Posts Tagged ‘human rights abuses’
December 16, 2013
On 16 December Amnesty International came out with a special report on the death threats and intimidation by armed groups and state security forces in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo [North Kivu] over the past year have, with the aim of silencing human rights defenders, even after the defeat of M23. The report “Better to die while speaking the truth” details the heightened clampdown on human rights defenders by armed groups and the national security forces since the crisis escalated last 
year. “The whole population is vulnerable to human rights abuses in North Kivu and those speaking out to protect these people are deliberately targeted from all sides,” says Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Amnesty International, death threats, Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern congo, extrajudicial killings, harassment, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, intimidation, North Kivu, paramilitary, Pascal Kabungulu, rape, Sarah Jackson, sexual abuse
October 5, 2013
The 20th Ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders will take place on Tuesday 8 October and can be followed live on www.martinennalsaward.org as from 18h00 Central European (Geneva) time. The moment of the announcement of the laureate will be approximately 18:30.
As a reminder, the 3 Final Nominees are: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: broadcast, Chechnya, City of Geneva, Egypt, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Geneva, Haiti, human rights, human rights abuses, human rights activists, human rights awards, international community, internet, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Joint Mobile Group, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, MEA ceremony, media, Micheline Calmy Rey, Mona Seif, Russia, streaming
September 19, 2013
Further to my earlier blog post about Kyrgyzstan following the bad example of Russia in trying to create a ‘foreign agents’ obstacle for human rights defenders, I am happy to refer to Front Line latest update of 19 September 2013 which says that during a press interview on the outcomes of his working visit to Brussels on 17 September 2013, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev stated to journalists that Kyrgyzstan does not need a “foreign agent” law, a draft bill of which was opened for public discussion on 6 September 2013.
On 16 September 2013, ahead of President Atambaev’s visit to Brussels, Front Line Defenders and Human Rights Watch published a joint letter to the European Union urging EU leaders to raise concerns about human rights abuses in Kyrgyzstan and getting specific commitments from President Atambaev to address them. The letter also contained an appeal to the EU to press the Kyrgyz President for the immediate release of the wrongfully imprisoned human rights defender Azimjan Askarov http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/09/15/kyrgyzstan-free-human-rights-defender-ensure-fair-retrial as well as on the draft bill http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/23774. 
Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Almazbek Atambayev, Azimjan Askarov, Brussels, draft bill, European Union, Foreign agent, foreign funding, freedom of association, Front Line Defenders, funding restrictions, HRW, human rights, human rights abuses, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, Kyrgyzstan, President of Kyrgyzstan, Russia
September 17, 2013
(Sister Angélique Namaika on her bicycle to visit the girls she helps in Dungu © UNHCR/ B. Sokol)
UNHCR announced today – 17 September – that the Nansen Refugee Award 2013 goes to Sister Angélique Namaika, who works in a remote north-east region of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with survivors of displacement and abuse by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Angélique Namaika, awards, Democratic Republic of Congo, democratic republic of the congo, displacement monitoring centre, Dungu, Geneva, human rights abuses, human rights awards, IDP, internal displacement, internal displacement monitoring centre, lords resistance army, LRA, Nansen Refugee Award, north eastern province, Uganda, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, woman human rights defender
August 30, 2013
Via the Thomson Reuters Foundation Katherine Ronderos published on 23 August 2013 a detailed study on women human rights defenders [WHRDs] in Nepal. She writes that a decade-long conflict, sluggish peace and reconciliation process and delays in developing a new constitution, leave women human rights defenders in Nepal at great risk. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Domestic violence, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights commitments, human rights of women, Katherine Ronderos, Nepal, Non-governmental organization, peace and reconciliation, reuters foundation, thomson reuters foundation, threats, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, UN, violence rape, women human rights defenders, Women's rights
August 22, 2013
Repressive governments are using different and increasingly ‘indirect’ means to silence human rights defenders. Intimidation, administrative restrictions, fiscal regulations aimed at reducing funding, terminating rental agreements, judicial harassment, etc. According to a report by Human Rights Watch of 14 August 2013, Rwanda is practicing a slightly different tactic: wholesale infiltration and ‘take over’ of independent NGOs.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Africa, freedom of association, HRW, human rights, human rights abuses, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights group, human rights groups, Human Rights Watch, infiltration, LIPRODHOR, Non-governmental organization, Rwanda
June 29, 2013
The City of Geneva and the Martin Ennals Foundation announce the 2013 edition of Martin Ennals Award, which will take place on Tuesday 8 October 2013 at 18h00 at the Uni-Dufour, Geneva. The Laureate will be announced Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AI, FIDH, Front Line, HRF, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, HURIDOCS, ICJ, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2013 ceremony, Amnesty International, awards, baby doc duvalier, Chechnya, City of Geneva, Diakonie, Egypt, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Front Line (NGO), Geneva, Haiti, human rights, human rights abuses, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, human rights lawyer, human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch, HURIDOCS, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights, International Service for Human Rights, Joint Mobile Group, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, Martin Ennals Foundation, MEA, Mona Seif, Russia, World Organisation Against Torture
June 5, 2013
New information obtained by human rights organizations has heightened concerns about the secret detention and failing health of a prominent Syrian human rights lawyer who has not been heard from since his arrest eight months ago! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, coalition, Damascus, Forced disappearance, Human right, human rights abuses, human rights def, human rights organizations, illegal detention, illtreatment, International Criminal Court, Khalil Ma’touq, lawyer, Lawyers for Lawyers, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, state security court, Syria, syrian human rights
May 24, 2013
(Undocumented immigrants in the courtyard of a detention centre near the Evros River in northern Greece – (c) Reuters)
I would be amiss in not reporting the criticism by Amnesty International of my adopted home country: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AI, Amnesty international, human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Amnesty, Amnesty International, AP, austerity measures, detention, economic crises, Greece, HIV, human rights abuses, Immigration, Italy, Refugee, refugees, Reuters
March 5, 2013
In IPP Media of 5 March 2013 appears a lengthy piece by correspondent GERALD KITABU who interviewed the head of the NGO ‘Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition’ (THRD-Coalition) Mr ONESMO OLENGURUMWA on the protection of human rights defenders in Tanzania. It interesting to see such an article which demonstrates the depth of the Human Rights Defenders issue at the local level. Here follow a few quotes:
QUESTION: Who is a human right defender?
ANSWER: A human rights defender is any individual, groups and organs of society seeking to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and freedom. Human rights defenders include lawyers, judges, journalists, whistle blowers, bloggers, students, religious leaders, trade unionists and any other person working to combat human rights abuses in a peaceful manner.
Q: What is the current situation of human rights defenders in Tanzania?
A: Our organization has recorded a number of security incidents towards human rights defenders. Despite being change agents, these activists are continuously harassed, detained, interrogated, imprisoned, tortured and even at times paying the ultimate price when they are killed for what they do. A good example is the last year’s killing of Iringa based Channel Ten journalist Daudi Mwangosi, the barbaric and brutal torture of Dr. Stephen Ulimboka, the death of Issa Gumba, the suspicious death of women human right defender in Mara Eustace Nyarugenda who was the director of Action Based Foundation, continuing constant threats towards other journalists like Cosmas Makongo, Josephat Isango, Charless Misango, the indefinite ban of Mwanahalisi and the arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders. These are just few incidents that paints a bad picture on the map of Tanzania when it comes to observing human rights….
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Human right, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, IPP media, journalists, Non-governmental organization, Non-state actor, ONESMO OLENGURUMWA, protection, Tanzania, THRD-Coalition, UN Declaration
year. “The whole population is vulnerable to human rights abuses in North Kivu and those speaking out to protect these people are deliberately targeted from all sides,” says Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director. Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 