Emma Day, lawyer, social innovator, changemaker

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, technol- ogy has assumed an even more prominent role in children’s lives. Data-powered technology has been used — with varying degrees of success — to track, trace, and control the novel coronavirus infection rate, as well as to continue the remote provision of education, health, and social services to children while cities and countries have locked down.

The general public, including children, cannot see or im- mediately comprehend how these data systems work and connect with one an- other.2 This is largely due to the fact that transparent and accountable data manage- ment frameworks are often not put in place prior to the deployment of these tech- nologies. In addition, gov- ernments generally lack the kind of clear, technical, and evidence-based orientation that would ensure children gain maximum and equita-

ble access to the benefits of new technologies while remaining protected from privacy infringements.

• End-to-end encryption is necessary to protect the privacy and security of all people using digital communication channels.

• End-to-end encryption impedes efforts to monitor and remove child sexual abuse materials and identify offenders attempting to exploit children online. In this way, it also increases the risk of children being re-victimized as materials depicting their abuse continue to be shared.
• The debate around end-to-end encryption of digital communications has been polarized into absolutist positions.These include advocating 1) for the unlimited use of end-to-end encryption; 2) for the complete abolishment of end-to-end encryption; and 3) that law enforcement should always be able to access encrypted data and will be unable to protect the public unless it can do so. Such polarized positions ignore the complexity and nuance of the debate and act as an impediment to thoughtful policy responses. As noted by the Carnegie Endowment working group on encryption, polarized, absolutist positions in this debate should be rejected.

This multi country study, commissioned by UN Women, UNICEF and UNFPA, explored existing examples of collaboration and integration of VAC and VAW policies, services, and programmes, as well as challenges and future opportunities in the East Asia and Pacific region, with a focus on four countries – Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Viet Nam.

While the fields working to end VAC and VAW have largely developed separately, recent reviews and analyses of large datasets have identified multiple intersections between VAC and VAW. However, there are key areas of divergence between the traditional approaches in the VAC and VAW fields that have created challenges to collaboration and may suggest some disadvantages to fully integrative approaches. To date there are no evidence-based or widely accepted integrative models.

Developed a toolkit and webinar to be used in programme design to enhance access to justice for women affected by HIV in the context of plural legal systems.

Being LGBT in Asia’ is a ground-breaking, first-of-its-kind joint analysis undertaken by UNDP and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) together with grassroots lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations and community leaders to understand the challenges faced by LGBT people in Asia. Working on eight countries – Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam – the effort examines LGBT lived experiences from human rights and development perspectives.  

This Evidence Review is the result of desk research across all countries in Asia of available literature concerning LGBTI human rights issues in Asia.  

This three day Regional Conference in Bangkok brought together judges, police, lawyers, ombudsmen, and national human rights institution officials from throughout Asia to discuss how to improve access to justice around violence against women and girls in Asia. The Summary of Proceedings are available online.

For millions of people around the world, human rights violations are part and parcel of everyday life. Sexual violence, discrimination in housing, unwarranted dismissal from employment, unfair evictions, denial of child support, and police harassment are only a few such violations.

This report shows the potential to transform this dynamic, profiling 11 access to justice projects based in Indonesia, Kenya, Macedonia, Russia, South Africa, and Uganda. These projects use a range of approaches to make the law meaningful for marginalized people and to improve their health.

To what extent has the right to access generic HIV medication been implemented in Kenya for the 1.6 million people living with HIV? How does this relate to the right to health under international and national law? This paper examines a constitutional challenge brought to the High Court of Kenya in 2009 (the “Anti-Counterfeit Case”) against the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008, which the petitioners, all of whom were living with HIV, argued would affect their ability to access affordable and generic antiretroviral medication.

This publication explores the journey of the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa since its inception.

The initiative plays an active role in encouraging open, informed dialogue about issues of public importance through innovative and collaborative processes. It supports individuals and groups to participate in matters that affect them in order to demand fair treatment, delivery of services, and accountability from their leaders and institutions. 

In a variety of ways, information and expression remain constrained despite the expansion of the information highway. In some cases, there is heavy-handed silencing by governments through repressive laws and actions; in others, the media self-censors itself on certain sensitive or volatile issues. Persons with sensory disabilities have to function in a world with a dearth of sign language, Braille, and interpretation services to accommodate them to function fully in society.

This paper examines the diversity of traditional and cultural practices that affect HIV responses on a global scale, and through an exploration of the interface between culture and human rights, offers frameworks, interpretations and solutions to create enabling environments whereby the adverse impact of these practices can be removed or mitigated.

Crucial to the creation of an open society are principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion. This third edition of Amplifying Voices examines the meaning and dimensions of these concepts, and the barriers to their realization in Eastern Africa.