Archive for the 'organisations' Category
December 18, 2015
While there has been a small let up in the incarceration of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan [see e.g. https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/leyla-yunus/], it remains the worst place in Europe for human rights defenders. On 25 November the appeal lodged by investigative journalist and human rights defender Khadija Ismayilova was dismissed. She has to remain in jail for 7.5 years!
[Ms. Ismayilova was arrested on December 5, 2014 on charges of “inciting” her ex-partner “to commit suicide”. Although in April 2015 the alleged victim retreated his accusations, claiming his testimony was given under pressure, blackmail and torture, the prosecution did not take it into account and maintained the charges. In February 2015, Ms. Ismayilova was further accused of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and abuse of office. During the hearings in first instance, no evidence of these accusations was presented.On September 1, 2015, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes had sentenced Ms. Khadija Ismayilova to 7,5 years imprisonment on charges of “embezzlement”, “illegal entrepreneurship”, “tax evasion”, and “abuse of office].
As an independent reporter and journalist of the Azerbaijani radio Azadliq (“Radio Freedom”) she has shown great courage (see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/khadija-ismayilova-azerbaijan-is-not-deterred/), and received several international prizes, such as the 2015 Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism (HRW), the 2015 Freedom to Write Award, the 2012 Fritt Ord/Zeit Press Prize, and the 2012 Courage of Journalism Award by the Washington-based International Women’s Media Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders | 3 Comments »
Tags: Alison Des Forges Award, Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Azerbaijian, Council of Europe, detention, Freedom to Write Award, Fritt Ord/Zeit Press Prize, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, Journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, Thorbjørn Jagland, woman human rights defender
December 18, 2015
Nicki Minaj and Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Photo illustration by Sofya Levina. Images by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images and Alexander Joe/Getty Images.
The Human Rights Foundation (through Thor Halvorssen and George Ayittey) is asking whether Nicki Minaj will “take the high road or a blood diamond paycheck“? On Saturday afternoon the American rapper Nicki Minaj will bring her award-winning talent to the Angolan capital of Luanda. It isn’t a world tour stop, but a special engagement at a “Christmas Festival” sponsored by Unitel, a telecommunications company controlled by Angola’s dictatorship.
[Two years ago, Mariah Carey was paid $1 million to perform in Angola at another one of the regime’s holiday parties. Since she had promised to never perform for dictators again after singing for Libya’s Qaddafi family, the public wasn’t forgiving the second time around. The result was a global PR scandal that led Carey to sever ties with Jermaine Dupri, the manager who arranged the visit. – https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/mariah-carey-needs-better-informed-staff-and-donate-her-1-million-fee-to-human-rights-defenders-in-angola/].
The situation of human rights defenders in Angola is most precarious:
15 pro-democracy activists were detained in June 2015 and their trial started only after almost five months of arbitrary detention. The persons on trial include rapper (!) Henrique Luaty Beirão (a.k.a. Brigadeiro Mata-Frakuxz), Manuel Nito Alves, Nuno Alvaro Dala, Nelson Dibango Mendes Dos Santos, Alfonso Jojo Matias (a.k.a. Mbanza Hamza), Sedrick de Carvalho, Fernando António Tómas (a.k.a. Nicola Radical), Hitler Chiconda (a.k.a. Samussuku), Italiano Arante Kivuvu, Benedito Dali (a.k.a. Dito Dali), Albano Bingobingo (a.k.a. Albano Liberdade), José Gomes Hata (a.k.a. Cheik Hata), Inocénio De Brito (a.k.a. Drux), Domingos da Cruz as well as of Osvaldo Caholo. (Ms. Rosa Kusso Conde and Ms. Laurinda Manuel Gouveia are also facing the same charges, but are not detained. [The Angola 15 are youth activists arrested in June 2015 for discussing democratic reforms and peaceful protest. Most of them are known pro-democracy activists, who have been organizing peaceful protests often repressed by the authorities against the 35-year-regime of Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos since 2011. On September 16, 2015, they were charged with “preparatory acts of rebellion” and “plotting against the President and other institutions”, both of which constitute crimes against the security of the Angolan State. Several experts and international institutions have called for their release, including the European Parliament and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst.]
On 15 December 2015 the Luanda Provincial Tribunal approved the request of the Public Prosecutor to place the pro-democracy activists detained since June 2015 under house arrest as of December 18. According to a public statement made by the General Attorney, this decision precedes the entry into force on December 18, 2015, of a new legislation on preventive measures adopted in September 2015, aimed at reducing prison overcrowding and excessive pre-trial detentions – and thus not the result of international pressure!. “The decision to place the Angola 15 under house arrest is a positive step towards the recognition of their rights. The Angolan authorities must now end all forms of judicial harassment against the activists and put an end to their ordeal by immediately and unconditionally releasing them”, FIDH President Karim Lahidji said.
Interesting is also to note here how two quasi-NGOs (in the NGO world, called GONGOs – Governmental Non-Governmental Organizations – masquerading as protectors of the rights of the people while working as the mouthpiece for the government) tried to block a resolution by the NGO forum surrounding the session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in November 2015.
Front Line Defenders also has followed the case of the Angola 15 and other human rights defenders in detail: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/search/node/angola
Sources:
Nicki Minaj shouldn’t perform for Angolan dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/angola/2015/12/d23533/
https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/angola-the-angola-15-must-be-released-and-their-right-to-a-fair-trial
http://newint.org/blog/2015/12/16/angola-human-rights-trial/
http://allafrica.com/stories/201511051396.html
https://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/angola/angola-rafael-marques-de-morais-sentenced-to-a-six-month-suspended
Posted in FIDH, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | 2 Comments »
Tags: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Angola, Angola 15, celebrities, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Foundation, illegal detention, José Eduardo dos Santos, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Rafael Marques de Morais, Thor Halvorssen
December 11, 2015
Last weekend, HURIDOCS office in Geneva and the office of an ally organization were burglarized; two of its desktop computers were stolen. Computers were the only stolen items at both offices, but it’s not possible to say whether the theft was specifically for information stored on the hard drives or just for the computers themselves. Either way, it states confidently in a message that they have not experienced a data breach, because both computers were encrypted and locked with strong passwords. They also didn’t lose any data, because it’s safely stored in Casebox. Here’s how to protect your information and yourself, critical for human rights defenders, in case of physical computer theft:
- Lock your computer with a strong and unique password. All passwords should be strong and unique, but perhaps even most importantly for your computer itself. Simple passwords are more easily hacked by ‘brute force’ (guessing until success), seen by someone glancing as you type, or determined from camera footage (that’s why Snowden typed his passwords under a blanket in Citzenfour). There are some good tips for better passwords.
- Safeguard all passwords. Do not keep your passwords written on paper near your computer. A multitude of secure passwords will be impossible to keep in mind, so we recommend using a password manager like KeePassX instead; KeePassX also rates the strength of your passwords.
- Consistently lock your screen when you step away. Theft can happen very quickly and obviously, unexpectedly. Encrypt your hard drive. If it’s encrypted, no one else can read it. Check your settings in Filevault on Mac and Bitlocker or Veracrypt on Windows.
- Regularly back up your encrypted hard drive to another location. If your computer is stolen, you’ll still have all of your information. If you use a password manager like KeePassX, your backup will include a locked file containing all of your passwords. To further protect yourself against privacy breaches and malicious threats, we also recommend to: Scan your hard drive for viruses at least once a week with updated antivirus software like Sophos or Avast.
- Update your computer’s operating system and all critical software as soon as updates become available. These updates are often to better protect you from breaches. Set up two-factor authentication and two-step verification on all critical accounts like email, social networks, Apple ID, and shared workspaces. Change your passwords often.
HURIDOCS conclusion: If you’ve taken the above steps and your computer is stolen, you won’t need to worry about your data being stolen along with it. We strongly recommend all human rights defenders take these precautions.
https://www.huridocs.org/2015/12/steps-to-protect-your-data-computer-theft/
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, HURIDOCS | Leave a Comment »
Tags: data, data protection, digital security, encryption, Geneva, HURIDOCS, Information security
December 10, 2015
International Human Rights Day is an occasion for many organizations to publish statements on human rights. For those who have not enough time to go through all of them, here a selection of four main statements that focus on human rights defenders: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in EU, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Witness (NGO) | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 10 December, CIVICUS, Civil society, EIDHR, EU, Hina Jilani, Huffington Post, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Defenders Mechanism, international human rights day, international protection, Neven Mimica, podcasts, reprisals, The Elders, Witness (human rights group)
December 10, 2015
Many NGOs have welcomed as a good Human Rights Day present the announcement of the freeing of Leyla Yunus in Azerbaijan. Here the views of the Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, Rachel Denber:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arif Yunus, Azerbaijian, HRW, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, international human rights day, Leyla Yunus, Oxi Day, release, Theodor Haecker Prize, woman human rights defender
December 9, 2015
In the series “10 December, 10 Defenders” OMCT published on 4 December 2015 the profile of Emma Bolshia Bravo who helps Bolivian victims recover from torture and its second trauma, silence.
“Considering the magnitude of the psychological effects on the victim, the fear it generates within society, and the traumas transmitted to the following generations, torture causes irreparable damage,” says Emma Bolshia Bravo. “That’s why prevention of torture is crucial.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 10 December - 10 Defenders, anti-torture campaign, Bolivia, Emma Bolshia Bravo, OMCT, prevention, profiles, rehabilitation, torture, woman human rights defender
December 9, 2015
An interesting read is the latest report to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly by Rapporteur: Ms Mailis REPS, Estonia, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. The (draft) report is entitled: “Strengthening the protection and role of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member States“.
[On 19 March 2013, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights appointed Ms Mailis as rapporteur, following the departure from the Assembly of the previous rapporteur, Mr György Frunda.]
The Draft resolution and draft recommendation (AS/Jur (2015) 37) were adopted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on 8 December 2015 and here are some highlights:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights Defenders, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Azerbaijian, Council of Europe, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, draft resolution, Human Rights Defenders, intimidation, Mailis, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, reprisals, retaliation, Russia, Turkey
December 8, 2015
Anneliese Mcauliffe in Al Jazeera on 6 December 2015 reported that two Chinese human rights defenders recognised as UN refugees were forcibly deported from Thailand to China last month and have appeared on Chinese state-run television and confessed to human-trafficking offenses. CCTV reported that Jiang Yefei was arrested for “assisting others to illegally cross the national border”, and Dong Guangping was charged with using a trafficking network to flee China while awaiting trial on sedition charges. It was the first time the two men were seen since being taken from a detention centre in the Thai capital Bangkok in November and deported to China.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 1 Comment »
Tags: Al-Jazeera, Canada, China, deportation, Dong Guangping, forced confession, Human Rights Defenders, Jiang Yefei, OHCHR, persecution, refugee status determination, resettlement, Reuters, Sheng Xue, Thailand, UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
December 8, 2015
In the series “10 December, 10 Defenders” [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/10-december-10-defenders-profiles-of-human-rights-defenders-against-torture/]the OMCT publishes today the case of “Benin: Meet Norbert: Better protecting children to break Benin’s cycle of violence“. “Violence is the first inheritance of a child born within a violent family,” says Norbert Fanou-Ako. As director of a non-governmental organization called Solidarity for Children in Africa and the World (ESAM) he is trying to break Benin’s vicious cycle of violence. The violence deeply engrained in this country starts at home and in school with commonplace whipping, caning, slapping and other uses of ill-treatment against children and then extends to regular beatings to force confessions out of suspected juvenile delinquents at police stations. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | 1 Comment »
Tags: 10 December - 10 Defenders, anti-torture campaign, Benin, Norbert Fanou-Ako, OMCT, prison visits, profiles, rights of children, Solidarity for Children in Africa and the World, torture, UN Convention against Torture, violence
December 7, 2015
In the series Human Rights Defenders against Torture, OMCT published on 7 December “Nicaragua: Meet Vilma: Still not ready to stop fighting against torture in Nicaragua”. Vilma Núñez de Escorcia , 77, has been heading the Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH) for the past quarter of a century, assisting civil society’s underprivileged populations and building the capacity to protect and promote human rights. The first female magistrate in Nicaragua appointed Vice-President of the Supreme Court from 1979 to 1987, Vilma pegs her commitment to fighting for justice to the fact that she was born outside marriage - a terrible thing at that time, which meant that she was barred from the best religious secondary school and could not inherit as much as each of her “legitimate” siblings. She is now thankful for what she then considered as a “misfortune” as it made her realize how the legal system treated people differently. This realization made her want to train as a lawyer specializing in human rights and penal law. “I didn’t’ want anyone else to suffer discrimination so I chose to become a lawyer, to understand and stop it,” she explains.
She remembers her first encounter with torture Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: anti-torture campaign, Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos, human rights lawyer, Lori Brumat, Nicaragua, OMCT, profiles, Sandinistas, Somoza, torture, United Nations Convention Against Torture, Vilma Núñez de Escorcia, woman human rights defender
