The editors of two leading Vietnamese newspapers were fired on January 2, 2009, the latest in a series of measures by the Vietnamese government to stifle criticism and dissent.

On January 6, 2009, Ethiopia's parliament enacted a new law on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that criminalizes most human rights work in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said that the law is a direct rebuke to governments that assist Ethiopia and that had expressed concerns about the law's restrictions on freedom of association and expression.

Egypt should immediately halt deportations of Eritrean asylum seekers to their home country, where they face detention and the risk of torture, Human Rights Watch said today.

The South African government should end its sole reliance on an overburdened asylum system that protects only a tiny fraction of the more than a million Zimbabweans who cannot return to the humanitarian disaster in their home country, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch renewed its call on the South African government to stop deporting Zimbabweans and, in recognition of their protection needs, to grant them temporary status and work rights.

Israel and Egypt should open their borders to permit humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and to allow civilians to seek safety from the conflict on the occasion of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, addressing the United Nations Security Council.

Prosecuting the soldiers who killed an imam in army detention will be a test of the administration of Thailand’s new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has vowed to bring justice to Thailand’s conflict-ridden southern border provinces.

The United Nations Security Council, meeting on January 7, 2009 in a high-level emergency session, should establish a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged laws-of-war violations in Gaza.

Dictatorships are not known for their sense of humour, nor do they appreciate being laughed at. It came as no surprise then when the ruling military regime in Burma recently sentenced the country’s best known comedian, named Zarganar, to 59 years in prison.