Almost 5,000 workers producing clothes for international brands were sacked for participating in protests and strikes for improved pay At least one person was killed, and hundreds injured after police used excessive force against protesters Almost 100 have reportedly been arrested and charged for participating in labour actions The firing of almost 5,000 low-paid garment workers in Bangladesh in reprisal for participating in protests and strikes for higher wages is a clear violation of fundamental freedoms, global civil society alliance CIVICUS said today.

  New youth-led global data initiative for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals kicks-off in Tanzania Selected from over 2,000 applicants, 26 young data innovators from around the world are meeting in Arusha, Tanzania from 21-25 January to launch the Goalkeepers Youth Action Accelerator, a one-year initiative focused on sourcing and using data to drive progress towards the UN’s Global Goals.

Security forces violently repress protests, killing at least eight and injuring more than a dozen after using live ammunition against demonstrators Hundreds of protesters arrested during a three-day national shutdown called to protest massive fuel price hikes, with reports of security forces assaulting citizens in their homes Leading human rights defender Evan Mawarire among those arrested and charged with public violence Authorities shut down social media sites and the internet, only partially restoring online access after the end of the strike action Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Civil Society alliance, CIVICUS call on South Africa and the African Union to act to prevent more violence Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, have called on the authorities in Zimbabwe to exercise restraint and desist from using violence against peaceful protesters who have been demonstrating against a massive increase in fuel prices.

On 09 December, people around the world remember Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Khalil, Nazem Hamadi and Wa’el Hamada, kidnapped in Douma, Syria on this day five years ago.