Global Affairs

Trusted news agencies tracing tendencies of democratisation and autocratisation globally

Equality before the law and individual liberties27. April

Pope Leo calls for worldwide abolition of death penalty

Freedom of expression and alternative sources of information24. April

Security authorities warn Chinese cyberspies targeting smart devices

Civil society participation22. April

Extreme weather a growing threat to elections, democracy: report

Equal access to power17. April

Progressives gather in Barcelona to combat global populist right

Brazil's Lula and Mexico's Sheinbaum are among leftist leaders gathering in Barcelona, where Spain's Prime Minister Sánchez is hosting the Meeting in Defence of Democracy. The leaders deny that they are an anti-Trump group but say the aim is to counter global right-wing populism.

DNA

Equality before the law and individual liberties16. April

Pope Leo: 'World is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants'

Pope Leo slammed tyrants ravaging the world while on a visit to Cameroon. Leo's intervention in politics stands in contrast to the approach taken by some of his predecessors and has involved the Vatican in an ongoing spat with President Trump's administration.

DNA

Equality before the law and individual liberties01. April

Netherlands pioneered same-sex marriage 25 years ago

Amsterdam marked a quarter century of same-sex marriage with three couples marrying shortly after midnight. Gay Prime Minister Rob Jetten was in attendance. He plans to marry later this year. While almost 40 countries have followed, repression remains common in Africa and Asia.

DNA

Legislative constraints on the executive26. March

German study: Autocracy on the rise around the world

A second study in a week has found that democracy is in decline and autocracy on the rise. The latest study from Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation saw evidence of democratic backsliding in the US - along with greater repression in many developing countries.

DNA

Freedom of expression26. March

Trump renews onslaught against "crooked" BBC as new chief unveiled

US President Trump blew new life in his ongoing dispute with the BBC, saying the organisation is "crooked" and it needs to be "taught a lesson" as the broadcaster announced the appointment of a new director-general.

DNA

Legislative constraints on the executive17. March

Report: Global Democracy slips to "1978 levels", US ranking plummets

Whether a country is becoming more democratic or more autocratic can be measured using scientific criteria. A key new report on this topic concludes that democracy is still in decline - globally, but particularly in individual countries such as in the United States.

DNA

Equality before the law and individual liberties12. March

German minister accuses US of curbing women's rights

Karin Prien, German minister for women's rights, slammed the US for failing to support an opening declaration at a UN conference on the status of women. Her remarks followed those of fellow-German Annalena Baerbock who called for the next UN chief to be a woman.

DNA

Equal protection27. February

Violence against women 'a global emergency': UN Human Rights chief

The annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission is taking place in Geneva. One of its topics is violence against women. The UN Human Rights Commissioner speaks clearly and highlights two prominent cases as negative examples.

AFP English

Equal access to power23. February

UN chiefs decries global rise of "rule of force"

A comeback for "domination and supremacy" and an erosion of democracy. The UN Human Rights Council, which has started its annual session in Geneva, doesn't paint a particularly sunny picture about the global state of democracy. But there is also hope if "we come together".

DNA

Political corruption10. February

Corruption is on the rise worldwide

Abuse of entrusted power for private gain – that is how the organisation Transparency defines corruption. Despite some progress in some areas of the world, the problem is still growing worldwide, their latest report shows.

DNA

Equality before the law and individual liberties04. February

Human Rights Watch says "global human rights system is in peril"

The HRW rights watchdog offers a bleak assessment of individual rights in its latest report. It points to raids on immigrants in the US, backtracking on rights in China and Russia, what it calls "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan and with use of the death penalty in Iran.

DNA

Equal access to power30. January

Guterres says "it is clearly time" for a woman to lead the UN

UN Secretary-General Guterres himself is not allowed to vote on his successor. However, he has clear ideas about who should and who should not inherit his office. He also condemns the actions of Trump's authorities in Minneapolis.

DNA

Equality before the law and individual liberties30. January

Council of Europe body calls for ban on 'conversion therapies'

The Council of Europe wants a clampdown on so-called conversion therapy, a discredited and controvesial practice that falsely claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

DNA

23. January

Germany, Ethiopia warn against collapse of rules-based order

Some analysts say US actions have upset the post-war "order" based on internationally-respected rules. In Africa, this has promped German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to stress the importance of strengthening ties with the Global South.

DNA