Posts Tagged ‘2016’

ProtectDefenders.eu launches new alert website but no single stop yet!!

April 3, 2017

On 30 March ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism implemented by international civil society, launched its Index of attacks and threats against Human Rights Defenders, featuring a monitoring of alerts concerning violations perpetrated against individuals promoting Human Rights around the globe. The Index of attacks and threats against Human Rights Defenders is available on: ProtectDefenders.eu website.

It could be a most useful tool as quite a few key information providers coöperate (but not AI, HRW?). However, to be really useful as a single stop for this kind of information it is paramount that the site is as complete as possible (otherwise one would still have to go back to the websites of the individual organizations cooperating in the project). This is apparently not yet the case (or maybe definitions still differ from NGO to NGO). Front Line e.g. in its 2017 report (covering 2016) states that  281 HRDs were killed around the world [https://hrdmemorial.org/front-line-defenders-017-annual-report-highlights-killing-of-281-hrds-in-2016/], while a search on the new site shows only 39 killed in 2016 [https://protectdefenders.eu/en/stats.php?yearFilter=2016&regionFilter=&countryFilter=#mf]. That is 242 killings missing (without checking the annual reports of other cooperating partners) ! This issue is important as the announcement claims that the site wants to become “a source of reliable and updated information that should allow the identification of worrying trends and  encourage the coordination of adequate responses by decision-makers and authorities to counter the violations faced by defenders”. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in EU, FIDH, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT, RSF | 1 Comment »
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FIDH looks back at 2016 in comic strip

March 28, 2017

 looks back at 2016 in its traditional comic strip, done in cooperation with Cartooning for Peace.

To see it in a readable format go to: FIDH looks back at 2016 in our traditional comic strip

 

 

 

For last year’s cartoon: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/04/04/fidh-looks-back-at-2015-with-cartoons/

Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
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Important and wide-ranging statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 10 March 2016

March 11, 2016

There is a lot happening in Geneva (where I am for a few days) in relation to human rights defenders. The best I can do for the moment is to provide in full the very rich text of the UN High Commissioner’s statement in the debate in the UN Human Rights Council on 10 March: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
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Happy New Year – that 2016 may be a better year for human rights defenders

December 31, 2015

For  a blog on Human Rights Defenders there is no better way to wish all my readers a happy new year than by referring you to the first electronic Newsletter produced by Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders:

For this first newsletter, he would like to share  three messages with which I whole heartedly agree: 

  1. an alarm call  (as I feel extremely worried about the situation of those who seek to promote and defend our fundamental rights. While I am writing these words, numerous defenders are in danger in Burundi, Bahrain and in many other countries across the globe. In front of States that despise their own international commitments and firms that seem to have profits as a unique goal, the courageous people who take a stand to defend our rights and freedoms need more than ever our protection and recognition.}
  2. a message of hope. {It is true that civil society has never seemed so visible and determined. In every meeting I held this year, I could see courageous women and men speaking up and dedicating their lives to fight against injustice and barbarism. Throughout the year, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of attacks and threats and I would like to celebrate once more the action of these countless ordinary people who defend human rights, sometimes at the expenses of their own lives.}
  3. a call to action. {It is in our hands to make human rights defenders’ work more visible to the rest of the society. It is in our hands to prove that promoting and defending rights are essential to democracy and the rule of law. We all have a role to play in protecting rights defenders whether promoting their struggles or giving them our unconditional support.)

I wish you a happy 2016                                                                                                  

Source: Newsletter #1

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 1 Comment »
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Human Rights Defenders – among the top 10 issues for Business and Human Rights in 2016

December 20, 2015

The Institute for Human Rights and Business has published: Human Rights Defenders and Business – Searching for Common Ground. This is the fourth in a series of Occasional Papers by IHRB to provide independent analysis and policy recommendations about timely subjects on the business and human rights agenda. In this instance, this paper is co-published with Civil Rights Defendersand Front Line Defenders, both organisations with practical research, campaigning, and advocacy experience of the issues raised in the paper.

As cases in this Paper show, journalists exposing corruption, Internet activists demanding accountability, and community activists campaigning for land rights have all faced pressure.

More than sixty governments have passed laws in the last three years to place restraints on the ability of human rights defenders to hold their governments to account. Among those targeted are individuals and organisations who challenge economic policies or business conduct. Human rights defenders’ activities are being criminalised and they face surveillance, intimidation, lawsuits, arrests, and torture – in some cases, even death.

Companies are engaging with civil society, but mutual suspicions remain. Companies share common goals with human rights defenders – accountability, transparency, the rule of law, and due process. Companies should build on these common interests and engage human rights defenders, and where possible, speak out in their defense. To download:

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Occasional Paper: Human Rights Defenders and Business – Searching for Common Ground
The same institution – to mark International Human Rights Day 2015 – published the seventh annual list of the Top 10 Business & Human Rights Issues for the 2016 (these issues are not ranked in order of importance). The one specific on human rights defenders reads:
Defending Defenders: A Role for Business in Championing Civil Society
Defending Defenders: A Role for Business in Championing Civil Society

More than sixty governments have passed laws in the past three years to place restraints on the ability of human rights defenders to hold their governments to account for actions that undermine respect for international standards. Among those targeted are individuals and organisations who champion alternate economic paradigms or challenge government policies or business conduct. Some have faced intimidation, surveillance, lawsuits, arrests, and torture.

Twenty years ago, after a trial that failed to meet international standards, the Nigerian Government executed Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders who opposed the activities of Shell in the Niger Delta. The case sparked global awareness of business’ human rights responsibilities beyond the factory walls, leading to the development of standards, advocacy, initiatives, codes of conducts, and eventually a comprehensive UN framework and principles for business and human rights.

Despite some progress over the past two decades, suppression of activists too often continues. The UN has passed a resolution recognising the legitimate role of peaceful activists who call out abusive behaviours, including business actions that undermine respect for human rights. Yet a growing number of governments are also passing new laws to restrain civil society activities.

Human rights defenders are like canaries in a mine. When they campaign against abuses, they highlight society’s fundamental problems, such as lack of accountability, transparency, or the rule of law. Courts have jailed journalists exposing corruption, governments have tried Internet activists, authorities have prevented activists from travelling abroad, and states have cracked down on funding sources of non-governmental organisations. International financial institutionsare also under focus. The international community is increasingly paying attention to their cause. At the 2015 UN Forum on Business & Human Rights, there was special focus on human rights defenders and the role of business.  

In the year ahead, some governments, businesses, and NGOs will likely sharpen criticism of states that unjustifiably attack human rights defenders, as well as the companies that benefit from such crackdowns and choose to say nothing. With rising concerns over terrorism and the resulting tendency in many countries to emphasise security threats over protecting human freedoms, the road ahead for those who dissent will not be easy. The combined voice of global business will be critical in effectively promoting the legitimate role of individuals and organisations that champion human rights principles and standards in societies around the world. 

Sources:

Top 10 Business and Human Rights Issues for 2016 – Top 10 Emerging Issues

http://www.ihrb.org/publications/reports/human-rights-defenders.html?utm_source=IHRB+Subscribers&utm_campaign=0e75f77298-eNews_Update_Quarterly_Update_2&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94694639e6-0e75f77298-120645865

see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/business-and-human-rights/

Posted in books, Civil Rights Defenders (NGO), Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
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