Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Defenders’

Human rights defenders at the local level in Manipur, India, organise themselves

October 18, 2013

The Hueiyen News Service Imphal, reports that on 19 October  2013 a number of NGOs in Manipur State [a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital] will come together to organise a new “Convention on Protection of Human Rights Defenders of Manipur“. The Convention has been planned against the backdrop of increasing targeting of human rights defenders and their organizations in Manipur by security forces operating under emergency laws. The convention will also discuss the patterns of targeting human rights defenders and adopt specific resolution and strategies to promote the human rights and protection of human rights defenders of Manipur.

via Protection of human rights defenders : 18th oct13 ~ E-Pao! Headlines.

Margaret Sekaggya, UN expert, finds situation of human rights defenders in Togo improved, but not good enough

October 18, 2013

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, on 16 October 2013 called on the Togolese Government to ensure a favourable environment in which human rights defenders can carry out their work. The Government can do this by fully implementing the existing legal framework, avoiding stigmatisation and fostering a spirit of dialogue and constructive criticism, she said at the end of her five-day mission to assess progress made in Togo since her last visit in 2008.

Compared to 2008, “The environment for defenders is more enabling now, but important challenges remain” Read the rest of this entry »

Burma: 56 political prisoners freed, but Section 18 law stays in place and new arrests continue

October 17, 2013

In a move praised by local and international rights groups, Burma’s government, led by ex-general Thein Sein, has released 56 political prisoners. However, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners [AAPP] noted in a statement to the media that 133 political prisoners were still languishing in the country’s prisons. Read the rest of this entry »

Tulip Award introduces novelty: on-line voting for human rights prize

October 17, 2013

The Tulip Award for Human Rights Defenders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has this year added a new element: an on-line poll to help select the winner. Anyone can go to http://www.government.nl/ministries/bz/news/2013/10/09/online-poll-for-human-rights-prize.html and choose which of the 44 nominees deserves the prize most. It closes on Friday 18 October Read the rest of this entry »

UN alarmed by reprisals against Chinese activists

October 16, 2013

A group of United Nations experts has expressed serious concern at reports that Chinese human rights defenders have suffered reprisals for seeking to participate in a major UN human rights assessment of China. Read the rest of this entry »

WCC consultation urges protection of human rights in Papua, Indonesia

October 16, 2013

On 16 October Scoop News reports on a consultation, held on 25 September 2013 in Geneva, entitled Isolating Papua which highlighted the increasing practice of limiting access to the Papuan provinces of Indonesia. Read the rest of this entry »

Kenya: Human Rights Defenders under attack but continue to speak out against skipping the ICC

October 15, 2013

Yesterday, 15 October, the Kenyan police arrested seven members of Bunge la Mwananchi on suspicion of illegal assembly as they were protesting a tax increase on commodities. Amongst those arrested was human rights defender Ruth Mumbi. Read the rest of this entry »

Risks for Women HRDs: “To be a human rights defender is to make a choice…”

October 15, 2013

photo 29 350x350 To be a human rights defender is to make a choice...

From 8 – 11 October 2013 took place the 7th Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders organised by Front Line Defenders. I share the impression as posted by Executive Director, Deon Haywood, of Women With A Vision [WWAV’s] who joined 145 activists from 95 different countries for the meeting.  “This is a vital international forum for human rights defenders at risk, as many cannot speak freely in their own country.  Through plenary presentations and working group discussions, defenders shared experiences, learned from each other and came up with new and more effective strategies for their security and protection. This year’s Dublin Platform also included a specific focus on the risks faced by women human rights defenders.”

When addressing this global community of activists during the Dublin Platform opening, Deon Haywood spoke of a choice that rang true for so many attendees: “To be a human rights defender is to make a choice between standing up for what is right and defending the rights of others, or passively accepting that there is no other way. Being here with 145 other human rights defenders from every corner of the globe, all of whom face very similar risks, reminds me of the rightness of our cause. When you see the energy and the commitment of the people in this room, then there is a real cause for optimism for the future.”

via “To be a human rights defender is to make a choice…”.

Conclusions of Side Event on Reprisals against Human Rights Defenders

October 14, 2013

To launch its new In-Brief on reprisals against human rights defenders, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights organized a side event at the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council. The round table discussion was presided by Prof. Andrew Clapham  The main Conclusions are: Read the rest of this entry »

ICC should continue its work in Africa, says Tutu in N.Y.Times

October 14, 2013

While 130 NGOs in Africa and elsewhere call in a joint letter to the African Union not to abandon the International Criminal Court, Bishop Desmond Tutu publishes in the New York Times of 10 October an excellent piece explaining why it is a terrible mistake. Here is it is in full:

 

CAPE TOWN — MEMBERS of the African Union will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today to discuss recent calls by some African leaders to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. These calls must be resisted. The continent has suffered the consequences of unaccountable governance for too long to disown the protections offered by the I.C.C. Read the rest of this entry »