share information on human rights defenders, with special focus on human rights awards and laureates
This is a fundraising appeal which this blog normally would not relay but as (1) it is done jointly by two organisations, (2) comes with images, and (3) has such a clear focus on human rights defenders, I make an exception. It was published on 8 May 2014 by the International Service for Human Rights and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, to ensure that human rights defenders have the skills and resources they need. To donate, go to www.ishr.ch/donate.
In the series of ‘star power’ for bad causes, American R&B singer Erykah Badu attended the 46th birthday party of King Mswati III of Swaziland on Thursday 24 April, where she sang “Happy Birthday” and dedicated her first song to the “sons of Kings”. The singer has been involved in a number of philanthropic ventures, including Artists for a New South Africa, which works to “advance human rights,” but her visit to Swaziland does not seem to fit in with this. Jeffrey Smith, an advocacy officer at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, said it was “highly unfortunate that someone of Erykah Badu’s international stature would use her star power for inherently reprehensible reasons — namely, to provide legitimacy, and, in a sense, endorse a brutal dictator who both manages and directs every facet of Africa’s last absolute monarchy.”
Journalist Bkheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko are currently imprisoned in Swaziland https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/swaziland-should-immediately-release-two-human-rights-defenders-arrested-on-17-march/
On Monday, Miss Badu tweeted: “I have no political affiliation to anything besides my AFRO. However, I will stand with any group opposing injustice. But not on twitter.” She then retweeted a comment by a man named Joe Black that read: “[Erykah Badu] owes NOBODY an explanation of why she performed in Swaziland. She’s a professional artist, not some phony rights defender.” Remarkably on Tuesday, Miss Badu tweeted that she was not paid for the Swaziland event.
for other posts on star power see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/star-power/
On 21 April 2014, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network announced the loss of its founding member, Osman Hummaida. Mr Hummaida, who died of natural causes on Thursday 17th April 2014, was a leading Sudanese human rights defender and an inspiration to countless activists in the international and African human rights community. He advocated for human rights in Sudan, challenging the impunity of those responsible for atrocities carried out against civilians. Forced to leave Sudan, having been detained and tortured on account of his work, Mr Hummaida founded the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies in exile. The Centre’s success and strength in documenting and reporting ongoing human rights violations in the country and advocating for justice is a living testament to Mr Hummaida’s vision and determination.
“Like other people, journalists have personal interest in the rights that allow them to live in freedom and to be free from fear or oppression…” said Onesmo Olengurumwa, National Coordinator of Tanzania Human Rights Defenders – Coalition (THRD-C). He was speaking recently in Dar es Salaam at a 3-day seminar for journalists meant to train them in Security Management and Risk Assessment. Similar trainings will be conducted periodically to ensure journalists are equipped with the knowledge on how to best respond and tackle volatile and potentially dangerous situations. “Media owners, editors, journalists, human rights NGOs, community and the government should take security and protection issues for journalists much more seriously,” said Olengurumwa. He also reminded journalists that their personal behaviour, lifestyle and how they approach their work may place them at risk. “Investing on security management and protection for journalists should be undertaken by all media owners,”
![Journalists, CSOs, Human Rights and CBOs representatives posing for a group photo during the two-day training on Human rights in NBGS. [Gurtong| Abraham Agoth]](http://www.gurtong.net/Portals/0/GlobalResources/EN/images/Editorial2/journalists%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Defenders.jpg)
group photo of training on Human rights in NBGS. [Gurtong| Abraham Agoth]
Journalists, CSOs Complete Human Rights Defenders Training | Oye Times.
A column in the South African City Press under the title “A chilling point of order for SA” written by Juliette De Rivero on 26 March 2014 makes a punchy statement about the disappointment felt all though the human rights movement when South Africa opted to support China’s point of order in the UN Council of Human Rights. In my post about this ‘court drama’ (reference below) I did not list all the countries coming out against allowing a moment of silence for the deceased Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli and indeed the position of South Africa was in many way the most surprising, in de Rivero’s words: “…The South African delegate took the floor and warned that allowing the activists to proceed with the moment of silence would “create a dangerous precedent” that the council would not be able to sustain in the future.He noted that the action was “irregular and incompatible with the rules of procedure of this council”.South Africa’s choice to stand with the government that prevented Cao Shunli from participating in the UN came as a blow to the activist community – a community that was willing to stand up for Cao just as it had been willing to denounce the injustice of apartheid.South Africa’s concern that the moment of silence – not the death of the activist – was setting a bad precedent in the UN body sent such a chilling message to the human rights community that it should not be ignored…”
Let me add: That silence is a way of speaking should be clear to all, including South Africa, e.g. when on 6 December 2013 the General Assembly held a moment of silence to honour the memory of Nelson Mandela (“Madiba”).
full piece in: A chilling point of order for SA – City Press.
background in: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/china-in-the-un-human-rights-council-manages-to-silence-cao-shunli-as-well-as-ngos/
Regular readers of this blog know that I like the idea of holding celebrities accountable (most recently: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/star-power-and-human-rights-a-difficult-but-doable-mix/). The reason is that there is a mutually reinforcing (and for many profitable) interaction between the stars and the media (which in turn feed on the interest of the public). Celebrities’ views on all kind of issues – including human rights – can hardly be called private. Their social media are virtual industries and influence millions globally. So it seems a good idea to have an annual look at which celebrities have advanced and which have harmed the cause of human rights around the world. Halvorssen and Leigh Hancock ( of the Human Rights Foundation) have done exactly that in the Atlantic on 27 February 2004 and linked it to the upcoming Oscars night on Sunday.
The list of celebrities deserving recognition for their accomplishments in the field of human rights or those who should be ashamed for supporting human-rights violators, is long and contains many video links. Like the real Oscars, the list is slanted in terms of geopolitical interest and I think that if all major international human rights organisations would get together to agree on a list if would be more balanced, but that is probably wishful thinking. Still, the Human Rights Foundation deserves credit for this creative initiative. and here is the summary:
Djibouti is not the best covered part of the world. Therefore I forward this case of Mohamed Chehem Gadito, brought to my attention by the Djibouti Observatory for the Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights [ODDH in its French abbreviation]. According to the ODDH this is a glaring example of the situation of human rights in Djibouti. The young activist was arrested at a meeting of the opposition on Friday 6 December 2013 and officially released 12 December by the Chamber of flagrante delicto, the court of first instance in Djibouti. Unfortunately, he was again arrested by the police at the threshold of the Gabode prison. Placed in illegal detention he was again presented to the court on 17 December which again ruled in favor of an immediate release. Unfortunately, Chehem Gadito was once again placed back into custody. Several members of his family who were waiting outside the Gabode prison were also arrested and forcibly shipped to Nagad, an administrative detention center intended for illegal aliens. Faced with this denial of justice, Chehem Gadito began a hunger strike. This case highlights the failure of the judiciary in its role as guardian of individual freedom and for ensuring compliance with this principle as provided by law.
Countries in the Horn of Africa: Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia
The Brussels-based NGO ‘Protection International’ held a Global meeting, from 18 to 22 November 2013, bringing teams from the field and its Brussels headquarters together in Mombassa, Kenya. The meeting was an opportunity for teams from Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand to exchange and compare their experiences, strategies and knowledge on security management and the protection of defenders. During the meeting topics were addressed such as the conceptual framework for research on community protection networks, the psychosocial care of human rights defenders, and the use of outcome mapping to strengthen the monitoring of the work done with communities and civil society organizations. The contents of a “Facilitators Guide on protection for human rights defenders” – to be published in early 2014 – was also discussed. [The Global Meeting follows an earlier Latin American Regional Meeting held in August in Guatemala]
For 10 years, Tactical Technology Collective have worked with human rights defenders, in order to help them better to protect their sensitive data, their communications, themselves and their communities when carrying out their work, through developing online resources, books, and carrying out regular trainings around the world. As part of this process, it has developed the “Security in a Box” book and toolkit (https://securityinabox.org) which now receives around 200,000 visits per month.
However, in order to continue improving our materials and make digital security easier to understand and contextualise for specific communities of human rights defenders, they have begun a process of creating “context guides” which make the guide more accessible for certain communities at risk. The idea of this survey is to help create and improve such a guide, for LGBTI activists from Africa, which would help the community understand the need for healthy digital security practices by demonstrating the risks they face and providing stories of best practices from others in the community.
You can find the survey at https://tacticaltech.org/africa-survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Daniel Ó Clunaigh: dan@tacticaltech.org.
[to get an idea of such a guide, created for LGBTI human rights defenders from the Arabic-speaking world, see in English: https://securityinabox.org/en/context/01]
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 