Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
April 17, 2018
Since the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998), UN bodies have developed approaches to promoting the work of defenders and ensuring their protection. However, this response has been insufficiently robust or coordinated, says the
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), one of the world’s foremost observers of the UN human rights system, in a piece published on 16 April 2018. Twenty years on, the situation for defenders in many countries around the world remains grave. [For earlier posts re the 20th anniversary of the HRD Declaration see:
https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/20th-anniversary-un-declaration-on-hrds/]
UN country missions and human rights mechanisms have developed some good practice in regard to the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) but there is still much to be done to ensure a coherent, coordinated and courageous response. ISHR submitted findings on some aspects of the UN’s work on HRDs, to the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) following its call for input. At country level, ISHR – along with partners Colombian Commission of Jurists and Ligue Tunisienne for Human Rights – found positive practice by OHCHR in encouraging the State to implement the Declaration.
‘In Colombia OHCHR has contributed to a collective understanding of who defenders are and what institutional changes may be needed to counter attacks against them,’ said ISHR’s Eleanor Openshaw. ‘While in Tunisia OHCHR has developed a database to systematise the process of follow up on UN recommendations.’ In other contexts, guidelines to steer bodies and representatives in country are often vague, with no mention of the Declaration as a key UN standard.
‘UN Resident Coordinators need to have an understanding of the Declaration on HRDs so they can ensure the protection of defenders is effectively integrated into their work,’ said Openshaw. ‘There is a gap between developments in key human rights mechanisms and country responses.’
Whilst there have been some positive developments connecting different parts of the UN system – for example the new UN Environment focus on environmental defenders, developed with the Special Rapporteur on HRDs – there is a lack of an informed or coordinated response in others. This points to the need for comprehensive UN-wide policies on the protection of defenders.
‘Ensuring coherence and effectiveness throughout the UN system in regard to the protection of defenders requires a strong steer from the very top – the UN Secretary General,’ said ISHR’s Tess McEvoy. ‘We hope Mr Guterres will commit this year – the 20th anniversary of the Declaration– to providing such leadership.’ The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst has spoken of attacks against defenders ‘multiplying everywhere’.
Openshaw also stated: ‘The dangers for defenders are known. The UN system has good practice to build on – and it must – to fulfil its role in encouraging and demanding States realise their obligations to defenders.’
Contacts: Eleanor Openshaw e.openshawATishr.ch; Theresa McEvoy t.mcevoyATishr.ch
http://www.ishr.ch/news/promising-patchy-un-work-human-rights-defenders
Posted in books, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, OHCHR, UN | 1 Comment »
Tags: 20th anniversary UN Declaration on HRDs, Colombia, Eleanor Openshaw, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, protection mechanisms, study, Tunisia, UN, UN Human Rights Committee, UN system
April 16, 2018
On 16 April 2018 the NGO-network Scholars at Risk (SAR) announced that Turkey’s Academics for Peace is the recipient of its 2018 Courage to Think Defender Award, for their extraordinary efforts in building academic solidarity and in promoting the principles of academic freedom, freedom of inquiry, and the peaceful exchange of ideas. The award, which will be presented at the Scholars at Risk Network 2018 Global Congress, will be accepted on behalf of the group by Muzaffer Kaya, of Technische Universität Berlin, and Tebessüm Yılmaz, of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Rose Anderson, SAR’s Director of Protection Services stated: “By connecting their threatened colleagues both inside and outside of Turkey to resources, opportunities, and support, they are working to ensure that Turkey’s vibrant higher education community can continue to pursue scholarship, and be free to think, question and share ideas. The solidarity of the Academics for Peace community is an inspiration for all of us who work on behalf of threatened scholars and academic freedom worldwide.”
Fo more on the SAR’s Courage to Think and other awards see: http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/courage-to-think-award. For last year’s: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/06/09/scholars-at-risk-gives-its-courage-to-think-defender-award-to-egypts-detained-scholars-and-students/
For more information about the Courage to Think Award and the Global Congress, including registration information, the Congress program and speaker bios, visit https://www.con-gressa.de/gc2018.
https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/2018/04/2018-courage-to-think/
Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Academic freedom, Academics for Peace (NGO Turkey), Berlin, Courage to Think Defender Award, digest of human rights awards, human rights awards, Muzaffer Kaya, Scholars at Risk, Tebessüm Yılmaz, Turkey
April 13, 2018
Ahmed Mansoor – the Emirates’ most prominent human rights defender – finally has been taken to court after a year in arbitrary detention [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/03/21/emirates-one-year-later-human-rights-defender-ahmed-mansoors-whereabouts-remain-unknown/].
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has finally received information about Mansoor, including the surprising news that his trial had already started in March 2018. There had been no news about him since September 2017. The second hearing took place on 11 April 2018, and as Mansoor still has no lawyer to defend him, no details about the exact charges are available.
In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Mansoor had used Twitter to call for the release of human rights activist Osama Al-Najjar, who remains in prison despite having completed a three-year prison sentence in March 2017 for his peaceful activities on Twitter; as well as prominent academic and economist Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith. The latter, who was jailed in a previous case with Mansoor in 2011, was also held incommunicado for nine months after his subsequent arrest in August 2015. He continued to be held in solitary confinement after court proceedings began, remaining in solitary for 19 months. On 29 March 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for critical comments he had made online about human rights violations in the UAE and Egypt. On 2 April 2017, Dr. Bin Ghaith began a hunger strike to protest his sentence, which violated his rights to freedom of expression and fair trial. On 25 February 2018, Dr. Bin Ghaith began another hunger strike to protest poor conditions in Abu Dhabi’s notorious Al-Razeen prison, a maximum security prison in the desert used to hold activists, government critics, and human rights defenders. On 2 April 2018, GCHR learned that Dr. Bin Ghaith had been forced to end his recent hunger strike earlier due to threats made by the authorities to restrict visits after news of his protest became known….
http://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/1829
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Ahmed Mansoor, arbitrary arrest, Emirates, fair trial, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Human Rights Defenders, Hunger strike, MEA laureate 2015, Nasser Bin Ghaith, Osama Al-Najjar, UAE
April 12, 2018
On 12 April 2018 the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced two of the three recipients of the 2018 Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. This year’s laureates include the underground group Belarus Free Theatre and the South Sudanese hip hop musician and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal. Their efforts will be honored in a ceremony during the 2018 Oslo Freedom Forum on Wednesday, 30 May (to avoid possible travel restrictions imposed on the third laureate, the final award will be announced only in May).
For more on the this and other awards: http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/vaclav-havel-prize-for-creative-dissent
Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) was founded in 2005 in response to the severe censorship and repression of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. BFT has staged powerful social and political documentary theater from secret locations (private homes, cafes, and even the woods), characterized by stripped-down performances and topics, including refugees, climate change, torture, and sexuality. According to co-founder and artistic director Natalia Kaliada, “In a country where the state seeks to control every aspect of life, everyone has the potential to rebel in their own way. And a million small acts of rebellion can chip away at even the most entrenched dictatorship.” In April 2017, the company had to postpone a premiere after several members were arrested or injured during large-scale, anti-government protests. BFT is the only theater company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds.
Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese hip hop artist and a former child soldier of Sudan’s brutal civil war that took place between 1983 and 2005. With five critically acclaimed albums, an autobiography, and a documentary to his name, Jal is focused on supporting South Sudanese youth with educational scholarships through his “Survivors of War” program. He founded the charity Gua Africa to work with individuals, families, and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty. “Emmanuel uses powerful music as a vehicle to spread a message of freedom and hope for a better future in war-torn South Sudan. He inspires people everywhere to stand up for the freedom of others, and in so doing brings people closer together,” said Havel Prize Committee member Garry Kasparov.
The Havel Prize ceremony will be broadcast live at oslofreedomforum.com on Wednesday, 30 May. If you would like to attend the ceremony in Oslo please email info@hrf.org and follow @HRF and @OsloFF for updates.
For last year’s award see : https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2017/05/07/havel-prize-for-creative-dissent-recognizes-human-rights-defenders-in-bahrain-venezuela-and-zimbabwe/
https://mailchi.mp/40e79b190542/havel-prize-for-creative-dissent-celebrates-efforts-in-belarus-and-south-sudan?e=f80cec329e
Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | 3 Comments »
Tags: artist, Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre, digest of human rights awards, Emmanuel Jal, Garry Kasparov, human rights awards, Human Rights Foundation, Natalia Kaliada, OFF, South Sudan, Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent
April 12, 2018
Safeguard Defenders says these confessions violate both domestic and international law as they are often filmed before detainees have been allowed their right to a fair trial. In some cases, the confessions were extracted before formal arrest. “They deprive the suspect of due process; infringing on the right to a fair trial, the presumption of innocence, the right to remain silent, the right not to self-incriminate and the right to be protected against giving a forced confession and torture.”
Many foreign nationals have been included in these confessions, which are aired on Chinese state television and, in some cases, by Hong Kong media. The monitoring group believes they are regularly used as “tools of propaganda” for both domestic audiences and as part of China’s foreign policy.
The report found that 60 percent of the confessions are from detainees who either worked in media – such as journalists, bloggers and publishers – or were human rights defenders, such as lawyers, NGO workers and activists. They are people whom the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) typically perceives as its enemies or critics and are usually charged with national security crimes or social order violations. The study also found that Chinese police regularly took charge of the so-called confessions. Routinely dictating and directing what the detainee should say and do, right down to the outfit they were to wear.
“The interviewees described how the police took charge of the confession from dressing them in ‘costume;’ writing the confession ‘script’ and forcing the detainee to memorise it; giving directions on how to ‘deliver’ their lines – including in one case, being told to weep; to ordering retake after retake when not satisfied with the result,” the report said.
As a result of their research, Safeguard Defenders has called on the Chinese authorities to immediately stop the use of televised confessions and ensure all detainees receive the legal protections enshrined in domestic and international law. The group also called on foreign governments to stress to Beijing that there will be “consequences for ongoing violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.”
State news channel CCTV was identified as the primary broadcaster for televised confessions. Sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, should be imposed on key executives of the media network, the group recommends. The network, along with others responsible for airing such confessions, should also be registered as foreign agents in other countries. According to the report, “media organizations that film, collaborate with police in the staged and scripted process, and broadcast these confessions… are as culpable as the Chinese state in committing this deceptive, illegal and human rights violating practice.”
https://qz.com/1249842/swedish-human-rights-activist-peter-dahlins-first-hand-account-of-how-china-extracts-confessions-for-tv/
https://www.standardrepublic.com/world/world-news-chinese-language-state-tv-which-operates-in-uk-and-us-produces-chilling-compelled-confession-movies-for-brutal-regime/
https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/04/threats-torture-fear-rights-group-calls-for-end-to-chinas-televised-confessions/#crKm6uQdL4vf7sJS.97
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 3 Comments »
Tags: CCTV, China, fair trial, forced confession, foreign agents, Human Rights Defenders, Media and Human Rights, Peter Dahlin, Safeguard Defenders (NGO), television
April 10, 2018
The nomination form, and the full list of past awardees of the Baldwin Medal is available on the award webpage of Human Rights First. Deadline is 10 May 2018
Nominations can be made by an individual or an organization. Nominees will be judged based on the following criteria:
- The nominee’s work is unique or particularly distinctive;
- The nominee’s work has been effective in advancing human rights in a country other than the United States;
- The nominee faces risk or insecurity as a result of their work; and
- The nominee would benefit significantly from receiving the Baldwin Award, in the form of enhanced protection, or in any other way.
For further information about the award or the nomination process, please contact Zahava Moerdler at Moerdlerz@humanrightsfirst.org or (212)-845-5272.
https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/press-release/human-rights-first-calls-nominations-29th-annual-roger-n-baldwin-medal-liberty-award
Posted in awards, HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: awards, call for nominations, digest of human rights awards, human rights award, Human Rights First, Roger Baldwin Medal, USA
April 5, 2018
Human rights defender Brian Dooley and Danish MP Rasmussen were not only refused entry into Bahrain but kept in the airport without a passport, reports the Irish Independent on 4 April 2018.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Bahrain, Bahrain airport, Brian Dooley, Denmark, entry, Formula One, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Ireland, Lars Aslan Rasmussen
April 3, 2018
An Egyptian lawyer, Samir Sabry, has requested the Attorney General to bring human right defender Asmaa Mahfouz to court. The reason? Winning the Sakharov Prize in 2011! If Egypt Today had reported it a day earlier (on 1 April), I would have credited it as a good April 1st spoof, but unfortunately it is not. In his complaint, Sabry called for the Attorney General to transfer Mahfouz to a Criminal Court trial and ban her from travelling outside the country. He stated that the prize, worth €50,000 was given to her suddenly, and he did not know why. He asked whether it is funding, a reward, or for certain service, and what the reason is for this award. The complaint from Sabry also claimed that this is a Jewish award [SIC} and questions the award’s links to Zionism. According to Sabry, the answer is that Mahfouz received the prize money, and accepted the award, in return for betraying Egypt.
Asmaa Mahfouz was one of the founding members of the April 6 Youth Movement, which sparked nation-wide demonstrations in April 2008 and was indeed awarded the Sakharov prize in 2011 (sharing it with four other Arab figures).
The prize in question is the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought [http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/sakharov-prize-for-freedom-of-thought], which is of course is not granted by Israeli but by the European Parliament!
However, the issue of foreign funding is a major one in the Egyptian context as demonstrated by the case of two Egyptian woman human rights defenders in the ‘NGO foreign-funding case” (as ISHR reminds us on 29 March 2018): harassed and targeted Egyptian woman defenders Azza Soliman and Mozn Hassan [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2017/02/02/right-livelihood-has-to-go-to-egypt-to-hand-mozn-hassan-her-2016-award/] face life imprisonment if their cases are brought to trial simply for conducting legitimate human rights work.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in CIHRS, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | 2 Comments »
Tags: Asmaa Mahfouz, Azza Soliman, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, digest of human rights awards, Egypt, foreign funding, human rights award, human rights awards, ISHR, Israel, Mozn Hassan, NGO foreign-funding case, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Samir Sabry, travel ban, woman human rights defenders
March 29, 2018
In response IHEU’s Director of Advocacy, Elizabeth O’Casey, corrected the Holy See listing the established rights which constitute freedom from religion, and highlighted why freedom from religion is so necessary for those professing no religious beliefs around the world: “freedom from coercion to adopt a religion is protected by law; freedom to have no religion is protected by law; freedom to leave a religion is protected by law; and freedom to criticise a religion is protected by law.”
She also noted that in his own comments to the Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, also corrected the Holy See. Shaheed stated categorically that freedom from religion is protected by the right to freedom of religion or belief. Dr Shaheed mentioned specifically how humanist, atheist and secular bloggers are under attack, and that the right to freedom of religion or belief protects the individual, not the religion or belief itself.
In her statement, O’Casey went on to highlight just why statements such as those made by the Holy See are so objectionable and dangerous; especially in the context of state-based hate and a culture of impunity allowing for violence against those who have no religious beliefs. O’casey reminded the Council that 85 countries severely discriminate against non-religious individuals whilst seven countries were found to actively persecute the non-religious during last year. She also reminded the Council of the situation of those jailed in states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran for being atheist or humanist, and the brutal murder of so many secularists and rationalists with impunity in Bangladesh, India and the Maldives. O’Casey also mentioned Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia and Cyprus in their promoting state hatred against atheists and humanists.
In the light of this situation, O’Casey asked how many more humanists, atheists and secularists need to be killed, imprisoned, persecuted and disproportionately targeted for the international community to begin to understand the absolute importance of freedom of religion or belief for those with no religion? She concluded, “so long as the rest of the international community stay silent, the rights of the invisible minority of non-believers across the world will continue to be trampled upon, including by members of this Council.” The full text of O’Casey’s statement can be seen through the link below.
In this context it was interesting to see that in the UK a Burnley vicar, who has campaigned to expose sexual abuse and its cover-up in the Church of England, has been named Secularist of the Year! The Rev Graham Sawyer, who is the vicar of St James’ Church, was one of two joint winners presented with a £5,000 prize at a lunch hosted by the National Secular Society. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who won the award in 2012, presented the prize at the event in central London.
Posted in awards, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ahmed Shaheed, atheism, awards, Elizabeth O’Casey, freedom from religion, Graham Sawyer, Holy See, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), religious freedom, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief, Vatican
March 29, 2018
The Frank Jennings Fellowship was set up to give an opportunity for dedicated and talented individuals to gain experience working for the protection of human rights defenders in an international NGO and at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is named after Front Line Defenders’ former Head of Research who died after a long illness in 2005. Frank made a huge contribution to the development of human rights activism in Ireland and candidates who have some experience of human rights work in Ireland will be given priority.
The Frank Jennings Fellow spends 3 months at Front Line Defenders where they will be trained in relation to Human Rights Defenders; the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; the Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur; the procedures and methodology of the mandate; the role of Front Line Defenders and other national and international organisations in the support and protection of Human Rights Defenders. The Fellow will then move to Geneva for a period 6 months before returning to Front Line Defenders for a further 3 months.
The Fellow will be able to draft well and have good analytical skills. They will have some knowledge of the UN system and international and human rights law. They must be able to work in both English and Spanish (required!). They will be able to work on own initiative and as a member of a team. They will have good oral and written communication skills and be computer literate. They will be flexible and co-operative. Previous work experience with organisations working in the field of Human Rights would be desirable.
Basic Terms of reference – Front Line Defenders Dublin
- Provide support to Front Line Defenders’ Protection Coordinators including dealing with routine queries and correspondence with human rights defenders;
- Cooperate closely with the Regional Fellows and Protection Coordinators in drafting urgent appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk around the world
- Input HRD-related information on the Front Line Defenders database;
- Undertake clerical tasks such as faxing, photocopying, word processing, sending press releases, data entry, collating, emailing
- Support follow-up on cases taken up by Front Line Defenders or other specific projects relating to Human Rights Defenders as requested;
- Draft as requested, minutes, briefings, reports, appeals;
Basic Terms of Reference – Geneva SR
- Gather information on the situation of human rights defenders around the world (with a particular focus on themes of concern identified by the SR);
- In coordination with other thematic mechanisms and with geographic desk officers, and under the supervision of the HRD assistant to the SR, draft urgent appeals and communications to Governments concerning human rights violations against human rights defenders;
- Support follow-up of cases;
- Analyse replies received from Governments and prepare summaries for inclusion in the annual Human Rights Council (HRC) report;
- Assist in the drafting of annual reports to the HRC and the General Assembly;
- Assist in the preparation of background materials for official missions by the Special Rapporteur;
- Assist in liasing with non-governmental organizations for the smooth implementation of the mandate, as needed.
Honorarium: €1200 per month Dublin and €1400 per month Geneva.
The next Frank Jennings Fellowship will start on 1 April 2018.
Applications comprising a cover letter and CV should be sent to Ed O’Donovan, Head of Protection, at recruit@frontlinedefenders.org by 30 November 2017.
Important: please indicate the FULL title of the position you are applying for in the subject heading of email: ‘Frank Jennings Internship’ or the application may be missed.
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/frank-jennings-fellowship-dublin-and-geneva
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: call for applications, Dublin, fellowship, Frank Jennings Fellowship, Front Line (NGO), Geneva, internship, job opportunity, vacancy, youth
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 