On 14 June 2019 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Michelle Bachelet will present the UN Human Rights Report 2018 to Civil Society. The event wil take place from 14:00 to 15:00 on Friday, 14 June, in the Ground Floor Conference Room at Palais Wilson. Please note that the meeting is limited to NGOs holding annual accreditation with UNOG (confirm by 11 June to zghanem@ohchr.org).
However the electronic version of the Report is already available on the Office’s website: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/OHCHRreport2018.pdf
Posts Tagged ‘Geneva’
UN High Commissioner to present her Human Rights Report 2018 to Civil Society
May 29, 2019
Geneva Launch of the World Refugee Council’s Report aiming to transform global system
April 15, 2019
The Global Migration Centre‘s mission is to advance new solutions to address the structural challenges facing the global refugee system. It is forged by an independent group of individuals which include political leaders, policy advisers, academic experts and private sector and civil society representatives from around the world. The Council unveiled its report “A Call to Action: Transforming the Global Refugee System ” in January 2019. It offers bold recommendations to transform the global refugee system with a focus on four key areas: political will, responsibility sharing, financing and accountability. It now hosts the Geneva Launch of the World Refugee Council’s Report.
Wednesday 17 April 2019, 18:30 – 20:00
Auditorium A2| Maison de la paix, Geneva
Speakers:
- Her Excellency, Ms. Rosemary McCarney, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
- Lloyd Axworthy, Chair, World Refugee Council, former Canadian Foreign Minister
- Lawrence L. Herman, World Refugee Council
- Allan Rock, Special Adviser, World Refugee Council
- Moderator: Vincent Chetail, Director, Global Migration Centre, Graduate Institute, Geneva
Martin Ennals Foundation in Geneva seeks part-time Coordinator – deadline 29 April
April 4, 2019With the departure of Michael Khambatta – planned for June 2019 – the Martin Ennals Foundation (MEF) seeks a part-time Coordinator to lead a new, restructured team of (part-time) posts in Geneva.
Part-time 60 % (3 days per week, flexible). Languages: Fluent French and English. Start date: June/July 2019
The MEF has a Board of up to 12 members, led by a Chairperson elected by the Board. It includes a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary and a Treasurer who together make up the Governance Committee that is entrusted with overseeing the routine business of the Foundation. The Coordinator is the executive arm of the MEF working on a part-time basis until additional resources can be found to strengthen staff capacity. Other staff include (as at June 2019) a Communications Manager and a Programme Officer (also part-time positions).
To apply please send:
1) a current CV and
2) a motivational cover letter of 500 words
to hr@martinennalsaward.org by 26 April 2019. Interviews will take place between 7-10 May 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Launch of the Fragile States Index 2019 on 10 April in Geneva
April 1, 2019The Fund for Peace and the The New Humanitarian (see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/the-new-humanitarian/) will launch on Wednesday 10 April 2019, 18:15 – 20:00 CET their FRAGILE STATES INDEX 2019 in the Maison de la Paix, Geneva.
Following a tumultuous year around the globe, Cameroon, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela are among the countries that have fallen furthest down the Fragile States Index (FSI).
The event is to discuss the findings of the 15th FSI and its relevance to the humanitarian sector at the Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP). The event, jointly convened between the Graduate Institute, The New Humanitarian, and Fund for Peace, will feature a briefing on the FSI and its findings for 2019 and a panel discussion on the changing humanitarian focus on fragile states and the role of the media in chronicling the immediate and long-term impact of social, political, and economic pressures on lives and livelihoods around the world.
The FSI annually highlights the current trends in social, economic and political pressures that affect all states, but can strain some beyond their capacity to cope. Linking robust social science with modern technology, the FSI is unique in its integration of quantitative data with data produced using content-analysis software, processing information from millions of publicly available documents. The result is an empirically-based, comprehensive ranking of the pressures experienced by 178 nations. The Index is used by policy makers, civil society, academics, journalists, investors, and businesses around the world.
For those not in Geneva: the live stream of the event on website.
IRIN News officially becomes The New Humanitarian
March 22, 2019Yesterday, IRIN News (often quoted here) officially became The New Humanitarian.
The new website is already live at thenewhumanitarian.org.
You can follow them on social media: @newhumanitarian on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. It celebrated the name change with the world premiere of “The New Humanitarian”, a short play by South African playwright Mike van Graan; an interactive discussion with our editors; and an introduction to the new president of our board of directors.
https://mailchi.mp/thenewhumanitarian/say-hello-to-the-new-humanitarian-218573?e=134def3735
News from the human rights film front (2019)
March 20, 2019The HRW festival in London is still running (https://ff.hrw.org/london) but others have finished and here is a selection of the wining films:
ONE WORLD FESTIVAL
The film Heart of Stone has taken the Best Film prize at this year’s edition of the One World festival of human rights documentaries in Prague. The winning documentary is about an Afghan refugee in France. The Best Director award went to Denmark’s Mads Brugger, maker of Cold Case Hammarskjold.
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The 2019 FIFDH [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/01/20/17th-edition-of-the-geneva-international-film-festival-and-forum-on-human-rights-from-8-to-17-march-2019/]. The awards list is as follows (extract):
Grand Prize of Geneva
Endowed with CHF 10,000 – Offered by the City and State of Geneva: Delphine et Carole, Insoumuses, by Callisto McNulty Learn more
Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize in tribute to her son Sergio Vieira de Mello
Endowed with CHF 5,000 – Offered by the Barbara Hendricks Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation: On her Shoulders, by Alexandria Bombach Learn more
Youth Jury Prize
Endowed with CHF 500 – Offered by Peace Brigades International (PBI): Still Recording, by Ghiath Ayoub and Saeed Al Batal Learn more
Endowed with CHF 500 – Offered by the Eduki Foundation: Carmen y Lola by Arantxa Echevarría Learn more
Grand Prize for Fiction
Endowed with CHF 10,000 – Offered by the Hélène and Victor Barbour Foundation: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by Chiwetel Ejiofor Learn more
Prize of OMCT
Endowed with CHF 5,000 – Offered by the World Organization Against Torture: Congo Lucha, by Marlène Rabaud Learn more
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The poster for the film Cargo.
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https://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/french-doc-heart-of-stone-takes-top-prize-at-one-world-festival
https://fifdh.org/en/edition-2019/news/article/le-palmares-integral-du-fifdh-2019-349874
https://newsday.co.tt/2019/03/18/award-winning-bahamian-film-cargo-for-tt/
The Legacy of Martin Ennals: defending the human rights defenders
March 14, 2019On 6 March 2019 Global Geneva published an article by John Horekens entitled “Defending Human Rights Defenders: The Legacy of Martin Ennals”
Can a human rights award make a difference to the plight of victims by drawing public attention to their situation? Or even protect them from being killed or tortured? John Horekens argues that international prizes such as the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) can do just that. And even more. They recognize the courage and resilience of those who have decided to stand up for their rights, and the rights of others, regardless of the consequences.
Abdul Aziz Muhamat on stage in Geneva delivering his acceptance speech. The presentation slide was taken in Manus; on the left of Muhamat (blue T-shirt) is Behrouz Boochani (bare-chested) who was awarded Australia’s Victorian Prize for Literature in January 2019)
Abdul Aziz Muhamat, aka QNK002, is a Sudanese refugee currently interned by the Australians on Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea. Standing left, here is at the MEA Award ceremony in Geneva in February, 2019. Arnold Tsunga, right, is a Zimbabwean lawyer and 2006 laureate in 2006 and currently an MEA Board member.
……………..
It all started in London in 1992 when a group of Martin Ennals’ friends and relatives decided to commemorate the activist’s outstanding contribution to the modern human rights movement in creating this award. A founding member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Secretary-General of the National Council for Civil Liberties, Ennals tirelessly advocated equal rights for all and for the development of global human rights. He created several non-governmental human rights organizations and was the first Secretary-General of Amnesty International (AI). During his tenure, AI was awarded inter alia the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 and the UN Human Rights Award in 1978.
…..………
By 2007, close links had developed with the City of Geneva, leading to an agreement with the local government providing strong multi-year support for the ceremony itself. Its timing was moved in 2019 to February so as to benefit from increased public interest at a time when the Human Rights Council (HRC) prepares for its main session. Created in 2006 by the United Nations General Assembly, the HRC is the UN body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world and for addressing situations of human rights violations. It meets in Geneva for three regular sessions every year to discuss thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention.
…..For Sandrine Salerno, municipal councillor and the leading proponent of the award within the City government, all this only underlines how deeply Geneva is committed to the defence of fundamental rights. “As a host to most major international organisations active in the human rights area, and with a long tradition of welcoming asylum-seekers, migrants, and people needing protection and assistance, the City of Geneva has made the promotion of human rights one its main international policy priorities.”
On the occasion of the MEA’s 25th anniversary in 2018, leaders of its jury organizations gathered with former laureates, providing an opportunity to discuss the state of human rights and human rights action today. In particular, they addressed issues such as how to influence authoritarians, counter populism, and the means for developing human rights action. “It is not easy to attribute impact to an organization working in the field of human rights”, says Dick Oosting, current Chairman of the Foundation Board. “Awards are only a tool.” But, he adds, “with its jury of ten major NGOs and its partnership with Geneva, the Martin Ennals Award has credibility that can provide real protection. We know this because our laureates and finalists tell us so.” Abdul Aziz Muhamat aka QNK002 on Manus Island can vouch for that.
John Horekens is a former senior official of the United Nations and of the international Red Cross. He is the vice-chairman of the Martin Ennals Foundation Board.
For the full text see: http://www.global-geneva.com/defending-human-rights-defenders-the-legacy-of-martin-ennals/
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FOR MORE ON MARTIN ENNALS: see the biography I wrote for the Encyclopedia of Human Rights, OUP, 2009, Vol 2, pp 135-138 (ed. David P. Forsythe).
Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) reports to Human Rights Council on media casualties
March 13, 2019
Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a nongovernmental organization presented a statement on press freedom and journalist killings duringUnited Nations Human Rights Council 40th session in Geneva on 13 March 2019.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) documented last year the killing of 117 journalists, an increase of 17 percent in media casualties compared to the previous year. In five countries journalists paid an unacceptable toll: Afghanistan with 17 killed, Mexico also with 17 killed, Syria with 11 killed, Yemen and India, with 8 journalists killed in each of those countries. The PEC urged the Members of the Human Rights Council to fight more firmly impunity and to bring the responsible of those crimes to justice.
The PEC is also worried by the large number of arrests among journalists in the recent turmoilin Sudan, the repression of press freedom in Nicaragua and Venezuela, the statement reads. PEC expressed itsspecial concern with the continuous judicial harassment of journalists in Turkey in the statement.
PEC was one of the organizers of the panel discussion on human rights violations in Turkey, which the Turkish government mobilized its entire diplomatic corps to prevent during 40th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 5 March. The move prompted an outcry from human rights defenders.[see: https://stockholmcf.org/erdogan-govt-fails-to-cancel-un-human-rights-council-event-on-turkey/%5D
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF (Stockholm Centre for Freedom) show that 211 journalists and media workers were in jail as of March 11, 2019, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 134 were under arrest pending trial while only 77 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 167 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey. The government also closed down some 200 media outlets.
70th Anniversary of ACANU: focus on journalists under attack and creation of new human rights award
March 5, 2019To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU) organised a public lecture, panel discussion and award presentation in partnership with the Graduate Institute and the Club Diplomatique de Genève on “Press Freedom and Journalists Under Attack” on 25 February 2019.
Photo credit: Magali Girardin
The lecture, delivered by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed issues on the physical attacks and growing number of assaults on the credibility of journalists and media organisations, which are taking a heavy toll on media freedom. It also sought to answer what is spurring the growing hostility and violence and what can be done to protect professional journalists.
“Journalists are on the front lines, sounding the first alarm, questioning official accounts, looking into difficult and dangerous issues and – at their best – asking questions that demand an answer and telling truths that must be heard. […] In the face of this sustained campaign of harassment, intimidation and lack of accountability, we – the international community – cannot remain silent. […] I call on Governments and the international community to protect journalists and media workers, and to create the conditions they need to do their essential work, and to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of attacks on them.”
Nina Larson, President of ACANU, then moderated a panel discussion on the situation facing journalists, which included Peggy Hicks, Director Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Christophe Deloire, Secretary-General, Reporters Without Borders and David Sylvan, Professor, International Relations/Political Science, the Graduate Institute.
During the discussion, Ms Hicks pointed out that “one of the [phenomena] that’s really important for us to look at in this context is the extent to which we have a whole new world of threats in terms of how some of these [attacks] happen online as opposed to offline”. Mr Deloire found that oligarchical control of the media and restrictive laws were like invisible prisons, where “there is no visible victim, there is no blood, no people in jail, but the information can be controlled”. Citing ways that state entities falsely present themselves as independent journalists, Professor Sylvan added that “there are so many alternatives – “fake” or otherwise – to regular news media that the problem now for many journalists is just to try to distinguish what they are doing from the hundreds and hundreds of things that appear similar but are not. So on the one hand, there are many more means – quite apart from physical violence […] of putting sharp restrictions on press freedom, but also there is a much greater demand for this.”
In the final segment of the event, ACANU presented two new international journalism awards, created for the 70th anniversary celebration and to recognise journalists for outstanding work in the face of growing hostility. Jennifer O’Mahony, a British freelancer, was awarded the prize for “Excellence in Reporting” for her article published in The Telegraph: “Algeria dumps thousands of migrants in the Sahara amid EU-funded crackdown”. The ACANU award for “Best Journalistic Coverage of Human Rights” was given to two Geneva journalists, Adrià Budry Carbó of Le Temps and Camille Pagella of L’illustré, for their article, “Piège en haute mer”, published in Le Temps.
For more on this new award and others for the protection of journalists, see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/acanu-prize-for-reporting-on-human-rights-issues
China’s freedom of expression subject of side event on 13 March
March 4, 2019
In November 2018, China underwent its Universal Periodic Review and received many recommendations on freedom of expression, both online and off. This side event will elevate the views of civil society actors who are committed to seeing improvements in the protection of freedom of expression in China.
13 March 2019 , 13h30-14h30, in Room XXIII, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Panelists:
- Judith Lichtenberg, Director of Lawyers for Lawyers
- A 1989 democracy activist
- Uyghur PEN representative
- Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists
- Sarah M Brooks, Asia Advocate, International Service for Human Rights.
Event co-organised by:
For some of my earlier posts re China: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/china/
Join the conversation on Twitter: #ChinaUPR
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 