Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
April 26, 2013
Bahrain’s state news agency reported earlier this week that Juan Méndez, the UNs special rapporteur for torture, had “put off his visit” scheduled for early May following a letter from Salah bin Ali Abdulrahman, Bahrain’s human rights affairs minister. The letter outlined “reasons for the request to postpone the visit”, the agency said. However, Mr Méndez said on Wednesday 24 April (according to the National) that there was no choice in the matter, calling the refusal to play host to his visit “a unilateral decision by the [Bahraini] authorities“. “This is the second time that my visit has been postponed, at very short notice. It is effectively a cancellation, as no alternative dates were proposed, nor is there a future road map to discuss“.
So much for the much-touted Government-commissioned report of 2011 in which the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry found evidence of torture committed by the country’s security forces during a pro-reform uprising and the subsequent Government’s promise to coöperate with the UN to address the issues. Refusal to coöperate may pay again!
via Bahrain shuts out UN torture probe – The National.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Bahrain, Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, cooperation with UN, Government, human rights, Juan Mendez, Middle East, torture, United Nations, United Nations Special Rapporteur, visit
April 26, 2013
In spite of protests by many NGOs and Governments around the world (including earlier posts in this blog), Russia seems bent on pursuing its idea of requiring all organisations which receive foreign funding and are engaged in political activity to register as ‘foreign agents’ [‘Foreign Agents’ Law of 21 November 2012] . After the passing of the law, GOLOS, Memorial and the Joint Mobile Group (just made the Final Nominee of the MEA 2013) and many other organisations declared that out of principle they would not register as ‘foreign agent’.
Yesterday, 25 April 2013, the Russian election watchdog GOLOS became the first NGO to be fined. The decision was taken by the Presnensky Court of Moscow. GOLOS is a Russian non-profit organisation which was founded in 2000 for the protection of voters’ rights and the development of civil society. The court found that GOLOS had been receiving foreign funding, thereby implying that it considered the 2012 Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award as such, despite testimony given by a representative of Norwegian Helsinki Committee who confirmed that GOLOS actually refused to receive the 7700$. The court also found that the advocacy work of GOLOS aimed at the introduction of amendments to the Electoral Code constitute ‘political activity’. The law does not define political activity, the precise definition of which depends on state officials’ interpretation. The court ruled that GOLOS and its executive director Lilya Shibanova failed to comply with the obligation to register as a ‘foreign agent’ and fined them 300,000 roubles (approximately €7500) and 100,000 roubles (approximately €2500) respectively. They intend to appeal the decision.
And on 24 April Front Line Defenders reported that the Russian NGO ‘Man and the Law’ has been warned under the same Foreign Agents Law. Man and the Law, which is based in the Mari-El Republic in Russia, received a warning from the local Prosecutor’s Office re ‘political activity’, evidence for which has allegedly been found in their Charter and on their website. Man and the Law is a local non-governmental organisation which monitors local officials’ and civil servants’ compliance with human rights standards. The NGO also works on prisoners’ rights and monitors detention facilities and organises seminars and workshops for local officials, especially from the Federal Penitentiary Service. The warning also states that the latest inspection of the organisation revealed foreign sources of funding, in which case Man and the Law should have registered as a foreign agent.
Related articles
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award, civil society organisations, Federal Penitentiary Service, final nominees 2013, Foreign agent, Front Line Defenders, funding, GOLOS, GOLOS Association, Helsinki Committee, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, JMG, Joint Mobile Group, judicial harassment, Lilya Shibanova, Man and the Law, MEA, Memorial, Moscow, NGOs, Non-governmental organization, Russia, russian ngo
April 26, 2013
This is the way the NGO “Chinese Human Rights Defenders” (CDHR) presents itself at the Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Ulaan Bator, so close to ‘home’:
“Do the names Zhou Decai, Cao Haibo, Chen Wei, Chen Xi or Cui Fufang ring a bell to you? They are all prisoners of conscience in China. The Chinese Human Right Defenders (CHRD) are doing all they can to make the stories of prisoners of consciousness heard.
On its website, CHRD defines itself as “a network of Chinese and international activists promoting human rights and empowering rights defenders in China. A non-governmental organization, CHRD provides logistical support and capacity-building services to human rights advocates, monitors human rights developments, and assists victims of human rights abuses. CHRD advocates the peaceful realization of human rights protection through democratization and rule of law reform.”
There are many activities of the network: just to name numerous reports have been published, the last one of them being the “2012 annual report on the situation of human rights in China”; It also submits constant reports and appeals to the UN on the situation of human rights in China, urging it to act for its improvement; their website and Twitter account provide constant updates on human rights violations in China, as well as pictures and videos, with stories which do not usually reach the mainstream media.”
via Chinese Human Rights Defenders- Promoting human rights and empowering grassroots activism in China | Ulaanbaatar Ministerial Conference- Civil Society.
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Tags: Cao Haibo, Chen Wei, China, CHRD, Community of Democracies, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Ministerial Conference, Non-governmental organization, twitter, Ulaanbaatar, Ulan Bator, Zhou Decai
April 25, 2013
The Martin Ennals Award has from the beginning used film images to portray the work of human rights defenders. Most you can find through http://www.martinennalsaward.org or on:
YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/martinennalsaward (the most recent ones but others to follow)
and
VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/martinennalsaward/videos (29 of them)
and the best is to subscribe to these channels so that they alert you when there is something new.
Posted in Al-Hassani, Emad baghi, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Ruiz Garcia | Leave a Comment »
Tags: award, films, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, laureates, Martin Ennals Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, portraits, video clips, Vimeo, YouTube
April 25, 2013
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, awards, EU, European Union, Freedom House, freedom of expression, Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, IFEX, international award, journalists, Kampala, national award, Uganda
April 24, 2013
In its 2013 Annual Report, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders focuses on a new setback impeding the work of human rights defenders. Access to funding, in particular foreign funding, is increasingly being hindered by governments, whose primary intentions are to silence human rights defenders. The Report of the Observatory, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), provides a global review of the violations of NGOs’ right to funding via various forms of restrictions imposed by States. It provides a detailed picture of this as yet insufficiently studied problem. This analysis is illustrated by concrete cases in 35 countries.
As also highlighted by Maina Kiai, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, in the Foreword to the Report, “The topic of this year’s Report is most pertinent as lately we have witnessed increased stigmatization and undue restrictions in relation to access to funding and resources for civil society organizations, in an attempt to stifle any forms of criticism […]”.
Based on the legal framework surrounding the right to access to funding and the embryonic jurisprudence on this subject, the Report seeks to foster an in-depth analysis of the negative impacts of these restrictive measures, and addresses recommendations to all stakeholders – beneficiaries, donors, governments and intergovernmental organisations.
Two of the three Final Nominees of the MEA this year (in Egypt and Russia) have to deal with these kind of restrictions.
For those who missed the publication when announced in February: Annual Reports : OBS Annual Report 2013: Violations of the right … – FIDH.
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: annual report 2013, civil society organisations, civil society organizations, FIDH, funding, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, Maina Kiai, MEA nominees 2013, Non-governmental organization, Observatory, OMCT, United Nations Special Rapporteur, World Organisation Against Torture
April 24, 2013
Rule of law, freedom of the press, women’s rights – these were just a few of the issues recently discussed at a conference which brought together human rights defenders from Central America and the Caribbean. Twenty human rights defenders from 13 countries and representatives from the German embassies attended the event, which took place from 17 to 18 April in Panama and was organized by the Federal Foreign Office. Also participating were the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, Markus Löning, and the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Thomas Karl Neisinger.
The discussions were dominated by the key issues affecting the region, such as the rule of law and women’s rights. Special attention was given to the subject of coöperation between embassies and human rights defenders as well as building networks and strengthening regional civil society. Despite the different situations in countries such as Honduras, Costa Rica and Jamaica, many states in the region face similar challenges. Consequently it is especially important to improve civil society networks so that human rights defenders can learn from one another’s experiences and coöperate more closely in the future.
This event was the fourth regional human rights seminar organized by the Federal Foreign Office. This format is to be retained for future events, for example in Southern Africa in June 2013.
Auswärtiges Amt – Latin America – Better networks for human rights.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Central America, civil society organisations, conference, Germany, Human right, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights policy, Latin America, Markus Löning, networking, Non-governmental organization, Panama, southern africa, training
April 24, 2013
The Martin Ennals Jury just announced today (at 11h00 local time) the three Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013. The MEA is the main award of the whole human rights movement thanks to its international Jury composed of 10 well-known human rights organisations (see below). The aim of the award is to provide protective publicity. The Final Nominees are:
Mona Seif, Egypt – Final Nominee MEA 2013
Mona Seif, Egypt: Core founder of the ”No To Military Trials for Civilians”, a grassroots initiative which is trying to stop military trials for civilians. Since February 2011, Mona has brought together activists, lawyers, victims’ families,local stakeholders and started a nationwide movement against military trials. As part of the recent crackdown on the freedom of speech in Egypt she has been charged along with other Human Rights activists. She noted that “International solidarity, and I mean people’s support not governments’, empowers us to continue our battle and stop military trials for civilians“.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 2 Comments »
Tags: Arab spring, Chechnya, Egypt, final nominees 2013, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Haiti, Human right, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyer, Igor Kalyapin, impunity, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Joint Mobile Group, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, military trials, Mona Seif, news, No To Military Trials for Civilians, Russia, torture, woman human rights defender
April 24, 2013
reports that on 18 April 2013, on his second day in custody at Kashimpur Central Jail, human rights defender Mahmudur Rahman was moved from judicial custody to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University due to severe torture which reportedly included the hammering of nails into his flesh and bone as well as electric shock treatment. Mahmudur Rahman is an editor of the newspaper Daily Amardesh, which was closed by police without a court order on 11 April 2013, the same day the human rights defender was arrested. As an editor of the Daily Amardesh, Mahmudur Rahman has published articles exposing corruption scandals of high profile ruling party politicians including the Prime Minister and her family members. He also denounced the killing of 172 civilians by police during government clashes with the opposition last February. Despite the closure of the Daily Amardesh, the Interim Chairperson, Mrs Mahmuda Begum, made arrangements to print at an alternative press, however this was forbidden by the District Magistrate and 19 people were arrested at the press on 14 April 2013.
The torture reportedly took place whilst Mahmudur Rahman was in custody at the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He was detained under police remand for six days before being handed over to judicial remand on 17 April 2013. The human rights defender had been on hunger strike in custody to protest his illegal detention, torture, and the arrest of his colleagues following the closure of the Daily Amardesh. A petition was filed to the High Court Division Bench on 18 April 2013 challenging the decision to send Mahmudur Rahman to police remand. The human rights defender’s lawyers argued that placing him in police remand without adequate measures in place to ensure his physical health violates the High Court’s directives concerning pre-trial detention. Mahmudur Rahman suffers from a heart condition which can be fatal if untreated. When the human rights defender was escorted into court to hear the petition, eye witnesses said that he had fresh wounds on his legs, blood stains on his clothes and that he found it difficult to sit down.
Front Line Defenders believes that the arrest and reported torture in detention of Mahmudur Rahman are related to his work in defence of human rights and denouncing government corruption in Bangladesh (see earlier appeal http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2561 of 10 November 2010.
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amardesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, freedom of expression, Front Line Defenders, human rights, illegal detention, illtreatment, Journalist, Mahmudur Rahman, torture
April 23, 2013
Tomorrow, 24 April, at 11hoo Geneva time, the three Final Nominees of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2013 will be announced. You can find the result here on this blog, of course, or on the site of the Martin Ennals Award: http://www.martinennalsaward.org. The following 10 NGOs on the Jury will also carry the news:
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
– Amnesty International,
– Human Rights Watch,
– Human Rights First,
– Int’l Federation for Human Rights,
– World Organisation Against Torture,
– Front Line Defenders
– International Commission of Jurists,
– German Diakonie,
– International Service for Human Rights
– HURIDOCS.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Diakonie, FIDH, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Frontline Defenders, Geneva, human rights, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, HURIDOCS, International Commission of Jurists, International Service for Human Rights, Martin Ennals Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Non-governmental organization, OMCT, World Organisation Against Torture
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 