Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
June 26, 2013
(Svetlana Gannushkina)Prominent Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina has been fined for refusing to provide documents demanded by prosecutors. A court in Moscow ruled late on June 18 that the chairwoman of Moscow-based Civic Collaboration Committee must pay 2,000 rubles (50 Euro) for failing to turn over papers related to the financial activities of her organization. Gannushkina, a Soviet-era veteran rights defender, has been refusing to provide the documents to investigators since April. Prosecutors made the request under the new law requiring all nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in political activity to register as ‘foreign agents’. [Last week, a Moscow court rejected an appeal by Russia’s independent election monitor, Golos, against the 300,000 ruble $9,500 fine imposed on the group under the legislation.] Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS
via Russian Rights Defender Fined For Refusing Demand For Documents.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: fined, Foreign agent, foreign funding, GOLOS, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Information Telegraph Agency of Russia, Interfax, Moscow, moscow court, Non-governmental organization, Russia, russian ngo, Svetlana Gannushkina, woman human rights defender
June 25, 2013
Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders condemns the brutal use of force against the Russian NGO ‘’For Human Rights’’ and its chairman Lev Ponomaryov, during the organisation’s forcible eviction Saturday night, 22 June 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Civil Rights Defenders, Eviction, forced evictions, Foreign agent, freedom of association, Human right, human rights activist, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Lev Ponomaryov, Moscow, moscow city government, Non-governmental organization, Ponomaryov, Russia
June 25, 2013
(Ross seniors throw caps in the air (c): Daniel Gonzalez)
Not surprisingly this blog brings mostly ‘bad news’ or updates on HRDs in difficulty. It overlooks – like most other such sources of information – the day-to-day promotion work done by NGOs and activists. To remedy this a bit, here an arbitrary example of awareness building done all around the world: Brian Dooley, the director of the Human Rights Defenders program at Human Rights First, gave the commencement address to the 68 graduates leaving Ross School in East Hampton, NY.
Posted in HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: activism, awareness raising, Brian Dooley, East Hampton, HRF, Human Rights First, New York City, Ross School
June 21, 2013
On 15 June 2013, women human rights defenders Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni were sentenced to ten months imprisonment to be followed by a two-year travel ban
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Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: AWID, domestic abuse, Fawzia Al-Oyouni, freedom of movement, Frontline Defenders, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, marital relationship, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Wajeha Al-Huwaider, Women Human Rights, women human rights defenders
June 21, 2013
In June 2013, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights visited former Yugoslavia. In both Serbia and Kosovo she mentioned that human rights defenders have a key role to play:
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, internally displaced, Kosovo, Kosovo Liberation Army, minority rights, Navi Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Pillay, refugees, Serbia, United Nations, UPR
June 20, 2013
As far back as October 2012 in Lima, Peru, during the 7th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED – U.S.A) organised a workshop on one of my favorite topics: how the existing efforts for and among human rights defenders (HRDs) could more effectively meet the needs of endangered human rights defenders (HRDs) Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Antoine Bernard, ASEAN, cooperation, cooperation with UN, definition of HRD, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, International Criminal Court, International Federation for Human Rights, international procedures, international protection, Non-governmental organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Swee Seng Yap, UN, World Movement for Democracy, World Organisation Against Torture
June 20, 2013
(Du Jirong, sister of human rights activist Du Bin, with sign saying “Du Bin is innocent” outside the Fengtai District Public)
The 41-year-old photographer and filmmaker Du Bin disappeared on May 31, weeks after he had released a documentary on the extreme conditions of Chinese labor camps in May, called Women Above Ghosts’ Heads. His film focused on Masanjia Women’s Labor Camp where many detainees were Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, detention, disappearances, Du Bin, Du Jirong, Epoch Times, Falun Gong, film makers, Hu Jia, human rights, Human rights defender, human rights of women, photo journalism, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, writer
June 18, 2013
In its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has asked Pakistan to improve in key areas of education, legislation, employment and public and political participation of women. The observation were shared and discussed at a consultation organised by Aurat Foundation. Human Rights activist Tahira Abdullah highlighted the challenges and constraints in the way of implementation of CEDAW and Naheed Aziz discussed role of civil society in application of CEDAW. ……. In its other recommendation regarding education, the committee has asked the government to prevent the occurrence of attacks and threats against educational institutions which undermine women and girls’ fundamental rights. The committee-members have urged Pakistani government to prevent, investigate, and punish gender-based violence by non-state actors in conflict affected areas and have suggested the government to conduct an assessment of the impact of the conflict situation on women and girls and strictly enact legislation regulating the trade, sale and possession of small arms. The Committee has asked the government to ensure the safety and protection of women human rights defenders and mobilize adequate resources to address the specific risks and security needs of women’s rights defenders.
via CEDAW calls for improvement in key areas of education, legislation, employment – thenews.com.pk.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Aurat Foundation, CEDAW, CEDAW Committee, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Pakistan, protection, right to education, United Nations, women human rights defenders
June 18, 2013
The Australia-based Human Rights Law Centre and the International Service for Human Rights have jointly published a Guide for Human Rights Defenders on Domestic Implementation of UN Human Rights Recommendations. The Guide considers strategies and tactics that NGOs can use to contribute to the implementation of UN recommendations at the national level. Effective follow-up by civil society is vital to ensuring that UN recommendations lead to an improvement of the human rights situation on the ground. The Guide is intended for a diverse audience, working in different countries and sectors, and with different areas of focus and expertise. The 20-page booklet outlines a range of strategies with a view to NGOs identifying those which are most appropriate to their domestic political, legal, economic, and social contexts and their organisation’s goals, resources, and working methods.
PDF at: Guide for Human Rights Defenders on Domestic Implementation of UN Human Rights Recommendations.
via Guide for human rights defenders on domestic implementation of UN human rights recommendations | Human Rights Law Centre.
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Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Australia, Civil society, domestic law, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights law, Human Rights Law Centre, implementation, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, Non-governmental organization, social contexts
June 17, 2013
Human Rights Defenders are involved in asylum claims in many ways. The asylum seeker may be a victim of persecution or the people who help them are human rights defenders. Anyway the new UNHCR report “Beyond Proof – Improving Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems” should be a relevant tool for all of them:
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: asylum claims, asylum seekers, credibility assessment, European Asylum Curriculum, European Union, Human Rights and Liberties, Member state of the European Union, refugees, Refworld, UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(Svetlana Gannushkina)
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 