Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
October 23, 2013
On 22 October 2013 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights called for the immediate release of a well-known Qatari poet who it says was harshly sentenced for a poem considered to be encouraging the overthrow of the ruling system of the country. Mohammed al Ajami – also known as Ibn al Dheeb – was initially sentenced to life in prison on 29 November 2012 for the poem, which was also considered insulting to the nation’s symbols. His sentence was reduced to 15 years last February during a second appeal. On 20 October, Qatar’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, decided to uphold the 15-year sentence. Mr. al Ajami’s only recourse now is to appeal for clemency to the Emir of Qatar, the home country of Al-Jazeera. “This sentence is clearly disproportionate,” OHCHR spokesperson Cécile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva. “Last January, we already publicly expressed our concerns about the harsh sentencing, the fairness of his trial and about the many months Mr. al Ajami had spent in solitary confinement,” she added.
via United Nations News Centre – Citing freedom of expression, UN calls for release of Qatari poet given 15-year sentence.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Al-Jazeera, freedom of expression, Geneva, Ibn al Dheeb, imprisonment, Mohammed al-Ajami, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights, poet, Qatar, release, sentence, Sentence (law), United Nations
October 22, 2013
Nominations for the 2014 MARTIN ENNALS AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (MEA) can now be submitted electronically at http://www.martinennalsaward.org. Deadline: 9 December 2013.
The Award is granted annually to an individual, or exceptionally an organisation, in recognition of their commitment and ongoing efforts in the defence and promotion of human rights. Nominees must be currently involved in work for the promotion and protection of human rights. Special account is taken of those who are at risk and have demonstrated an active record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. The MEA aims to encourage individuals or organisations, particularly those who are working in conditions hostile to fundamental human rights and who are in need of protection.
The present value of the annual Award is 20’000 Swiss Francs, to be used for further work in the field of human rights. The following organisations participate in the Jury that selects the award: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Front Line, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, the World Organisation Against Torture, International Commission of Jurists, International Service for Human Rights, Protestant Agency for Diakonia and Development (Germany) and HURIDOCS.
The Ceremony is hosted by the City of Geneva in late 2013. They provide each of the final three nominees with project funds of 11’650 CHF and a 5’000 CHF travel grant.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: AI, awards, call for nominations, Diakonie, FIDH, Frontline Defenders, Geneva, HRF, HRW, Human right, human rights, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, human rights violations, HURIDOCS, ICJ, ISHR, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, nominations, OMCT
October 22, 2013
Dina Goor was an elite model. She was an interior designer in Israel and much more. Dina’s arrival at the Qalandiya checkpoint a decade ago in her grey Volkswagen Golf, changed her and the human rights movement in Israel. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Dina Goor, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Defenders Fund, Israel, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israelis, Machsom Watch, occupation, woman human rights defender, Yesh Din
October 22, 2013
(c) Bao Fan/ Imaginechina, file Venture capitalist Wang Gongquan is seen in a file photo from December 2009.
Eric Baculinao, NBC News Producer informs us that in a crackdown on dissent ahead of a Communist Party gathering next month, Chinese authorities on Sunday formally arrested a billionaire venture capitalist who has turned his wealth toward supporting human rights issues. The detention of Wang Gongquan, who was held on suspicion of disturbing public order, sends a strong signal that China’s new leadership will not tolerate any member of the rising entrepreneurial elite using their resources to agitate for democratic reform. Gongquan, 52, who made a fortune from real estate and investment management, is one of the first Chinese billionaires to cross a “red line” that forbids the ascendant entrepreneurial class from challenging the Communist party’s supremacy. Wang is known to be a supporter of the New Citizens Movement, a loose association of professionals and other urbanites advocating free speech and other rights enshrined in China’s constitution. The group, which occasionally organizes dinners to discuss national issues, is also calling for greater government transparency and disclosure of officials’ assets. “I admire Wang Gongguan’s integrity and courage, but he might have crossed the ‘red line,’” said Hu Xingdou, referring to the unwritten rule that China’s rising business class should not engage in political activism.
via Chinese billionaire arrested for crossing red line of political activism – Behind The Wall.
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Tags: China, Chinese authorities, Chinese billionaire, Communist, Communist Party, Communist Party of China, Gongquan, Hu Xingdou, Human rights defender, NBC News, Public-order crime, repression, Wang Gongquan
October 22, 2013
Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders is organising a five-day working conference in Przno, Montenegro, from the 22 – 27 October. The conference is entitled “Empowering people – ideas worth spreading“ and will gather human rights activists from Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The goal of the conference is to increase the participants’ capacities in using new media and technology as well as art in their advocacy work.
“We want to truly empower activists in using new media and technology in their work as well as giving them the tools to be more effective. New media and social networks are used everywhere and therefore our advocacy efforts must follow the trend. Art is also a well-known tool for sending a powerful message and engage people in a debate. During the conference, the participants will share ideas, create new projects and be given a „communications upgrade“ to create online and offline communities, thus making them part of the human rights advocacy network“, said Goran Miletic, Programme Director for the Western Balkans at Civil Rights Defenders.
Through intensive training and workshops, 40 activists from the Western Balkans will learn how to use new media, create communication strategies, learn about video production and theatre as well as civic journalism in advocacy. The participants will exchange ideas and create new ones at the conference, which will provide the foundation for future joint efforts and regional partnerships.
Civil Rights Defenders – New media and art as tools for human rights advocacy.
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Tags: Advocacy, albania, art, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Civil Rights Defenders, films, human rights activists, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, information technology, Kosovo, Montenegro, social media, training course, western balkans
October 21, 2013
The New York Times of Monday 20 October carries a post by Chris Buckley which looks at the documentation submitted for today’s UPR session on China and concludes that it seems as if there are two different countries facing scrutiny in Geneva. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AI, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, China, Chris Buckley, Geneva, Government of the People's Republic of China, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Watch, illegal detention, New York Times, NGOs, reprisals, retaliation, United Nations Human Rights Council, universal human rights, Universal Periodic Review, UPR
October 21, 2013
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition [WHRD IC] expresses its deep concern at the recent hacking of the website of the Latin America and Caribbean Women’s Health Network’s (LACWHN). The attack is emblematic of the serious threat that on-line harassment presents to sexual and reproductive rights activists and constitutes a malicious violation of LACWHN’s right to freedom of expression and association. 
On 21 September the LACWHN’s website was hacked and disabled: http://www.reddesalud.org/. The attack occurred immediately following the launch of several campaign activities on 19 and 20 September including the #28SAbortoLegal social media campaign as well as the posting of a photo album and some posters.
The WHRD IC believes the digital attack is a deliberate attempt to silence legitimate feminist voices, suppress dissent and stifle women’s political participation in the public sphere on these issues by stigmatization and sabotage. The spaces where WHRDs working on sexual rights provide information and communicate from on the right to information on health and bodily integrity are being systematically attacked. In 2013 APC conducted a global survey (http://www.genderit.org/articles/survey-sexual-activism-morality-and-internet) on risks facing WHRDs working on sexual rights, including reproductive health and rights, LGBT rights, access to safe abortion, sexual violence and rape, and sex education. 99% of activists stated that the internet was a crucial tool for advancing their human rights work. And yet, 51% reported receiving violent or threatening messages online. About one third of the sample mentioned intimidation (34%); blocking and filtering (33%); or censorship (29%). This resulted in 27% of them discontinuing the work they were doing online.” Given the importance and relatively new area of human rights, the WHRD IC notes the importance of advancing regional and international jurisprudence, and contributing to a better understanding by the international community of the risks that exist on-line, particularly in relationship to the protection of the right to defend rights.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: abortion, APC, European Parliament, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Latin America, Latin America and Caribbean Women’s Health Network, LGBT rights, Reproductive health, reproductive rights, Sex education, sexual rights, women human rights defenders, Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, Women's rights
October 19, 2013
PLEASE NOTE THAT the website is now suspended!!
Rankings of countries are popular at least with the media and public. That is also true for human rights. There is already the annual Freedom House survey as well as the UNDP development-oriented one. Now, on 17 October, the Global Network for Rights and Development [GNRD] – created in 2008 and based in Stavanger, Norway – has published a new one, that tries to combine all social and economic indicators. It calls itself without much modesty “the Most Trustful and Complete International Human Rights Rank Indicator“, reflecting Live Data on the respect for human rights in 216 countries. The website states that it acts “in cooperation with various international organizations, governments and other NGOs to make the outcomes full and veritable. More than two thousand individuals all over the world are collecting and entering information constantly. The countries’ human rights rank indicator depends on a complex calculation of the respect for 21 interconnected human rights, including the evaluation of respect for human rights abroad, and the rights’ values. The new Indicator’s website offers to any person from any corner of the world an advantage to influence on the countries’ rank and significantly contribute to the protection of the human rights by registering a violation case in the online system….. Thus, we introduced today a real, free of bias, unique in its implementation International Human Rights Rank Indicator ihrri.com.”
The problem is that verification of these claims is not possible without knowing more of the methodology, the data used and especially the ‘authorised organisations’ that are NOT listed. Theoretically the listing is an interesting notion but there must be a reason that most serious human rights NGOs have not done.
In the meantime governmental Gulfnews has already picked up on it: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/uae-top-for-human-rights-in-arab-countries-1.1244390
via http://www.gnrd.net/vnews.php?id=297
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Civil and political rights, Emirates, Freedom House, Global Network For Right And Development, GNRD, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, indicators, International Human Rights Rank Indicator, Non-governmental organization, Norway, ranking, social and economic rights, Stavanger, UEA, UNDP
October 18, 2013
The Hueiyen News Service Imphal, reports that on 19 October 2013 a number of NGOs in Manipur State [a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital] will come together to organise a new “Convention on Protection of Human Rights Defenders of Manipur“. The Convention has been planned against the backdrop of increasing targeting of human rights defenders and their organizations in Manipur by security forces operating under emergency laws. The convention will also discuss the patterns of targeting human rights defenders and adopt specific resolution and strategies to promote the human rights and protection of human rights defenders of Manipur.
via Protection of human rights defenders : 18th oct13 ~ E-Pao! Headlines.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Civil society, coalition, emergency laws, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, India, Manipur, minorities, NGOs, Non-governmental organization, repression, security forces
October 18, 2013
China’s Second Universal Periodic Review: Challenges and Opportunities on MONDAY 21 October in Room XXV of the Palais des Nations in Geneva 12:30-14:30
FIDH league members will lead an NGO information meeting on key civil society trends and challenges since 2009.
The panel will discuss:
- Civil society’s important role in advancing progress and addressing China’s human rights challenges
- The challenges to fundamental rights and freedoms presented by national security laws
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: China, Civil society, FIDH, Human right, International Federation for Human Rights, NGO, Non-governmental organization, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 