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus bordering Iran and Armenia. Any opposition to President Ilham Aliev is suppressed. Human rights activists, journalists and political opponents suffer the regime's wrath on a daily basis.
Azerbaijan

Massaquoi affair: epilogue to a fiasco - Thierry Cruvellier (JusticeInfo.net, 2024)
The Court of Appeal in Turku, Finland, has confirmed the acquittal of Gibril Massaquoi, accused of war crimes in Liberia. This is the end of a fiasco in which the Finnish judges twice avoided a miscarriage of justice.
Liberia
Keywords: Finland; Sierra Leone

What is Tor and how does it advance human rights? - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2024)
Our right to privacy and open information online is more at risk than ever before. Governments use spyware to target human rights defenders and block entire websites that talk about human rights. In fact, Amnesty’s websites are completely blocked to people living in countries like Russia, Iran and China.
Worldwide

Children held in B.C. Doukhobor camp in 1950s offered $10M compensation package - Canadian Press (CBC News, 2024)
Up to 200 children of members of the Sons of Freedom religious sect were forcibly taken by the province, with many held in a camp in the B.C. Interior in the 1950s.
Canada

Refugee files complaint to UN against Spain over 2014 border deaths - Kassam, Ashifa (The Guardian, 2024)
A 2014 incident where at least 15 people died attempting to enter Spanish territory led to three judicial investigations. However, the investigations were archived without hearing the testimony of survivors and affected families. A complaint to the UN Committee Against Torture has prompted a call for Spain to reopen the investigation.
Spain

Ottawa declassifies more details from Rodal report on Nazi war criminals in Canada - Osman, Laura (Prince George Citizen, 2024)
The federal government has released previously classified details from a report that outlines the extent to which Canada provided a safe haven to former Nazis during the Cold War.
Canada

New release of Rodal Report in commitment to transparency - Refugees and Citizenship Canada Immigration (2024)
New release of the Rodal Report, which was originally prepared in support of the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada (the Deschênes Commission), established in 1985. This newly released version, following a request made under the Access to Information Act, reveals information that was previously withheld
Canada

Covid-19 Inquiry: Without Proper Records Management, We Would Know Nothing - sca (Scottish Council on Archives, 2024)
The live Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry and UK Covid-19 Inquiry were set up to examine Scotland’s and the UK’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and to learn lessons for the future
United Kingdom

Ex-CIA software engineer sentenced to 40 years for giving secrets to WikiLeaks - The Guardian (The Guardian, 2024)
Joshua Schulte, who prosecutors said was responsible for agency’s largest data breach, also guilty of possessing child abuse images
United States of America
Keywords: CIA; Espionage; US news

Against Erasure - El-Kurd, Mohammed (Haymarket Books, 2024)
A unique, stunning collection of images of Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a testament to the vibrancy of Palestinian society prior to occupation. This book tells the story, in both English and Arabic, of a land full of people—people with families, hopes, dreams, and a deep connection to their home—before Israel’s establishment in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.”
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)

Exhibition | Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–March 2024 – Librarians and Archivists with Palestine - Interference Archives (Interference Archives, 2024)
Visit Interference Archive for two concurrent exhibitions on Palestinian resistance and solidarity! At Interference Archive, 314 7th Street, Brooklyn NY | Until 15 March 2024
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)

Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024 - Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, 2024)
A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)

Survey and Digital Preservation of Upcountry Tamil Archival Records - Modern Endangered Archives Program (UCLA Library, 2024)
The Upcountry (Hill Country) Tamils, are the descendants of nineteenth-century Indian laborers brought to Sri Lanka to work on the country's British-owned tea, coffee, and rubber plantations.The project aimed at demonstrating how a community that is built on indentured labour, colonial political economy, and exploitation remember, narrate, and archive itself
Sri Lanka

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2024-02 (February) - SAHR Newsletter Woking Group (ICA, 2024)

Irreparable Evil: An Essay in Moral and Reparatory History - Scott, David (Columbia University Press, 2024)
Irreparable Evil explores the legacy of slavery and its moral and political implications, offering a nuanced intervention into debates over reparations
Caribbean
Keywords: Reparation

Exhibition | The Green Book - Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (Negro Motorist Green Book, 2024)
Started in 1936 by Harlem postman Victor Green, The Negro Motorist Green Book was a guide published over three decades that helped African Americans travel the country safely, and with dignity, during a time of Jim Crow laws and segregation. Presented until 10 March at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles; from 30 March to 23 June 2024 at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta; and from 13 July to 13 October 2024 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.
United States of America

Virtual Exhibit | The Green Book - Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (Negro Motorist Green Book, 2024)
Virtual Exhibit: Started in 1936 by Harlem postman Victor Green, The Negro Motorist Green Book was a guide published over three decades that helped African Americans travel the country safely, and with dignity, during a time of Jim Crow laws and segregation. The Green Book was also an indispensable resource for the era’s successful Black-owned businesses and rising African American middle class.
United States of America

Reading Group | A Documentary Nakba: Reading Group for Archival Liberation In and Beyond Palestine - Society of American Archivists (Society of American Archivists, 2024)
Archivists and archival studies scholars and students are invited to register for a 15 week reading group that will study the destruction and theft of Palestinian archives, and the expropriation and erasure of Palestinian history and documentary culture by the genocidal Israeli state and its western collaborators and supporters, including the United States, Canadian, British, French and German states. Held every Tuesday from 13 February to 28 May 2024.
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gets 10 years in prison ahead of elections - Ahmed, Munir (Associated Press, 2024)
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was accused of exposing state secrets by revealing a confidential document at a political rally. Khan was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Pakistan
Keywords: 2024-01 January

Sturgeon admits errors in handling of ‘incredibly stressful’ Covid crisis - Carrell, Severin; Brooks, Libby (The Guardian, 2024)
Former first minister of Scotland admits to inquiry that she failed to properly record key discussions
United Kingdom
Keywords: Coronavirus; Covid inquiry; Health; Health policy; Nicola Sturgeon; Politics; Scotland; Scottish National party (SNP); Society; UK news

Another Brick In The Great Kremlin Firewall: Mass Internet Outages Part Of 'Sovereign Internet' - Eckel, Mike (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2024)
Broader and wider than previous outages, the disruptions in Russia's Internet were the latest indication that Russian digital regulators are moving forward to create a "sovereign Internet" to wall off Russia's cyberspace and to restrict the free flow of information.
Russian Federation
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Features; Russia

UN top court rejects most of Ukraine’s ‘terror financing’ case against Russia - France 24 (France 24, 2024)
The United Nations’ top court on Wednesday mostly rejected Ukraine’s claims that Russia was financing “terrorism” in eastern Ukraine, saying only that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged breaches.
Ukraine
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Netherlands; Russia

EU top court finds indiscriminate storing of convicts' data illegal - Tar, Julia (www.euractiv.com, 2024)
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that law enforcement agencies cannot indiscriminately store biometric and genetic data on those who committed criminal offences until their death.
Europe

Nordic Histories of Human Rights - Hagtvedt Vik, Hanne; Jensen, Steven L.B.; Lindkvist, Linde; Strang, Johan (Routledge & CRC Press, 2024)
This book explores the history of Nordic human rights politics and practices from the 1930s to present day. The authors use previously unexplored archival materials to bring to light how a broad range of Nordic actors have engaged with international human rights globally and at a European level and how these norms have been taken up and interpreted in the region
Europe

New Transitional Justice Process Lacks Credibility - Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
The Sri Lankan government’s proposed law to create another body to investigate wartime abuses replicates previous failed efforts, ignores the needs of victims, and falls far short of meeting Sri Lanka’s international legal obligations.
Sri Lanka
Keywords: 2024-01 January

EU to review UNRWA funding, calls for staff probe after allegations - Jones, Mared Gywn (euronews, 2024)
The European Commission said on Monday it will "review" its support to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, following allegations several of its staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel
Israel
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Palestine (permanent observer to the UN)

Transitional Justice in Tunisia: Innovations, Continuities, Challenges - Robins, Simon; Gready, Paul (Routledge, 2024)
This book engages comprehensively with the dynamics of the transitional justice process in Tunisia and its mechanisms, elaborating lessons for transitional justice practice globally. Grounded in new empirical material as well as a broader awareness of transitional justice, this book provides a thorough assessment of transitional justice in Tunisia.
Tunisia
Keywords: 2024-01 January

The Workings of Human Rights, Law and Justice: A Journey from Nepal to Nobel Nominee - Subedi, Surya (Routledge & CRC Press, 2024)
Drawing on the personal experience of a leading international jurist, this book provides insights into the workings of international law and human rights from a global perspective. The work follows the author’s remarkable journey from a simple village in Nepal to becoming an international jurist acclaimed for his innovative academic and influential practical legal work and nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. While much has been written on international human rights law, this inspirational memoir casts a new light on the working of human rights, law, and justice through the eyes of a leading actor. It provides a valuable contribution to the study of justice and human rights and the importance of individual action.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2024-01 January

Beyond Evidence: The Use of Archives in Transitional Justice - Viebach, Julia; Hovestädt, Dagmar; Lühe, Ulrike (Routledge, 2024)
Drawing on conceptual debates in transitional justice and critical archival studies, as well as empirical cases from various countries around the world, the contributions in this book critically examine the evidentiary value of archives by linking them to a multitude of transitional justice processes, goals and ideals, including remembrance processes, witnessing, reconciliation, non-recurrence, and various struggles against injustices and prevalent violence.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2024-01 January

By opening up the archives, Canada can finally address its past with Nazi war criminals - McBride, Jared; Rudling, Per (Globe and Mail, 2024)
In Canada, attempts to access records containing information on potential war criminals have been stymied by privacy and national security restrictions. Given the poor record of dealing with Holocaust perpetrators, scholars are now calling for widespread disclosure and declassification of records—comparable with that of the United States—so that Canada can finally address this troubling aspect of its past.
Canada
Keywords: 2024-01 January

Gaza: World Court Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide - Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures on January 26, 2024, in South Africa’s case alleging that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention.
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Netherlands

Gaza: World Court Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide - Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch, 2024)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures on January 26, 2024, in South Africa’s case alleging that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention.
Israel
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Netherlands

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip - International Court of Justice (International Court of Justice, 2024)
29 December 2023, South Africa filed an Application instituting proceedings against Israel concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the “Genocide Convention” in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel
Keywords: 2024-01 January

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip - International Court of Justice (International Court of Justice, 2024)
29 December 2023, South Africa filed an Application instituting proceedings against Israel concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the “Genocide Convention” in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Palestine (Permanent Observer to the UN)
Keywords: 2024-01 January

US immigration officials didn’t properly document hysterectomies – watchdog - Levine, Sam (The Guardian, 2024)
Officials didn’t document medical necessity in two cases. Based on that sample, the OIG said it could infer with 95% confidence that between 137 and 217 of 553 major surgical procedures were not properly approved in the timeframe it studied.
United States of America
Keywords: 2024-01 January; Reproductive rights; US immigration; US news; Women's health