Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
September 11, 2013
Having last week referred to 3 different (and competing?) techno initiatives to increase the security of HRDs, i would be amiss not to note the post of 11 september 2013 by Tanya O’Caroll on the AI blog concerning the development of the Panic button. Over the next couple of months, she will be keeping you posted about the Panic Button. If you want to join the community of people working on Panic Button, please leave a comment on the site mentioned below or email panicbutton@amnesty.org.
via Inside the development of Amnesty’s new Panic Button App | Amnestys global human rights blog.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Amnesty International, Artificial intelligence, global human rights, HRDs, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Defenders, information technology, internet, mobile phones, Panic Button, protection, technology, YouTube
September 11, 2013
On 22 August 2013 Mekki Elmograbi (makkimag@gmail) published a piece in the Sudan Vision Daily which tries to make a distinction between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ practice of journalism with the consequent distinction that in the first case human rights defenders should defend the journalists but in the second case use dialogue techniques to defuse the situation. It is a rambling article and the categorization cannot be easily understood. However, I am sharing it anyway as it is in order to illustrate the state of thinking in parts of the world: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Africa, dialogue, dialogue techniques, ethnic division, freedom of expression, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Journalist, Mekki Elmograbi, naming and shaming, Non-governmental organization, right to freedom of expression, Sudan Vision Daily
September 10, 2013
In the context of my previous post, here is the reference to a side event organized by the ISHR on this topic which starts today (Tuesday) at 13h15-14h45 Swiss time in the Palais des Nations, Room 21. You can follow the event at www.ishr.ch/council/webcast.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, International Service for Human Rights, internet, retaliation, side event, UN Human Rights Council, webcast
September 10, 2013
Nine years after the killing of human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must take decisive and concrete action to ensure those responsible – including those at the highest levels – are brought to justice, and that all defenders of human rights are better protected. President Yudhoyono, who has himself described Munir’s case as a “test of our history”, but he has just one year of his presidency remaining in which to ensure full justice and reparations are delivered. The President’s failure so far to do so, at a time the protection of human rights defenders across the country remains seriously under threat, raises serious questions about his legacy.
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Civil society, death, diplomatic pressure, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Indonesia, indonesian authorities, investigation, legislation, Munir Said Thalib, murder, Netherlands, Non-governmental organization, poisoning, president susilo bambang yudhoyono, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
September 10, 2013

On 9 September 2013, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that she had an immediate concern for the protection of human rights defenders, journalists and communities that she met during her recent visit to Sri Lanka. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Civil society, diplomatic pressure, fact finding, Geneva, genocide, government of sri lanka, Human Rights Defenders, human rights situation, LTTE, Navi Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravinatha Aryasinha, retaliation, Sri Lanka, sri lanka delegation, TamilNet, UN Human Rights Council, vibrant civil society
September 8, 2013

2013 Martin Ennals Award ceremony
October 8th, 2013, 6 pm
Please subscribe online: http://www.martinennalsaward.org
The Martin Ennals Foundation and the City of Geneva announce the 20th ceremony of Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders. This event is integrated within Human Rights Week, a four-day event organized at the University of Geneva. This ceremony is open to the public. All who are interested in human rights are welcome to come and pay tribute to these men and women who are engaged in the defense of human rights, often risking their lives. It is crucial that the public knows the work of these individuals, not only in Geneva but also at the international level, in order to ensure that they can benefit from a certain degree of protection.
The following 3 nominees were carefully selected by the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award, made up of ten of the world’s leading human rights organisations:
- Ms Mona Seif (Egypt) who is one of the core founders of the ”No To Military Trials for Civilians”, a grassroots initiative that aims to stop military trials for civilians in Egypt.
- The Joint Mobile Group (Russia) seeks accountability for human rights abuses in Chechnya, notably enforced disappearances, torture in custody, and extra-judicial executions.
- Mr Mario Joseph (Haïti) has been referred to as Haiti’s most prominent human rights lawyer, and has worked on some of the most important cases including the one against former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
Ms Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will present the award to one of these nominees. The ceremony will be held in French and in English at Uni-Dufour, Jean-Piaget auditorium, U-600 at 6 pm. A live broadcast will be given in the Charles-Rouiller auditorium, U-300, located in the same building and it should also be streamed on the internet.
Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 2 Comments »
Tags: 2013 ceremony, City of Geneva, Egypt, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Geneva, Haiti, human rights, human rights awards, Joint Mobile Group, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals Award, MEA, Mona Seif, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Russia, United Nations, University of Geneva
September 6, 2013
( Photo: EPA)
The piece below, taken from the Voice of Russia of 6 September 2013, is interesting for a number of reasons:
1. it addresses the almost comical issue of basing the Arab Court of Human Rights in Bahrain
2. it quotes at length the (understandably) sarcastic comments by Brian Dooley of Human Rights First in the Huffington Post
3. it is lovely example of a different but biased geopolitical perspective: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Al-Jazeera, Arab Court of Human Rights, Arab League, Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Bashar al-Assad, Boris Volkhonsky, Brian Dooley, Huffington Post, human rights, Manama, Maryam Alkhawaja, massive violations, politics, Voice of Russia
September 6, 2013
Truth commission archives are an important part of dealing with the past, which is a long-term process addressing a legacy of human rights violations.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: archives, documenting, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights violations, impunity, meeting, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, science, side event, Special Rapporteur, Swisspeace, Switzerland, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth commissions, United Nations Human Rights Council
September 5, 2013
On 29 August 2013, human rights defender Ms Naw Ohn Hla was found guilty of disturbing public tranquillity under Section 505(b) of the Burmese Penal Code and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour. She had been arrested on 13 August 2013 during a peaceful protest. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: aung san suu, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, copper mine, environmental issues, Front Line (NGO), hard labour, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, judicial harassment, Letpadaung copper mine, Myanmar, Naw Ohn Hla, Nonviolent resistance, peaceful efforts, woman human rights defender
September 5, 2013

Priscila Neri, WITNESS Senior Program Manager, discusses digital media, freedom of speech and advocacy at the Nordic Creative Commons Film Festival Thursday 5 September at 10:40am ET. She will present two short videos – you can watch them anytime online: People Before Profit and How to Film Protests: A WITNESS Guide to Video for Change) and discuss the use of Creative Commons and why it’s an important resource for activists. You can watch the live discussion on Google Hangout On Air and send Priscila your questions on Twitter using #WITNESSlive or @witnessorg.
Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: creative commons, film festival, google, Google Hangout On Air, Hangout, internet, media, on-line, technology, twitter, Witness (human rights group)