Posts Tagged ‘Civil society’
May 20, 2014
Yesterday, 19 May 2014, EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels for the Foreign Affairs Council on Development, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to promoting all human rights, whether civil and political, or economic, social and cultural, in all areas of its external action without exception, as part of working towards a rights-based approach to development coöperation. “The implementation of a rights-based approach to development cooperation should be based on the universality and indivisibility of human rights and the principles of inclusion and participation in decision-making processes; non-discrimination, equality and equity; transparency and accountability. The application of these principles should be central to EU development cooperation, thereby also ensuring the empowerment of the poorest and most vulnerable, in particular of women and girls, which in turn contributes to poverty reduction efforts,” said the Council conclusions. The Council also stressed the need for continued EU support for human rights defenders, capacity-building of local civil society organisations and promoting a safe and enabling environment in both law and practice that maximizes their contribution to development. Being closer to citizens and interacting with civil society, local authorities also play a crucial role in the effective implementation of a rights-based approach.
Moreover, the Council underlined that investment and business activities in partner countries should respect human rights and adhere to the principles of corporate social and environmental responsibility and accountability.
Posted in EU, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Civil society, corporate accountability, Development Cooperation, EU, eu policy, European Union, foreign ministers, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, support
May 18, 2014
In an excellent piece written for CNN, Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, on 15 May gives an overview of the different measures that threaten human rights defenders in Russia. While attention is on Ukraine, a vicious crackdown on civil society in Russia itself also escalated with every week brings a new pernicious law or legislative proposal:
- The authorities have blocked or essentially took editorial control over a number of independent news portals and are pushing new laws to stifle freedom of expression.
- A week ago, President Vladimir Putin signed a law requiring Russian bloggers with significant followings to register with the authorities and comply with media regulations.
- The same law requires blogging services and social networks to store user activity for six months.
- Another legislative proposal would introduce administrative and criminal offenses for editors who publish “false anti-Russian” information or offer media support to “anti-Russian extremist and separatist forces.”
- Another new draft law introduces a ban on publishing negative information about the Russian government and military.
- Also, amendments presently under review by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, would enable the authorities to throw people behind bars for up to five years for repeated participation in unauthorized public protests.
At the same time the infamous Russian law “on foreign agents”, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ADC Memorial, bloggers, Civil society, foreign agent law, freedom of association, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, judicial harassment, media, nationalist group, Russia, Tanya Lokshina, Women of the Don
May 1, 2014
“Civil society loses as repressive States win election to regulate NGO access to UN” is the headline of a rightly alarming report on 23 April 2014 by the New York desk of the International Service for Human Rights [ISHR]. It calls on States that value and respect a vibrant civil society should do more to support non-governmental organisations to have their voices heard at the United Nations. The call comes after very few such States stood for election to an important UN committee that regulates civil society access to the UN, leaving the field to repressive States whose intolerance for civil society at home looks set to further restrict NGO access to the UN.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Civil society, ECOSOC, Greece, Human Rights Defenders, India, International Service for Human Rights, Iran, ISHR, Michelle Evans, NGOs, reprisals, Russia, South Africa, UN Committee on NGOs, United Nations
April 27, 2014
The ISHR Newsletter of 24 April carries an interesting portrait of Malaysian human rights defender Thilaga Sulathireh. She states that she initially joined the struggle for LGBTI rights in Malaysia in response to her own experience of discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. She now devotes herself to promoting and protecting the rights of others. The violence and discrimination inflicted on the LGBTI community in Malaysia, particularly on trans people, strengthened Thilaga’s determination to promote transgender rights, and challenge patriarchal norms and oppressive religious traditions and values.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: awareness raising, Civil society, Comango, gay rights, homophobia, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, LGBT rights, LGBTI, Malaysia, Thilaga Sulathireh, woman human rights defender
April 10, 2014
In a hearing observed on 8 April by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT joint programme), the Saint Petersburg City Court upheld that the Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) “Memorial”, a prominent Russian NGO was performing the functions of a “foreign agent” and had to register as such for its human rights work.
At the end of yesterday’s hearing, which lasted less than an hour, the Observatory mission delegate reported that the judge interrupted ADC “Memorial’s lawyers on several occasions throughout the session, thereby hindering their capacity to develop their arguments and breaching their right to a fair trial and due process, while no one objection or remark was voiced when the prosecutor was speaking. Once again, the City Court pointed a report submitted by ADC “Memorial” to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in 2012 as the only evidence of its so-called “political activities Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ADC Memorial, Civil society, civil society organisations, FIDH, foreign agent law, funding, legal proceeddings, Memorial, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, OMCT, Russia, the Saint Petersburg City Court, trial observation
March 27, 2014
“Civil society actors must be able to do their work freely, independently, safe from fear, retaliation or intimidation. This requires collective action to denounce reprisals and defend free voices and protect those targeted,” said the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, referring to civil society as “an indispensable part of the United Nations”. “We must expand the space for civil society to meaningfully participate and contribute,” he added in a video statement screened at a discussion on the promotion and protection of civil society space, in the context of the Human Rights Council’s 25th session.
“Civil society actors around the world face risks ranging from threats and intimidation to horrible reprisals, even killings”, said UN Human Rights Deputy, Flavia Pansieri at a discussion on the promotion and protection of civil society space. “From the NGO who is prohibited from receiving funding to the whistle-blower who is imprisoned for revealing corruption… we must work to protect civil society from such practices,” she said.
Hina Jilani, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ban Ki-moon, Civil society, civil society organizations, Deeyah Khan, empowering civil society, Flavia Pansieri, Frank LaRue, FUUSE productions, Geneva, Hina Jilani, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, Mokhtar Trifi, OHCHR, Secretary-General of the United Nations, side event, Tunisia, UN, UN Human Rights Council, United Nations, video
March 6, 2014
Rolando Jiménez Perez, Chilean human rights defender, is given the floor in the newsletter of the International Service for Human Rights [ISHR] of February 2014. Here are some of the most quotable statements but the whole interview with Camille Marquis is worth reading:
‘I wanted to fight for human rights in order to help lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals and to put an end to any brutality for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity. During the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Rolando Jiménez Pérez was a member of the Communist Party driven, along with his fellow party workers, by the goal of restoring democracy. His sexuality was used by the party as a means to belittle him. This brought home to Rolando just how strong a role a person’s sexual orientation could play and he made up his mind that once the dictatorship was over he would turn his attention entirely to human rights and in particular towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Chile, Civil society, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights mechanisms, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, LGBT, lgbt human rights, LGBTI, Movilh, NGOs, non-discrimination, Rolando Jiménez Perez, Russia, UN Human Rights Council, UPR
March 6, 2014
Last year was the worst for human rights since 2008, says the 2013 annual report from Chinese Human Rights Defenders [CHRD]. The signature “Chinese Dream” of the new leadership has instead become a “nightmare,” it says. “The Chinese government’s assault on activists last year indicates just how far authorities under the rule of President Xi Jinping are willing to go to suppress an increasingly active and emboldened civil society,” said Renee Xia, the international director of CHRD. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: 2008 Summer Olympics, annual report 2013, China, Chinese government, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, CHRD, Civil society, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyers, New Citizens’ Movement, President Xi Jinping, Renee Xia, repression, universality, Xu Zhiyong
March 5, 2014
In a post earlier in the day I mentioned that I would restrict myself to announcing Side Events to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that are specially focused on Human Rights Defenders, but that seems not be much of a restriction with two more interesting events scheduled for next week:
1. “Human Rights Defenders and the Shrinking Space for Civil Society” on Monday 10 March 2014 from 14 to 15h00 in Room XX Palais des Nations. Speakers:
- Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Halah Eldoseri – Saudi Arabia [researcher on women’s health services; blogs (Saudi women’s rights) to educate women about the country’s international obligations towards women; writes and organises lectures and workshops in Saudi Arabia for activists and the public]
- Maksym Butkevych – Ukraine [radio and TV journalist working with “Hromadske Radio” (“Public Radio”) in Kiev; Co-Founder of “No Borders” project of the NGO “Social Action Centre”, which works on anti-discrimination issues; organised an independent radio station to directly cover the events in Ukraine; Co-Ordinator of the Independent Civic human rights violations Investigation Commission]
- Mary Lawlor Director of Front Line Defenders [Chair]
Co sponsors: Troicare, International Commission of Jurists, Permanent Mission of Ireland.
———————————————————
2. “Global Trends for Human Rights Defenders” on Wednesday 12 March from 09h30 -12h00 in the office of International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Rue de Varembé 1. This Roundtable brings together human rights defenders, practitioners, academic scholars, intergovernmental officials, government representatives, and donors to discuss innovation and the way forward to improve understanding and protection of HRDs, specially to foster an enabling environments for human rights defenders. This discussion will draw upon:
- Recommendations made in the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to the Human Rights Council on 10 March 2014,
- Ideas shared in the Side Eventof the Human Rights Council on ‘Creating a Safe and Enabling Environment for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders’ on 11 March 2014 (see my post:https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/important-human-rights-council-side-event-on-11-march-to-be-followed-on-internet/)
- Issues in the Special Issue on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Journal of Human Rights Practice (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/special-issue-on-human-rights-defenders-of-the-oup-journal-of-human-rights-practice/).
To attend this event, please register by Friday March 7 at 12:00 noon by completing this on-line form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19rJ44GM_VQybtestvtH8gH26vn9B2TLCBQ0VVftpobs/viewform
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Centre for Applied Human Rights at York University, Civil society, enabling environment, Front Line (NGO), Halah Eldoseri, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, international protection, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, Journalist, Maksym Butkevych, Margaret Sekaggaya, Mary Lawlor, Navanethem Pillay, OUP, saoudi arabia, side event, Special issue, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Ukraine, UN, UN Human Rights Council, woman human rights defender
March 4, 2014
With the Ugandan anti-gay law signed by President Museveni last week (in spite of the fascinating news that broke only afterwards that his own daughter came out publicly as lesbian opposing the law), attention on LGBTI rights in Africa has been mostly negative. The more reason to point to a small ‘victory’ in neighbouring Zimbabwe where a mostly independent judiciary had the courage to squash the charges against human rights defender Martha Tholanah of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Civil society, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), GALZ, gay, gay rights, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, independence of the judiciary, lesbian, LGBT rights, Martha Tholanah, President Museveni, Private Voluntary Organisation, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 