Written testimony by Project Director of Nations in Transit for Freedom House, Nate Schenkkan.

On August 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Freedom House joined 32 organizations to highlight the systematic practice of enforced disappearance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and to call on states and multilateral and international institutions to take timely action to address impunity for this crime.

A few reminders of the Russian dictator’s track record as President Trump heads to his summit in Finland.

Challenges to American democracy are testing the stability of its constitutional system and threatening to undermine political rights and civil liberties worldwide, according to the latest edition of Freedom in the World. 

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is not alone in his belief that democracy promotion is a cause of, rather than a solution to, the problem of unchecked migration.

Sheltering refugees is not just a moral duty. All countries, including the United States and its fellow democracies in Europe, are also legally bound to assist those fleeing war and oppression.

Freedom House and 58 other prominent humanitarian NGOs urge the Senate to vote against the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act. 

Elections offered a way out of dismal misrule for several countries in 2015, but the year was otherwise dominated by war, terrorism, repression, and bigotry.

The international norm against ethnic cleansing is not just being swept aside. It is at risk of being replaced.

More aggressive tactics by authoritarian regimes and an upsurge in terrorist attacks contributed to a disturbing decline in global freedom in 2014.