Archive for the 'human rights' Category

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Abdolfattah Soltani awarded IBA Human Rights Award Lawyers for Lawyers

October 10, 2012

Iranian lawyer and human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani recevied on 5 October the 2012International Bar AssociationHuman Rights Award. The announcement came during the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference taking place in Dublin, Ireland.

Mr Soltani, who co-founded the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) with Nobel Peace Prize winner Ms Shirin Ebadi, has worked courageously and determinedly throughout his career to provide pro bono legal counsel to those in need.

As a result of his human rights defence work, Mr Soltani has endured persistent persecution from the Iranian government and has been imprisoned on several occasions. He is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence in Iran that stems from a number of charges including co-founding the DHRC, spreading anti-government propaganda and endangering national security. The imprisonment began on 4 March 2012.

Among Mr Soltani’s high profile cases are:

  • Nasrin Soutoudeh, a journalist and human rights lawyer; 2012 nominee of the MEA
  • Akbar Ghanji a human rights activist, who exposed the involvement of several government officials in the murder of intellectuals and journalists in the 1990s; MEA Laureate of 2006 and
  • Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian journalist arrested for taking photographs in front of Evin prison in July 2003. Ms Kazemi died in the same prison several days later.

In addition, Mr Soltani has defended teachers, protesters, other fellow human rights lawyers, political activists, students, and several Baha’I (Iranian minority group) leaders. In many instances other lawyers refused to take on these cases because of the risks involved.

 

 

Iran Abdolfattah Soltani awarded with IBA Human Rights Award Lawyers for Lawyers.

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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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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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Short summary of the Martin Ennals Award 2012 ceremony now available

October 4, 2012

For a lovely 8 mn summary of the 2012 Martin Ennals Award ceremony of 2 October please go the the website: Welcome to Martin Ennals Awards – MEA.

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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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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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Who to follow on Twitter during the UN General Assembly

September 27, 2012

Colum Lynch in Foreign Policy of 27 September 2012 gives an interesting list of twitters that report on the UN General Assembly that started in New York. He notes the enormous increase and diversity of those who now regularly share information and views via their Twitter account.

Some surprising ‘activists”!

Who to follow on Twitter during UNGA week | Turtle Bay.

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Bahraini Defender Sentenced to Prison for Tearing Picture of King

September 27, 2012

On 26 September Human Rights First (HRF) reports that a Bahraini court sentenced Zainab Al-Khawaja to two months in prison for publicly tearing a picture of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It notes that the ruling confirms Bahrain’s reputation as a volatile place without due respect for the rule of law.

“The Bahraini regime seems locked into a spiral of imprisoning human rights leaders and it is unable to tolerate freedom of expression. This is not the reform the king promised” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley ”

Zainab Al-Khawaja, a well-known activist, is the daughter of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison after being arrested, tortured and given an unfair trial in a military court for taking part in the pro-democracy protest. Throughout the uprising in Bahrain, Zainab Al-Khawaja has worked to bring to light abuses committed by the Bahraini regime. Through her blog and twitter account, @angryarabiya, Zainab has urged to world to show its support for the Bahraini people.

“In 18 months, Bahrain has rocketed from obscurity to international fame as a place where doctors were tortured and human rights activists are jailed for peaceful dissent. Zainab’s sentence reinforces this image of a regime addicted to targeting its human rights defenders, and only able to respond to dissent with repression,” Dooley concluded.

Zainab Al-Khawaja’s verdict comes just one day before another prominent human rights leader, Nabeel Rajab, is scheduled to hear the verdict in his appeal of a three-year prison sentence for his part in what the government calls “illegal gatherings.” Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), an organization selected by Human Rights First to receive the 2012 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty and also one the three nominees for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012 which will be decided on 2 October in Geneva.

Bahraini Defender Sentenced to Prison for Tearing Picture of King | Human Rights First.

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2012 OSCE Human Dimension meeting gets information on HRD problems

September 27, 2012

Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has an active human rights defenders programme that is often overlooked. The statement below illustrates the kind of cases that continue to plague parts of Europe.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, submitted to the OSCE information on the threats and obstacles faced by human rights defenders in OSCE Participating States.

In 2011 and 2012, human rights defenders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia continued to operate in a difficult, and sometimes hostile environment. The lack of accountability and respect for the rule of law remained acute, particularly in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Uzbekistan. For the full text go to:

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE : Contribution to the 2012 OSCE Human Dimension … – FIDH.

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