(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- The European Parliament Wednesday voted on the annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017, which underlines the dramatic increase in human rights violations, democracy crises and conflicts all over the world.
The report, approved by 369 votes to 115 , expresses its grave concern at the gradual shrinking space for civil society, which is occurring even in established democracies and high-income countries. Journalists, human rights defenders and non-governmental organisations are too often the target of harassment, intimidation and violence, including killings, it says.
It notes that the EU's influence as a credible and legitimate international actor is greatly shaped by its ability to advance respect for human rights and democracy, both internally and externally.
The report stresses the importance of protecting the freedom of expression both online and offline and warns that the spread of fake news and disinformation through the internet represents a serious threat to the state of democracy The report documents the persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar, the crackdown of the opposition in Cambodia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, war crimes in Syria and Yemen, the drastically shrinking civil society space in countries like Azerbaijan, Russia, among other cases. (end) nk.sd
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