Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category

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Martin Ennals Foundation expresses concern regarding Nabeel Rajab’s upcoming trial

October 10, 2012
English: Nabeel Rajab protesting outside Muhar...

Nabeel Rajab May 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Martin Ennals Foundation would like to express its growing concern regarding the upcoming hearing on October 16th concerning the appeal of Nabeel Rajab’s conviction.

Mr. Rajab is appealing a three year sentence handed down by the Bahraini Courts. This sentence is widely viewed as an attempt to block his freedom of expression and prevent him from supporting peaceful protests.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights was one of three Finalist Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award, which was handed out in Geneva on October 2nd. The Martin Ennals Award is selected by a Jury of ten leading Human Rights organizations and aims to publicize the work and protect a Human Rights Defender. Regrettably, Mr. Rajab was not able to attend the ceremony due to his detention.The Martin Ennals Foundation supports the widespread calls for his release made by many leading Human Rights Organizations including members of our Jury. We urge the Bahraini Courts to release Mr. Rajab.

from : http://www.martinennalsaward.org

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS for THE 2013 MARTIN ENNALS AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

October 10, 2012

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS :  THE 2013 MARTIN ENNALS AWARD
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (MEA)


The Martin Ennals Foundation invites nominations for its 2013 Award. The deadline is 9th  December 2012. Nominations can be submitted electronically (Eng,Fre,Sp) at http://www.martinennalsaward.org or as printed document addressed to the MEA Secretariat: c/o OMCT, PO Box 21, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland.  Tel: +4122 8094925   fax: +4122 8094929  e-mail: info@martinennalsaward.org.

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, Diakonie Germany and HURIDOCS. Additionally, the last three nominees receive each from the City of Geneva a travel grant of 5’000 CHF as well as a project in the order of 11’000 CHF.

Past recipients are: 2012 Venerable Luon Sovath (Cambodia); 2011 Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (Uganda); 2010 Muhannad Al-Hassani (Syria); 2009 Emad Baghi (Iran); 2008 Mutabar Tadjibaeva (Uzbekistan); 2007 Pierre Claver Mbonimpa (Burundi) and Rajan Hoole and Kopalasingham Sritharan (Sri Lanka); 2006 Akbar Ganji (Iran) and Arnold Tsunga (Zimbabwe); 2005 Aktham Naisse (Syria); 2004 Lida Yusupova (Russia); 2003 Alirio Uribe Muñoz (Colombia); 2002 Jacqueline Moudeina (Chad); 2001 Peace Brigades International; 2000 Immaculée Birhaheka (D.R. Congo); 1999 Natasha Kandic (Yugoslavia); 1998 Eyad Rajab El Sarraj (Palestine); 1997 Samuel Ruiz García (Mexico); 1996 Clement Nwankwo (Nigeria); 1995 Asma Jahangir (Pakistan);  1994 Harry Wu (China).

Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was instrumental to the modern human rights movement. He creatively pursued ideas ahead of his time and was the driving force behind other organisations. His deep desire was to see more cooperation among NGOs.

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Jan Egeland – human rights defender par excellence – portrayed in song

October 8, 2012

 

It is extremely rare for a HRD and especially one that has occupied high-level posts in government and the UN as well as NGOs, to be in person the subject of a song and video. This one is really worth seeing. There is some tongue in cheek but overall the tone is respectful and rightly so as Jan Egeland has made major contributions to the human rights world.

 

 

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HRW’s Moscow Researcher Threatened

October 8, 2012
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According to the NY Times a researcher in Human Rights Watch’s office in Moscow received repeated threats this week of an attack focused on her pregnancy, the rights group said, calling it the latest example of escalating pressure against rights and civic groups in Russia.

Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Tanya Lokshina, a senior Human Rights Watch researcher, spoke to reporters in Moscow on Thursday.

 

The anonymous threats were sent to the cellphone of the researcher, Tanya Lokshina, who is also the deputy director of the Moscow bureau. The group said they included details that could have been obtained only by eavesdropping on her telephone conversations.

“These threats demonstrate that the sender clearly was following Tanya’s every move,” said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch. “They knew where she lived, what she was doing. They made explicit reference to the fact of her pregnancy. They threatened harm to herself and to her unborn baby.”

……..

“This is not the first time members of our organization, and the Moscow office, have been threatened,” Ms. Lokshina said. “But the level of cynicism, the ugliness in the threats that came to my phone over those three days was unprecedented.”The threats stopped Monday, the day Human Rights Watch reported them to the Russian police, prosecutors, officials in the federal government and the Federal Security Service, the domestic intelligence agency that is a successor to the K.G.B.

However, on Thursday, another employee of the office received a text, again threatening Ms. Lokshina’s pregnancy and mentioning the group’s news conference scheduled for later in the day.

Human Rights Watch Says Its Moscow Researcher Threatened – NYTimes.com.

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Arab states respond to unprecedented scrutiny with attacks on human rights defenders

October 7, 2012

On 2 October 2012 the Cairo Institute for Human Rights (CIHR) published its overview of the last session of the UN Human Rights Council. It concludes that many Arab governments have started a kind of ‘counter-revolution’ by harassing human rights defenders, especially those that engage with the UN:

“Reflecting the ‘counter-revolutionary’ repression we have witnessed being carried out by many Arab governments against democracy and rights activists over the last year and a half, this session of the Council witnessed multiple human rights defenders from Sudan, the United Arab Emirates UAE and Bahrain subjected to attacks by their governments or government-affiliated actors for engaging with the United Nations,” said Mr. Ziad Abdel Tawab, Deputy Director of CIHRS. “We urgently call on the UN and its member states to increase efforts to provide protection for these brave defenders and others like them. Such reprisals against those who cooperate with the UN not only constitute rights violations, but also represent an attack on the UN itself and its ability to function properly.”

via ‘Counter-Revolution’ at the United Nations Human Rights Council? Arab states respond to unprecedented scrutiny with attacks on rights defenders and standards | Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

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Venerable LUON SOVATH becomes MEA laureate 2012

October 2, 2012

 

 The international human rights movement announces the 2012 Martin Ennals Award winner, A Cambodian Monk working to prevent Forced Evictions

 The Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA), met in Geneva today and selected the Venerable LUON Sovath as the 2012 Martin Ennals Award winner. The Prize winner was announced at a ceremony hosted by the City of Geneva at Victoria Hall.

 The Venerable Luon Sovath, a Buddhist monk from Siem Reap, Cambodia witnessed his family and fellow villagers being forcibly evicted from their homes in 2009.  Since then he has been a strong advocate against forced evictions, which remove families from their homes, often violently and little or no compensation. Despite threats to his person, of arrest and disrobing, the Venerable Sovath, a non-violent Buddhist monk, uses videos, poems and songs to defend the right to housing. His advocacy touches powerful economic interests. The threats against the Venerable Sovath are very real.

Venerable Sovath was selected from among three final Nominees. Also nominated was Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian Lawyer serving a 6 year prison sentence in Iran for her Human Rights work . She is known particularly for her work on behalf of women and children’s rights, especially juveniles facing execution. The third nominee is the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, who report widely on human rights abuses in Bahrain. Many of their key staff are currently imprisoned for their work.

The New Chair of the Martin Ennals Foundation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, the former Swiss President and Foreign Minister said: “This year’s novel  format with three nominees made the Jury’s decision particularly difficult. As a Buddhist monk, Venerable Sovath has managed to raise wider attention to the issue of forced evictions in Cambodia”

 The main award of the human rights movement. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among ten of the world’s leading human rights organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide.  The Jury is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights and HURIDOCS.

 Previous laureates : Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (2011) Muhannad Al-Hassani, Syria, Emad Baghi, Iran; Mutabar Tadjibaeva, Uzbekistan; Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, Burundi and Rajan Hoole-Kopalasingham Sritharan, Sri Lanka; Akbar Ganji, Iran and Arnold Tsunga, Zimbabwe; Aktham Naisse, Syria; Lida Yusupova, Russia; Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia; Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad; Peace Brigades International; Immaculée Birhaheka, DR Congo; Natasha Kandic, Yugoslavia; Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; Samuel Ruiz, Mexico; Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria; Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; Harry Wu, China.

 Patrons of the Martin Ennals Award: Asma Jahangir, Barbara Hendricks, José Ramos-Horta, Adama Dieng, Leandro Despouy, Louise Arbour, Robert Fulghum, Irene Khan, Theo van Boven and Werner Lottje†.

For further information,  visit www.martinennalsaward.org

EMBARGOED until 18:45 Central European (Geneva) Time 2 Oct 2012

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Who is the laureate of the MEA 2012? – answer tonight at 18h45 in Geneva

October 2, 2012

 

This morning the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for human rights Defenders (MEA) came together in Geneva to decide who will ultimately be the Laureate of the MEA 2012. I was there and know the result but it stays under wraps until approximately 18h45 Geneva time when the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will make the announcement during the ceremony which can be followed live on http://www.martinennalsaward.org as from 18h00.

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Albanian Blerta Cani Drenofci Human rights defender of the month

October 2, 2012

Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders has chosen an Albanian disabilities specialist as its HRD of the month, see:

Civil Rights Defenders – Human rights defender of the month – Blerta Cani Drenofci.

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Ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award to follow on the internet (2 October, 18h00)

September 27, 2012

Every day all over the world, unsung heroes are risking their lives to call attention to injustice and to fight for human rights. On Tuesday October 2nd, one of them will honored with the Martin Ennals Award. The Martin Ennals Award  is chosen by a Jury of ten leading Human Rights organizations including: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First and others (see www.martinennalsaward.org). Thus, this prize represents the expression of the whole Human Rights movement.

The winner will be selected from three nominees, who personalize wider issues in their home countries and allow these issues to be represented through individual cases:

  1. Venerable Sovath Luon: sometimes referred to as the “Multimedia Monk”. He challenges the widespread eviction of poor people from land they have long held but without title, often due to the destruction of records during the Khmer Rouge period.
  2. Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian Lawyer serving a 6 year prison sentence in Iran for “… the offences of “acting against the national security”, “propaganda against the regime” and “membership of Human Rights Defenders Centre” – an organisation presided over by the Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.
  3. Bahrain Center for Human Rights: Currently high on the world media agenda. Two of the main founders: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab are serving jail sentences. Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested for demonstrating against the government, while other members are regularly arrested and abused.

The ceremony is hosted by the City of Geneva in Victoria Hall. Short films commissioned by the Martin Ennals Foundation. Those who cannot attend in person may want to follow it on the internet (www.martinennalsaward.org) starting at 18h00 Geneva time.

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U.N. delegation heads to Tunisia to see situation of HRDs first hand

September 27, 2012

On 26 September UPI reports from Geneva that a U.N. rights delegation announced plans to assess the role human rights defenders have played in Tunisia since the country’s Jasmine Revolution in 2010.

Margaret Sekaggya, U.N. special envoy on human rights organizations, leads a delegation to Tunisia for a trip that concludes Oct. 5, a first since the country’s revolution.

“Human rights defenders have played an essential part in the call for democracy, justice and human rights across the region,” she said in a statement. “We are intrigued and excited to observe the working conditions of defenders of all generations in the country that in many ways triggered the Arab Spring.”

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/09/26/UN-rights-delegation-heads-to-Tunisia/UPI-29741348668711/#ixzz27fzkoNw1

U.N. rights delegation heads to Tunisia – UPI.com.

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