Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Defenders’
November 25, 2015
In a letter addressed to Member States, well over a hundred 100 international and national NGOs urged Members States to reject amendments intended to weaken the resolution on protection of human rights defenders, which will be adopted today, Wednesday, 25 November 2015 in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
The resolution, as drafted, includes robust protection measures for human rights defenders, including the need to combat impunity for violence against human rights defenders and to release defenders who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms. With the recent attacks on human rights defenders in places such as Burundi where the prominent activist Pierre Claver Mbonimpa and members of his family have been systematically attacked, it is time for UN Member States to take strong action to prevent and punish reprisals. However, amendments, tabled by the African Group, China, and Iran seek to dramatically weaken the resolution on human rights defenders and delete entire paragraphs regarding the need for their protection.At a time when the work of human rights defenders has become extraordinarily dangerous and increasingly criminalized in many states, it is important for Member States to send a strong message on the need to protect human rights defenders.
The text of the draft follows in toto:
SUPPORT THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON RECOGNIZING THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND THE NEED FOR THEIR PROTECTION
Excellencies,
We write to you as a group of human rights defenders and civil society organizations located across the world working at national, regional and international levels. We write in regard to the draft resolution entitled ”Recognizing the role of human rights defenders and the need for their protection“ currently being advanced in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, and due to be adopted on Wednesday 25 November 2015.
We urge your government to support the abovementioned resolution and to reject amendments, tabled by the African Group, China and Iran, designed to weaken the text.
Among other things, the proposed amendments remove references to the legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders, delete or weaken language regarding the need for their protection, and delete whole paragraphs related to the need to combat impunity for violations and abuses against defenders and the need to ensure adequate procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings. A call for the release of defenders detained or imprisoned in violation of international human rights law, for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, is also proposed for deletion. In addition, the amendments introduce notions that States should only support and enable their work ‘as appropriate’, rather than in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and other obligations arising under international human rights law
Human rights defenders make a vital contribution to the promotion and respect for human rights, democratic processes, securing and maintaining peace and security, and advancing development in our countries. However, in doing this work, defenders often face a range of violations and abuses at the hands of State and non-State actors. States must acknowledge the role of defenders and the specific risks they face, and commit to ensuring their protection.
Seventeen years ago, all States agreed to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, including State obligations to protect all human rights defenders working on all human rights. This commitment has been reiterated and built upon in subsequent General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions. We are therefore extremely concerned to hear that the abovementioned delegations have objected to several core elements of the draft resolution.
Based on consultations with over 500 defenders from 111 States, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders found that in the vast majority of States the situation for human rights defenders is deteriorating in law and in practice. He concluded that a lack of awareness regarding their vital and legitimate work, combined with a lack of political commitment and weak institutional arrangements for their protection, is placing them, their organisations and families at elevated risk.
The resolution as drafted reflects a number of these findings and makes a series of recommendations for States and other actors. Importantly, this year’s text includes a key focus on the implementation of the resolution itself. This will hopefully prompt States and other actors to move beyond rhetoric in addressing the challenges faced by human rights defenders and take action to ensure the implementation of the calls in the resolution.
We urge all States to live up to their human rights commitments by supporting this resolution, by rejecting amendments designed to weaken it, and by taking concrete steps to protect human rights defenders.
Sincerely, (names of the NGOs)
see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/reprisals-states-must-r…
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, civil society organisations, criminalisation, diplomacy, harassment, Human Rights Defenders, international campaign, Iran, NGOs, open letter, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, reprisals, retaliation, Third Committee of the GA, UN Resolution
November 24, 2015
On 2 November the ISHR carries an interview with Alberto Solis Castro, a human rights defender concerned with the indigenous communities in Mexico.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Alberto Solis Castro, attacks, Business and human rights, environmental issues, Human Rights Defenders, Indigenous rights, international cooperation, ISHR, Mexico, profiles, resource extraction
November 23, 2015
With International Women Human Rights Defenders Day coming up (29 November) I will pay special attention to questions that concern them. Here a case of police harassment from Front Line concerning Tanzania: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, elections, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, Imelda Urio, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, judicial harassment, Legal and Human Rights Centre, police behavior, Tanzania, Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium, woman human rights defender
November 23, 2015
In the series Human Rights Defender Profiles [ISHR] this time: Muhammad Darisman, from West Java, Indonesia:
In the context of breakneck pace of economic development Muhammad Dairyman stands out. He currently partners with U.S.-based Worker Rights Consortium to monitor and improve working conditions in garment factories, but he is also the founder, since 2009, of a local NGO that raises awareness of occupational disease and victim’s rights. He has led campaigns to highlight the ongoing (and legal) use of asbestos in Indonesia and across the Asian region, and to raise awareness about the negative health impacts on workers and communities. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Business and human rights, corporate accountability, environmental issues, health, Human Rights Defenders, Indonesia, Java, labour rights, land rights, Muhammad Darisman, profiles, Trade union
November 19, 2015
Here two contrasting statements on the theme of business and human rights. One describes the hesitation of the World Bank to apply human rights criteria and even use the word human rights (posted in the Huffington post of 18 November 2015 by Nezir Sinani [www.twitter.com/NezirSinani] and Julia Radomski, and the other is a piece written by Owen Larter and Nicolas Patrick entitled “Microsoft & DLA Piper – Why Human Rights and Human Rights Defenders are Right for our Business” [published in the ISHR Monitor on 27 October 2015]. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Business and human rights, Civil society, corporate accountability, DLA Piper, Environmental issue, Huffington Post, Human Rights Defenders, information technology companies, ISHR, Microsoft, Nezir Sinani, Owen Larter, social accountability, World Bank
November 19, 2015
from Special Issue on Business and Human Rights by the ISHR, October 2015
For human rights defenders interested to find their way in the myriad of procedures and soft law surrounding the issue of business and human rights:
The key mandate of the Working Group is to promote the effective and comprehensive dissemination and implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, using the usual range of tools available to Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council (country visits, thematic reports, and individual communications).In order to discuss the trends and challenges in the implementation of those Guiding Principles and to promote dialogue and cooperation on issues linked to business and human rights, a Forum on Business and Human Rights has been held every year since 2012 and is open to all relevant stakeholders, including in particular human rights defenders. There is an increasing focus on human rights defenders in the agenda of the Forum, with two specific panels dedicated to human rights defenders in 2015 focusing on women human rights defenders and on the role of business in protecting defenders respectively.
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association have both expressed concern about human rights defenders working on these issues, with the previous Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders devoting a report to the issue of human rights defenders working on major development projects and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association devoting a report to the issue of freedom of association and the extractive industries.
In June 2014, the Human Rights Council mandated an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG), tasked with commencing work towards the drafting of an international legally binding treaty on business and human rights. In July 2015 the IGWG had their first session, more information and reports can be found here.
Finally, the UN Global Compact initiative, is intended as a practical framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of sustainability policies and practices by businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | 1 Comment »
Tags: business, Business and human rights, environmental issues, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, protection, United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
November 19, 2015
Hisham Almiraat (center) with friends at the Global Voices 2012 Summit in Nairobi. PHOTO: Ivan Sigal
Maâti Monjib, Hicham Mansouri, Samad Iach, Mohamed Elsabr and Hisham Almiraat are facing charges of “threatening the internal security of the State”, an offense that can lead to up to five years in prison. Rachid Tarek and Maria Moukrim are facing charges of “receiving foreign funding without notifying the General Secretariat of the government”, which if found guilty, can result in fines.
The trial for the case is scheduled for 19 November, 2015. Morocco has seen a dramatic increase in human rights violations and attacks against journalists in the past year. Crackdowns on independent media, human rights defenders and civil society have led to a stifling environment that limits freedom of expression and association in the country.
We call the international community’s attention to the continuous interrogations, harassment, threats and arrests, as a deliberate attempt by the Moroccan authorities to silence dissidents. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right (Article 19 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The Moroccan government violates this universal right with the charges.
16 international and regional NGOs concerned with freedom of expression urge the Moroccan authorities to drop all charges and end the harassment of human rights defenders and journalists.
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Tags: anti terrorism legislation, blogger, campaign, foreign funding, free expression, Free Press Unlimited, freedom of association, Global Voices, Hicham Mansouri, Hisham Almiraat, Human Rights Defenders, Maâti Monjib, Maria Moukrim, Mohamed Elsabr, Morocco, Rachid Tarek, Samad Iach
November 12, 2015
Since I published my post about MEA Laureate Pierre Claver Mbonimpa two days ago (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/burundi-what-more-early-warning-does-one-need/) the situation has not improved and the hope is that the UN will find the muscle to impose itself. In the meantime, the Huffington Post of 12 November carries a long piece on Mbonimpa and his Burundi by Charlotte Alfred under the title “Burundi’s Human Rights Legend Urges Hope After His Son’s Killing“.
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa founder and president of the APRODH in Burundi (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa wasn’t able to attend his son’s funeral. Instead, he sent a message from Belgium, which was read out at the funeral of his son, Welly Nzitonda, on Tuesday, according to independent journalist network SOS Médias Burundi: “Do not lose courage … The tragedies we face will end with a resolution of the conflict in Burundi.”
……..
“The problem that plagues the country is not ethnicity, but politics,” Mbonimpa told the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2010. “It is politicians who manipulate the population in pursuit of power.”
For the full article, worth reading, see: Burundi’s Human Rights Legend Urges Hope After His Son’s Killing
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 2 Comments »
Tags: Burundi, Huffington Post, Human Rights Defenders, MEA Laureate 2007, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, UN, Welly Nzitonda
November 11, 2015
On 19 October Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, wrote a piece for the Monitor of the ISHR under the title “No more ‘business as usual’ when it comes to business and human rights defenders”. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Business and human rights, Civil society, consultation, environmental issues, harassment, Human Rights Defenders, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, Rafael Marques, stigmatization, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
November 11, 2015
In November 2013 OUP’s Journal of Human Rights Practice published a special issue on human rights defenders [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/special-issue-on-human-rights-defenders-of-the-oup-journal-of-human-rights-practice/].
This is followed by another Special Issue in the International Journal of Human Rights on ‘Critical Perspectives on the Security and Protection of Human Rights Defenders’, in which scholars and practitioners critically appraise the construction and functioning of this protection regime, examining:
- the definition and use of the term ‘human rights defender’;
- the effectiveness of protection mechanisms; and,
- the complex relationship between repression, activism and risk.
New Tactics is organizing a conversation ‘Evaluating the Human Rights Defender Protection Regime’ exploring these areas, asking: How do we define who is and who is not a ‘human rights defender’? What are the effects of these decisions? How effective are current protection mechanisms for defenders? How do defenders manage their security as they face risks? How should ‘protection’ work in practice?
Join New Tactics and the authors of the papers in this Special Issue from 16 – 20 November, 2015.
Copies of these papers are available for free here: http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/pgas/ijhr-volume19-issue7 but only until 31 December 2015!
Join the Conversation beginning Monday
Posted in books, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Human Rights Defenders, international protection, Journal of Human Rights Practice, legal protection, OUP, protection mechanisms, York university
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 