Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Defenders’
February 3, 2017
Nadhir Al-Majid is a well-known 40-year-old writer and teacher who has published many articles in various Arabic newspapers and electronic websites.
On 18 January 2017, the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh held its hearing in the presence of Nadhir Al-Majid, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment followed by seven years of a travel ban in addition to a fine. Reports have confirmed that the writer was alone during the hearing and not accompanied by his family or his lawyer. He was taken immediately after the verdict to Al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh. There are fears that the authorities will refuse to officially deliver a copy of the verdict to him or his family, which might prevent them from seeking an appeal of the sentence at the Court of Appeal. The Public Prosecutor directed many charges against Al-Majid including failing to obey the ruler, participating in demonstrations, writing articles supporting protests (dating back to the year 2007), in addition to having contact with correspondents of foreign news agencies – namely Reuters, AFP, and CNN.
He was previously jailed on 13 April 2011 after he was arrested and his electronic equipment was confiscated. He was beaten, kicked and ordered to stand for hours and then placed in solitary confinement for five months. He was then placed in a cell with convicted drug dealers and weapons traders. The reason for his arrest is related to his writings, including an article entitled “I protest, I am a human being” which supports the right to demonstrate. He was released on 27 June 2012. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) believes that the prison sentence of Nadhir Al-Majid is solely related to his work in defence of human rights.
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Saudi Arabian human rights defender Essam Koshak has been detained since 8 January 2017 for his online activism.
On 8 January 2017, Essam Koshak received a phone call from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Mecca, summoning him to al-Mansour police station. On arrival, at 5pm the same day, he was interrogated by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) about his Twitter account, which he uses to highlight human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, including the detention of human rights defenders and activists. During the first three days of interrogation, his request to have his lawyer present was denied. On 12 January, Essam Koshak’s detention was extended by four days and his lawyer was finally allowed to be present during his interrogations. He was transferred on the same day to Mecca General Prison where he is currently being held. Essam Koshak is a computer engineer and human rights activist who uses social media to call for reform and respect for human rights in Saudi Arabia.
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In the meantime the organization ALQST – through Samar Badawi [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/01/13/saudi-arabia-arrest-of-human… ] – draws attention to their “Human Rights Situation in Saudi Arabia 2016. Annual review” (for the full report: https://t.co/ACWlRfOFRu – for inquiries, yahya.i.assiri@gmail.com).
The report contains a chapter on Human Rights Defenders describing several cases in more detail. It states that “Many of the political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are known to be prisoners of conscience. A large number of them have been swept up in the Authorities’ so-called War on Terror, but are in fact being held for their peacefully held and expressed political or religious views. This includes calls for social reform and in defence of human rights. They are tried in the Specialised Criminal Court, which is neither legitimate nor independent of the government, and was set up for the purpose of trying terrorism cases. Most human rights defenders are also charged and found guilty under the 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law. Today the majority of Saudi Arabia’s human rights activists are in prison, on trial, or being subjected to intense harassment.”
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sources:
http://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/1479
http://www.satprnews.com/2017/01/31/urgent-action-human-rights-defender-jailed-for-online-activism-saudi-arabia-ua-2517/
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ALQST, annual report 2016, engineering, Essam Koshak, freedom of expression, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights Defenders, journalists, Nadhir Al-Majid, Samar Badawi, Saudi Arabia, social media, twitter
February 2, 2017
The New York based Human Rights Foundation has announced the initial speaker lineup for its 2017 Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF), taking place 22-24 May 2017 in Oslo. It includes quite a few well-known human rights defenders [the names are linked to short CVs]: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: #ThisFlag movement, Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury, Evan Mawarire, Front Line (NGO), Guillermo Fariñas Hernández, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation, Maria Toorpakai Wazir, meeting, Mohamed Nasheed, Oslo, Oslo Freedom Forum, Shohret Hoshur, Vian Dakhil, Wai Wai Nu, Zimbabwe
January 30, 2017
There is a lot of attention on current and feared loss of human rights attention in Trump-led USA. It is no reason to overlook positive events that continue. E.g. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers and the Tribeca Film Institute, has launched on 25 January 2017 the 6th Annual Speak Truth to Power Video Contest. The short-video contest invites middle and high school students from around the country to create a three-minute video examining a human rights issue or violation while profiling human rights defenders fighting to restore justice. The deadline for entries is March 6, 2017. Participants must be in grades 6 through 12. No prior filmmaking experience is required.
“The lesson that we all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out against inequality and injustice is so important. This video contest will engage students in what it means to be a defender of human rights.”, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (which is also producing an online webinar to share how teachers can use the contest to help students demonstrate independence, judgment and creativity about key human rights issues).
“Past winners demonstrated the transformative impact this contest has on those who participate,” said John Heffernan, Director of the Speak Truth To Power program. “We are thrilled to be able to expand our reach by partnering with the AFT in key cities throughout the US—inspiring even more students to identify with some of the most courageous people on the planet.”
https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2013/10/12/rfk-center-expands-human-rights-video-contest-to-students-from-the-whole-usa/
Last year’s grand prize went to a filmmaker from Farmingdale, NJ whose satire “How to Be an American Muslim” asks the audience to reflect on the challenges of being a Muslim in America today, and highlights the work of human rights defender Dalia Mogahed. (http://www.ted.com/talks/dalia_mogahed_what_do_you_think_when_you_look_at_me)
Additional details can be found at http://www.speaktruthvideo.com. Winning videos will be featured on the Speak Truth To Power website and the grand prize video will be shown at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
Contact: Eric Duncan, eduncan(at)aft.org
Source: Annual Human Rights Short-Video Contest Open to Students and Schools Across America
Posted in awards, films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: American Federation of Teachers, awards, Dalia Mogahed, Education, Human Rights Defenders, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, short films, Speak Truth to Power, students, Tribeca Film Institute, USA, video clips, video contest
January 30, 2017
Nomination for the 2017 Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) Award can be submitted until 15 February 2017.
The Lawyers for Lawyers Award will be presented for the fourth time in Amsterdam on 19 May 2017. An independent jury, chaired by mrs. Heikelien Verrijn Stuart, will decide which lawyer will receive the award. The prize will consist of a special token as well as a monetary element of € 10.000. This award is presented every two years to a lawyer who promotes the rule of law and human rights in an exceptional way, who has been threatened or obstructed because of his or her work as a lawyer, and who may benefit from the publicity and recognition of the Award.
Anyone can submit a nomination, but a lawyer or group of lawyers cannot nominate themselves. Lawyers from all over the world can be nominated.
Only those nominations submitted via the nomination form on the website will be taken into consideration. The nomination form is available here : Nomination form L4L Award 2017 Lawyers for Lawyers
See for 2015: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2015/05/15/jorge-molano-from-colombia-laureate-of-2015-lawyers-for-lawyers-award/
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, L4L | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amsterdam, awards, call for nominations, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyers, international solidarity, L4L, Lawyers for Lawyers, lawyers for lawyers award, protection
January 25, 2017
Counter-terrorism is a major concern of many governments today. Since 9/11 and more recently after the attacks in Belgium, France, Germany, Lebanon, Tunisia or Turkey, states have adopted new counter-terrorism measures and legislation intended to address the threat of terrorism.
The steps taken are diverse, ranging from surveillance to emergency legislation as well as the use military force against designated terrorist groups abroad. In some instances, more restrictive conditions of financing and the risk of criminal sanctions in cases of ‘material support’ to listed terrorist organizations – a notion which has been broadly interpreted by US case law- have impacted the implementation of certain IHL rules as well as humanitarian assistance. This has reduced the scope of action of humanitarian agencies and NGOs.
In that context, this third IHL Talk on 26 January 2017 will discuss the legal regime governing terrorism, in particular how IHL addresses acts of terrorism and what is the relationship with other international treaties. More generally, experts will discuss the legal and operational challenges counter-terrorism has created for IHL and humanitarian action.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ambassador Valentin Zellweger, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations and the other international organizations in Geneva
MODERATION
Gunilla von Hall, Foreign correspondent in Geneva for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet
PANELISTS
Sandra Krähenmann, Research Fellow, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Carla Ruta, Legal Adviser, Geneva Call
Where? Villa Moynier, 120B Rue de Lausanne, Geneva
Source: Upcoming Events – The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: anti terrorism legislation, Geneva, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Human Rights Defenders, international human rights and humanitarian law, lecture, Zellweger
January 24, 2017
Chris Collier, a well-known human rights consultant based in the Netherlands (www.chriscollier.nl), will be conducting a one-day, participatory training workshop for human rights defenders and staff of human rights organizations on foreign government protection of HRDs. The course will take place on 27 March 2017 in Brussels. Participants will gain knowledge of policies and practices of foreign governments in HRD protection, will develop advocacy skills to make full use of these possibilities, and make plans to get foreign governments to take action on specific issues or cases. The workshop will cover the EU and EU member states as well as other countries with guidelines on HRD protection (Switzerland, Norway and Canada). The language of the workshop will be English. The number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 15. The workshop fee is €300 and participants are asked to arrange their own visa, travel and accommodation. (An invitation letter to the training can, of course, be provided.)
Please contact Chris Collier if you would you be interested in participating in this training workshop, tel. +31-(0)6-34936026 mail@chriscollier.nl
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Brussels, Chris Collier, Education, Foreign Policy, Human Rights Defenders, training course, workshop
January 24, 2017
On 24 January 2017, thelocal.se published the English version of an opinion piece originally written in Swedish by Civil Rights Defenders executive director Robert Hårdh for newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Like my post published yesterday about the call for Canada to ‘compensate’ for Trumps election [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2017/01/23/2017-4-canadas-year-of-real-human-rights-action/], this piece argues that Sweden, also as a member of the EU and with its current place on the UN Security council, must step forward and take a greater responsibility to protect human rights on a global level: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Civil Rights Defenders (NGO), EU, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: 2017, Civil Rights Defenders, EU, foreign policy of Sweden, funding, George Soros, Human Rights Defenders, opinion pieces, Robert Hard, Russia, Sweden, Trump
January 19, 2017
KIOS is perhaps not the best-known human rights foundation in the world but that is surely mostly due to the fact that it operates from a small base: Finland. KIOS was founded by 11 Finnish human rights and development NGOs. The representatives of the founding NGOs form the Board of KIOS. In Finland, KIOS raises awareness on the significance of human rights and the work of human rights defenders in developing countries. It also advocates for the development of good practices in Finnish foreign and development policy in support ofHRDs. KIOS focuses its external support on 3 countries in East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) and 3 in South Asia (Nepal, Sri Lanka and to Tibetan civil society organizations in exile). Some long-term partner organizations of KIOS are also supported in Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia and Pakistan. Ulla Anttila is the Executive Director.
On 17 December 2016 KIOS published four video links of interviews with human rights defenders from Asia and Africa (video links), available on You Tube:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Adilur Rahman Khan, Andrew Anderson, Bangladesh, Finland, Hala Al-Karib, Human Rights Defenders, interview, Kenya, KIOS foundation, Nepal, Renu Rajbhandari, Tibet, Ulla Anttila, video clip, Yussuf Bashir
January 17, 2017
DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) is the secretariat to a network of more than 75 member organisations drawn from eleven countries in the sub-region. Additionally, DefendDefenders acts as the secretariat for the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, which brings together five sub-regional networks from North, Central, West, Southern and the East and Horn of Africa. Further information can be found on the
website.
DefendDefenders is in the process of recruiting a Project Coordinator for its work in supporting human rights defenders in the Great Lakes region.
Key responsibilities:
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Coordinate the implementation of our Great Lakes region project, including project design and planning, implementation, coordination of activities, budget management, evaluation and reporting to ensure that the project is effectively and efficiently managed in accordance with the strategy of DefendDefenders and the parameters of its partner regulations and procedures;
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Ensuring high quality, integrity, transparency and accountability of key processes in the project, including: project design, development, and budgeting; project approval process; financial management; and reporting;
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Ensure swift communication and collaboration with the Great Lakes region project partners for the effective implementation of the project;
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Establish or reinforce partnerships with other organizations in the field, to create synergies for raising awareness on human rights compliance and protection in the Great Lakes region ;
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Undertake regular visits to countries of the Great Lakes;
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Monitoring the human rights legislations, issues and development in the Great Lakes region;
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Support network of human rights defenders and organization in the Great Lakes region;
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Engage in strategic advocacy activities, including press releases and statements in conjunction with the advocacy team.
Competencies include:
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Strong interpersonal and communication skills (spoken/written), including the ability to listen to and incorporate the views of stakeholders;
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Ability to engage with project partners, donors and state authorities clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing;
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Proven ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries;
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Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
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Ensure all personnel related issues for the staff are carried out in accordance with DefendDefenders guidelines;
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Strong time management and coordination skills.
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Ability to foresee risks and allow for contingencies when planning;
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Ability to identify beneficiaries’ needs and suggest appropriate solutions;
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Strong comfort with usage of information and internet technologies;
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Ability to follow digital security protocols.
Education and experience
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A master’s degree in human rights, law, social sciences, political science or a related field from an accredited academic institution with a minimum of three years of relevant professional experience on project management;
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A solid understanding of human rights and protection mechanisms;
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Familiarity with the Great Lakes region and previous experience working in the region ;
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Good conceptual and analytical capacity;
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Very good budgeting, project management and report writing skills;
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Ability and willingness to travel.
Languages
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Fluency in English and French (both spoken and written) is a must, and fluency in Kirundi and/or Kinyarwanda a strong asset. As part of the recruitment process, short-listed candidates will be tested on their knowledge of both English and French.
The position will be based in Kampala, Uganda with frequent travels within and out of the country. Applicants should be eligible to work in Uganda without restriction. Applicants should send a letter of motivation, CV and contacts of three references to: jobs@defenddefenders.org by 25 January 2017. The subject line of the email should read “Application for Project Coordinator Great Lakes Region position”
Source: – East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: african region, application, DefendDefenders, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Great Lakes region, Human Rights Defenders, job opportunity, Kampala, project coördinator, vacancy
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 