Front Line Defenders is currently accepting nominations for the 2018 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
For more information on this and other awards: http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/front-line-defenders-award-for-human-rights-defenders-at-risk
If you would like to nominate a human rights defender for the 2018 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, please follow this link: <https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/secure/nomination.php?l=en> Please also note that nominations can be submitted in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic via the Front Line Defenders website. Deadline: midnight Friday, 19 January 2018.
Posts Tagged ‘Dublin’
Nominations for the 2018 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders now open
December 15, 2017Mary Lawlor leaves as Executive Director of Front Line Defenders: search for successor started
July 11, 2016Founding directors do not alway leave in such a well-planned way, but in the case of May Lawlor this is different. Having done a most admirable job in setting up and developing Front Line Defenders into the main ‘hub’ for information Human Rights Defenders over the last 15 years, she has now announced her departure.
For the few readers of this blog who need further information, please visit www.frontlinedefenders.org
The Board of Trustees now seeks an Executive Director with significant previous experience of working at a senior level for the protection of human rights defenders or equivalent experience in a human rights based activity or organization in a leadership role. The Executive Director will have strong communication, management and analytical skills. They will have an understanding of the political environment for human rights defenders and have excellent political judgement. This position will be based in Dublin but will involve frequent travel.
For more information, please contact: Claire Cronin, Cronin Partners International Search, 12 Merrion Square | claire@croninpartners.com
Application deadline: Friday 29th July, 2016
From Dictatorship to Democracy – The Role of Human Rights Defenders. Streamed on 28 April 2016
April 27, 2016
in partnership with University College Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin, organize “Dictatorship to Democracy – The Role of Human Rights Defenders” a lecture by Professor Jan Sokol. He was one of the first signatories of Charter 77, a petition drawn up and signed by a number of brave Czechoslovakian writers and intellectuals in 1977 which demanded that the Communist government of Czechoslovakia recognise some basic human rights. He will give an account of his own experience of the Czechoslovakian transition to democracy and his current views on the appropriateness and efficiency of a “dissident” position.
The lecture will be accessible on-line too, as it will be live-streamed on Thursday evening 28 April @ 6.30pm (GMT+1) at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gijJmeidFzQ
Job and internship openings at Front Line Defenders
January 6, 2016
has some openings for staff, interns and volunteers in an open and transparent manner. All positions are advertised via their website:2015 Front Line Defenders Award to Chinese Guo Feixiong (Yang Maodong)
September 12, 2015On Friday 11 September the 2015 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was presented to imprisoned Chinese Human Rights Defender Guo Feixiong in Dublin City Hall. Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry presented the award to Guo’s wife, Zhang Qing, and daughter, Yang Tianjiao (Sara), at the award co-presented by the Al-Jazeera Media Network. Guo has been held in Guangzhou’s Tianhe Detention Center for over 750 days, where is currently awaiting sentencing. Sebastian Barry said:“For human rights defenders the struggle is not just to implement rules and regulations and theoretical international standards. It is is about the right to raise your voice without the fear of arbitrary violence, whether by the state or others. Guo Feixiong has defended farmers illegally evicted from their land, Falun Gong practitioners persecuted for their beliefs and journalists who dared to speak out. He is a symbol of the endurance of the human spirit, of the will to survive and of the human need for the free air of ideas, to make life worth living. He is a worthy recipient of the 2015 Front Line Defenders Award.”
Guo Feixiong (pen name of Yang Maodong) is a leading figure in the movement for human rights China – a struggle fraught with danger for human rights defenders seeking civil, political, economic and social rights; accountability; transparency; and an end to corruption. After more than two years in detention, Guo Feixiong’s lawyers now report that during their most recent meeting, his memory, speech, and mental awareness all showed signs of damage.Last week, a coalition of Chinese human rights activists writing at China Change called his detention “a deliberate effort to harm Guo Feixiong and kill him slowly.”Accepting the Award on behalf of her husband, Zhang Qing said:“Guo Feixiong is a faithful idealist. Although he has experienced a wide range of political persecution by the Chinese government including, being sentenced to four prison terms, being the target of a witch hunt, and enduring countless brutal and evil tortures from the Chinese government he still holds a peaceful and pure heart. He shows enduring strength and courage to pursue rights, equality and justice peacefully. We are proud of Guo Feixiong and all the other human rights defenders and lawyers working to the same end in China”.
for info on the finalists: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/finalists-for-the-2015-front-line-defenders-award-announced/
Jobs and volunteer posts at Front Line Defenders
March 20, 2014Dublin-based Front Line Defenders seeks to recruit staff and volunteers in an open and transparent manner and to increase cultural diversity within the Front Line Defenders staff. Therefore, all positions are advertised via its website. Due to the volume of requests, it is not possible to keep general applications or CVs on file but it will respond to all applications by email. Two posts are open at the moment:
- Digital Security Consultant Southeast Asia region
- Digital Security Consultant MENA region
Front Line is also looking for:
- Regional internship: Middle East & North Africa, Arabic-speaking
- Regional internship: Europe, Central Asia & Asia, Russian-speaking
- Admin & Publications Internship
- Regional Internship: Africa & Americas Internship, Portuguese speaking
- Frank Jennings Internship 2014/2015 (in Dublin and Geneva)
- Front Line Defenders Internship for postgraduate students of Peking University China (in Dublin)
Sean Penn uses star power for good in Dublin
March 7, 2014
Sean Penn is in Dublin today, 7 March, to hand out a human rights award. The winner of the 2014 Front Line Defenders Award was chosen from 110 nominations from 51 countries. Members of the Irish and European Parliaments, representatives of Front Line Defenders and Al Jazeera Media Network made up the judging panel. Jim Loughran, of Front Line Defenders said: “Sean Penn’s support is hugely important in terms of driving publicity…As one human rights defender said to us recently, if you are visible, you have rights. If you are invisible, you are a victim.” He presented the award to a Pakistani woman rights defender, Noorzia Afridi, who founded the Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas (SAWERA) along with her sister Fareeda “Kokikhel”, who was shot dead on her way to work in 2012.
Penn in Dublin to give human rights award | Irish Examiner.
It shows that star power can be used for good and I should have listed Penn in: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/star-power-and-human-rights-a-difficult-but-doable-mix/
Risks for Women HRDs: “To be a human rights defender is to make a choice…”
October 15, 2013
From 8 – 11 October 2013 took place the 7th Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders organised by Front Line Defenders. I share the impression as posted by Executive Director, Deon Haywood, of Women With A Vision [WWAV’s] who joined 145 activists from 95 different countries for the meeting. “This is a vital international forum for human rights defenders at risk, as many cannot speak freely in their own country. Through plenary presentations and working group discussions, defenders shared experiences, learned from each other and came up with new and more effective strategies for their security and protection. This year’s Dublin Platform also included a specific focus on the risks faced by women human rights defenders.”
When addressing this global community of activists during the Dublin Platform opening, Deon Haywood spoke of a choice that rang true for so many attendees: “To be a human rights defender is to make a choice between standing up for what is right and defending the rights of others, or passively accepting that there is no other way. Being here with 145 other human rights defenders from every corner of the globe, all of whom face very similar risks, reminds me of the rightness of our cause. When you see the energy and the commitment of the people in this room, then there is a real cause for optimism for the future.”
Malala Yousafzai and Harry Belafonte receive top Amnesty award in Dublin
September 18, 2013
On 17 September 2013 Pakistani education rights activist, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot and almost killed by the Taliban, received the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience award in Dublin. “I want to live in a world where free, Read the rest of this entry »
New support group for HRDs launched in Dublin on 14 May: “Tech Defenders”
May 20, 2013
(Tech Defenders links tech community to protect human rights defenders) Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 