Season 2, Episode 3 - When COVID-19 Cleared the Streets - Chile, Iraq & Algeria

Rights on the Line

Season 2, Episode 3 - When COVID-19 Cleared the Streets: What Next for Social Protests in Chile, Iraq & Algeria? - FLD Intro: 00:00 - 01:38 - Interview Manuela Royo, Chile: 01:38 - 09:49 - Interview with Mariam Al-Ashbal, Iraq: 09:49 - 16:23 - Interview with Leila Chaimaa Souama, Algeria: 16:23 - 21:53 Across the globe, 2019 was the year of packed squares and swarming streets, as tens of thousands of people gathered or marched to protest against deep economic inequality, call for greater civil and political rights, speak up against rampant corruption, and fight for a better future. From Chile to Iraq, demonstrations were largely peaceful. Yet, the crackdown was brutal. Human rights defenders, who were often at the front lines of those protests – documenting violations, assisting those who were arrested or organising peaceful actions – were particularly targeted. Despite the violent repression, mass protests seemed unstoppable. But the coronavirus outbreak has now succeeded where governments had failed. Social distancing rules are forcing HRDs and demonstrators to stay home, and autocratic governments are using the covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to consolidate power, approve draconian laws and repress any form of dissent. At the same time, the unfolding health, social and economic crisis is also laying bare all the problems that were driving many of the protests across the world: issues such as corruption and inequality have never been as evident and urgent as today. In such a challenging situation, how can protest movements evolve and what role can HRDs and civil society play? In this new episode of the Rights on The Line podcast, Front Line Defenders spoke to three women human rights defenders in Iraq, Algeria and Chile to analyse current and future challenges for protest movements, but also to reflect on what can be learned from the 2019 uprisings and what can be done to keep that spirit alive.