After my post on Civitas Maxima[https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2017/03/21/new-magazine-global-geneva-puts-civitas-maxima-in-the-limelight/] I feel that I should complete the picture with a reference to “Make Way for Justice #3” which argues that universal jurisdiction has gathered unprecedented momentum in 2016. In this annual report, ECCHR and its partners FIBGAR, FIDH, REDRESS and TRIAL Internationallook back on its application through 47 recent cases. Five years of conflict, hundreds of thousands of dead. In Syria, large-scale war crimes are committed in all impunity. Effective prosecution has been repeatedly impeded at the international level, yet justice has found a way forward: universal jurisdiction. Thanks to this principle, States can prosecute criminals regardless of their nationality or where the crime was committed. The interest of such procedures for lawless regions is obvious.
2016 alone, five States have brought charges for alleged crimes in Syria. Investigations are ongoing in three others. For victims, these proceedings may be their only chance to obtain justice. Universal jurisdiction has proved a significant tool against impunity in Syria, but it also applies to many more situations: Rwanda, Nepal, Guatemala and Iraq, to name but a few.
To illustrate this breadth, ECCHR, FIBGAR, FIDH, REDRESS and TRIAL International released their annual report on universal jurisdiction, Make way for Justice #3. In 2016 alone, 13 States have made use of this principle in 47 cases – an unprecedented success.
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and many other countries have no respect for freedom of speech: they imprison activists who tweet their support for human rights. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) is being tried for tweeting in March 2015 ‘Save the Children, Women & civilian from the war in Yemen – war brings hatred, miseries & blood but not solutions’. For this tweet, and another one denouncing torture in the Jaw prison of Bahrain, he faces up to 15 years in jail. Read the rest of this entry »
The Permanent Mission of Norway to the UN, Amnesty International, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Global Witness, the International Platform against Impunity, and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) cordially invite you to a panel discussion. “Empower environmental defenders, safeguard our future”
Monday 24 October 2016 1:00-2:30 in Conference Room 7 at the United Nations HQ in New York
In his latest report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders warns of “a truly global crisis” of killings of environmental human rights defenders and that the vision espoused in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is “doomed to fail” if more is not done to protect those on the frontlines. The Special Rapporteur calls for urgent action and outlines a range of recommendations to empower and protect environmental defenders.
This side event will foster a discussion of these recommendations: why they are important, what is required to implement them effectively, and what the main challenges are to their effective implementation.
Speakers will include the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Michel Forst, as well as State, NGO, and business representatives.
Greek academic Dimitris Christopoulos has been elected president of International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). He succeeds Iranian lawyer Karim Lahidji who headed the international human rights NGO for the last three years. The vote was held during the 39th FIDH Congress in Johannesburg where its 178 member organisations from 120 countries were gathered to elect the new International Board and determine the main orientations for the next three years.
“Fight against terrorism, economic interests and the rise of extremism have precipitated the respect of human rights in depths that we thought had been definitively consigned to the past. Rarely, rights of citizens have been so flouted. It is urgent, and more than ever necessary, that civil societies and activists from the entire world be heard again. Let’s resist and act.” said Christopoulos, right after being elected. The fight against impunity will be at the centre of Christopoulos’ mandate, as will be the mobilization for the respect of human rights in the framework of the economic globalization.
The newly elected International Board is composed of 22 activists from 21 countries, representing all together five continents.
On Wednesday 24 August the 39th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) closed after two days in Johannesburg. More than 400 delegates from more than 120 countries participated and in the closing session some of the action points taken were recognized by regional bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
EU special representative on Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis said: “We need to have the EU itself judged, criticized and advised every day. Because the fact of the matter is, no one is perfect in Human Rights and that includes the European Union”.
ACHPR Chairperson Pansy Tlakula said her organization will continue to support FIDH in their efforts. “The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights values the collaborative and mutual beneficial relationship with FIDH. And on our part we will continue to collaborate with you, we will continue to support you and we also count on your support. Because even if we have to say so ourselves, our commission remains one of the most welcoming inter-governmental organizations to civil society organizations.”
The video below contains excerpts from these statements:
The forum discussed the following topics:
• Restricting freedom of association and human rights in the name of security
• Defending Human Rights principles within heterogeneous societies
• Invoking morals, religious or traditional values to build a new world order: States opposing Human Rights principles
• An unbalanced and unfair globalisation: the consequences of an economy disregarding Human Rights and civil society groups
• Redesigning Human Rights funding
• Civil society influencing global economic projects
• Whistle-blowers: Exposing violence violations and corruption, seeking transparency and the right to freedom of information
• How can the Human Rights movement further engage with the rest of society?
• A shield and a sword: Enforcing rights through the judiciary
• Deploying innovate advocacy
•Using the web and social networks – securely reaching out, accessing new audiences and generating engagement
On 30th May 2016, the Extraordinary African Chambers declared Hissène Habré guilty of torture, crimes against humanity, war crimes and sexual crimes, perpetrated during his presidency of Tchad (Chad) between 1982 and 1990. The former Tchadian dictator has been sentenced to life in prison. Human rights organizations have hailed this verdict as “historical” and a victory for the thousands of victims who have fought for twenty years to make their voices heard and obtain justice before an impartial judiciary. They hope that it sends a strong signal to all perpetrators of international crimes. There are many sources but the two most active NGOs are probably: FIDH and its member organizations in Tchad and Senegal and Human Rights Watch (HRW). For more info on their views see the links below.
Explosion of happiness at the announcement of the verdict (source FIDH Facebook)
A summary of the decision was read out in court by chief judge Gberdao Gustave Kam of Burkina Faso, who shared the bench with two senior Senegalese judges. The written decision will be distributed at a later date, but on the Human Rights Watch site there is an unofficial summary from notes taken in court.
On 30 May 2016 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights added its agreement: “After years of struggle and many setbacks on the way to justice, this verdict is as historic as it was hard-won. I sincerely hope that today, at last, Habré’s victims will experience some sense of relief,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Husseinsaid. “Following earlier convictions by other courts of former president Charles Taylor and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the conviction and sentencing of Hissène Habré shows that even heads of State and other leaders who commit terrible crimes will ultimately be held to account”.
HOWEVER, it is not over yet. The judges have until 31 July 31 2016 to approve measures of reparation for the victims.
For the second consecutive year, the FIDHhas put some of its key actions and impacts in a comic strip. These cartoons have been created in partnership with the association Cartooning for Peace, founded by Plantu. [for more posts on Cartooning for Peace see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/cartooning-for-peace/]
Here follows the text of the statement that the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, would have delivered:
The criminalization of human rights defenders in the context of the extraction of natural resources and megaprojects is becoming a very worrisome phenomenon in Latin America, denounces the Observatory in a report published today in Mexico. Entitled “The criminalization of human rights defenders in the context of industrial projects: a regional phenomenon in Latin America”, this document points to the role of businesses, civil servants, public prosecutors, judges, and the State. The report issued by OMCT and FIDH (in the context of their Observatory for Human Rights Defenders) on 25 February 2016 describes the specific cases of human rights defenders criminalized in eight Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru).
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 