In a little-noted speech at the Leadership Summit of the United Nations Association of the USA (Washington, D.C., 12 June 2017) Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, tackles populism and does not mince his words. After viewing a Chaeli video [see e.g. https://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/michaela-chaeli-mycroft/] to illustrate the message that “we can all make a difference for human rights. Every day, everywhere, at school or the workplace, commuting, or on holiday. It starts with each of us taking concrete steps to exercise our rights and our responsibility to protect and defend the rights of others“, Gilmour describes how after 3 decades of progress for human rights we have come up against a serious backlash, one that takes many forms but all of them counter to the values of rights, freedoms and tolerance. The text is worth reproducing as a whole: Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘CAR’
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, speaks very freely at the United Nations Association of the USA
June 21, 2017Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize 2015 goes to CAR Interfaith Peace Platform
July 28, 2015The 2015 Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize goes to the Interfaith Peace Platform for the work achieved to reconcile religious groups in the hope of reaching a lasting peace in Central African Republic (CAR), a country devastated by a war between fractions.
The award [see: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/sergio-vieira-de-mello-prize] was established in Sergio Vieira de Mello’s memory, who was killed in the UN compound bombing in Bagdad on 19 August 2003.
The Interfaith Platform promotes dialogue as a preventive measure against religious violence and a means to pursue peace across CAR. It was established in 2013 by representatives of the three most important religions in the country, the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the President of the Islamic Council in CAR, Imam Oumar Kobine Layama and by the President of the Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou. Read the rest of this entry »
Central Africa Republic: untold religious hatred and violence
March 22, 2014While this blog tries to focus on human rights defenders rather than the general human rights situation, there are exceptions. This is simply to draw attention to the Central African Republic which is descending into utter barbarity. The issue is not human rights defenders, but pure survival. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, back from a short visit, does not mince her words:
“The UN’s top human rights official warned Thursday that the hatred between Christian and Muslim communities in Central African Republic is “at a terrifying level” and a state of near-anarchy means even those carrying bloody machetes and holding severed body parts in their hands are not arrested. Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 