Archive for the 'human rights' Category
April 15, 2013
Front Line Defenders hosted human rights defender Galym Ageleuov from Kazakhstan on its Fellowship Programme in Dublin between January and March 2013. Galym is the founder and head of human rights NGO Liberty – based in Almaty and established in 2011 to monitor and document human rights abuses and promote freedom of the internet in Kazakhstan, including through the You Tube project “Open Your Eyes” which broadcasts videos highlighting socio-political life in the country.
Liberty was one of the few organisations that succeeded in reporting from Zhanaozen and disseminating video footage following the massacre in 2011 when a demonstration by striking oil workers was violently suppressed by police, resulting in at least 14 deaths. Efforts to spread the awful truth of what happened there led to a serious defamation campaign against the organisation which included accusations of inciting violence and attempting to overthrow the government.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Almaty, Dublin, fellowship, Frontline Defenders, Galym Ageleuov, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, internet, Kazakhstan, Non-governmental organization, You Tube, Zhanaozen
April 15, 2013
The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa has announced with satisfaction the release of Mr Ibrahim Abdias Abdinur, a journalist and human rights defender in Somalia who was arrested and detained by the Somali police on 10 January 2013.
via Communique on the release of Mr Ibrahim Abdias Abdinur, journalist and human rights defender in Somalia / Press Releases / ACHPR.
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Tags: Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Ibrahim Abdias Abdinur, Journalist, Somalia, Special Rapporteur
April 15, 2013
The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) condemns the serious violations that occurred during the demonstrations on the evening of Friday, 29 March 2013. These Friday demonstrations were dubbed “Nobody Threaten Us” by the protesters. Officials cracked down on these protests and both male and female lawyers were assaulted inside the detention rooms, where thirteen lawyers and activists were detained in the El-Raml police station in Alexandria. Some of the female lawyers were sexually abused. It is worth mentioning that – according to statements by the detainees lawyers – the security forces and some Muslim Brotherhood personnel attacked them and beat them severely. They were tortured and dragged to the detention rooms. Two of the female lawyers were sexually abused
[As the 2010 Egyptian Legal practitioners’ law states as follows: Article 51: You cannot interrogate a lawyer or search his office without a permit from the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor should inform the lawyers syndicate and should give them enough notice before starting the interrogation. If a lawyer is accused of something related to his work, the head of the syndicate should attend the interrogation himself, or send a lawyer. The syndicate has the right to request a copy of the interrogation without paying any fees. Article 54: Anyone who has assaulted a lawyer verbally or non-verbally, or threatens him during his work, will receive the same punishment given to anyone who commits the same offense against a judge. ]
ECWR condemns these unprecedented violations, which it considers a continuation of the systematic crimes supported or tolerated by the current regime. Therefore, ECWR demands an immediate investigation and calls for accountability from the officials responsible
via ECWR Condemns the attack on Lawyers, Human Rights’ Defenders and Activists and Demands Accountability / Library / Home – AWID.
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Tags: Alexandria, ECWR, Egypt, female lawyers, freedom to demonstrate, Friday, human rights, Independence of Lawyers, lawyer, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood, sexual abuse, Violence against women, Women's rights
April 15, 2013
Having two days ago referred to the scathing attack on human rights defenders in Zimbabwe by two academics, it is perhaps fitting to give some attention to the a NGO forum recently held in Banjul where over 50 of Africa’s top human rights advocates discussed the current shrinking space for civil society in Zimbabwe. The event, held on the sidelines of the NGO Forum in advance of this week’s session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights ACHPR, convened a expert panel that included Dzimbabwe Chimbga (ZLHR), Susan Mutambasere (NGO Forum), Mabassa Fall (International Federation for Human Rights), FIDH, Hassan Shire (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network), and Wade McMullen (RFK Center). “Zimbabwe’s troubles from 2008-9 have returned,” noted Chimbga, “Over 400 human rights defenders have been targeted by the government in various ways in recent months.” The panel found systemic repression of civil society in violation of Zimbabwe’s international obligations. Several key issues were brought to the fore in the ensuing discussion, including the need for solidarity across the African continent and international community in advance of the impending elections in Zimbabwe. In response, pledges of solidarity, information sharing, and technical support came from across the region, including from human rights advocates in Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, and Uganda. In particular, the discussion highlighted the need of SADC to both monitor and ensure that Zimbabwe’s electoral environment is free and fair in the months leading up to the vote. As a result of the side event, a resolution was passed by the entire NGO Forum, requesting that the African Commission more effectively engage on the issue of Zimbabwe.
via RFK Center, ZLHR and NGO Forum Highlight Recent Pattern of Suppression in Zim | The Zimbabwean.
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Tags: Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Banjul, Dzimbabwe Chimbga, elections in Zimbabwe, Hassan Shire, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, NGO Forum, Non-governmental organization, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, RFK, Zimbabwe, ZLHR
April 12, 2013
Via AllAfrica.com I came across a lengthy Opinion piece in the Herald of 11 April 2013 which is basically a rant against human rights in general and human rights defenders in general. Normally I would not want to pay much attention to these outdated views but in all fairness this blog on human rights defenders should also give space to those who are diametrically and fundamentally opposed to human rights.
That the authors write from a nationalistic perspective is clear, not only from the language used and the names mentioned but also from the reference to HRD Beatrice Tele Khalalempi Mnzebele (“a shameless white apologist”) as a foreigner from…. Swaziland. Race is a constant element in the piece by equating ‘western’ and ‘white’. The rest of the terminology is reminiscent of the cold war days (‘neo-liberal prophets of democracy “), cultural relativism (“As Africans, we believe that it is the community that protects and nurtures the individual“) and slogans (“human rights are merely an instrument of Western political neo-colonialism and imperialism“). One of the most striking features is the almost total absence of alternative value systems. The closest the authors come to it is when they state: “It is therefore our argument that the value of human rights should be re-examined by affirming the differences between human beings, in acknowledging that we are all influenced by a myriad of different factors, such as our social, political, and cultural backgrounds. Human rights should be established based on the uniqueness of each and every human being, rather than on myopic neo-liberal assumptions propounded by Beatrice and her Western friends.” It contains a ringing endorsement of the uniqueness of each human being – so dear to the neo liberals – but no much more that could constitute a different overarching system. Not a word about the African Charter, about misled (?) countries such as South Africa or Ghana. Instead the opposition to Mugabe is described as: “thugs and all sorts of assorted MDC-T delinquents”.
But for those who want to read the whole piece here is the link the opinion written by Bowden Mbanje and Darlington Mahuku, who – believe it or not – are lecturers in international relations, and peace and governance with Bindura University of Science Education.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: african charter, Beatrice Tele Khalalempi Mnzebele, Bindura University of Science Education, cold war days, cultural relativism, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Defenders, liberation, neo colonialism, politics, revolutionaries, Robert Mugabe, Swaziland, the Herald, western values, Zimbabwe
April 12, 2013
During the night of April 3rd, the offices of the Mexican Committee for the Integral Defense of Human Rights Gobixha (Código DH) were forcibly entered. Personnel noticed the entry when they arrived at the office at 8:20am and found the door unlocked and the padlock partially open. They found the computer was turned on and that someone had gone through the records kept at the desk, taking several of them. It is also probable that they went through digital documents found on the computer. These events were denounced before SEGOB, the Special Prosecutors Office for Crimes of Social Significance of the Attorney Generals Office and the Federal Police. In Oaxaca in recent months a climate of intimidation and harassment of community defenders, to whom Peace Brigades International (PBI) provide accompaniment, has been generated. Some of these defenders have also recently been detained. PBI demand that the state and federal government of Mexico secure conditions for the work of human rights defenders!
via Codigo-DH: We demand guarantees of security for human rights defenders: PBI.
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Tags: Advocacy Organizations, break-ins, Código DH, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, insecurity, Oaxaca, PBI, peace brigades, Peace Brigades International, prosecutors office
April 12, 2013
The Ugandan Observer reported that the NGO Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) has been the target of break-ins three times in five years at their Nsambya office. According to Livingstone Sewanyana, the executive director of FHRI, such break-ins and robberies don’t only demoralise them, but also have become a threat to the work and confidentiality of their documents in particular. “We don’t feel at ease when such events happen,” he says, “we have lost a lot of data and that’s a big threat to our work.” FHRI is not the only human rights defenders HRD organisation that has been broken into by unknown persons, taking documents and computers. Last December, the office of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda SMUG was broken into, with a lot of equipment stolen. A report assessing the environment in which human rights defenders operated last year, shows that actually, a host of civil society organisations were broken into – a fact seen as a way of crippling their operations in the country. “HRDs, especially within the civil society, who draw attention to human rights violations sometimes have become visible targets susceptible to reprisals,” notes the recently-released Human Rights Defenders in Uganda report: “The Quest for A Better Working Environment, Vol II, 2012” (by the Human Rights Centre Uganda).
These cases are reported to police but according to Sewanyana, there has not been much help.“We have reported all these to police. We have written statements but not a single suspect has been arrested,” Ssewanyana told The Observer. However, Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Ibin Ssenkumbi says they have to follow due procedure. “Police is doing its work and when the investigations are done, the perpetrators will be brought to book,” he says.
via The Observer – Human rights defenders decry persecution.
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Tags: break-ins, burglaries, Civil society, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Centre Uganda, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, insecurity, Livingstone Sewanyana, Non-governmental organization, Observer, Sexual Minorities of Uganda, Uganda
April 11, 2013
I have expressed concern in earlier posts about the efforts of several governments – especially Russia – who use legal and administrative means to stop or restrict the work of NGOs. Russia uses the gimmick of requiring NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register as ‘foreign agents’. Many organisations have vowed to refuse. The campaign however grinds on and now Front Line reports the first case:
On 9 April 2013, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation opened a case of administrative violation against the NGO ‘GOLOS’ Association for the defence of the rights of voters and its executive director Ms Lilya Shibanova. The Ministry of Justice stated on its official website that GOLOS receives foreign funding and participates in political activity, so the organisation should have registered as a ‘foreign agent’ and, by failing to do so, has infringed Article 19.34(1). On 10 April 2013, the Ministry of Justice will transmit the administrative case against GOLOS to the court. As GOLOS and its executive director have already made public their decision not to register as ‘foreign agent’ under any circumstances, the administrative conviction may be the first step to the closure of the organisation. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award, civil society organisations, election monitoring, Federal Law, Foreign agent, Front Line Defenders, funding, GOLOS, Justice Ministry, NGOs, Non-governmental organization, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Russia, Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin
April 11, 2013
The Human Rights Foundation calls on Venezuelan authorities to dismiss the case against Miguel Hernández, a Venezuelan auto mechanic who has been prosecuted since 2010, for wearing a t-shirt featuring Bart Simpson with the phrase “Hugo: I shit on your revolution” at a baseball game. The Human Rights Foundation published a full legal report on his case, which concludes that Venezuela breached Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Hernández’s case is the final case documented in the NGO’s ‘Caracas Nine campaign’ (www.CaracasNine.com). The report concludes that Hernández was arrested and charged by Venezuelan authorities for the alleged crime of “offending the heads of government,” solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. More than three years later, Hernández remains subject to criminal prosecution that could result in a prison sentence of up to two and a half years. Since February 2010, Hernández has been required to appear monthly in court as a pre-trial measure alternative to imprisonment.
The full report is available at: http://humanrightsfoundation.org/reports/Caracas-Nine-Miguel-Hernández-English-03-04-2013.pdf
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Tags: Bart Simpson, Caracas, freedom of expression, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Foundation, judicial harassment, Miguel Hernández, Venezuela
April 11, 2013
In the early hours of 6 April, human rights lawyer Mr Wang Quanzhang was released from detention in the province of eastern Jiangsu, approximately 56 hours after he was detained and placed under a 10-day judicial detention for “disrupting court order”. The human rights defender was detained for photographing a document which he had been asked to submit to the court, as it was his only copy! The Jingjiang People’s Court released Wang Quanzhang on the grounds that the short detention had already served as a punishment and a warning. However, the human rights defender believes that his release is due to public pressure. Wang Quanzhang had been defending Mr Zhu Yanian, who is a member of Falun Gong and was being tried for ‘using a cult organisation to undermine the implementation of the law’.
For more information on this case, please see Front Line Defender’s Urgent Appeal on 5 April 2013 <http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22244> .
Posted in Front Line, human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: China, detention, Falun Gong, Front Line Defenders, Human right, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, illegal detention, Jiangsu, Jingjiang, lawyer, release, threats, Wang Quanzhang
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 