Posts Tagged ‘campaign’
October 14, 2013
While 130 NGOs in Africa and elsewhere call in a joint letter to the African Union not to abandon the International Criminal Court, Bishop Desmond Tutu publishes in the New York Times of 10 October an excellent piece explaining why it is a terrible mistake. Here is it is in full:
CAPE TOWN — MEMBERS of the African Union will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today to discuss recent calls by some African leaders to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. These calls must be resisted. The continent has suffered the consequences of unaccountable governance for too long to disown the protections offered by the I.C.C. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Africa, African countries, African Union, AU, campaign, Desmond Tutu, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, ICC, impunity, International Criminal Court, international justice, Protection International
May 20, 2013
According to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the work of human rights defenders is little known and recognized in Mexico. In many cases, the authorities themselves are guilty of defaming those who defend human rights. In recent years, human rights defenders have been threatened, monitored, harassed, slandered, and physically assaulted as a result of their work in support of victims and various causes. Defamation and under-appreciation of the work of human rights defenders have allowed these violations to continue. In 2012, the Mexican Congress approved the Law for the Protection of Defenders and Journalists, which requires the federal government to implement measures that are intended to prevent attacks against defenders. In this context, the Red TDT has launched “Defend Hope: A National Campaign in Support of Human Rights Defenders.” The campaign will disseminate information on various organizations’ efforts to defend and promote human rights. Each organization will be able to showcase its history and the voices of those that tirelessly defend human rights. Through these stories, the campaign will highlight not only the organizations’ work, but also the efforts of victims and their family members, as well as the fact that each case featured in the campaign remains in impunity. The campaign will last for one year and will boost public awareness through activities throughout the country. http://www.redtdt.org.mx/
via Defend Hope: National Campaign in Support of Human Rights Defenders | Washington Office on Latin America.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, campaign, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Mexico, protection, Special Rapporteur, Washington Office on Latin America, WOLA
May 2, 2013
Sometimes my eyes fall on more esoteric contributions to the protection of human rights defenders. Let me share with you Mark Laham’s blog post for the Huffington Times of the 1st of May 2013 which calls for a “borderless” one-hour live online yoga class in honour of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian lawyer in jail, recipient of the Sakharov Award and Nominee of the MEA 2012. Mark got inspired – through AI – by what he read about Nasrin’s struggle and other brave human rights defenders around the world. “How does Nasrin’s story make you feel?” he asks, ” Me, I…I feel the need to do something that will create positive change for this woman and countless others like her.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Amnesty International, blog, campaign, Huffington Post, Human right, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Iran, Mark Laham, MEA, MEA 2012 nominee, mental-health, Nasrin, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Sakharov Prize, Solidarity, Yoga
April 19, 2013
(Cambodian human rights defender and journalist Mam Sonando a prisoner of conscience © TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images)
On 12 April 2013 Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam posted on Amnesty‘s Livewire an interesting account of his meeting with the just liberated Cambodian Human Rights Defender Mam Sonando. It is a impressive testimony to the resilience of human rights defenders and how campaigning can help them and therefore I reproduce it below:
It was hot – very hot – as I arrived last week at Mam Sonando’s home and radio station on a dusty street in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. He welcomed me at the front door. “Thank you,” he said. With a broad smile, he flashed his signature ‘V for victory’ sign with his right hand. After over eight months in prison, he was free and no longer facing 20 years behind bars.
Mam Sonando, 72, is a well-known and popular journalist. He owns Beehive Radio, one of Cambodia’s few independent radio stations. And he heads the Association of Democrats, which promotes human rights and democracy and helps poor communities. On 11 September 2012, his trial began at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. He had been arrested two months earlier after Cambodia’s Prime Minister accused him publicly of being behind a plot for a village in eastern Cambodia to secede – to break away from the country. In fact, the villagers there had been involved in a long-running land conflict with a powerful company, and the so-called secession plot was used as a pretext to forcibly evict them. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AI, Amnesty international, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: AI, Amnesty International, Amnesty Livewire, Beehive Radio, Born Samnang, Cambodia, campaign, Chea Vichea, Civil society, Democracy, diplomatic pressure, freedom of expression, human rights, Journalist, judicial harassment, land disputes, Mam Sonando, Phnom Penh, radio, Rupert Abbott, Sok Sam Oeun, testimony, Yorm Bopha
October 1, 2011
One of the winning blogs of the Communication Initiative, by Bhumika Ghimire, expresses the doubts that many of us feel when we read the hyperbole assessments of how the new media are going to the save the world and bring about the realisation of human rights. Some of the things Bhumika states:
“Are cyber campaigns comparable to the real world action?”
“What about online activists in repressive regimes like China, Burma, North Korea, Iran? These activists and their work in spreading the word, creating networks and keeping the fight alive is admirable and deserves recognition. In many countries, they face almost the same level of scrutiny from their governments as the real world activists. Do we cyber activists in the developed world face a similar level of threat or harassment? Certainly not.”
“The point is, we have to stop glamorizing all and every cyber activist and give credit where it is due. Recognizing the sacrifice of real heroes will add to the validity of online activism as a real force and help online campaigns be more effective.”
see the whole piece on: Online Activism and the Real World: Where Do We Meet? | Communication, Media, Policy.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: bloggers, campaign, Communication Initiative, cyber activism, HRDs, internet, new media
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 