Oslo Freedom Forum

Register for FREE to attend #COVIDCon, the world's first virtual human rights conference.

At this moment, we are witnessing an alarming increase in authoritarianism and repression of basic freedoms around the world as governments use the virus as an excuse to crack down on individual freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of movement, freedom of association, and in some cases, electoral freedoms. Authorities are ramping up state surveillance, censoring their adversaries, and seizing emergency powers. This trend is most notable in dictatorships like China and Iran, but elected leaders are also eroding democratic norms in places like Hungary and India.
At the same time, the Chinese Communist Party is trying to change its global narrative from a regime that covered up the initial outbreak to that of a humanitarian savior. Meanwhile, their statistics are being called into question, and they continue to censor doctors and citizen journalists who speak out.

This is why the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is launching the world’s first event to focus on the friction between individual freedom and the state response to the virus. Show less