Posts Tagged ‘Africa’
“I have a dream…..” – King inspires Human Rights Defenders around the globe
September 2, 2013On 28 August 2013, 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, Corinne Duffy of Human Rights First (HRF) gives an interesting palette of stories how his words and action continue to inspire HRDs everywhere:
Takeover of human rights NGO: a weapon in the arsenal of Rwanda’s Government
August 22, 2013Repressive governments are using different and increasingly ‘indirect’ means to silence human rights defenders. Intimidation, administrative restrictions, fiscal regulations aimed at reducing funding, terminating rental agreements, judicial harassment, etc. According to a report by Human Rights Watch of 14 August 2013, Rwanda is practicing a slightly different tactic: wholesale infiltration and ‘take over’ of independent NGOs.
New series of awards for Human Rights Defenders in Africa
August 22, 2013Although the deadline for nominations (15 August) has passed, I still want to draw your attention to a new series of human rights awards instituted by Pan-African HRDs Network (PAHRD-Net), which in turn is made up of five sub-regional networks i.e. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, West Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network hosted by the International Commission of Jurists and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and Central African Human Rights Defenders Network.
The new awards aim to honour exceptional individuals who peacefully promote and protect universally recognized rights as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Altogether six awards will be presented, one Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Award and five sub-regional awards:
– East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013
– West Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013
– Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013
– Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013
– Northern Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013
Both individuals and organizations are eligible. Awards include support to the human rights work of the winning individual or organisation with a total value of 10 000 USD for the Pan-African award winner and 5 000 USD for each sub-regional award winners. The winners will be selected by an independent jury. Nominations should be returned to: hrdaward@defenddefenders.org.
The awards will be presented to the winners at the occasion of the 54th Ordinary Session of the Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights scheduled to be held in October 2013 in Banjul, The Gambia.
allAfrica.com: Africa: Call for Nominations – Pan African HRD Award 2013.
Congo Rebels Execute Human-Rights Worker in Katanga
August 14, 2013Business Week reports on 14 August that rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Katanga province murdered a human-rights investigator who criticized their movement for committing abuses against civilians. Armed men from the secessionist Kata Katanga group [whose name means “cut out Katanga” in the Swahili language] forced their way into the victim’s house on 7 August before killing him, according to Scott Campbell, the director of the UN’s joint human-rights office in Congo. The UN mission, known as Monusco, wouldn’t release the victim’s name or organization for security reasons, Campbell said. “Monusco is gravely concerned by the arbitrary execution” of the activist, it said in a separate e-mailed statement that also called on Congolese authorities to protect human-rights defenders and their families. Almost 370,000 people have been displaced in the province as of July, mainly because of the violence, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
via Congo Rebels Execute Human-Rights Worker in Katanga Province – Businessweek.
Human Rights award winner Biram Abeid returns triumphantly to Mauritania
June 28, 2013
(Picture courtesy of IRA Mauritania)
For those who are sceptical of human rights awards and their impact, the following report should give some food for thought: “Following a month-long trip across Europe,
Civil Society of South Sudan expresses concern in Human Rights Council
June 25, 2013On 12 June 2013 Rachel Nicholson, on behalf of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP), delivered an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council. It started by congratulating South Sudan Read the rest of this entry »
Nigerian official asks Human Rights Defenders to educate Military
June 14, 2013On 13 june 2013 Nigeria‘s Daily Post contained a nugget of gold for Human Rights Defenders: Apparently the National Orientation Agency, NOA, has invited the NGO, Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Group, to educate the military on the need to respect human rights. The Agency’s Assistant Director of Operations, Mr. Vincent Dung threw the challenge when the group paid a courtesy call to the Agency. According to him, “The soldiers especially those maintaining peace on the Plateau need to be sensitized on the need to respect the rights of civilians. I challenge you therefore, as defenders of those whose rights are violated to educate the military.“ [The military working on the Plateau have allegedly violated the rights of many people, especially at the checkpoints.] Dung advised the military working in crisis prone areas like Plateau to imbibe the culture of civil-military relations in order to avert further crisis. Dung also tasked the group not to restrict the campaign to the military alone, but that the campaign should be extended to other paramilitary establishments in the State. The NGO assured him of their readiness to protect the rights of individuals in the State and said they were willing to take the campaign against human rights violations to the doorsteps of all organizations, whether military or non-military.
National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders in Uganda launched
June 14, 2013The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project announced the launch of the new Ugandan National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders on Tuesday 11 June 2013. Six leading human rights organisations (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Human Rights Network Uganda, Human Rights Centre Uganda, Avocats Sans Frontiers, NGO Forum and Foundation for Human Rights Initiative) took the initiative to bring human rights defenders HRDs in Uganda together under one national coalition to enhance their protection and co-ordination. A 2012 report by Human Rights Centre Uganda, “The Quest for an enabling working environment for human rights defenders in Uganda” prepared the ground.
The Gambia: Release of detained human rights defender Imam Baba Leigh
May 29, 2013One should be grateful for small gains: Front Line Defenders reported that on 11 May 2013, the Gambian government released renowned Muslim cleric and human rights defender, Iman Baba Leigh, to whose arrest I referred earlier. The human rights defender was arrested on 3 December 2012, and was detained incommunicado for five months for declaring the execution of nine death row inmates to be inimical to Islamic teaching. Imam Baba Leigh Read the rest of this entry »
HRD George Reginald Freeman attacked and threatened in Sierra Leone
May 24, 2013On 22 May 2013 human rights defender George Reginald Freeman was driving to a guest house when he was intercepted by two unknown assailants on motorbikes. One of the men threw a stone through his car window and Freeman was badly beaten as he attempted to escape. The assailants also robbed valuables from his car after he escaped. George Reginald Freeman is the director of Pride Equality, an organisation which works on LGBTI rights in Sierra Leone.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Africa, assailants, Criminal Investigation Department, Front Line Defenders, gay rights, George Reginald Freeman, homophobia, homophobic comments, Human rights defender, LGBT rights, LGBTI, media, Pride Equality, Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Police