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Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders stand together: Mohammed Khatib and Jonathan Pollak

January 20, 2020
Mohammed Khatib (attorney and founder of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee) wrote on 15 January 2020 in 972magazine “As a Palestinian rights defender, I’m proud to stand with Jonathan Pollak“.

Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak at the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court, arrested as part of an unprecedented private suit by Israeli right-wing group Ad Kan, Jan. 15, 2020. (Oren Ziv)

Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak at the Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court, arrested as part of an unprecedented private suit by Israeli right-wing group Ad Kan, Jan. 15, 2020. (Oren Ziv)

I was standing in the fields of the West Bank village of Bil’in 15 years ago when my phone rang from an Israeli number. On the line, someone was speaking in a mix of broken Arabic and Hebrew. At the time the Israeli military had just begun targeting Bil’in to build the apartheid wall, and while the bulldozers had started working in the nearby village of Budrus, activists were showing up at our village too. Among the first people to come to Bil’in was the person on the phone. I’ll admit, at first I found him odd, even a bit freakish: he looked like a punk teenager, wearing strange clothes and with a wild haircut dyed with different colors. Full of energy and spirit, he walked up to us and got right down to business. “We are a group of anarchists against the wall,” he said, “and we want to support you in your struggle.”

I looked at this strange visitor from Tel Aviv, my mind at once grappling with the contradictions and the respect I felt. Who is this boy thinking he can stop the wall? He is part of the occupation! Why is he really here? From that first encounter, however, it was clear that he was passionate and willing to work tirelessly. He communicated with the people around him so easily and quickly that it didn’t take long before he earned my trust. That’s how I came to know my friend Jonathan Pollak – who is now sitting in Israeli detention because of a right-wing organization’s lawsuit targeting his activism in Palestinian villages like mine.

Jonathan has played a prominent role not only in Bil’in but in many other villages across Palestine. Every young person who has participated in West Bank demonstrations against Israel’s colonization knows him as Jonathan, the human rights defender.

On Feb. 13, 2015, I was arrested on false charges at one of our weekly demonstrations in Bil’in. The Israeli military claimed that I was participating in an illegal protest, preventing Border Police officers from carrying out their work and attacking them. The truth is that one of the officers attacked me with pepper spray for no reason, which is illegal under Israeli law; he lied and claimed that I had pushed him. He arrested me as a political punishment to cover up his own unlawful act. I have been on trial for these charges since I was arrested four years ago. My lawyer and I provided the Israeli police and the military prosecutor with video evidence to prove that the arresting officer lied, but it was ignored up until now. On Sunday, after four years, I was finally acquitted and the charges against me were dropped.

Muhammad Khatib during a weekly demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in in 2015. (Oren Ziv)

Muhammad Khatib during a weekly demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in in 2015. (Oren Ziv)

…My acquittal on Sunday was issued by an Israeli military court. This a rare privilege: according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the rate of acquittals in the military court system is four out of every thousand. And though I was acquitted, I know that this system is inherently unjust and corrupt, built to keep us all as political prisoners. It is an oppressive regime designed solely for Palestinians: the judge is an Israeli military officer; the prosecutor is an Israeli soldier; even the translators and clerks are part of the Israeli army.

My friend Jonathan was arrested last week (and not for the first time) on charges similar to those I faced. Unlike me – and unlike Abdallah, Adeeb, and all Palestinians who are arrested for protesting – he will face judgement in an Israeli civil court, one which is supposed to protect the rights of citizens but in practice protects settlers, soldiers, and those who uphold apartheid and occupation. Because he supports our cause, I don’t expect him to find justice.

Due to of the nature of his arrest, and because he is not Palestinian, Jonathan could pay NIS 500 bail and walk out of jail. But he is a principled person. He has seen me and countless other Palestinian friends arrested on false charges, powerless to prove our innocence. So, he has decided to refuse bail and remain in detention instead. He won’t play by the rules of a system that is rigged against justice.

……Despite the many barriers that Israel has tried to place between us, we are part of the same struggle. Jonathan has stood alongside me and all Palestinians since he was a punk-looking teenager with weird clothes and crazy hair. Today, as a human rights defender and as a person of principle, I am proud to stand up and support Jonathan Pollak.

https://www.972mag.com/khatib-pollak-rights-defenders/

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Colombia: 21 January 2020 civil society begins a much-needed Patriotic March

January 20, 2020

There are so many places where human rights defenders are under attack [see e.g. https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/01/14/front-line-defenders-global-analysis-2019-is-out-304-hrds-killed/], but Colombia seems to have started the new year even worse than others, witness the following recent reports:

The United Nations’ mission chief told the Security Council on Monday 13 January that Colombia will not achieve peace “if the brave voices of social leaders continue to be silenced” and urged government action. In his address to the council, UN mission chief Carlos Ruiz dismissed President Ivan Duque‘s recent claim that violence against human rights defenders and community leaders dropped 25% last year. In the course of 2020, already 15 social leaders have been assassinated in an exceptional spike in political killings, according to independent think tanks. “On December 23, artist and social leader Lucy Villareal was killed in the Nariño department after conducting an artistic workshop for children and the killings of former FARC-EP combatants resumed on the very first day of the year with the death in the Cauca department of Benjamin Banguera Rosales,” Ruiz highlighted. Ruiz additionally warned that “the pervasive violence in conflict-conflicted areas continues to threaten the consolidation of peace as illustrated by several profoundly worrying developments in the last few weeks.”

According to conflict expert Camilo Gonzalez of think tank Indepaz, 368 community leaders and human rights defenders have been assassinated since Duque took office in August 2018. Gonzalez confirmed social organizations’ claims that “there is an omission or even complicity by elements of the public force, by agents of the state” with illegal armed groups accused of many of the killings. While Duque has blamed drug trafficking for the killings, think tanks and the United Nations have said that also land disputes and mining are among the main motives for the killings.

——-

On the same day Prensa Latina reported on the Illegal wiretapping of journaliststhat.  The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) referred to a recent probe published by the Revista Semana magazine, disclosing that, ‘separate units of the National Army conducted a plan to threaten and carry out unlawful wiretapping of journalists, human rights defenders, magistrates, politicians and other public officials.’This illegal surveillance was carried out from military facilities, in order to protect the Army from facing justice and the media, according to a military officer’s statement. The wiretapping operations, however, were not only aimed at Revista Semana journalists, FLIP noted. According to the investigation, the Army bought a technological platform called ‘Invisible Man’ worth about 3 billion pesos (US$ 930,000) from a Spanish company represented in Colombia by a former National Navy officer. Recipient of the 2017 Global Pluralism Award from the Ottawa-based Global Center for Pluralism for his community-led reconciliation efforts, Leyner Palacios has received death threats from an illegal armed organization operating on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, and along the Atrato River, where Bojayá is located. The threats against Palacios by a shadowy group known as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), as well as presence in the region of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, has forced the government of President Iván Duque to heighten security measures in the territory, including the possibility of establishing a permanent military base in Bojayá.
In the first two weeks of 2020, 19 social leaders, human rights defenders and ex-combatants have been assassinated even as the government has failed to take action
—–
Colombia

Newsclick of 20 January 2020 says the “Colombian tragedy continues without an end in sight“: The last two weeks have seen a worrying surge in assassinations of social leaders, human rights defenders and ex-combatants. 19 such leaders have been assassinated since the turn of the decade. The demand by organizations and movements for protection and justice for the leaders – 800 of whom have been assassinated since 2016 – are being ignored. Meanwhile, in the first week of January, the news magazine Semana released an extensive exposé revealing that the Colombian army was illegally listening to and indulging in surveillance of journalists, politicians and judges, including a Supreme Court judge. Law and order, protection and guarantee of the most basic rights remain elusive in Colombia. It lists many of the victims:

22 year-old Cristian David Caicedo was assassinated in execution style on January 3 by a group of armed men in the rural area of Guapi, Cauca. Caicedo was the son of a well-known regional Black leader who was the legal representative of the Community Council Guapi Abajo and a member of the National Space of Prior Consultation of Black Communities.

Anuar Rojas Isaramá was a 29-year-old member of the Indigenous guard from the Agua Blanca community in Nuquí, Chocó and was assassinated by armed men on January 5, but the crime was only reported by the public institutions on January 9. According to the mayor of Nuquí, the assassination of Isaramá caused the displacement of 28 families (123 people) who are currently taking refuge nearby.

An Indigenous Nasa elder, Virginia Silva of the El Canelo Reservation in Páez, Cauca was assassinated at her home in front of her husband on January 7. She was 71 years old. According to Sonia Hurtado Ducue, president of the Association of Nasa Cxha cxha Cabildos, Silvia had received death threats from armed groups before her assassination.

37-year-old Gloria Ocampo, who lived in the rural region of Puerto Guzmán, was assassinated in her home along with her neighbor on January 7. Ocampo was an important leader in promoting crop substitution on a departmental level and within her community and worked on developing alternative options for production and commercialization despite lack of support from the government.

Peasant leaders Óscar Quintero and Gentil Hernández were both assassinated on January 8 in Puerto Guzmán. In the case of Quintero, armed men arrived at his house, dragged him out and assassinated him in front of his wife.

The same day, Mireya Hernández Guevara, the former treasurer of a Community Action Board, was shot and killed in Algeciras, Huila.

On January 10, a total of six assassinations took place in different regions of the country. Amparo Guejia Mestizo, Nasa Indigenous leader and founder of the Landless Workers Movement – Grandchildren of Quintin Lame – was assassinated along with her son Juan Pablo Dicué in Caloto, Cauca. The organization is affiliated to the national platform of social movements, the Patriotic March. Also in Cauca, human rights defender Nelson Enrique Meneses, 29, was shot and killed in his home in front of his wife and 3-year-old daughter in the municipality of Inza. He was a member of the Peasant Association of Inzá Tierradentro, part of the National Association of Zones of Peasant Reserve and the Patriotic March.

In Chiriguaná, Cesar, unidentified armed men killed the leader of a community action board, Henry Cuello. Tulio César Sandoval, who was part of the Coordinator of Coca, Marijuana and Poppy Growers and the Patriotic March in the Catatumbo region of North Santander, was also violently assassinated in his home in front of his family members on January 10. In Turbo, Antioquia former council member Sergio Narváez was assassinated in his home.

The next day, January 11, John Freddy Álvarez was assassinated in Algeciras, Huila. He was the president of the Association of Peasant Workers in Algeciras, Huila and a member of the Patriotic March.

Jorge Luiz Betancourt was shot dead by armed men on January 13 inside his home in Montelíbano, Córdoba while he was with his family. According to the Cordobexia Foundation, Betancourt was a community and sports leader…

The rise in the assassination of peasant leaders, Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders and others has shaken Colombian society. According to these numbers, the genocide of social leaders in the country is no where near stopping and may even get worse this year.

…..social movements, Indigenous, Afro Descendant and peasant organizations, trade unions, and human rights organizations are preparing for a national strike on January 21. The mobilization will commemorate two months since the beginning of the wave of mobilizations, strikes, cacerolazos and other protest actions against the government of far-right Ivan Duque and its war-mongering, neoliberal policies. One of the principal demands of the strike is that the government act to stop the genocide of social leaders, human rights defenders and ex-combatants in the country. The social movement platform, the People’s Congress, released a statement expressing solidarity with the Patriotic March and condemning the increased violence against social leaders. They also called on the people of Colombia to “take to the streets to protest as part of the mobilizations that will begin on January 21.”

See also: https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/visit-colombia-report-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-defenders

See also on 21 January: https://colombiareports.com/colombias-peaceful-anti-government-protests-marred-by-violent-incidents-in-bogota-and-medellin/

https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=50838&SEO=illegal-wiretapping-of-journalists-denounced-in-colombia

https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/security-council-press-statement-colombia-3

15 community leaders assassinated in Colombia in 2020

UN mission chief says Colombia should ‘urgently’ and ‘fully’ implement peace deal

https://www.newsclick.in/colombia-stories-pain-and-resistance

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/united-nations-envoy-for-colombia-peace-depends-on-stopping-killings.phtml

Colombia’s human rights defender Leyner Palacios threatened by armed group

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Manusher Jonno Foundation honours 10 unsung rights defenders in Bangladesh

January 19, 2020

Awardees with organisers and guests at the event. Manusher Jonno Foundation organised the programme yesterday to recognise individuals working tirelessly to protect human rights and establish justice. Photo: Star

The Bangladesh Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) honoured 10 individuals who worked silently for protecting human rights, such as preventing child marriage and violence against women and marginalised communities, at different parts of the country. The organisation handed over the awards titled “Manusher Jonno Human Rights Awards 2020” at a ceremony in Dhaka.

The awardees are: Beli Begum of Gaibandha; Rehana Begum and Maloti Rani of Dinajpur; Saleha Begum, Halima Khatun and Nurjahan Begum of Kushtia; Khairuzzaman Monnu of Sirajganj; Anowara Begum of Kishoreganj; Hedayetul Aziz of Brahmanbaria and Chanchal Kanti Chakma of Khagrachhari. Rights activists urged the government to give more emphasis on protecting rights and ensuring justice for poor and marginalised communities. They also demanded more budget allocation in this sector, according to a press release.

About the awardees, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said these 10 individuals stood up for what is right. “They are working selflessly without any concern for recognition or rewards to build a just and humane society,” she and announced tshe will continue efforts to honour such unsung heroes. [for a previous event: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2015/01/28/young-human-rights-defenders-honored-by-awards-in-bangladesh/]

Judith Herbertson, country representative of DFID Bangladesh, said the struggle to protect, promote and strengthen human rights is real and constant. “Where human rights are not adequately protected, there follows a cycle of insecurity, instability, suffering, and poverty. Human rights are more than just principles enshrined in international law. They are the bedrock of successful and progressive societies,” she said.

After the award-giving ceremony,  several discussions on various topics — including global context of human rights and inclusion of marginalised people in national politics — were held. Distinguished personalities, researchers, NGO officials, politicians and several hundred rights activists from across the country took part in the discussions, added the press release.

https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/mjf-honours-10-unsung-rights-defenders-1854313

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Dutch government critical of pro-Israel lobby “NGO Monitor”

January 17, 2020

Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok
The Middle East Monitor reported on 17 January 2020 that the Dutch government criticised pro-Israel lobby group NGO Monitor for procuding ‘half-facts and insinuations’, singling out the unreliability of their accusations against human rights defenders. Responding to a parliamentary question, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok stated that the Netherlands is “concerned about the shrinking civil space in Israel”, and “therefore consistently brings this matter up in conversations with Israeli authorities”.

The Israeli government’s attacks on human rights defenders are aided by organisations such as NGO Monitor, which in particular lobby European authorities to cease funding such human rights groups. The Dutch minister added that “the government is familiar with the accusations by NGO Monitor against a broad group of Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations, as well as with criticism of the conduct of NGO Monitor itself”, citing a September 2018 report by the Policy Working Group. “This research shows that many of NGO Monitor’s accusations are based on selective citations, half-facts and insinuations, but not necessarily on hard evidence”, Minister Blok added. “These accusations have contributed to a climate in which human rights organisations have come under increasing pressure”. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/08/01/following-threats-to-ngo-offices-in-israel-human-rights-defenders-demand-investigation/]

In response to a separate question, the Dutch foreign minister noted that, “to the best of the government’s knowledge, NGO Monitor…focuses exclusively on organisations and donors who are critical of Israeli policy in the territories occupied by Israel”.

 

Dutch government criticises pro-Israel lobby group NGO Monitor’s ‘half-facts and insinuations’

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Amani Ballour, Syrian paediatrician, awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize

January 16, 2020

© Stine Heilmann

Amani Ballour © Stine Heilmann

Dr. Amani Ballour, a paediatrician from Syria who ran an underground hospital in Eastern Ghouta in 2012-2018 and is now a refugee in Turkey, has been awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize for her personal courage, bravery and commitment in saving hundreds of lives during the Syrian war. For more on this and two other awards with Wallenberg in their name, see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/raoul-wallenberg-prize-council-of-europe]

“Human rights and personal dignity are not a peacetime luxury. Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honour that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” said Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe On 15 January 2020

“A young paediatrician just out of university, Dr Ballour started as a volunteer helping the wounded and ended up, several years later, managing a team of some 100 staff members at the subterranean hospital, the ‘Cave’, in her hometown near the Syrian capital. “The Cave became a beacon of hope and safety for many besieged civilians. There, Dr Ballour risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need. She and others acted day after day to save the lives of so many people, including children suffering the effects of chemical weapons,” the Secretary General added.

https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/syrian-doctor-who-ran-underground-children-s-hospital-receives-wallenberg-prize

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Call for nominations for the 2020 Rafto Prize

January 15, 2020

Rafto

The Bergen-based Rafto Foundation encourages everyone with an interest in or knowledge of human rights to make a nomination for the 2020 Rafto Prize. Read more about the formal criteria and how to nominate online at Rafto.no. (see link below).  Deadline for nominations is 1st February.  For more on this and similar awards go to: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/rafto-prize .

The dates for the 2020 Rafto Prize events are:

  • Announcement of the Rafto Prize: 24 September
  • The Rafto Conference: 7 November
  • The Award Ceremony: 8 November.

For last year, see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/09/26/the-rafto-prize-2019-to-refugee-rights-defender-rouba-mhaissen-from-syria/

https://www.rafto.no/the-rafto-prize-1/nominasjoner

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DefendDefenders seeks Communications Officer for office in Kampala

January 15, 2020
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) is a regional NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, that seeks to strengthen the work of human rights defenders throughout the sub-region by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and by enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights. DefendDefenders works in Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. DefendDefenders is seeking a highly motivated, self-starting, detail oriented, and well organised Communications Officer to support and promote the work of the organisation. The Communications Officer will be responsible for developing and distributing content on the organisation’s work and maintaining its public profile. The successful candidate must be able to work effectively under pressure, be a good team player, and be willing to travel occasionally, as required.

Apply by email in a single submission with the following documents: a letter of motivation, a CV, and two references, as well as unedited writing sample between 1000-1500 words, on the human rights situation in one of our mandate countries, to jobATdefenddefenders.org no later than Sunday 19 January 2020.

https://www.brightermonday.co.ug/job/communications-officer-6kr6pg

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Human Rights Watch issues World Report 2020 (covering 2019)

January 15, 2020
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On 14 January 2020 Human Rights Watch published it 30th annual World Report (entitled 2020 but covering events in 2019). From the preface:

It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from late 2018 through November 2019. In a keynote essay, Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth examines the increasingly dire threat to the global system for protecting human rights posed by the Chinese government under President Xi Jinping. Deepening and increasingly sophisticated domestic repression show that China’s leaders view human rights at home as an existential threat. That, in turn, has led Beijing to see international laws and institutions for the defense of human rights as an existential threat. As a result, Chinese authorities seek to censor criticism of China overseas, mute attention to human rights in its global engagements, and weaken global rights mechanisms. At stake is a system of governance built on the belief that every person’s dignity deserves respect—that regardless of official interests, limits exist on what states can do to people. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/01/19/are-human-rights-defenders-making-a-comeback-kenneth-roth-thinks-so/]

Noting that global institutions are built in part “on the belief that every person’s dignity deserves respect, that regardless of the official interests at stake, there are limits to what states can do to people,” Roth concludes that China is not simply a new and emerging power finding its place, but a country that poses an existential threat to the international human rights system.

The rest of the volume consists of individual country entries, each of which identifies significant human rights abuses, examines the freedom of local human rights defenders to conduct their work, and surveys the response of key international actors, such as the United Nations, European Union, African Union, United States, China, and various regional and international organizations and institutions.

The book reflects extensive investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff undertook in 2019, usually in close partnership with human rights activists and groups in the country in question. It also reflects the work of its advocacy team, which monitors policy developments and strives to persuade governments and international institutions to curb abuses and promote human rights.  As in past years, this report does not include a chapter on every country where Human Rights Watch works, nor does it discuss every issue of importance. The absence of a country or issue often simply reflects staffing or resource limitations and should not be taken as commentary on the significance of the problem. There are many serious human rights violations that Human Rights Watch simply lacks the capacity to address.

The factors we considered in determining the focus of our work in 2019 (and hence the content of this volume) include the number of people affected and the severity of abuse, access to the country and the availability of information about it, the susceptibility of abusive forces to influence, and the importance of addressing certain thematic concerns and of reinforcing the work of local rights organizations.

The World Report does not have separate chapters addressing our thematic work but instead incorporates such material directly into the country entries. Please consult the Human Rights Watch website for more detailed treatment of our work on children’s rights; women’s rights; arms and military issues; business and human rights; health and human rights; disability rights; the environment and human rights; international justice; terrorism and counterterrorism; refugees and displaced people; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people’s rights; and for information about our international film festivals.

(The book was edited by Danielle Haas, senior editor at Human Rights Watch, with assistance from Naimah Hakim, Program associate. Grace Choi, director of publications and information design, oversaw production of visual elements and layout.)

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/world-report-2020-events-2019

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Front Line Defenders Global Analysis 2019 is out: 304 HRDs killed

January 14, 2020
The most dangerous and deadly sector of human rights defenders remains land, environmental and indigenous rights, according to the Global Analysis report 2019 by Front Line Defenders. 304 people across 31 countries were targeted and killed last year and the document starts by listing their names.

Front Line Defenders said this was due to “the profit driven exploitation of natural resources, combined with corruption, weak governments and poverty“. Speaking to RTÉ News, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, Andrew Anderson, described the scale of the killings as “horrific” ..almost one person a day is being killed around the world because they are working “peacefully to defend land rights, environmental rights” and to “hold the powerful to account”.  “The true scale of the problem is probably much higher” he said.

In the cases for which the data is available, the report found:

  • 85% of those killed last year had previously been threatened either individually or as part of the community or group in which they worked
  • 13% of those reported killed were women
  • 40% of those killed worked on land, indigenous’ peoples and environmental issues

Last year saw mounting pressure on activists defending LGBTI rights, as well as women’s rights and migrants’ rights. Female activists faced online smear campaigns, trolling and defamation to intimidate, shame or harass in order to push women activists out of online spaces. The statistics show that 13% of human rights defenders killed in 2019 were women. The report also notes some positive developments, including the male guardianship system being revoked in Saudi Arabia, women from the Sulaliyat tribe in Morocco being able to inherit and own land, and Sudan removing a law where women could be arrested if found dancing, wearing trousers or mixing with men who were not their relatives.

With massive protests in Iran, Hong Kong and Chile, Front Line Defenders said that 2019 was characterised by waves of public uprisings of “remarkable magnitude”, which demanded change of how people are governed. However, it said there were restrictions on freedom of expression and authorities often invoked “security” as a justification to ban all peaceful demonstrations Physical assaults, defamation campaigns and digital attacks were major issues.

Internet shutdowns, restricting access or blocking communication tools, such as social media, were common. Messaging app WhatsApp, which is popular for organising and communications, became a “serious threat” when it was used against human rights defenders in a number of cases.

As the role of human rights defenders ranged from organising and mobilising to monitoring and documenting human rights violations, the human rights organisation said it provided more than 620 protection grants to activists at risk in 2019.

For last year’s report see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/01/09/front-line-defenders-says-record-number-of-activists-killed-in-2018/

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0114/1107280-front-line-defenders/

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/jan/14/300-human-rights-activists-killed-2019-report

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Malala Yousafzai, a lot more awards than the UN thinks

January 13, 2020

On 27 Pakistani human rights defender Malala Yousafzai has been declared as “the most famous teenager in the world” by the United Nations in the ‘Decade in Review‘ report of the UN. In recognition of her efforts for children’s rights which started before she was shot in the head by Taliban militants, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. According to the UN review report “The attack made waves around the world and was widely condemned. On Human Rights Day that year, a special tribute to Malala was held at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, pushing for action to ensure every girl’s right to go to school, and to advance girls’ education as an urgent priority,”.

“Malala’s activism and profile have only grown since the assassination attempt. She won several high-profile awards, including the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize (alongside Indian social reformer Kailash Satyarthi), and became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017, with a special focus on girls’ education,” the report added. Recently the 22-year-old was also chosen by Teen Vogue as its cover person for its last issue of the decade.

Just to make sure the record is correct, Malala has in fact received at least the following 10 awards:

2013   Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards

2013   Index on Censorship Awards

2013   Simone de Beauvoir Prize

2013   Tipperary Peace Prize

2013   Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

2013   Ambassador of Conscience Award

2013   Anna Politkovskaya Award

2014   Franklin Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award

2014   Nobel Peace Prize

2014   Liberty Medal

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053481

 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai declared as “the most famous teenager in the world”: UN

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