URL: http://opencrs.com/document/RL34509/. Source: Congressional Research Service.
After almost a year of uncertainty following Zimbabwe's March 2008 elections, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn as Prime Minister of a new coalition government on February 11, 2009. The new governments establishment comes five months after a power-sharing agreement was signed in an effort to resolve the political standoff resulting from the flawed 2008 elections. For the first time since independence, the ruling party has lost its majority in the National Assembly...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
International Criminal Court Launches Online Library
URL: http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Legal+Texts+and+Tools/. Source: International Criminal Court (ICC).
In late April, the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched the new version of “Legal Tools,” an online library on international criminal law and justice, which empowers victims and others who seek a judicial response to atrocities by providing a central vehicle to obtain information on international criminal law. Legal Tools provide a knowledge-transfer platform for international criminal and human rights laws made freely available to the general public through the ICC Web site. The online library contains more than 40,000 documents, including decisions and indictments from all international criminal tribunals, ICC preparatory works and case documents, treaties, information about national legal systems, and relevant decisions from national courts.
In late April, the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched the new version of “Legal Tools,” an online library on international criminal law and justice, which empowers victims and others who seek a judicial response to atrocities by providing a central vehicle to obtain information on international criminal law. Legal Tools provide a knowledge-transfer platform for international criminal and human rights laws made freely available to the general public through the ICC Web site. The online library contains more than 40,000 documents, including decisions and indictments from all international criminal tribunals, ICC preparatory works and case documents, treaties, information about national legal systems, and relevant decisions from national courts.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media
URL: http://cima.ned.org/896/self-regulation-report.html. Source: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA).
This report examines the ways in which media around the world have attempted to regulate themselves. Written by Bill Ristow, a veteran journalist and international journalism trainer, this report discusses the use of press councils and ombudsmen. Many efforts to establish these entities espouse similar high standards, however, they differ in approach, scope, effectiveness, and, most significantly, independence.
Download the report.
This report examines the ways in which media around the world have attempted to regulate themselves. Written by Bill Ristow, a veteran journalist and international journalism trainer, this report discusses the use of press councils and ombudsmen. Many efforts to establish these entities espouse similar high standards, however, they differ in approach, scope, effectiveness, and, most significantly, independence.
Download the report.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Journalists in Exile
URL: http://www.rsf.org/Reporters-Without-Borders,33456.html Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
According to the report, at least three journalists a month flee their home countries to escape threats of violence, prison or harassment, and only one in seven ever returns home. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) marked World Refugee Day by publishing a guide for exiled journalists - providing them with information about the main procedures and potential obstacles in seeking asylum. The guide covers the steps to be taken with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and also asylum procedures within the European Union, the United States and Canada: three of the top destinations for exiled journalists. Also visit a special section of RSF's website dedicated to exiled journalists here.
According to the report, at least three journalists a month flee their home countries to escape threats of violence, prison or harassment, and only one in seven ever returns home. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) marked World Refugee Day by publishing a guide for exiled journalists - providing them with information about the main procedures and potential obstacles in seeking asylum. The guide covers the steps to be taken with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and also asylum procedures within the European Union, the United States and Canada: three of the top destinations for exiled journalists. Also visit a special section of RSF's website dedicated to exiled journalists here.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Undermining Democracy: 21st Century Authoritarians
URL: http://www.underminingdemocracy.org
Freedom House, in collaboration with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, has released a major report investigating how dictatorships control information and why they get away with it.
Culminating from a two-year study, the report, "Undermining Democracy: 21st Century Authoritarians", chronicles how five of the globe's most influential authoritarian states - China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Pakistan - are actively subverting democratic movements, strictly censoring the information their citizens can access and intimidating journalists and civil society.
Freedom House, in collaboration with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, has released a major report investigating how dictatorships control information and why they get away with it.
Culminating from a two-year study, the report, "Undermining Democracy: 21st Century Authoritarians", chronicles how five of the globe's most influential authoritarian states - China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Pakistan - are actively subverting democratic movements, strictly censoring the information their citizens can access and intimidating journalists and civil society.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Berkman Center For Internet & Democracy Project Releases Study Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere
URL: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/Mapping_the_Arabic_Blogosphere.pdf. Source: Berkman Center for Internet & Democracy
From the Summary:
“Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere” uses a unique methodology that blends link analysis, term frequency analysis, and human coding of individual blogs to investigate the online discussions taking place across the Middle East and North Africa. Internet & Democracy project director Bruce Etling and his team, with Morningside Analytics founder and Berkman affiliate John Kelly, and co-authors Robert Faris and John Palfrey, identified a base network of approximately 35,000 active blogs (about half as many as found in their previous study of the Persian blogosphere), created a network map of the 6,000 most connected blogs, and with a group of Arabic speakers hand coded 4,000 blogs. The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs. Whereas the previous study of the Persian blogosphere revealed a network organized primarily around political ideologies and topical issues, such as reformist and conservative politics, religion, and poetry, the Arabic blogosphere is organized primarily around countries. Moreover, personal life and local issues are the most important topics of discussion: most bloggers write mainly personal, diary-style observations, but when writing about politics, bloggers tend to focus on issues within their own country. Bloggers link to Web 2.0 sites like YouTube and Wikipedia (English and Arabic versions) more than other sources of information and news available on the Internet. The overall picture is one of country-based groupings of blogs focused on domestic issues.
From the Summary:
“Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere” uses a unique methodology that blends link analysis, term frequency analysis, and human coding of individual blogs to investigate the online discussions taking place across the Middle East and North Africa. Internet & Democracy project director Bruce Etling and his team, with Morningside Analytics founder and Berkman affiliate John Kelly, and co-authors Robert Faris and John Palfrey, identified a base network of approximately 35,000 active blogs (about half as many as found in their previous study of the Persian blogosphere), created a network map of the 6,000 most connected blogs, and with a group of Arabic speakers hand coded 4,000 blogs. The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs. Whereas the previous study of the Persian blogosphere revealed a network organized primarily around political ideologies and topical issues, such as reformist and conservative politics, religion, and poetry, the Arabic blogosphere is organized primarily around countries. Moreover, personal life and local issues are the most important topics of discussion: most bloggers write mainly personal, diary-style observations, but when writing about politics, bloggers tend to focus on issues within their own country. Bloggers link to Web 2.0 sites like YouTube and Wikipedia (English and Arabic versions) more than other sources of information and news available on the Internet. The overall picture is one of country-based groupings of blogs focused on domestic issues.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2009
URL: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2009/gcb2009
Transparency International’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer reveals a growing distrust of business, the daily struggle of the world’s poor with petty bribery and public unconvinced of governments’ anti-corruption efforts. A global public opinion survey, the 2009 Barometer reflects the views of more than 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories around the world.
Transparency International’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer reveals a growing distrust of business, the daily struggle of the world’s poor with petty bribery and public unconvinced of governments’ anti-corruption efforts. A global public opinion survey, the 2009 Barometer reflects the views of more than 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories around the world.
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