Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

OMCT and FIDH (within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders) in cooperation with the ISHR organise on 16 June (16:00-17:30, room XXII, Palais des Nations – Geneva) a side event on Attacks and Reprisals against Human Rights Defenders, focusing on the issue of reprisals and accountability. As readers know by now, I believe that this is the topic which the human rights movement HAS TO TAKE more serious lest all progress of the last decades will be lost. My blog contains quite a few posts on reprisals (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/reprisals/), but the key one is: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/zero-tolerance-for-states-that-take-reprisals-against-hrds-lets-up-the-ante/.

The objectives of the side event are: 

• Promote and reinforce international and regional mechanisms aimed at protecting defenders
• Strengthen the cooperation between international and regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders to tackle impunity through accountability, in order to ultimately mitigate the root-cause of reprisals
• Explore avenues for a greater efficiency in the protection of human rights defenders
• Share good practices and elaborate on the role of mandate-holders in the development of good practices to systematically address impunity

Panel Speakers:

• Mr. Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
• Mrs. Reine Alapini Gansou, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
• Mr. José de Jesus Orozco, Rapporteur on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Also participating are:

• Ms. Katarzyna Jarosiewicz-Wargan, Head of Human Rights Department, OSCE/ODIHR
• Ms. Christine Mardirossian, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, CoE
• Mr. Michel Carrié, Salvatore Sagues, Direction de la paix, de la démocratie et des DH, OIF

Moderation: Mr. Antoine Madelin, Director of International Advocacy, FIDH

Concluding remarks: Mr. Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, OMCT

Side Event at HRC29: Attacks and Reprisals against Defenders: Enhancing Accountability for Violations / June 15, 2015 / Events / Human rights defenders / OMCT.

This entry was posted on June 15, 2015 at 16:04 and is filed under FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT, UN.

Tags: FIDH, Geneva, Hans Thoolen, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, ISHR, José de Jesús Orozco, Michel Forst, NGOs, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT, Reine Alapini-Gansou, reprisals, retaliation, side event