Archive for the 'Front Line' Category
March 13, 2014
In March, Margaret Sekaggya will finish her term as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. For more than five years the Ugandan Margaret Sekaggya has served the mandate with dedication and commitment, and has played an integral role in promoting the work of and furthering protection for human rights defenders around the world.
Also it has been announced that the new Special Rapporteur will be Michel Forst , from France.
He is a lawyer by training and the Secretary General of the Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme de la Republique Française. From 2008 – 2013, he was the Independent Expert of the United Nations on the situation of human rights in Haiti. He was Director General of Amnesty International in France and worked in the human rights department of UNESCO. Mr. Forst is also a founding trustee of Front Line Defenders.
In short, Margaret Sekaggya did a great job – like her predecessor Hina Jilani – and the credentials of the new Rapporteur give all reason to hope that the level of knowledge and commitment will be maintained. Glad to report something good coming out of the Council!
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR, UN | 2 Comments »
Tags: Commission Nationale Consultative, France, Geneva, Haiti, Hina Jilani, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights mechanisms, international protection, Margaret Sekaggya, Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Uganda, UN, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
March 6, 2014
Igor Kalyapin – as President of the Joint Mobile Group [JMG] – is recipient of the 2013 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders [http://www.martinennalsaward.org which contains an excellent short film on his work] as well as the 2011 Front Line Defenders 
Award [http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/16876]. In spite of this, he is continually subjected to a defamation campaign, the most recent incident taking place on 25 February 2014, at a meeting of the Civil Chamber of the Chechen Republic, where the Head of the Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, accused Igor Kalyapin of being a “traitor of the nation” and a man who defends “bandits and drug addicts” and “promotes his personal interests”.
On 25 February 2014, Ramzan Kadyrov further accused the human rights defender of using human rights work to make a career. Kadyrov stated that there are ‘real’ human rights defenders in Chechnya and that the Republic does not need ‘Kalyapins’. This statement was broadcast by the state TV channel Vainakh. Kadyrov went on to list cases which are being investigated by Igor Kalyapin and the JMG (such as Islam Umarpashaev and Ruslan Kutaev – more information on these cases on: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/.)
Posted in awards, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Joint Mobile Group, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Chechen Republic, Chechnya, defamation, Front Line (NGO), human rights awards, Human rights defender, Igor Kalyapin, intimidation, JMG, Joint Mobile Group, Kadyrov, laureate MEA, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Ramzan Kadyrov, Russia
March 5, 2014
In a post earlier in the day I mentioned that I would restrict myself to announcing Side Events to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that are specially focused on Human Rights Defenders, but that seems not be much of a restriction with two more interesting events scheduled for next week:
1. “Human Rights Defenders and the Shrinking Space for Civil Society” on Monday 10 March 2014 from 14 to 15h00 in Room XX Palais des Nations. Speakers:
- Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Halah Eldoseri – Saudi Arabia [researcher on women’s health services; blogs (Saudi women’s rights) to educate women about the country’s international obligations towards women; writes and organises lectures and workshops in Saudi Arabia for activists and the public]
- Maksym Butkevych – Ukraine [radio and TV journalist working with “Hromadske Radio” (“Public Radio”) in Kiev; Co-Founder of “No Borders” project of the NGO “Social Action Centre”, which works on anti-discrimination issues; organised an independent radio station to directly cover the events in Ukraine; Co-Ordinator of the Independent Civic human rights violations Investigation Commission]
- Mary Lawlor Director of Front Line Defenders [Chair]
Co sponsors: Troicare, International Commission of Jurists, Permanent Mission of Ireland.
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2. “Global Trends for Human Rights Defenders” on Wednesday 12 March from 09h30 -12h00 in the office of International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Rue de Varembé 1. This Roundtable brings together human rights defenders, practitioners, academic scholars, intergovernmental officials, government representatives, and donors to discuss innovation and the way forward to improve understanding and protection of HRDs, specially to foster an enabling environments for human rights defenders. This discussion will draw upon:
- Recommendations made in the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to the Human Rights Council on 10 March 2014,
- Ideas shared in the Side Eventof the Human Rights Council on ‘Creating a Safe and Enabling Environment for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders’ on 11 March 2014 (see my post:https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/important-human-rights-council-side-event-on-11-march-to-be-followed-on-internet/)
- Issues in the Special Issue on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Journal of Human Rights Practice (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/special-issue-on-human-rights-defenders-of-the-oup-journal-of-human-rights-practice/).
To attend this event, please register by Friday March 7 at 12:00 noon by completing this on-line form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19rJ44GM_VQybtestvtH8gH26vn9B2TLCBQ0VVftpobs/viewform
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Centre for Applied Human Rights at York University, Civil society, enabling environment, Front Line (NGO), Halah Eldoseri, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, international protection, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, Journalist, Maksym Butkevych, Margaret Sekaggaya, Mary Lawlor, Navanethem Pillay, OUP, saoudi arabia, side event, Special issue, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Ukraine, UN, UN Human Rights Council, woman human rights defender
March 4, 2014
With the Ugandan anti-gay law signed by President Museveni last week (in spite of the fascinating news that broke only afterwards that his own daughter came out publicly as lesbian opposing the law), attention on LGBTI rights in Africa has been mostly negative. The more reason to point to a small ‘victory’ in neighbouring Zimbabwe where a mostly independent judiciary had the courage to squash the charges against human rights defender Martha Tholanah of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Civil society, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), GALZ, gay, gay rights, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, independence of the judiciary, lesbian, LGBT rights, Martha Tholanah, President Museveni, Private Voluntary Organisation, Uganda, Zimbabwe
February 28, 2014
In this post I draw your attention to two annual reports: The US State Department released its Country Reports 2013 and Front Line Defenders published its “2014 Annual Report” which somewhat confusingly covers 2013. The last one is the most interesting from the perspective of this blog as the focus is of course on Human Rights Defenders. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: annual report 2013, Country Reports 2013, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Defenders, human rights violations, impunity, mass surveillance, resource extraction, US State Department, USA
February 27, 2014
reports that on 24 February 2014, human rights defender Abdulhakim Al Fadhli was chased by state security cars and then taken to state security headquarters, where he remains in detention. Earlier that day, human rights defenders Mr Nawaf Al Hendal and Ms Hadil Abo Qoreis were summonsed via news broadcasts to appear before state security investigations service. Abdulhakim Al Fadhli had also been unofficially informed of a summons against him. As in a B-film, state security cars, chasing Abdulhakim Al Fadhli, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abdulhakim Al Fadhli, Abdullah Atallah, arbitrary arrest, Bedoun, demonstration, detention, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Hadil Abo Qoreis, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, indigenous groups, Kuwait, minority rights, Nawaf Al Hendal, repression, statelessness, woman human rights defender
February 26, 2014
On the heels of my post yesterday on Cao Shunli‘s health (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/serious-concern-for-health-of-detained-human-rights-defender-cao-shunli/), exiled, blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng laments that China is cracking down harder than ever on human rights defenders, but says (somewhat unrealistically I should add) that the leadership should brace for a Ukraine-style uprising. “It is possible for the Chinese to have a similar revolution to the one in Ukraine. It could happen any time,” Chen told Nina Larson of AFP on 25 February in Geneva. “There are many, so very man arrests“, mentioning just as an example the arrest late last month of the parents of human rights activist Xue Mingkai, who had spent four years in prison for joining a banned party. While in custody, the father, Xue Fushun, plunged to his death from a window several stories up, in what police said was a suicide.
Frontline Defenders informed us a bit earlier that on 29 January 2014, the verdicts were released in the trials of human rights defenders, Mr Yuan Dong and Ms Hou Xin, both of whom are affiliated with the New Citizens’ Movement and had been facing charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order”. Yuan Dong was sentenced to 18 months in prison, whilst Hou Xin was found guilty but did not receive a sentence. Yuan Dong and Hou Xin were originally detained, along with Zhang Baocheng and Ma Xinli, on charges of “illegal assembly” on 31 March 2013 [http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22993] after banners with slogans such as “require officials to publicly disclose public assets” were allegedly unfurled during a rally in Xidan Cultural Plaza in Beijing’s Xicheng district. Hou Xin had only been photographically documenting the rally.
Besides the recent sentencing to four years imprisonment of one of the founders of the New Citizens’ Movement, Mr Xu Zhiyong, many more human rights defenders affiliated with the movement remain in detention (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/xu-zhiyongs-closing-statement-to-the-court-a-remarkable-document/)
On the other hand, on 25 February 2014 it was confirmed that Ilham Tohti (feared disappeared) has now been formally arrested on charges of “splitting the country” and is being held in a detention centre in Xinjiang province. (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/has-uyghur-professor-ilham-tohti-disappeared-in-china/
For the full interview with Chen: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jLVlcgDJvTALGKEGE8kNJd3E43cA?docId=baf85933-271a-42b9-8e34-8210a195cbee
By the way China’s extraordinary sensitivity to ‘interference’ of any level into what it considers its domestic affairs is well-known. I touched upon this ‘hot’ topic’ in my own 2011 article “The international human rights movement: not perfect, but a lot better than many governments think” in the book ‘NGOs in China and Europe’ (exceptionally also published in Chinese!): Yuwen Li (ed), Ashgate, 2011, pp 287-304 (ISBN: 978-1-4094-1959-4).
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, Ashgate, Chen Guangcheng, China, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Hou Xin, Human Rights Defenders, Ilham Tohti, illegal detention, interference in internal affairs, NGOs in China and Europe, repression, Thoolen, Ukraine, Uyghur, Xu Zhiyong, Xue Mingkai, Yuan Dong, Yuwen Li
February 19, 2014
reports that on 6 February 2014, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Border Police forcibly evicted the entire Palestinian village of Ein-Hijleh and declared the village a closed military zone. During the eviction 19 people, including human rights defenders and journalists were temporarily detained whilst at least 32 villagers were injured. Several of the detained were subject to physical aggression. Amongst the 19 detained were human rights defenders Issa Amro, Mahmoud Zawhara, Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, Bassem Tamimi and Mohammad Al Khatib.
The forced displacement follows a series of raids and attacks which have targeted the local community as well as human rights defenders who peacefully opposed the eviction. The campaign began on 31 January 2014, when the IDF blocked access to the village and prevented the delivery of water and food supplies. On 3 February 2014, the IDF attempted to gain entry to the village. On 4 February 2014 a renewed attempt to enter the village included the use of tear gas against peaceful protesters, but was hindered by locals forming a human chain.
Front Line Defenders has previously issued urgent appeals on Issa Amro: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/IssaAmro.
see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/five-un-experts-urge-israel-to-stop-harassment-of-human-rights-activist-issa-amro/
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, Ein-Hijleh, forced displacement, forced evictions, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, IDF, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Defence Forces, Issa Amro, journalists, Mahmoud Zawhara, Palestine, Palestinian Human Rights Defender, Palestinian village
February 17, 2014
reports that on 12 February 2014, human rights defender Didier Kalemba addressed a formal complaint to the public prosecutor’s office in the Democratic Republic of Congo in connection with a series of intimidatory acts that he has recently been subjected to. Didier Kalemba is a lawyer who has been acting as a protection officer for the Association Congolaise pour l’Accès à la Justice – ACAJ (Congolese Association for Access to Justice). His work mainly focuses on following up on cases of arbitrarily detained persons, particularly political prisoners or prisoners of conscience. Didier Kalemba received several calls from the same telephone number demanding him to halt his visits to the Ndolo military prison, or his family would regret his “stubbornness.”
[This is not the first time Didier Kalemba has received threats]
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ACAJ, Association Congolaise, congo drc, death threats, Democratic Republic of Congo, Didier Kalemba, DRC, formal complaint, Front Line (NGO), Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, intimidation, lawyer, prison visits
February 15, 2014
This is a long but excellent to piece to read over the weekend by Stefania Kulaeva of the remarkable NGO Memorial in Russia:
AT THE TIME of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi it is important to remember the human rights abuse of minorities and their defenders in Russia. This is a question for gay people but also for Roma, immigrant workers and members of other ethnic communities.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2014 winter olympics, ADC Memorial, campaign, foreign funding, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, human rights violations, LGBT, Memorial, migrants, minorities, non-discrimination, roma, Russia, Sochi, Stefania Kulaeva, woman human rights defender
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 