Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
November 29, 2015
On 27 November 2015, Mr Guo Feixiong was sentenced to six years in prison by the Tianhe District People’s Court in Guangzhou, China. Two other human rights defenders, Liu Yuandong and Sun Desheng, received three and two and a half year sentences respectively. In September, Guo Feixiong (pen name of Yang Madding) was awarded the 2015 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/2015-front-line-defenders-award-to-chinese-guo-feixiong-yang-maodong/].
Guo Feixiong was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of “gathering crowds to disturb social order” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. The latter charge was reportedly added by the judge at the sentencing and therefore one that Guo Feixiong’s lawyers had no opportunity to defend him against, and which resulted in two years being added to his sentence. Liu Yuandong was sentenced to three years, while Sun Desheng was sentenced to two and a half years, both on charges of “gathering crowds to disrupt public order”.
Since his detention in 2013, Guo Feixiong has reportedly been held in a 30 sq metre cell with 30 other detainees. Furthermore, he has been denied permission to go outside or exercise in the prison yard since his initial detention and has alleged ill-treatment by the prison guards. According to his lawyer, Mr Zhang Lei, Guo Feixiong’s health has suffered greatly as a result. It has also been reported that Sun Desheng had had his hands cuffed and legs shackled for long periods after his detention.
Posted in awards, Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, fair trial, Front Line Defenders, Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Guo Feixiong, Human Rights Defenders, ill treatment, illegal detention, Liu Yuandong, Sun Desheng, Yang Madding, Zhang Lei
November 27, 2015
In an earlier post [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/new-tactics-in-human-rights-follows-up-on-the-protection-regime-of-hrds/] I referred to the latest Special Issue in OUP’s International Journal of Human Rights on ‘Critical Perspectives on the Security and Protection of Human Rights Defenders’, in which scholars and practitioners critically appraise the construction and functioning of this protection regime.
In this context there is an evening event in London on 2 December 2015 in collaboration with the Human Rights Researchers Network at Senate House, University of London from 6.00-8.30pm. Special guest at this event is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst.
Tickets are limited and available here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/critical-perspectives-on-the-security-and-protection-of-human-rights-defenders-tickets-19171391147
For the network see: http://www.sas.ac.uk/hrc/networks-study-groups/human-rights-researchers-network
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Tags: Human Rights Defenders, International Journal of Human Rights, international protection, Michel Forst, OUP, protection mechanisms, research, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, university
November 26, 2015
AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights. AWID honors feminists and Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who have died and whose contributions to the advancement of human rights are very much missed. This tribute takes the form of an online photo exhibition featuring photographs and biographies of women’s rights leaders from around the world – was first launched at AWID’s 12th International Forum on Women’s Rights in Development, held in April 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey, and is updated every year as part of the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence 
(November 25 – December 10).
for last year: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/call-for-submissions-contribute-to-awids-tribute-to-women-human-rights-defenders-awid/
Source: WHRD Tribute | AWID
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence, AWID, in memoriam, International Day of Action for Elimination of Violence against Women, Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders Who Are No Longer With Us, women human rights defenders
November 26, 2015
The answer to yesterday’s post [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/will-the-un-today-adopt-the-strongest-possible-resolution-on-human-rights-defenders-ask-over-100-ngos/] is that the UN did vote in favor but UNFORTUNATELY did have to vote at all. The unanimity by which UN resolutions on this topic were adopted since 1999 is now lost. But at least there is clarity: Russia and China were the main opponents.
“In New York today, China and Russia broke the unanimity of the international community by requesting a vote on the resolution presented by Norway,” commented Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy at the Human Rights House Network. The vote by 117 in favour of the resolution, against 14, and with 40 abstentions, in fact reflects the situation in which human rights defenders work in the countries that voted against the resolution.
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 3 Comments »
Tags: China, Florian Irminger, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights House Foundation, international protection, national level, NGOs, Norway, reprisals, Russia, social media, Third Committee of the GA, UN Resolution
November 25, 2015
In a letter addressed to Member States, well over a hundred 100 international and national NGOs urged Members States to reject amendments intended to weaken the resolution on protection of human rights defenders, which will be adopted today, Wednesday, 25 November 2015 in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
The resolution, as drafted, includes robust protection measures for human rights defenders, including the need to combat impunity for violence against human rights defenders and to release defenders who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms. With the recent attacks on human rights defenders in places such as Burundi where the prominent activist Pierre Claver Mbonimpa and members of his family have been systematically attacked, it is time for UN Member States to take strong action to prevent and punish reprisals. However, amendments, tabled by the African Group, China, and Iran seek to dramatically weaken the resolution on human rights defenders and delete entire paragraphs regarding the need for their protection.At a time when the work of human rights defenders has become extraordinarily dangerous and increasingly criminalized in many states, it is important for Member States to send a strong message on the need to protect human rights defenders.
The text of the draft follows in toto:
SUPPORT THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON RECOGNIZING THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND THE NEED FOR THEIR PROTECTION
Excellencies,
We write to you as a group of human rights defenders and civil society organizations located across the world working at national, regional and international levels. We write in regard to the draft resolution entitled ”Recognizing the role of human rights defenders and the need for their protection“ currently being advanced in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, and due to be adopted on Wednesday 25 November 2015.
We urge your government to support the abovementioned resolution and to reject amendments, tabled by the African Group, China and Iran, designed to weaken the text.
Among other things, the proposed amendments remove references to the legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders, delete or weaken language regarding the need for their protection, and delete whole paragraphs related to the need to combat impunity for violations and abuses against defenders and the need to ensure adequate procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings. A call for the release of defenders detained or imprisoned in violation of international human rights law, for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, is also proposed for deletion. In addition, the amendments introduce notions that States should only support and enable their work ‘as appropriate’, rather than in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and other obligations arising under international human rights law
Human rights defenders make a vital contribution to the promotion and respect for human rights, democratic processes, securing and maintaining peace and security, and advancing development in our countries. However, in doing this work, defenders often face a range of violations and abuses at the hands of State and non-State actors. States must acknowledge the role of defenders and the specific risks they face, and commit to ensuring their protection.
Seventeen years ago, all States agreed to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, including State obligations to protect all human rights defenders working on all human rights. This commitment has been reiterated and built upon in subsequent General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions. We are therefore extremely concerned to hear that the abovementioned delegations have objected to several core elements of the draft resolution.
Based on consultations with over 500 defenders from 111 States, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders found that in the vast majority of States the situation for human rights defenders is deteriorating in law and in practice. He concluded that a lack of awareness regarding their vital and legitimate work, combined with a lack of political commitment and weak institutional arrangements for their protection, is placing them, their organisations and families at elevated risk.
The resolution as drafted reflects a number of these findings and makes a series of recommendations for States and other actors. Importantly, this year’s text includes a key focus on the implementation of the resolution itself. This will hopefully prompt States and other actors to move beyond rhetoric in addressing the challenges faced by human rights defenders and take action to ensure the implementation of the calls in the resolution.
We urge all States to live up to their human rights commitments by supporting this resolution, by rejecting amendments designed to weaken it, and by taking concrete steps to protect human rights defenders.
Sincerely, (names of the NGOs)
see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/reprisals-states-must-r…
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, civil society organisations, criminalisation, diplomacy, harassment, Human Rights Defenders, international campaign, Iran, NGOs, open letter, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, reprisals, retaliation, Third Committee of the GA, UN Resolution
November 24, 2015
A leading campaigner for adult education in Indonesia, Darmiyanti [Yanti] Muchtar, passed away on Tuesday 17 November 2015 after a long battle with cancer.
She was a noted feminist who had been part of the country’s women’s movement since the 1980s, she was a cofounder of Solidaritas Perempuan or the Women’s Solidarity for Human Rights group, and later joined Kapal Perempuan or the Women’s Ship Institute, where she once served as a director.
Kapal represented her passion for alternative education targeting adults in disadvantaged and marginalized communities. In her last months, Yanti’s colleagues said she continued working on numerous projects including a women’s education module. Among her other passions was pushing for the passing of a draft law on domestic workers, in her capacity as a member of the Jala PRT advocacy network for domestic workers. The campaigner believed adult education was key to fighting illiteracy and promoting critical thinking.
Yanti, a sociology graduate from the University of Indonesia, completed a PhD at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, late last year, with a thesis on local Islamic politics in West Nusa Tenggara, under the supervision of sociologist Vedi R. Hadiz. Her thesis also reflected her concern for identity politics based on ethnicity and religion, while she championed equal rights for minorities and the marginalized, including women and low-income people, as well as equal recognition for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and for interfaith couples.
For more see the Jakarta Post of 19 November: Education campaigner Yanti Muchtar dies | The Jakarta Post
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Tags: Anti, Darmiyanti Muchtar, Education, human rights of women, illiteracy, in memoriam, Indonesia, woman human rights defender, Yanti
November 24, 2015
The Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) calls for an end to the violence directed at SRHR defenders, as well as their recognition and protection as Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs). For those who are not familiar with the term: SRHR stand for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.The 16-day campaign encourages all to share stories and experiences on social media using the hashtags #SRHRvoices #SRHRheroes, speak out for the recognition of SRHR defenders as Women Human Rights Defenders and demand their protection.
The 16 Days of Activism Campaign links two international days of action: 25 November, International Day of Action for Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10 December, International Human Rights Day. In between falls 29 November, International Women’s Human Rights Defenders Day.
WHRDs who work on sexual and reproductive rights issues have been recognized at particular risk of grave consequences because of their work, as they are often perceived to be “challenging accepted socio-cultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, […] and the role and status of women in society“. Not only are the advocacy efforts of SRHR activists often shunned, ignored or feared by broader society, but they often find their own lives and well-being at risk.
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: human rights of women, international campaign, International Day of Action for Elimination of Violence against Women, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, sexual and reproductive health, WHRDs, women human rights defenders, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
November 24, 2015
On 2 November the ISHR carries an interview with Alberto Solis Castro, a human rights defender concerned with the indigenous communities in Mexico.
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Tags: Alberto Solis Castro, attacks, Business and human rights, environmental issues, Human Rights Defenders, Indigenous rights, international cooperation, ISHR, Mexico, profiles, resource extraction
November 23, 2015
With International Women Human Rights Defenders Day coming up (29 November) I will pay special attention to questions that concern them. Here a case of police harassment from Front Line concerning Tanzania: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, elections, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, Imelda Urio, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, judicial harassment, Legal and Human Rights Centre, police behavior, Tanzania, Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium, woman human rights defender
November 23, 2015
In the series Human Rights Defender Profiles [ISHR] this time: Muhammad Darisman, from West Java, Indonesia:
In the context of breakneck pace of economic development Muhammad Dairyman stands out. He currently partners with U.S.-based Worker Rights Consortium to monitor and improve working conditions in garment factories, but he is also the founder, since 2009, of a local NGO that raises awareness of occupational disease and victim’s rights. He has led campaigns to highlight the ongoing (and legal) use of asbestos in Indonesia and across the Asian region, and to raise awareness about the negative health impacts on workers and communities. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Business and human rights, corporate accountability, environmental issues, health, Human Rights Defenders, Indonesia, Java, labour rights, land rights, Muhammad Darisman, profiles, Trade union
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 