Human Rights Defenders Across East Africa Under Attack; UN Expert Warns

KAMPALA, Uganda — Civic space is shrinking across East Africa, with arrests, intimidation and legal pressure increasingly used against activists.Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders told Indigenous Times that NGO shutdowns and intimidation of activists in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya show a growing regional pattern of repression, with serious risks for human rights defenders. She says governments in the region appear to be adopting similar tactics to curb dissent, while international human rights standards continue to offer defenders a framework and hope despite growing global backsliding.