Preface

Contents

2 Preface 3 Kumi Naidoo – a year defined by women’s resistance 6 #ToxicTwitter and the silencing of women online 8 Women bear the brunt of inequality 10 Refugees need meaningful change 14 A year in arms supplies to the

Saudi/UAE coalition 16 Focus on Africa 18 Focus on the Middle East and

North Africa 22 Focus on Europe and Central Asia 28 Focus on Southeast Asia and the Pacific 32 Focus on East Asia 34 Focus on South Asia 38 Focus on the Americas 42 Five women leading the struggle for human rights 46 The “not enough” impact report 50 Birthright – a personal perspective on the 70th anniversary of the UDHR

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.

© Amnesty International 2018 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2018 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK

Index: POL 10/9090/2018 Original language: English

Cover photo: International Women’s Day in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 8 March 2018. © Reuters/Marcos Brindicci. As 2018 draws to a close, we reflect on the 70 years that have passed since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ask ourselves: “How far have we come?”

The Universal Declaration pronounces rights that each and every one of us possesses, by the very fact that we are human. Every year since 1948, progress has been made towards every person enjoying all those rights. More and more people are living lives free from want, fear and discrimination. And yet there are always places where humanity takes a step backwards too. Much more work remains to be done before we fully realize the Universal Declaration’s vision of a world where all are free and equal. Conflict, prejudice, unequal sharing of resources and poor governance are just some of the reasons why many of us have yet to enjoy all our rights.

In this summary of the state of the world’s human rights, we turn our attention to a handful of key issues and themes that have been prominent in 2018. We examine some of the defining moments for each region, look at key movements that have called for change, and consider in particular how the rights of women have fared during the year. We also acknowledge the many human rights defenders working around the world today, and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives or freedom in the course of their work. Even in the darkest moments, their courage gives us the strength to continue our fight for human rights. n