Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
December 6, 2012
The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was founded with a commitment to human rights as one of its three key pillars. Sadly, says Dublin-based Front Line Defenders, OSCE member states have not been living up to those ideals and human rights defenders face imprisonment, threats, harassment, defamation and restrictive legislation in countries across the region. “It is time the OSCE backed up fine declarations with effective action,” said
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, “too often it has been the prisoner of consensus and failed to respond when human rights defenders have been jailed, attacked or killed.”Front Line Defenders will undertake a silent vigil outside the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin on Thursday 6th December highlighting
ten cases of human rights defenders from the region:
Vidadi Iskenderov is in prison in
Azerbaijan
Ales Bialiatski is in prison in Belarus
Natalya Estemirova was murdered in Chechnya, Russia in July 2009
Agnes Gereb is under house arrest and facing a prison sentence in Hungary
Roza Tuletaeva is in prison in Kazakhstan
Azimjan Askarov is in prison in Kyrgyzstan
Pat Finucane was murdered in Northern Ireland in February 1989
Osman Isci is in prison in Turkey
Sviatoslav Sheremet was attacked and badly beaten in Ukraine in May 2012
Dilmurod Sayid is in prison in Uzbekistan
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Dublin, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE
December 5, 2012
The LA Times and others report that jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, 2012 nominee of the MEA and winner of the Sacharov Award, has halted her hunger strike after the Iranian judiciary agreed to drop a travel ban against her daughter, her husband Reza Khandan said this Tuesday. Sotoudeh had endured nearly seven weeks without food, drinking salt and sugar solutions, to protest her 12-year-old daughter Mehrave being banned from leaving the country. The couple claimed their daughter was being punished for the alleged crimes of her mother, who has defended dissidents.
Khandan went with a group of female activists to the Iranian parliament on Tuesday, where they met with reformist lawmaker Mohammad Reza Tabesh, who in turn negotiated with the deputy speaker and speaker Ali Larijani to obtain an agreement from the head of the judiciary, Khandan said.
“They agreed to close the dossier of Mehrave and she is no longer banned from leaving the country and there are no charges against her,” Khandan said Tuesday.
The family reunited Tuesday evening in the administration department of Evin Prison, the husband said. Sotoudeh, who had earlier been restricted to talking to her children behind a glass partition, was allowed to hug her son and daughter.
“There she stopped her hunger strike and started eating in front of us,” he said.
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights called again Tuesday for Sotoudeh to be released along with other detained human rights activists. Iranian authorities often target the families of human rights defenders, “a disturbing trend apparently aimed at curbing the freedoms of expression, opinion and association,” spokesman Rupert Colville said in a Tuesday briefing.
via: http://shahriarshahabi.com/2012/12/04/nasrin-sotoudeh-breaks-49-day-hunger-strike/
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Tags: Ali Larijani, China Human Rights Defenders, Evin Prison, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, hungerstrike, Judicial system of Iran, Khandan, MEA, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sacharov
December 4, 2012
An interesting local idea: the Liberian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (LICHRD), in collaboration with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, will from Tuesday through Wednesday December 4-5 hold the first annual National Human Rights Book Fair in Monrovia. The event is a prelude to the celebration of the International Human Rights Day .
via allAfrica.com: Liberia: First Annual National Human Rights Book Fair Insight.
Posted in books, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: book fair, Human Rights Defenders, international human rights day, Liberia, Monrovia, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
December 4, 2012
Today’s HRD in the OMCT series is Franklin Castañeda Villacob, 30 years old, working with the Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) in Colombia
Franklin Castañeda: Ten Portraits against Torture and Impunity / December 4, 2012 / Events / Human rights defenders / OMCT.
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Tags: Colombia, CSPP, Franklin Castañeda Villacob, impunity, OMCT, torture
December 4, 2012
Several Pakistani newspapers reported on Monday 3 December that “Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted in principle a proposal made by the Ministry of Human Rights to appoint Human Rights Defenders in the ministry”.
It all came from a presentation made by the Ministry of Human Rights. There were several welcome announcements (such as including human rights as a subject in educational institutions and plans to effectively implement its international obligations) but the idea to appoint Human Rights Defenders in the Ministry (as civil servants one has to assume) is baffling. It would completely do away with the idea that HRDs ought to be independent and capable of monitoring authorities. If accepted under this title it would surely confuse the current understanding of what are HRDs. The Minister for Human Rights would soon be called Human Rights Defender in Chief.
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn adds: “The basic idea to have human rights defenders in the country was to help those poor victims who could not afford to plead their cases in courts or seek other remedial measures against oppressors. “The number of human rights defenders and their service structure will be worked out by the ministry in collaboration with other ministries,” the official said. However, critics of the government say as elections were just a few months away, new positions are being created to accommodate pro-PPP voters.”
Let’s hope that the Ministry will revert to the more neutral and clarifying title of ‘human rights officers”.
Related articles
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights education, Ministry of Human Rights, non-governmental, Pakistan, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
December 3, 2012
The second portrait in the series of 10 HRDs against Torture is: Igor Kalyapin, founder and chair of Russian NGO Committee Against Torture (CAT).
……………….
The main obstacle we have is the same to the reason of torture: lack of effective investigation and absolute lack of will to investigate. Every case is a challenge and we never know for how many years we have to commit ourselves to deal with each of them.
Do you feel threatened because of your activities? Do you face any interference in your work? If this is the case, can you kindly precise.
Recently, we have started to face threats: our lawyers are targeted, some of them are approached by state agents, some of them were arrested, some of them were insulted. I myself now am facing a real threat to be accused of a crime that I have never committed (speaking out of investigational secret).
………………………
Public campaigns (as illustrated in the picture), support of the victims of torture, write support letters, can play a very important role in the fight against torture.
http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/events/2012/12/d22055/
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Tags: human rights, Human rights defender, Igor Kalyapin, impuntiy, Non-governmental organization, Russia, russian ngo, torture, United Nations Convention Against Torture, victims of torture, World Organisation Against Torture
December 3, 2012
For those who did not go to the OMCT website, here is today’s portrait in the series of 10: Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo DEKPOH, from Lomé in Togo. He has been engaged in the fight for human dignity and social peace and against injustice since 1990; and has been a member of ACAT-Togo since March 1999. He states that his commitment to the fight against torture and ill-treatment is in keeping with his Christian faith.
via Pierre-Claver Dekpoh: Ten Portraits against Torture and Impunity / December 3, 2012 / Events / Human rights defenders / OMCT.
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Tags: ACAT, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Lome, OMCT, Pierre-Claver DEKPOH, Togo, torture
December 1, 2012
As Human Rights Defenders are the voice of those who are deprived of it because they are victims of torture, ill-treatment or summary execution, OMCT (one of the 10 NGOs on the Jury of the MEA) has started a series of portraits of those who excel in the fight against torture and impunity. From 1 to the 10 of December, the organisation will every day put a different HRD in the limelight. They tell about the challenges and the obstacles they face and the hopes and disappointments they encounter in their everyday life. It s`tarts today with Edeliza Hernandez from the Philippines:
I may not refer to each case in this blog but invite you to visit the OMCT website: http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/events/2012/11/d22051/
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Tags: human rights, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, OMCT, Philippine, portraits, torture, World Organisation Against Torture
November 30, 2012
In the FPIF edition of 29 November 2012 (Foreign Policy in Focus, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies) Christine Ahn and Erika Guevara-Rosas have published a provocative piece that takes US policy – especially its aid policy – to task for contributing to the process of militarization that adds to the woes of (women) HRDs. A long but well-argued piece worth reading:
“While a significant chunk of USAID spending goes to education and health programs, pockets of aid enlarge the already bloated military budgets of recipient governments. The result: less security and more violence against women, particularly women human rights defenders. ………..we take a look into Colombia and Mexico, the two countries with the largest number of documented instances of death threats against women human rights defenders—and coincidently two major recipients of U.S. aid.”
Endangering Women Human Rights Defenders | FPIF.
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Tags: Christine Ahn, Colombia, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy in Focus, Human Rights Defenders, Institute for Policy Studies, Mexico, militarization, USA, USAID
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 