Archive for the 'human rights' Category
September 9, 2013
The Sikh wire in Canada reports on an interesting mix of party politics and the officialisation of the term ‘human rights defender’:
In April 2013, with thunderous applause and support at the federal NDP convention in Montreal, a resolution to recognize Jaswant Singh Khalra [abducted 18 years ago] as a defender of human rights was passed by the membership of Canada’s NDP (New Democrats ). After the adoption of the resolution, Leader of the Official Opposition and Canada’s NDP Tom Mulcair spoke with the daughter of the late Jaswant Singh Khalra, Navkiran Kaur about spreading her father’s message of peace and justice. “Jaswant Singh Khalra spoke on Parliament Hill and delivered his last international speech while he was here in Canada. He came to this country because we had a reputation of being defenders of human rights – we must uphold that” said Marston (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek). Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) added: “Our resolution sends a clear message – an NDP government will return Canada to the world stage as a nation of neutrality, committed to defending the human rights of all.”
The Sikh Wire – Canada: NDP Remembers Defender Of Human Rights Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Canada, definition of HRD, Human rights defender, Jaswant Singh Khalra, minority rights, Montreal, NDP, New Democratic Party, Ottawa Centre, paul dewar, politics, Sikh, Sikh wire
September 9, 2013
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights several commemorative meetings took place. I just came across the one organised by Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training (GHR) which held an Expert Seminar in Geneva on 6 June 2013 under the theme: ‘After Vienna: all rights for all !’.
It was sponsored by the Dutch Permanent Delegation and chaired by Professor Bertrand Ramcharan, former High Commissioner for Human Rights. Fifty-seven persons attended, including 17 experts. The aim of the Expert Seminar was to sensitize those attending the sessions of the current Human Rights Council decisions contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA). The Seminar discussed the VDPA; shared experience and assessed the realization of its main provisions, in particular their implementation at the national level. Further, the seminar discussed the remaining protection gaps in the field of human rights and recommendations for future action. The report in PDF contains summaries of the experts presentations and a reference to the (intriguingly called) session: ‘brainstorming dinner”.
There seems to be no website for GHR but its address is:
Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training, 14, Avenue du Mail CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel. +41 22 320-27-27
and emails are:
acz.hr@bluewin.ch
info@gdh-ghr.org
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Tags: 20th anniversary, experts, Geneva, Geneva for Human Rights - Global Training, GHR, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, international protection, meeting, Vienna, Vienna Declaration, World Conference on Human Rights
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
In a piece in the Huffington Post of 9 September Frank Jannuzi, dep director of Amnesty International USA gives a good overview of the the 6 most damaging laws passed in Russia since President Putin was inaugurated last year, effectively criminalizing criticism: Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: AI, Amnesty international USA, foreign funding, Frank Jannuzi, Huffington Post, illegal detention, judicial harassment, LGBT rights, NGOs, President, President of Russia, restrictive laws, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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
On 7 April 2013 I posted on this blog the announcement of the Anti-kidnap alarm for human rights defenders in form of the Natalia bracelet launched in Stockholm by Civil Rights Defenders.
This was followed 10 days later, 17 April, by a post referring to the Panic Button developed by Amnesty International (“How to turn a mobile phone into an alert system for human rights defenders: AI’s Panic Button”).
Now the New York based Human Rights foundation announces its Partnership with global encrypted communications firm Silent Circle to protect the private communications of political dissidents, human rights groups, and civil society organizations in at-risk scenarios. (http://humanrightsfoundation.org/HRF-Announces-Silent-Circle-Partnership-to-Support-Dissidents-04-09-2013.php)
There exist already the older and more wide-ranging tools of: “Security in a Box” (a collaboration between Front Line and Tactical Tech Collective – see http://security.ngoinabox.org/welcome) and Protection International‘s on-line Manual: http://protectioninternational.org/publication/new-protection-manual-for-human-rights-defenders-3rd-edition/.
While these (and perhaps other tools that I have missed!) may have all different features, the question could be asked who among the hard-pressed human rights defenders on the ground have the time and energy to sort through all this and pick what is most meaningful for them? Competition may well bring out the best but can also be confusing.
Posted in Front Line, human rights | 4 Comments »
Tags: Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, Human right, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Foundation, information technology, internet, Natalia project, Panic Button, protection, Protection International, Security-in-a-box, Silent Circle, Tactical Tech Collective, technology
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)
September 4, 2013
On 28 May 2012 I congratulated Loreen – the Swedish winner of the Eurovision song festival – as she was the only of the contesting artists who stood up for human rights. During her visit to Baku she visited human rights defenders at risk during a meeting the NGO Civil Rights Defenders arranged. The Government of Azerbaijan tried to downplay the issue by saying that music and human rights have to be separate, but it is shocking that a number of musicians seem to agree with this position.
The New-York based Human Rights Foundation, on 3 September 2013, reports that the American musician Kanye West performed at the wedding of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s grandson last Saturday night in Kazakhstan. He reportedly received $3 million for the private engagement in the oil-rich former Soviet state, which has been autocratically since 1991. West’s lucrative private performance comes on the heels of a similar concert given by Jennifer Lopez for the dictator of neighboring Turkmenistan earlier this summer, which sparked a worldwide media interest. At the time, Lopez claimed ignorance of Turkmenistan’s notorious human rights abuses. West is not the first global celebrity to be approached to play in Kazakhstan: in 2011, Sting refused to play a private concert there, citing concern over the repression of workers in the country.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Azerbaijan, dictatorship, Eurovision Song Contest, eurovision song festival, human rights, Human Rights Foundation, Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West, Kazakhstan, Loreen, music, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Sting, Turkmenistan
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 