Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Tag: democracy

  • Ugandan Social Media Tax – Following a tradition of quelling dissent?

    Ugandan Social Media Tax – Following a tradition of quelling dissent?

    By Shardha Rajam and Mihika Poddar​ On June 1st this year, the Parliament of Uganda imposed a tax on usage of social media and internet messaging platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter. The Ugandan Government, which on prior occasions has shut down and regularly censored digital media, claimed that the tax was imposed to…

  • Can Julian Assange be elected to Australia’s Parliament, and can Craig Thompson stay there?

    Guest Blogger: Professor Graeme Orr, University of Queensland In the past week, one serving politician, Craig Thomson, was charged with a raft of complaints of fraud.  And one would-be politician, Julian Assange, affirmed his intention to stand for the Senate, come Australia’s federal elections, scheduled for September. In different ways, each man’s position highlights quirks…

  • Freedom of Speech Going Backwards in Vietnam

    By Andrew Nguyen On September 24, 2012 — exactly 30 years to the day after Vietnam became a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — three Vietnamese bloggers were convicted and sentenced to lengthy jail terms for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” after a short trial that lasted only a…

  • Swaziland, where it’s good to be the king

    By Marius Smith If you’ve been keeping up with the news about Kate and Will’s royal wedding, you may have noticed the kerfuffle over the invitation extended to King Mswati III.  The leader of Swaziland rules his tiny African nation with an iron fist.  Political parties are banned, emergency laws have been in place for…

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