Nicaragua, China, India among 55 Nations Restricting Freedom of Movement – Global Issues
WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (IPS) – At least 55 governments in the past decade have restricted the freedom of movement of people they see as threats, including journalists, according to a Freedom House report published last Thursday.
Governments restrict freedom of movement through travel bans, revocation of citizenship, document controls and denial of diplomatic services, the report found. All tactics are designed to coerce and punish critics of the government, according to Jessica White, a London-based correspondent for the report.
“This is the kind of strategy that really shows revenge and punishment in other countries,” said White. This type of repression is “an attempt to really suppress people’s ability to speak freely wherever they are.”
Belarus, China, India, Nicaragua, Russia, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia are among the countries involved in this type of repression, the report found. Freedom House based its findings in part on interviews with more than 30 people affected by the travel restrictions.
The travel ban is the most common strategy, according to White, with Freedom House identifying at least 40 governments that prevent citizens from leaving or returning to the country.
Revoking citizenship is another strategy, despite being prohibited by international law. The Nicaraguan government in 2023 stripped more than 200 political prisoners of their citizenship shortly after they were deported to the United States.
Among them was Juan Lorenzo Holmann, head of Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper, La Prensa. “It’s like I’m gone. Another attack on my rights,” he told VOA after his release. “But you can’t take away someone’s humanity. In the Nicaraguan constitution, it says you can’t erase someone’s records or take away their citizenship. I feel like I’m Nicaraguan, and they can’t take that away from me.”
Before being expelled from his country, Lorenzo had spent 545 days in prison, in a case widely considered to be politically motivated.
Blocking access to passports and other travel documents is another tactic. In another example, Hong Kong in June revoked the passports of six pro-democracy activists living in exile in Britain.
In some cases, governments refuse to issue passports to people to trap them in the country. And in cases where a person is already abroad, embassies refuse to renew passports to prevent the person from traveling anywhere, including returning home.
The Myanmar embassy in Berlin, for example, refused to renew the passport of Ma Thida, a Burmese writer who had been exiled in Germany. Ma Thida told VOA earlier this year that she believes the refusal is revenge for her writing.
White said Ma Thida’s case is a classic example of travel restrictions. In the meantime, the German government has issued a reserved passport for people who can’t get one in their home country – which White applauded but said is still rare.
“Our ability to travel freely and return to our country is something that in democratic societies, people often take for granted. It is one of our basic rights, but it is one that is underestimated and violated in many parts of the world,” Mhlophe said.
Travel restrictions can have devastating effects, including making it difficult to work, travel and visit family. What makes things worse is emotional trauma, according to White.
“It has a huge psychological impact,” said White. “Many of the people we talked to talked about the pain of being separated from family members and not being able to return to their country.”
In the report, Freedom House called on democratic governments to impose sanctions on actors involved in regulating mobility.
White said democratic governments should do more to help dissidents, including providing them with alternative travel documents if they cannot obtain them in their own countries.
https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/FIW_2024_DigitalBooklet.pdf
The source: Voice of America (VOA)
IPS UN Bureau
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
Follow IPS News UN Bureau on Instagram
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
