share information on human rights defenders, with special focus on human rights awards and laureates
Further to my post of 27 March, it now turns out that on 21 March Sultan Qaboos of Oman pardoned 50 people, including several human rights defenders, who had been targeted in a recent crackdown. The 50 had been arrested on charges including insulting the ruler, various cyber-crimes, and taking part in unauthorised protests.
via Oman: Activists and Human Rights Defenders Receive Pardon | Front Line.
Strategic thinking is a discipline used in all types of work. In order to build a house, you need a plan. In order to win votes to get elected for a political position, you need a plan. Human rights work is no exception – in order to make change, you need a plan and hopefully, it’s a good one!. New Tactics in Human Rights wants to build a collection of strat
egic-thinking resources and tools for human rights defenders to help in the selection and application of successful tactics. They have been working closely with human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa region to share a methodology to apply strategy and tactics to human rights work, and are eager to share with you the tools they have been using.
On 22 February I reported on a large trial in Oman against several human rights defenders, Front Line now report in an update that some of them were released on bail but others continue in detention.
(Said Al-Hashimi, a HRD amongst those released on bail)
On 17 March 2013, several human rights defenders were granted bail by the Appeals Court during a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court. Amongst the human rights defenders released are writer Said Al Hashimi, lawyer Basma Al Kiyumi, Basima Al Rajihi, Khalid Al Nawfali and Mohammed Al Fazari. The next hearing was adjourned until 24 March 2013. Basma Al Kiyumi, Basima Al Rajihi, Khalid Al Nawfali and Mohammed Al Fazari had been convicted for allegedly publishing insulting and defamatory material on a social media site, while Said Al Hashimi was convicted for alleged participation in an illegal gathering.
While Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of the human rights defenders, it reiterates that the ongoing campaign of judicial harassment and intimidation should be ceased and that all their convictions should be quashed.
Oman: Update – Release of several human rights defenders on bail | Front Line.
On 18 March 2013, the body of human rights defender and indigenous peoples’ leader Encarnación Marcos Ucelo was found, following his kidnapping by heavily armed men the day before. His body reportedly showed signs of strangulation and his hands were tied. Fellow indigenous leaders Messrs Rigoberto Aguilar, Rodolfo López and Roberto González were also kidnapped by the armed men, but all three were released on 17 and 18 March 2013.
Encarnación Marcos Ucelo was a member of the Xinca indigenous people in Santa Maria Xalapán, situated in the department of Jalapa in Eastern Guatemala. He had worked as secretary of the Indigenous Parliament of Santa Maria Xalapán for almost two years and was also involved in a commission established in 2012 to investigate the historical land rights of indigenous peoples and campesino communities in Guatemala. Rigoberto Aguilar, Rodolfo López and Roberto González are all members are of the same indigenous community, while Roberto González is also Mayor of Santa Maria Xalapán and President of the Parliament.
condemns the killing of Encarnación Marcos Ucelo, and expresses serious concern for the security and physical and psychological integrity of Rigoberto Aguilar, Rodolfo López and Roberto González and urges the authorities in Guatemala to initiate an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation and take all necessary measures to guarantee the security and physical and psychological integrity all other indigenous peoples’ rights defenders of the Santa Maria Xalapán community.
I have reported extensively over the last days on the question of growing judicial and administrative harassment of NGOs and human rights defenders, including the adoption of a resolution last week by the UN Human Rights Council recalling that “domestic law and administrative provisions […] should facilitate the work of human rights defenders, including by avoiding any criminalization, stigmatization, impediments, obstructions or restrictions thereof contrary to international human rights law”. Still, this is exactly what the Russian Federation is doing at the moment according to a statement by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders: Hundreds of NGOs are being subjected to inspections by Government officials across the Russian Federation. This follows the adoption in 2012 of several laws contradicting the right to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression. …Since the end of February until today, dozens of inspections of NGOs have been launched in at least 13 regions of the Russian Federation, including Krasnodar, Moscow, Orenburg, Penza, Perm and Altai territories, St. Petersburg, Primorsky, Saratov and Rostov provinces. In St. Petersburg, the Spokesperson for the Office of the Prosecutor declared on March 19, 2013 that over the month some 5,000 inspections would be conducted to check compliance with the laws on terrorism, extremism as well as other offences. After this date, dozens of NGOs were inspected in St. Petersburg, including LGBT, human rights and environmental NGOs. Across the country, these operations have been conducted by prosecutors, together with, in some cases, officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service FSB, the Ministry of Emergencies, the Federal Service for Supervision of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being, the Tax Inspectorate, the Centre E, a unit specialised in anti-extremism, and even the fire service. According to the information received, inspections have particularly targeted groups that supposedly receive foreign funding and conduct monitoring or advocacy work. The scope of the inspections appears to be far-ranging, though inspectors have particularly insisted on the issue of funding. The massive character as well as methods used during inspections disproportionately interfere with the right to freedom of association: the number of inspections is massive, most inspections are unannounced, NGOs have been given short deadlines to provide a huge amount of documents and vague and non-exhaustive lists of requirements. In the case of prominent NGO Human Rights Centre “Memorial”, a pro-government TV crew was informed and present during the inspection. The news report entitled “Memorial hides its income from the Prosecutors Office” was broadcast the same day before the end of the inspection, in flagrant violation of the presumption of innocence. “Information on NGOs sources of funding are public. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Saturday I referred to the new Resolution on Human Rights Defenders in the UN Human Rights Council. Now there is an interesting interview with Counsellor, Geir Sjøberg of the Norwegian Mission to the UN, done by the International Service for Human Rights and reported by Reliefweb. The interview contains such so much meat that I have reproduced it here in full:
Let me first of all thank the ISHR and other human rights organizations for the invaluable advise and support throughout the process we have had here in Geneva. In 2011, the General Assembly expressed grave concerns about the serious nature of risks faced by human rights defenders due to threats, attacks and acts of intimidation against them. Regrettably, the situation has hardly improved since then. On the contrary, current trends are largely negative, as reported by the Special Rapporteur and others. Against this background, the Council had to respond with a clear message. The resolution ‘Protecting Human Rights Defenders’ should be seen as such, as the collective voice of the international community in 2013. On balance, we see the resolution as an appropriate response by the Human Rights Council at a very difficult time for human rights defenders in all regions of the world. The unanimous adoption of this resolution sends an important signal of support to all the courageous people who are fighting against human rights violations all over the world. We must now work to ensure that this resolution is translated into concrete results on the ground and leads to an improvement in the situation of human rights defenders.
Read the rest of this entry »
On Thursday 21 March 2013 a resolution, led by Norway was adopted by consensus by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It calls on all States to support the work of human rights defenders and to protect them from harassment, threats and attacks.
The use and abuse of national laws to impair, restrict and even criminalise the work of human rights defenders is a contravention of international law and must end, according to a landmark resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council today.
Introducing the resolution, Norway’s Ambassador to the UN, Steffen Kongstad, said he was ‘gravely concerned by the serious nature of risks faced by human rights defenders’ and called on all states to ‘facilitate their work’ and ensure it is not ‘criminalised or stigmatised’.
‘The resolution is a clear affirmation that national law must conform with international human rights law. The resolution demands the amendment of national laws which target human rights defenders, including laws which restrict NGOs from receiving foreign funding, which criminalise “homosexual propaganda”, or which limit freedom of expression or assembly on discriminatory grounds.’ Michael Ineichen of the ISHR, expressing an opinion similar to that of many other human rights NGOs.
From 2-5 April 2013, Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders is organising Defenders’ Days, a conference in its home town for human rights defenders from the world’s most repressive regions. The objective of Defenders’ Days is to advocate for international recognition of human rights defenders at risk, to increase understanding about their vital work, and to create a forum for capacity-building and networking.
“Our aim is to create an annual event that empowers human rights defenders, and gathers key persons and institutions for the advancement of human rights. Defenders’ Days will be a place for networking, constructive coöperation and personal and institutional development”, says Robert Hårdh, Executive Director at Civil Rights Defenders. The conference will be held on 4 April, which is the date of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.
During the conference there will be training sessions in digital security, video campaigning and effective lobbying, along with the chance to listen to panel discussions with representatives from the international community such as Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. There will also be presentations, which include “The Escape from Camp 14” with Mr. Shin Dong-hyuk, a defector from North Korea.
The conference is on invitation basis only and consists of a closed part and an open session. The closed part is for human rights defenders at risk, and relevant stakeholders, while the open session is open to everyone.
During the conference “The Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award” will be given to one of the most outstanding human rights defenders in the world. A report on the situation for human rights defenders in the award-winner’s country will be presented in connection to the conference.
For more information concerning the conference, contact Ms. Kim Matthis: kim.matthis at civilrightsdefenders.org
via Civil Rights Defenders – Annual conference to empower human rights defenders at risk.
On 9 March 2013, police severely beat a number of human rights defenders and members of the Initiative pour la Résurgence du Mouvement Abolitionniste en Mauritanie – IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) in Southern Mauritania. Nine of the human rights defenders were arbitrarily arrested and remain in detention in Kaédi police station. (IRA is an organisation which works to eradicate slavery in Mauritania. It has members and supporters in various regions of the country.) Read the rest of this entry »
Human rights group Reporters Without Borders has named and shamed five companies it claims allowed their products to be used by countries with bad human rights records and the NGO also named five countries as “enemies of the internet“. It said that five private sector companies; Gamma, Trovicor, Hacking Team, Amesys and Blue Coat are “digital era mercenaries”. The overall list of companies it believed were involved in selling products to authoritarian regimes was “not exhaustive” and will be expanded in the coming months. “They all sell products that are liable to be used by governments to violate human rights and freedom of information,” the group said.”Their products have been or are being used to commit violations of human rights and freedom of information. If these companies decided to sell to authoritarian regimes, they must have known that their products could be used to spy on journalists, dissidents and netizens.” It added that if surveillance products were sold to an authoritarian regime by an intermediary without their knowledge, “their failure to keep track of the exports of their own software means they did not care if their technology was misused and did not care about the vulnerability of those who defend human rights.” Research by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has established that surveillance technology used against dissidents and human rights defenders in such countries as Egypt, Bahrain and Libya came from western companies, it claimed.
The Paris-based group labelled Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam as“enemies of the internet” Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 