Mathew Jacob will address the latest developments in India with regards to shrinking democratic space, as well as challenges and opportunities ahead for human rights work in our world’s largest democracy. There will be time for questions and interaction.
Matthew Jacob is the national coordinator for Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA) India. HRDA is a national network for the protection and promotion of human rights defenders and platform to extend solidarity and assistance to human rights defenders at risk http://hrdaindia.org/
Indian civil society actors and human rights defenders are facing an increasing number of well documented obstacles. Routine online trolling, unjustified vilification based on rumours, and various forms of arbitrary administrative harassment are some of the everyday challenges faced by those engaged in the defence of constitutional values and human rights. NGOs are being discredited with the help of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which has become a tool to control the shrinking civil society space. The 2017 Press Freedom Index ranks India 136 out of 180 jurisdictions covered. In their latest report Defenders of the Earth (2017), Global Witness lists India among the deadliest countries for land and environmental defenders as it has seen killings spike against a backdrop of heavy-handed policing and the repression of peaceful protests and civic activism.
If you want to attend, please register with Liv Hernæs Kvanvig: liv.kvanvig@nhrf.no by Friday March 9th.
Bring your own lunch!