Cameroon | Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Posts Tagged ‘Cameroon’

Human rights cities movement or network?

June 2, 2019

The third edition of the #RightsCity conference will be held on June 3 2019 in Montreal, Canada. For more on the background of the Human Rights Cities movement, see: https://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Human_Rights_City#History_of_the_Human_Rights_Cities_movement. However, how it relates to the human rights cities network I referred to earlier [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/12/14/the-human-rights-cities-network-the-beginning/], is not totally clear!

This year, particular emphasis has been placed on the role of prominent human rights defenders, journalists and global human rights leaders, and of Canada as well. The conference brings together some of the world’s human rights leaders and thinkers, including: Saudi activist Omar Abdulaziz; Canadian retired lieutenant-general and senator Roméo Dallaire; Iranian women’s rights leader Shaparak Shajarizadeh; Chinese dissident and former political prisoner Yang Jianli; and former special adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect, Jennifer Welsh.

The event is hosted by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University, in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, the Canadian International Council and the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. (The event is expected to be livestreamed via CPAC.)

Here, some of those involved with the event shed light on the human rights issues they believe are most important to address in order to ensure global stability.

1. Where’s our defence of the global institutions and mechanisms to protect human rights? Kyle Matthews, executive director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies

2. Crimes against humanity have been committed in Cameroon. Let’s not turn away. Pearl Eliadis, Canadian lawyer and senior fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

3. A call for a new generation of Canadian human rights promotion. Arthur Graham, Canadian lawyer and head of the rule of law and human rights department at the OSCE Mission to Serbia

4. Do not underestimate the importance, and fragility, of multinational democracy. Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House

5. Above all, the common thread — and need — is fairness. Jeremy Kinsman, Canada’s former ambassador to the European Union and High Commissioner to Britain

https://www.opencanada.org/features/five-human-rights-issues-need-urgent-attention-2019/

Posted in AI, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: #RightsCity conference, Cameroon, Canada, Human Rights Cities movement, Human Rights Cities Network, Iran, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Omar Abdulaziz, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Romeo Dallaire, Saudi Arabia, Shaparak Shajarizadeh, wikipedia, Yang Jianli

Cameroon: killing and disappearances by government forces in graphic video

September 7, 2016

https://youtu.be/JGyfDXH1Lbw

This animation – published by AI on 5 September 2016 – was produced based on testimonies collected by Amnesty International by interviewing over 35 direct eyewitnesses and a senior military source. All the sources confirmed that at least 200 men and boys were arrested on 27 December 2014 in the villages of Magdeme and Doublé in Cameroon. In the same operation conducted jointly by the army, the police and the gendarmerie, at least 8 people, including a child, were killed, over 70 buildings were burnt down and many possessions were stolen or destroyed.

The fate of most of those arrested in these two villages remains unknown. At least 25 of these men and boys – perhaps more – died in custody during the night of their arrest in a makeshift cell, while 45 others were taken and registered in Maroua’s prison the following day. At least 130 people, therefore, remain unaccounted for, presumed to be victims of enforced disappearance, with some evidence suggesting more may have died while in the custody of the security forces.

You can sign the petition to the Cameroonian authorities here: http://bit.ly/2cbpF7v

Video: Africartoons Studio; Music: Kalakuta Music Group

for other posts on Cameroon: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/cameroon/

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Tags: Africartoons Studio, AI, Amnesty International, animation, arbitrary arrest, Cameroon, disappearances, killings, petition, video clip

Profile of Tilder Kumichii, Human Rights Defender from Cameroon

May 13, 2015

Tilder Kumichii is Programme Coordinator at Gender Empowerment and Development (GeED) based in Cameroon.

On 21 April 2015 the International Service for Human Rights [ISHR] carried an interview with Tilder Kumichii, a human rights defender from Cameroon.

‘My motivation to do human rights work stems from my personal experience as a young woman growing up in a patriarchal system, which forced me to marry very young and become a very young widow’. Tilder resolved to devote her life to support other women who find themselves in a similar situation like herself. Describing herself as a woman human rights defender, she stresses that she is involved in both teaching people to understand their rights, as well as seeking accountability for violations and abuses of human rights. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Cameroon, Gender Empowerment and Development (GeED), gender issues, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, interview, ISHR, non-discrimination, profiles, Tilder Kumichii, traditional practices, woman human rights defender

Example of harassment from Cameroon reads like a film scenario

April 1, 2014

On 28 March 2014, human rights defender Mr Musa Usman Ndamba, a defender of the rights of the Mbororo community in Cameroon, appeared before the Bamenda Court of First Instance, and the trial was once again adjourned to the 23rd of May 2014. The trial of 28 March 2014 was the eighth such hearing in an ongoing trial against Musa Usman Ndamba led by a local wealthy landowner, Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, who has never attended any of the hearings. Meanwhile, two other defenders of the rights of the Mbororo, Messrs Abdulkarim Shehu and Mallam Yunusa are in detention whilst an arrest warrant has been issued for human rights defender Mr Fon Christopher Achobang. Musa Usman Ndamba is the Vice-President of Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA). Abdulkarim Shehu is a male nurse and social development worker, as well as founder and co-ordinator of the Angel of Hope Foundation, a health centre that caters for people with disabilities. Mallam Yunusa is an organiser of the Mbororo community of Banjah. Fon Christopher Achobang is a land rights campaigner and journalist sympathetic to the plight of the Mbororo.

Members of the community and their defenders have long been facing severe judicial and other harassment owing to disputes over their land. ……On 19 March 2014, authorities of the Catholic Church, led by a representative of the Archbishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese, directed a group of hired militias with a bulldozer to demolish the homes of the Mbororo in the Ndzah village. The community mobilised and stopped the demolition from taking place. However, during the stand-off both the representative of the Archbishop and Fon Christopher Achobang were injured. After the incident, at which he was not present, Abdulkarim Shehu reportedly took members of the police to the site to show them what had happened. Fon Christopher Achobang was forced to go into hiding after threats on his life following the incident. According to lawyers for the Mbororo Banjah community, the invasion took place in spite of a court case pending in the Bamenda Administrative Court with a Stay of Execution of the Order on the now disputed land, as a contested eviction notice had been issued the week before. Additionally, despite having been alerted to the impending invasion, government officials did nothing to stop it from going ahead, in complete violation of the law and the legal rights of the Mbororo community.

Front Line Defenders issued a previous urgent appeal regarding the ongoing judicial harassment against MBOSCUDA and Musa Usman Ndamba on 14 May 2013 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22662, while the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders also sent a communication https://spdb.ohchr.org/hrdb/24th/public_-_AL_Cameroon_04.09.13_%284.2013%29.pdf to the Cameroonian government regarding the same.

Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdulkarim Shehu, Cameroon, catholic church, destruction, environmental issues, Fon Christopher Achobang, Front Line (NGO), harassment, Human Rights Defenders, indigenous groups, Journalist, judicial harasment, land disputes, Mallam Yunusa, Mbororo, Musa Usman Ndamba

Mourning “Ndinga Man” – Cameroon’s famous musical dissident

March 24, 2014

In Foreign Policy magazine of 19 March, Alex Gladstein has written a very complete and moving story about the great Cameroonian musician, political prisoner and human rights defender, Lapiro de Mbanga. He died of cancer this past Sunday, 16 March 2014, in Buffalo, New York. Known as “Ndinga Man” to millions of Cameroonians, Lapiro escaped President Paul Biya’s regime in 2012, after three years of political imprisonment. He received asylum in the United States.

Mourning a Musical Dissident.

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Tags: Alex Gladstein, Cameroon, death, Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy magazine, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, in memoriam, Lapiro, Lapiro de Mbanga, music, Ndinga Man, New York, Paul Biya, political prisoner, Refugee

Situation of human rights defenders in Africa – overview by Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

November 6, 2013

The OMCT and the FIDH, in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, made an intervention under agenda item 9: “Situation of human rights defenders” at the at the 54th session of African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights [ACHPR] on 5 November.

Human rights defenders were attacked, received threats or were slandered in the DRC, Senegal and Tunisia. In some cases they were even killed, as in the DRC and in Cameroon, in a climate of impunity. Defenders, and in particular defenders of economic, social and cultural rights, also continued to be subjected to arbitrary arrests and judicial harassment in Angola, Cameroon, the DRC, Egypt, Mauritania and Tunisia. Obstacles to freedom of association were also recorded, as for instance in Angola, Egypt and Rwanda. A summary is as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | 1 Comment »
Tags: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Angola, Cameroon, Death threat, DRC, Egypt, environmental issues, FIDH, foreign funding, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, judicial harassment, killing, land disputes, LGBT rights, Mauritania, murder, Non-governmental organization, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, OMCT, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia

Controversy surrounding the death of LGBT activist Eric Ohena Lembembe; Cameroon blames the victims and continues persecution

September 25, 2013

On 23 September Amy Bergquist of the Advocates for Human Rights writes in her blog: The International Justice Program doesn’t get to travel to Geneva very often, but thanks to the United Nations’ live webcasts, we can usually see and hear all the U.N.’s human rights action as it happens. On Friday morning, I was eager to watch the U.N. Human Rights Council’s consideration of the Universal Periodic Review of Cameroon. I was especially moved when one of our colleagues from the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS) took the floor to speak on behalf of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association and recounted his July 15 discovery of his tortured and murdered colleague, Eric Ohena Lembembe, Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Advocates for Human Rights, allafrica com, Cameroon, CAMFAIDS, Eric Ohena Lembembe, gay rights, Geneva, homophobia, HRW, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, investigation, IRIN, LGBT, LGBT rights, Neela Ghoshal, NGOs, persecution, reprisals, Roger Jean Claude Mbede, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review, UPR

Killing of gay rights activist Lembembe highlights plight of Cameroon’s remaining LGBT activists

September 2, 2013

JULIA HANN wrote for allAfrica.com on 28 August that the torture and murder of Cameroonian gay rights activist Eric Lembembe on July 11 has shattered the hopes of those who were quick to herald a “global momentum” in the international gay rights movement. Just two weeks before his death, Lembembe, Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Alice Nkom, allafrica com, Cameroon, death threats, Eric Lembembe, harassment, Julia Hann, killing, Lembembe, LGBT, LGBT rights, LGBT social movements, Michel Togué, Nkom

Phil Lynch of ISHR expects UN Human Rights Council to enhance protection of HRDs

August 9, 2013

In a piece published in the Alaska Dispatch of 8 August 2013, Phil Lynch, the Director of the Geneva-based International Service for Human Rights, contemplates what the next session of the UN Human Rights Council could do to improve the fate of HRDs. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Cameroon, foreign funding, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Indonesia, international protection, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, LGBT, Memorial, Navi Pillay, Non-governmental organization, Phil Lynch, Russia, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council

And more about other human rights film festivals in developing countries

June 6, 2013

ALGERIA – WESTERN SAHARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) is an annual event that uses film to entertain and empower Sahrawi refugees and to raise international awareness about a forgotten crisis. From 7 to 13 October 2013, the 10th edition of the festival takes place in Dakhla, the most remote of the refugee camps in Southwestern Algeria. In close coöperation with the local NGO Polisario, FiSahara shows 28 different films on two screens. The festival also provides workshops, roundtables, cultural activities and spectacular camel races. Besides 5,000 local attendees, about 160 international visitors are expected. This year, the festival initiates a special human rights section.

BANGLADESH – OUTREACH ‘ARE YOU LISTENING!’

The award-winning documentary Are You Listening in Bangladesh follows Bangladeshi people who are impacted by floods, but fighting back to reclaim their livelihoods and dignity. The film has been screened at festivals worldwide, but the average Bangladeshi has not yet had an opportunity to see it. Now, from December 2013 to November 2014, the film will be screened in all 64 districts of the country. Each of these screenings, organised in close coöperation with local film societies, will be followed by Q&A’s about the impact of climate change on society. This will give more than 30.000 people the chance to see the film and join the debate.

BURKINA FASO – CINÉ DROIT LIBRE FESTIVAL VILLAGE

From 22-29 June 2013 the 9th edition of the human rights film festival Ciné Droit Librewill be held in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. To bring the film festival closer to the audience and lower the barriers for the less-privileged citizens of the city, a new venue is established: the “festival village”. In this open-air venue in the middle of a popular neighborhood, 12 human rights related films will be screened. In addition, music concerts, animation screenings and debates are organised for the 8,000 – 10,000 expected visitors.

BURMA – HUMAN RIGHTS HUMAN DIGNITY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Movies that Matter supports the organisation of a travelling human rights film festival in Burma. After the 1st human rights film festival in Yangon, which will take place from 15 to 19 June 2013, a selection of the festival films will be screened in 13 cities in Myanmar/Burma, with about 80 screenings and 26 discussions in the entire country. The programme focuses on freedom of expression, freedom of religion and discrimination against women. With this travelling festival, which will take place in the second half of 2013, the organisation Human Dignity Media Organization aims to attract over 10,000 Burmese visitors.

CAMEROON – BAMENDA HUMAN RIGHTS TRAVELLING FILM AND ARTS FESTIVAL

The 3rd edition of the Bamenda Human Rights Travelling Film and Arts Festival runs from 15-22 July 2013. The festival reaches audiences in seven urban communities in Bamenda, located in the northwest of Cameroon. A total of 30 film screenings will be held in community halls, school campuses and cafes all over the city. In addition to watching film, the 10,000 visitors can participate in 15 debates and enjoy a drawing exhibition on human rights. The 7-day festival, set up by the organisation A Common Future, will focus on various themes, including violence against women, children rights and the rights of minorities and indigenous people.

ECUADOR – AMAZONIAN FILM FOR ALL

To raise attention about the rights of the inhabitants of the Ecuadorian Amazon,Fundación Pachamama organises a travelling film festival in different cities in Ecuador. These cities, including Guayaquil, Cuenca, Ibarra and Manta, are located outside of the Amazon. In each of these cities, six films will be screened about the conservation of the Amazon and the survival of its indigenous peoples. In addition, during these three-day festivals, debates and photo exhibitions about the human rights violations in the Amazon are organised. The organisers expect to reach at least 3,750 urban citizens. Movies that Matter also supported an earlier mobile cinema project of Fundación Pachamama, Cine Amazonico, which took place in February 2012.

GUATEMALA & EL SALVADOR – JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER: REDEFINING MASCULINITY TOUR

Violence against women is still very common in Central America. The documentary Justice for my Sister shows the determination of a Guatemalan lady to find the assassin of her sister, and bring him to justice despite prejudices, opposition and corruption. The film will be screened between July and October 2013, as part of a training about women’s rights in Guatemala and El Salvador. The organisations “Aquí Entre Hombres” and “Colectivo Justicia para mi Hermana” will organise a total of 17 screenings of the film for almost 2,400 representatives of police, public prosecutors, the ministries of education and unions. The project includes dubbing the film in the Quiche language and developing educational materials about addressing violence against women.

PALESTINE – KARAMA HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL

The theatre organisation ASHTAR is organising the first human rights film festival in the occupied Palestinian territory. With 40 film screenings, 12 debates and various music concerts and theatre events, the festival advocates for human rights all across the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. The organisers assume that around 5,000 visitors – especially youth – will participate in the festival, which is scheduled to take place from 10 – 20 December 2013. This new festival is organised in close coöperation with the Karama Human Rights Film Festival in Jordan, which started in 2010 with support from Movies that Matter.

UGANDA – MANYA HUMAN RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

In December 2013, the 4th edition of the Manya Human Rights International Film Festival will be held in Kampala. The 5-day festival screens over 50 films in the National Theatre and more than 40 other locations in and around the Ugandan capital, including video halls and outdoor locations. This year’s programme focuses on the role of social media in promoting the rule of law, good governance, democracy and transparency. For this edition the Manya Cultural Foundation expects more than 10,000 visitors. The foundation also plans to set up a forum with organisers of human rights film festivals in East Africa.

These are the 9 projects that have been supported through the Movies that Matter Support Programme in 2013:

from http://www.moviesthatmatter.nl/english_index/international/support_programme/supported_projects/supported_projects_2013

Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Movies that Matter | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Algeria, Arts Festival, Bangladesh, burkina fasso, Burma, Cameroon, developing countries, Ecuador, El Salvador, film festival, films, Gaza Strip, Guatemala, human rights, human rights film festivals, media, Movies that Matter, multimedia, Myanmar, Ouagadougou, third world, Uganda, video

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards