Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category

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Algerian government fails to prove accusation against human rights defenders held in Italy

September 17, 2015

On 15 September 2015, the Turin Court of Appeal ruled to release Algerian human rights defender Mr Rachid Mesli, who has been under house arrest since 22 August 2015, and to allow him to leave the country, as reported by Front Line Defenders.

 

The human rights defender was released before the end of the 40 day period during which the Algerian government could submit a formal request for extradition. The Court recognised Rachid Mesli’s important and peaceful work in the defence of human rights, as well as the high risk of torture he would face if returned to Algeria. While the court is yet to make its final decision on the extradition warrant, the release order highlighted that, according to the information received, Rachid Mesli’s human rights activities were not in any way related to terrorism.

On 22 August, the Italian court placed the human rights defender under house arrest following three days in detention in Aosta prison. Rachid Mesli was arrested on 19 August 2015 (https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/29390) as he travelled to Italy on holiday with his wife and son. The arrest occurred as a result of an arrest warrant issued by the Algerian authorities in April 2002 on terrorism-related charges.

[Rachid Mesli is the Legal Director of Alkarama, an independent human rights organisation based in Geneva that works to assist victims of extra-judicial executions, disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention in Arab states. And this is not first effort by the Algerian government see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/mourad-dhina-algerian-head-of-the-human-rights-organization-alkarama-detained-in-france/]

Interesting tot note Front Line Defenders’ call on Interpol to ensure the legitimacy of all warrants issued by its members and to put in place safeguards so that the system cannot be abused in order to target human rights defenders.

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Geneva Call: even armed groups can adhere to humanitarian standards

September 17, 2015

In this short video produced by True Heroes Films (THF) spokespeople for armed non-state actors explain why they feel they have to adhere to humanitarian standards. The definition of human rights defenders excludes those who advocate or use violence but the importance of them respecting basic standards is a crucial, long-term issue.

This Geneva Call short video features 13 high-level representatives of armed non-State actors (ANSAs) from 10 countries, including Syria, Burma/Myanmar and Sudan. In it, they explain why they think it is so important to enter into a dialogue with Geneva Call on humanitarian norms and the protection of civilian populations.  Although ANSAs are responsible for violations of humanitarian norms in many conflicts, it is possible to engage them in a dialogue about respecting those norms.

It is in ANSAs’ interests to respect humanitarian norms, not only to gain support from populations in the areas they control but also to maintain a good reputation. Complying with humanitarian norms often sits well with the political or religious values that are at the root of their struggle, and compliance can make them more credible interlocutors when peace negotiations take place.

These statements were filmed at Geneva Call’s Third Meeting of Signatories in November 2014. This meeting in Geneva brought together 70 high-level representatives of 36 ANSAs from 14 different countries.

see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/fighter-not-killer-application-now-available-from-geneva-call/

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Reprisals against Human Rights Defenders continue says UN report

September 17, 2015

Reprisals against human rights defenders continue and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (fortunately) continues to give it prominence. A newly released United Nations report names 20 nations that have taken action against rights defenders and activists over the past year. Here the version of the New York Times (Nick Cumming) of 15 September 2015:

Those who give evidence to United Nations human rights investigators are facing increasingly severe reprisals, the United Nations Human Rights Council said Tuesday in a report naming 20 countries that took action against rights defenders and activists in the past year. The instances included intimidation and reprisals against the council’s commissions of inquiry on Eritrea and the 2014 war in Gaza, as well as people cooperating with United Nations investigators and staff monitoring human rights developments, the council’s president, Joachim Rücker, reported. “The types of acts reported seem to have become more varied and severe over time, targeting not only the individuals or groups concerned, but also their families, legal representatives, nongovernmental organizations and anyone linked to them,” he said in the report, which covers events in the year up to the end of May. The penalties it cited ranged from threats and travel bans to imprisonment, torture, sexual violence and disappearance. The list was not exhaustive, leaving out cases where naming individuals might endanger them.

In a statement to the council, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for human rights, expressed concern on Monday about China’s detention of more than 100 lawyers and Russia’s stigmatization of nongovernment organizations getting overseas funding, but the report includes only one example of intimidation in each country.

It describes the torture of Sadriddin Toshev, a prisoner in Tajikistan, beaten in front of other inmates by prison officials who cited his interaction with a United Nations investigator on torture. Mr. Toshev was later charged with fraud, accused of deliberately wounding himself to discredit prison officials and of distributing false information, the report said.

Among other cases, the report cites a five-year prison sentence which it says was imposed in Iran on Mohammad Ali Taheri for cooperating with the United Nations expert monitoring human rights there. It also describes the violent arrest of a human rights defender in Myanmar by 10 plainclothes security men as he was on his way to provide evidence to the council-appointed expert assessing developments there.

“Such acts not only show a complete disregard for the functioning of the United Nations as a whole but also highlight the fact that, despite repeated calls for action by states to end all such violations, impunity continues to surround them,” the report said.

Having written so often about this topic, a link to previous posts is all this is needed: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/reprisals/ 

Source: Retribution Increases Against Those Aiding Human Rights Inquiries – The New York Times

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Human Rights Defenders in Azerbaijan: Human Rights Council last hope?

September 15, 2015

 

In Azerbaijan, space for independent civil society has disappeared, following a crackdown since the presidential election in October 2013. Ahead of the parliamentary elections in November 2015, all leading civil society actors are either in prison or have fled the country. On 8 September 2015, the UN High Commissioner condemned the ongoing crackdown on civil society and independent voices in Azerbaijan. On 20 August 2015, six UN Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement condemning the conviction of human rights defenders as “manifestly politically motivated” in a trial that “fell short of international norms and standards.” On 11 September 2015, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) cancelled its election monitoring in the country due to restrictions imposed by the Azerbaijani authorities. See also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/azerbaijan/

Clearly time for the Human Rights Council to step in!

Several NGOs, led by the Human Rights House Foundation, are organizing a side event in Geneva on Wednesday 16 September, from 17:00 – 18:00. Palais des Nations Room XXIV. English / Russian translation is provided.HRHFlogo

SPEAKERS

DINARA YUNUS Institute for Peace and Democracy & Daughter of political prisoners Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus

SERGHEI OSTAF Resource Centre for Human Rights Moldova; Observer of many of the hearings this summer of various human rights defenders imprisoned in Azerbaijan

EMIN HUSEYNOV Institute for Reporter’s Freedom and Safety

Moderation: FLORIAN IRMINGER

 

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Fly Emirates? If the Emir lets you!

September 15, 2015

The Emirates proudly sponsor major clubs such as AC Milan, Real Madrid, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, but when it comes to flying out of the country there is a problem for those who do not toe the line. A case in point is Ahmed Mansoor, one of 3 finalist for the 2015 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

Today – 15 September 2015 – the 10 international NGOs on the Jury of the MEA (see list below) came out with an exceptional joint statement calling on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities to lift the travel ban imposed on Ahmed Mansoor and to issue him a passport before the ceremony on 6 October in Geneva (in which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights participates).

Widely respected as one of the few voices within the UAE to provide a credible independent assessment of human rights developments, Ahmed Mansoor regularly raises concerns regarding arbitrary detention, torture or degrading treatment, and failure to meet international standards of fair trial. He also draws attention to other human rights abuses, including against migrant workers. As a result, Ahmed Mansoor has faced repeated intimidation, harassment, and death threats from the UAE authorities or their supporters, including arrest and imprisonment in 2011 following an unfair trial. He and four other activists who called for democratic rights in the UAE were jailed in 2011 on the charge of “insulting officials”. Although pardoned and released later that year, Ahmed Mansoor has been banned from travel and had his passport confiscated.

Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders

Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders

The Martin Ennals Award Jury today said: “Ahmed Mansoor’s absence at the ceremony would mark a very disappointing position for the UAE, which is a country that prides itself as one of the hubs of international business and tourism in the Middle East, as well a safe haven in the region. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, which is running for a second term, we expect the UAE authorities to honour their obligations to uphold human rights and protect human rights defenders. The UAE government must match its rhetoric on the international stage with meaningful actions at home, starting with immediately lifting the travel ban on Ahmed Mansoor, to returning and renewing his passport, and allowing him to travel to Geneva for the ceremony.”

see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/the-emirates-not-a-paradise-for-human-rights-defenders/

 

 Jury:
–    Amnesty International,
–    Human Rights Watch,
–    Human Rights First,
–    Int’l Federation for Human Rights – (FIDH)
–    World Organisation Against Torture – (OMCT)
–    Front Line Defenders,
–    International Commission of Jurists,
–    EWDE Germany,
–    International Service for Human Rights,
–    HURIDOCS.

for the full text of the statement see: www.martinennalsaward.org or those of the NGOs on the Jury.

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Please contribute to AWID’s Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders!

September 12, 2015

 

As part of this year’s 16-Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence (November 25 – December 10 2015), join AWID in commemorating the women human rights defenders (WHRDs) who have died in the last 12 months and help us celebrate their lives and contributions to the defense of human rights.

WHRD Tribute screenshot

AWID’s Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders Who Are No Longer With Us is an online photo exhibition featuring photographs and biographies of women’s rights leaders from around the world – honors WHRDs who have died and whose contributions to the advancement of human rights are very much missed.

While many of these women have passed away due to accidents, illnesses and natural disasters, about one third of those honored in the tribute were killed or disappeared due to their activism.

For the submission guidelines follow the link: Call for Submissions: Contribute to AWID’s Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders! | AWID and send your contribution to awidtribute@gmail.com with the subject line “AWID Tribute 2015” by 30 September, 2015.

 

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2015 Front Line Defenders Award to Chinese Guo Feixiong (Yang Maodong)

September 12, 2015

On Friday 11 September the 2015 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was presented to imprisoned Chinese Human Rights Defender  Guo Feixiong in Dublin City Hall. Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry presented the award to Guo’s wife, Zhang Qing, and daughter, Yang Tianjiao (Sara), at the award co-presented by the Al-Jazeera Media Network. Guo has been held in Guangzhou’s Tianhe Detention Center for over 750 days, where is currently awaiting sentencing. Sebastian Barry said:“For human rights defenders the struggle is not just to implement rules and regulations and theoretical international standards. It is is about the right to raise your voice without the fear of arbitrary violence, whether by the state or others. Guo Feixiong has defended farmers illegally evicted from their land, Falun Gong practitioners persecuted for their beliefs and journalists who dared to speak out. He is a symbol of the endurance of the human spirit, of the will to survive and of the human need for the free air of ideas, to make life worth living. He is a worthy recipient of the 2015 Front Line Defenders Award.”
Guo Feixiong (pen name of Yang Maodong) is a leading figure in the movement for human rights China – a struggle fraught with danger for human rights defenders seeking civil, political, economic and social rights; accountability; transparency; and an end to corruption. After more than two years in detention, Guo Feixiong’s lawyers now report that during their most recent meeting, his memory, speech, and mental awareness all showed signs of damage.Last week, a coalition of Chinese human rights activists writing at China Change called his detention “a deliberate effort to harm Guo Feixiong and kill him slowly.”Accepting the Award on behalf of her husband, Zhang Qing said:“Guo Feixiong is a faithful idealist. Although he has experienced a wide range of political persecution by the Chinese government including, being sentenced to four prison terms, being the target of a witch hunt, and enduring countless brutal and evil tortures from the Chinese government he still holds a peaceful and pure heart. He shows enduring strength and courage to pursue rights, equality and justice peacefully. We are proud of Guo Feixiong and all the other human rights defenders and lawyers working to the same end in China”.

for info on the finalists: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/finalists-for-the-2015-front-line-defenders-award-announced/

– See more at: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/29586#sthash.AZYZfOz1.dpufnders Award Presented to Chinese HRD Guo Feixiong | Front Line Defenders

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Human rights defenders squeezed by geo-politics? The cases of Colombia, Iran and Cuba.

September 11, 2015

Health and holidays (in that order) have slowed down my blog production somewhat this summer, but perhaps this was a welcome break for many of my readers for reasons of holiday and health (in that order I hope). Anyway, during these summer months I read quite some instances of HRD repression related to countries involved in major ‘geo-political’ progress and I started wondering whether this is coincidental. Take the following three cases: Colombia, Iran and Cuba. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | 2 Comments »
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Human Rights Tulip makes public its 2015 Jury

September 10, 2015

Transparency in the composition of the jury of human rights awards is not always very high, so the announcement by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the composition of its 2105 Tulip jury is to be welcomed:

Ugandan Margaret Sekaggya is to chair the jury. She is a human rights lawyer who from 2008 until 2014 was UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Human Rights Centre Uganda and sits on the Board of a number of NGOs, including True Heroes Films.

Ales Bialiatski is a distinguished human rights defender from Belarus and the founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center.

Nicola Jägers is a professor international human rights law and her research is mainly focused on the expansion of trade beyond borders and the universaling effects of the human rights movement.

Shahzad Ahmed has made his voice known by fighting against online censorship in Pakistan.

Amira Yahyaoui is a Tunisian blogger, activist and founder of the NGO Al Bawsala.

For more on awards, see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/my-post-number-1000-human-rights-awards-finally-made-accessible-for-and-by-true-heroes/

Source: Human rights defender Margaret Sekaggya Sekaggya to chair the Human Rights Tulip 2015 Jury | News item | Human Rights Tulip

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Prize for best Dissertation on Human Rights; deadline 1 November

September 8, 2015

False modesty could have prevented me from making this announcement, but I think that getting the highest number of quality submissions is more important.  So please pass this on:

The Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists (NJCM) invites law graduates to participate in the sixth Thoolen NJCM Dissertation Prize (2015) for the best human-rights thesis on university and higher professional education level.

To be considered eligible, the dissertation must have been written in the last two academic years (2013-2014 or 2014-2015) and must have received at least a Dutch ‘8’ grade equivalency by an internationally recognized university. The submitted dissertation must be written in either Dutch or English, concern a human-rights based subject and be in a direct relation to internationally recognized human rights.

The winning dissertation will be published by the NJCM!

Deadline
The dissertation must be handed in before the 1st of November 2015 at NJCM’s secretariat. Send four copies of your dissertation before this date to: NJCM P.O. box 778, 2300 AT  Leiden.

For more information and the full text of the Regulation for the Thoolen NJCM – Dissertation Prize go to: http://www.njcm.nl <http://www.njcm.nl/site/njcm/scriptieprijs/deelname>

The jury
* Mr. H. (Hans) Thoolen
Co-founder and first Chair of the NJCM; Secretary of the Board of the Martin Ennals Foundation
* Dr. (Michiel) van Emmerik
Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University
* Prof. C. (Kees) Flinterman
Honorary professor of human rights law at Utrecht University and Maastricht University
* Prof. J.E. (Jenny) Goldschmidt
Honorary professor of human rights law at Utrecht University; director Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) from 2007 to 2014
* Prof. N.M.C.P. (Nicola) Jägers
Professor of International Human Rights Law of Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University; Commissioner of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights
* Prof. R.A. (Rick) Lawson
Dean of the Leiden Law School; professor of European Law at Leiden University
* Prof. B.E.P. (Egbert) Myjer
Professor emeritus of human rights law at VU University Amsterdam; judge of the European Court of Human Rights from 2004 to 2012; Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists from 2013

Previous prize winners are:
2013: Suzanne Poppelaars
Het recht op bronbescherming: Hoe verder na Voskuil en Sanoma?
2011: Laura Henderson  [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/media-framing-and-the-independence-of-the-judiciary-the-case-of-water-boarding/]
Tortured reality. How media framing of waterboarding affects judicial independence
2009: Erik van de Sandt
A child’s story for global peace and justice. Best practices for a child-friendly environment during the statement- and testimony-period in respect of the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Code
2007: Shekufeh Jalali Manesh
Het recht van het kind op behoorlijke huisvesting en het BLOEM-model
2005: Janine de Vries
Sexual violence against women in Congo. Obstacles and remedies for judicial assistance

Copies of the winning dissertations can be purchased through NJCM’s secretariat: NJCM@law.leidenuniv.nl

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