Archive for the 'human rights' Category
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September 30, 2011Iran again: HRD Narges Mohammadi gets 11 years prison sentence
September 30, 2011Narges Mohammadi, who became ill after being detained by security officials, was convicted by a court in Tehran to 11 years in jail. Narges Mohammadi, 39, the deputy head of Iran’s Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), a rights organisation presided over by the Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, was picked up last year by security officials who raided her house without a warrant for her arrest. She was taken to Tehran’s Evin prison where she was kept in solitary confinement but was released after a month and taken to hospital. It emerged on Tuesday that a court in Tehran has now convicted her on three charges: acting against the national security, membership of the DHRC and propaganda against the regime.
“I’m not involved in politics, I’m only a human rights activist,” Mohammadi said by phone from Tehran. “I was informed of the 11-year sentence through my lawyers, who were given an unprecedented 23-page judgment issued by the court in which they repeatedly likened my human rights activities to attempts to topple the regime.” In March the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, a US-based non-governmental organisation, reported that security forces had stolen Mohammadi’s medical records from the hospital. Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, a political activist, has spent a third of his life in jail.
Amnesty International reacted with outrage to Mohammadi’s conviction. “The verdict claims that Narges Mohammadi is a liar and has tarnished the image of Iran,” said Drewery Dyke, Amnesty’s researcher on Iran. “However, this latest verdict regrettably does exactly that by showing what Iran’s judiciary thinks of the government’s so-called commitment to uphold human rights in the country, and indeed exactly how it deals with those advocating international human rights standards.”
for more info see inter alia:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/28/iranian-activist-narges-mohammadi-jailed?newsfeed=true
UN Special Rapporteurs urge Cambodia not to go ahead with draft Law on Associations and NGOs
September 28, 2011According to a UN press release (issued 28 September 2011) the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya Subedi, together with colleague-rapporteurs on freedom of assembly and association, Mr. Maina Kiai, and on the situation of human rights defenders, Ms. Margaret Sekaggya,urged the Cambodian authorities to take fully on board the concerns raised during the consultation process before enacting the law, especially the onerous requirements for registration and the lack of clear criteria on which registration applications will be considered. The draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations, in its current form, “may hamper the legitimate work of NGOs in the country.”
“The Government of Cambodia should not proceed with the draft NGO law in its present form,” Mr. Subedi said presenting his annual report on the situation of human rights in Cambodia to the UN Human Rights Council. “Of course, as a sovereign country, Cambodia is entitled to enact a law on NGOs, but the decision to adopt a law to regulate NGOs and associations is a critical initiative which requires careful attention, given its long-term implications for the development of Cambodian society – and in turn the country – itself.” The UN expert drew attention to the fact that many of the civil society organizations in Cambodia have been playing a complementary role to that of the State in helping or delivering key social services in the areas of education, health, rural development, sanitation, social welfare and the protection of natural resources and the environment.
Mr. Subedi acknowledges that the overall situation of human rights had improved over the years in Cambodia, but that there still was “a great deal of work to be done to strengthen the rule of law, to accelerate the process of democratisation and to enhance the capacity of parliament to hold executive to account.”
Amnesty Bermuda inspired by AI’s SG and MEA Laureate to campaign against homophobia
September 27, 2011
Amnesty Bermuda’s Nelleke Hollis said that a postcard campaign was launched in August at the international meeting of AI to amend Bermuda’s Human Rights Act to add sexual orientation. She said hundreds of signatures from fellow human right campaigners were gathered at the meeting, including those of Mr Salil Shetty, AI’s Secretary General and Ugandan gay activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, who won the 2011 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
The postcards should send a strong message to Premier Paula Cox and her Cabinet to stop dragging their heels on the long-awaited amendment.
Useful website: www.amnestybermuda.org
OMCT changes Secretary General after more than 25 years
September 2, 2011Yesterday and today I was in Geneva to prepare the 13 October MEA ceremony with our partner the City of Geneva. I used the occasion to go and greet the new Secretary General of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the principal global coalition of anti-torture organizations. As from 1 September 2011, Gerald Staberock succeeds Eric Sottas who had led the organisation since its inception in 1985 and who is taking his extremely well-deserved retirement.
Eric Sottas is the quintessential international human rights worker, constantly in touch with the human rights defenders at the local level and keeping a steady eye on the ever-changing global scene . He made sure the organisation stayed steadfast in the fight against torture, resistant to pressure and intransigent in the face of what was fashionable, initiated studies that provoked reflection on the subject of torture” said Mr Yves Berthelot, OMCT President.
Gerald Staberock, who joined the OMCT nine months ago, bring his own wide experience in anti-torture and rule of law reforms in transition countries. His special interest in the debate on torture and counter-terrorism over the last ten years will serve him well. ” Upon starting his job Gerald Staberock stressed that “The absolute prohibition of torture is challenged today through lack of respect and a pervasive culture of impunity in many parts of the world. At the same time there are opportunities not least through the transitions of the Arab spring to advance the fight against torture. This is the time to double the effort, to assist and support victims of torture, to ensure accountability and prevent torture, and to counter public complacency in the face of torture.
Gerald Staberock, born on June 13, 1968 in Tübingen, Germany, led for eight years different global programs at the International Commission of Jurists , including its Centre for Judges and Lawyers and its Global Security and Rule of Law Initiative. In this context he coordinated the most comprehensive global study on counter-terrorism and human rights . Before joining the ICJ he worked at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on rule of law and anti-torture projects, including on penitentiary and legal reforms in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
MEA Laureate 2011, Kasha, in the end given visa for UK
August 24, 2011As an illustration of how ill-conceived or ill-executed immigration policies can affect Human Rights Defenders, the following:
Last week Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera – who is the Laureate of the 2011 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, – was denied entry to the UK where she was invited to attend as a special guest the Northern Ireland Pride festival in Derry this weekend. The visa denial was apparently based concerns over her financial status. Foyle Pride chairwoman Shay Gillespie said at the time: “I can’t understand why the UK is the only country to deny her entry and deny the opportunity for the people of Derry and Northern Ireland as a whole the chance to hear this inspirational woman speak.”
A petition was set up to challenge the decision while Amnesty UK invited her to give a speech on Thursday. Then on Monday – within minutes of filing a second application- Kasha was granted permission to attend
Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International said: “In the face of ongoing threats and attacks for her work, she has continued to speak out on behalf of Uganda’s LGBT community. She constantly has to shift from house to house, never staying too long in the same place, yet her voice for human rights in Uganda has never been dimmed…..Kasha is here to tell people in Northern Ireland the real stories behind our reports and to explain how people here can support gay people in Uganda.”
Other Human Rights Defenders or other travelers with a legitimate purpose to come to Europe may not have the public status or international support needed to overturn such decisions.
Amnesty International’s big meeting started Sunday 14 August
August 16, 2011On Sunday 14 August Amnesty International started its big meeting (ICM) in Noordwijkerhout in the Netherlands. AI is ‘celebrating’ its 50th anniversary and the list of interveners on the first day illustrates the continued importance of this unique, large, membership-based human rights movement. In addition to the new Secretarty-General Salil Shetty, there were messages from Aung San Suu Kyi (by video), Shirin Ebadi, and Kasha Nabagesera, the 2011 Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award. For a short video summary of the first day go to: http://amnestyicm.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/highlights-from-day-one/
Sri Lanka: one of the worst in respect of disappearances
August 10, 2011On Friday 29 July the United High Commissioner for Human Rights came out forcefully about the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka. The immediate reason was that the decomposed body of Human Rights Defender Pattani Razeek (the managing trustee of the Community Trust Fund, a NGO based in Puttalam) was found 17 months after his abduction.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on the Sri Lankan government to conduct a swift investigation into the abduction and murder. “We hope that investigation and prosecution of this crime will now be expedited, and that there will be similar progress in resolving the many thousands of outstanding cases of disappearance in Sri Lanka,” she said. The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances currently has 5,653 outstanding cases from Sri Lanka in its records. One of the most notable is the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda, the journalist of the Lanka-e-News website who was known for his antigovernment news and cartoons went missing without a trace just days before the presidential election last year. “We strongly urge the Government of Sri Lanka to expedite investigations and provide information on Mr. Ekneligoda’s whereabouts and fate,” the UN spokesperson added.
UN publishes Commentary on the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
August 10, 2011You probably have seen already references to this new publication which came out during my leave. I still refer to it simply because a blog on HRDs is not complete without it.
The Commentary to the Declaration on human rights defenders is a 100-page document which maps out the rights provided for in the Declaration, based mostly on information received and reports produced by the two Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani (2000-2008) and Margaret Sekaggya (since 2008), during the past eleven years. The ‘Commentary’ analyses what these rights entail and what is needed to ensure their implementation. It also addressesthe most common restrictions and violations faced by defenders, and provides recommendations to facilitate States’ implementation of each right. As should be expected from a UN publication it is fairly dry and does not break new ground but it certainly is well-organised guide to the work done in the last decade. It is arranged in 10 sections, each addressing a right in the Declaration, namely: the right to right to be protected, the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of association, the right to access and communicate with international bodies, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to protest, the right to develop and discuss new human rights ideas, the right to an effective remedy and the right to access funding. A final section addresses permissible derogations to these rights.
To access the resource in PDF, please control/click here
Front Line marks 10th anniversary with Platform for Human Rights Defenders
August 10, 2011Front Line – the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders based in Ireland – exists 10 years and one of the main celebrations will be the holding of its 6th Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders from September 14th– 16th, 2011.
The aim of the Dublin Platform is to provide an opportunity for Human Rights Defenders from all parts of the world to come together to share experiences, learn from each other, acquire new skills, develop new strategies and further their understandings of the mechanisms that are available to them at the international level. Ms. Margaret Sekaggya, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, has confirmed her participation. The themes of the Sixth Dublin Platform will include issues such as patterns of attacks against HRDs and practical measures to ensure their protection; electronic communication and security; specific challenges facing women HRDs and regional mechanisms for the protection of HRDs. The recommendations from the conference will serve to inform the work of Front Line going forward in its support strategies for human rights defenders.
The event is by invitation only but if you can make a good case why you should be invited please contact Front Line’s International Conference Assistant, Sinéad Nic Aodh, by email at sinead@frontlinedefenders.org.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 