The World Health Organization (WHO) should press four governments including Bangladesh that have shut down the internet to minority populations during the Covid-19 crisis to restore internet access, Human Rights Watch and 47 other organisations said recently.
As part of the Keep It On Coalition, the groups asked WHO Director-General Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab in a joint letter to urge the governments of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan to restore full access to the internet.
The 47 other organisations are Access Now, ADISI-CAMEROUN, Advocacy Initiative for Development (AID), African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), Africtivites, Africa Open Data and Internet Research Foundation, AfroLeadership, Afrotribune, ARTICLE 19, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC), Bloggers of Zambia, Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI),Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA),Derechos Digitales, Latin America, Feminism in India (FII), Free Press Unlimited, Hiperderecho, Perú, Human Rights Foundation (HRF),Human Rights Network for Journalists in Uganda (HRNJ-U), Gambia Press Union (GPU), International Press Centre (IPC), Internet Freedom Foundation, India, Iraqi Network for Social Media – INSM, JamiiForums, Tanzania Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), KrantiKÄlÄ«, Liberia Information Technology Student Union, Media Institute for Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD), Media Rights Agenda (MRA),Namibia Media Trust (NMT),NetFreedom Pioneers (NFP), Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), Open Net Korea, Paradigm Initiative (PIN), PEN America, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Right2Know Campaign, South Africa, SMEX, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), Unwanted Witness Uganda, Villes et Communes, World Wide Web Foundation, WITNESS and Yemeni Organization for Development and Exchange Technology (YODET).
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