Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Defenders’
October 12, 2013
On Thursday 3 October the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights [RFK Center] launched its third annual “Speak Truth to Power Student Video Contest“. This year, the contest is for the first time open to student filmmakers from all of the USA in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers, the New York State United Teachers and the Tribeca Film Institute. The video competition, originally launched in New York State in 2011, invites students to create a 3-6 minute video examining a human rights issue or violation and profiling the defenders who are fighting to restore justice.
Last year’s prize went to students of the Young Women’s Leadership School of Brooklyn, who made a film about the work of sexual slavery and trafficking activist Juliana Dogbadzi of Ghana.
Additional details can be found at http://www.speaktruthvideo.com
via Teachers, RFK Center Expand Annual Human Rights Video Contest to Students and Schools across America – The Paramus Post – Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Webzine.
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: American Federation of Teachers, documentary, films, Ghana, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights education, human rights films, Juliana Dogbadzi, New York State United Teachers, Paramus New Jersey, RFK, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Speak Truth to Power, student filmmakers, Tribeca Film Institute, United States, video clips, woman human rights defender
October 8, 2013
The Joint Mobile Group was selected by the International Human Rights Community (See Jury Below) as the Laureate 2013 of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: award, Chechnya, Civil society, Egypt, Geneva, Haiti, Human right, human rights, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, international community, Joint Mobile Group, Jury MEA, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA 2013, Micheline Calmy Rey, Mona Seif, NGOs
October 6, 2013
Foto: EPAFinally a tiny bit of good news from the Chinese front: After 2,5 years in jail the Chinese human rights defender Ni Yulan has been freed. In 2011 she won the Dutch Tulip for HRDs award. She has never been able to receive the award in person and even her daughter had not been allowed to leave the country for that purpose.
As reported by the ANP via Chinese mensenrechtenactiviste Ni weer vrij | nu.nl/buitenland | Het laatste nieuws het eerst op nu.nl.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, China, forced evictions, harassment, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands, Netherlands, Ni Yulan, prison, the Chinese human rights, Tulip award, woman human rights defender, Yulan
October 5, 2013
14 September 2013 marked three years since renowned human rights defender David Ravelo Crespo, member of the director’s board of the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS) based in the city of Barrancabermeja, was detained. Over NGOs reiterated on that occasion their concerns regarding a series of irregularities that were reported throughout the proceedings which resulted in his conviction and sentencing to 220 months in prison. Reiterating their respect for the independence of the judiciary in Colombia, the NGO statement lists a series of irregularities (see statement in full). The NGOs stress that David Ravelo Crespo is an internationally renowned human rights defender. He has won several awards such as the San Pedro Claver Award from the Diocese of Barrancabermeja in 2009; was one of the finalists for the 2013 Front Line Defenders Award fand has been nominated for the National Human Rights Defenders Awards in Colombia . His NGO was nominated for the 2013 Human Rights Award for the city of Weimar (Germany).
Two weeks later Front Line reports that human rights defender and campesina leader Adelinda Gómez Gaviria was killed in Almaguer, Cauca region. Adelinda Gómez Gaviria worked with the Comité de Integración del Macizo Colombiano – CIMA. She played an active role in the Mining and Environmental Forum in Almaguer, which has 1,500 indigenous and farming members. On 30 September as Adelinda Gómez Gaviria was returning home after a meeting, she and her 16 year-old son were approached and shot at by two unidentified men. Adelinda Gómez Gaviria suffered five bullet wounds and was killed, whilst her son is in a critical state in the Clínica La Estancia in Popayán city. One month prior to her killing Adelinda Gómez Gaviria had received a threatening telephone call from strangers who warned her to: “Stop messing around with this miners’ thing. It’s risky and it’ll get you killed.” The Red por la Vida y los Derechos Humanos del Cauca (Cauca Network for Life and Human Rights) has registered the murders of fourteen women human rights defenders in Cauca so far this year, primarily from rural areas of Cauca. Twelve death threats against human rights defenders have been reported, with five of those against women.
Colombia: On the third anniversary of the detention of renowned Colombian human rights defender David Ravelo Crespo, International organisations express concern / September 13, 2013 / Urgent Interventions / Human rights defenders / OMCT.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Adelinda Gómez Gaviria, Barrancabermeja, campesinos, Civil society, Colombia, David Ravelo Crespo, due process, environmental issues, fair trial, Front Line Defenders, Germany, Human right, human rights awards, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, killing, Mining, Non-governmental organization, Ravelo Crespo, social and economic rights, World Organisation Against Torture
October 4, 2013
Looking back at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council which came to an end last Friday, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies [CIHRS] is disappointed to see how timid the Council becomes when dealing with human rights in the Arab region. Indeed, the people of Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine, and Yemen need all the support they can get to move their countries towards political stability and the rule of law. The Council should be a driving force in confronting cases of human rights violations and making recommendations to address them.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Arab region, Bahrain, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, CIHRS, Civil society, Council, Egypt, foreign funding, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights mechanisms, human rights violations, International Criminal Court, Non-governmental organization, reprisals, retaliation, Sudan, Syria, UN Resolution, UN Special Rapporteur, United Nations Human Rights Council, Yemen
October 3, 2013
The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Bangladesh, a member of the Law Commission, and several rights activists and academics said on Saturday 28 september that the state should not treat human rights defenders as its enemy. They also expressed concern over the use of several laws against human rights defenders Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Bangladesh, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Law Commission, Mizanur Rahman, National Human Rights Commission, national human rights institutions, protection, repression, Shah Alam, United Nations
October 3, 2013
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), reports on 2 October 2013 on the ongoing judicial proceedings against the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial” (ADC Memorial), which has now become the first NGO in Russia facing both administrative and civil proceedings for the same “offence” on the basis of the law on so-called “foreign agents”. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | 1 Comment »
Tags: ADC Memorial, administrative rules, FIDH, Foreign agent, foreign funding, Gerald Staberock, Human Rights Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, judicial harassment, Karim Lahidji, Memorial, Non-governmental organization, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, OMCT, persecution, Prosecutor, Russia, United Nations, World Organisation Against Torture
October 2, 2013
In the context of reprisals here is a report from Panorama concerning Azerbaijan, admittedly from an Armenian news source: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Armenia, Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan, elections, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, OSCE, Panorama, reprisals, September 2013, threats, Turkey, Vasif Talibov
October 1, 2013
The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought is given by the European Parliament annually since 1988. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. Among the nominees for this year are Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban last year,…and – this was to be expected since the controversy broke – the US whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was nominated on Monday by the Green group in the European Parliament. His nomination is in recognition of his “enormous service” to human rights and to the European citizens, the Green group said. The winner of the 50,000-Euro prize will be announced on October 10 and is awarded in Strasbourg on November 20. [On August 30, Snowden received the biennial Whistle Blower Award 2013 in Germany, in recognition of his “bold efforts” to expose the monitoring of communications data by his former employer.}
Euro MPs nominate Snowden for rights prize – Europe – Al Jazeera English.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Al-Jazeera, Aung San, awards, Edward Snowden, electronic surveillance, European Parliament, Green group, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, Malala Yousafzai, MEP, Nelson Mandela, right to privacy, Sakharov Prize, Taliban
October 1, 2013
In the Monitor of the ISHR of 30 September 2013, Ambassadors András Dékány and Istvan Lakatos of Hungary expresses an important opinion regarding the issue of reprisals against human rights defenders. As it is short here is the full text:
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Diplomatic mission, Geneva, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, NGOs, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Reprisal, reprisals, retaliation, UN Resolution, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations System
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 