Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Watch’
February 6, 2013
In a long but interesting blog post in the Huffington News of 4 February 2013 Malik Siraj Akbar, takes issue with Pakistan’s reaction to criticism on it human rights record by organisations such as Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). “A pack of lies” is Pakistan army’s favorite defensive phrase whenever it is blamed for committing human rights abuses or covertly sponsoring Islamic extremist organizations. On December 13, 2012, the Pakistan army described an Amnesty International report, The Hands of Cruelty, as “a pack of lies”. On February 2nd, the Pakistan army once again used its favorite ‘a pack of lies” phrase to reject the Human Right Watch World Report 2013. The army says the report is “propaganda driven and totally biased” which is “yet another attempt to malign Pakistan and its institutions through fabricated and unverified reports, completely favouring an anti-Pakistan agenda.”
The author then goes on to explain the powerful position of the army and why it reacts so vehemently. The part that is of special interest for the protection of human rights defenders follows:
“ThePakistan military does not solely suffice with rebuttals. It oftentimes turns unimaginably nasty against those who question its authority. In this case, the H.R.W.’s Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hasan, a widely respected human rights defender, has become the focus of a malicious and misleading campaign in the national media. The military has unleashed a media trial of Mr. Hasan with the help of Pakistan’s largest media group, the Jang, questioning his integrity and even patriotism to the extent that it now raises genuine concerns about his personal safety and that of his family.
The News International, an English language newspaper published by the Jang media group, has become a tool in the hands of the military in the extremely dangerous campaign against Mr. Hasan. Last year, the newspaper bullied the human rights activist so much that it even published his U.S., Pakistan and London U.K. telephone numbers. This was a clear violation of journalistic standards but the newspaper apparently did so in order to encourage Islamic fundamentalists to directly threaten him on the phone numbers printed in the newspaper.
Ahmed Noorani, a young, angry and highly opinionated journalist, has been bullying Mr. Hasan and his organization for more than one year in his dispatches which, whenever attacking the H.R.W., hardly undergo the routine process of fact-checking, language correction and copy editing which is essential to sift opinion from reporting.
On February 24, 2014, the Citizens for Free and Responsible Media, a group of professional Pakistani journalists, sent a letter to the publisher and top editors of the News International, to express “our dismay at the unethical and false reporting in your paper … that is not only inaccurate and based on lies, but also endangers the life and safety of a Pakistani citizen.” One year later, the newspaper still continues to publish unsubstantiated personal attacks against Mr. Hasan which seem to be caused by the reporter’s personal dislike for the H.R.W.’s Pakistan head.
The Pakistani military and sections of the media must stop harassing Mr. Hasan. Such childish and unprofessional behavior does not help Pakistan’s democracy. Reports issued by H.R.W. and other international think-tanks and human rights groups are professional analyses of different countries. It is absolutely irresponsible and unethical to respond to such criticism with personal attacks on individual professionals affiliated with these organizations. It amounts to shooting the messenger. In a countries like Pakistan Mr. Hasan is a rare breed of bravery and hope for millions of citizens who want their rights to be respected and protected by their government. Human rights activists and journalists in Pakistan risk their lives on a daily basis to speak up for the citizens’ democratic rights and Pakistan’s largest media outlet should appreciate courageous Pakistan rights activists, such as Mr. Hasan, instead of endangering their lives.”
from:
Posted in AI, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: AI, Ali Dayan Hasan, Amnesty International, harassment, Hasan, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, media framing, military, News International, Pakistan, Pakistani Armed Forces, protection, universality
January 21, 2013
The Voice of America echoes reports by HRW and Freedom House amongst others that the security forces in Turkey have detained more than a dozen lawyers as part of a nationwide sweep against illegal leftist groups……With many of the detained lawyers being well-known human rights defenders, several human rights groups around the world have voiced alarm. Emma Sinclair Webb, who is with U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, said, “Its very concerning to find lawyers the targets of police operations at four oclock in the morning, having their doors broken down. These lawyers are all known for their activities in defense of human rights, for pursuing police violence cases. ….The Turkish government has accused the lawyers of transferring instructions from the groups imprisoned leaders to militants.
Seven of the detained lawyers belong to the Progressive Lawyers Association, which last year launched a telephone hot line for people to report police abuse. In a statement, the lawyers group condemned the detentions, calling them an attack against people and institutions that oppose the government and struggle for democracy and freedom. The arrests also included five members of a popular left-wing folk music group. ….The government claims none of them are in jail for their pursuits of journalist activities. In a report this week, the watchdog group Freedom House categorized Turkey as only a partially free country in its “Freedom in the World Report,” due to what it described as a serious decline in civil liberties and political rights.
via Turkey Rounds Up Human Rights Lawyers.
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Tags: Freedom House, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, illegal detention, Independence of Lawyers, lawyers, Turkey, Voice of America
January 16, 2013
One does near much about Oman and the impression could be that it is doing relatively well (the position of women is acknowledged to be good; there is a governmental Human Rights Commission and limited democracy) but after reports in 2012 by AI, HRW and Freedom House amongst others, Frontline now, 14 January 2013, reports the arbitrary arrest of human rights defender and blogger Said Jaddad by the Special Division of Muscat Police Station, where he is currently being detained. Said Jaddad’s work includes the documenting of human rights violations as well as writing critical blog posts about human rights violations in Oman.
On 14 January, Said Jaddad received a call from the Special Division of Muscat Police Station, requesting that he present himself to the Station. No legal basis was provided for this request. Upon his arrival, the HRD was detained. He has been denied visitation rights and access to a lawyer, while no formal charges have yet been presented. Furthermore, Said Jaddad, who reportedly suffers from heart problems, has not been provided with medical attention. He has previously been subjected to interrogation by police, on each occasion he was requested to sign an undertaking to cease working in the field of human rights, which he rejected. In February 2011, the human rights defender was threatened if he did not cease his contact with international non-governmental organisations. Said Jaddad has also been officially banned from publishing in the Omani media, including in newspapers, such as Al Zaman and Ru’aya.
Front Line Defenders expresses serious concern at the arbitrary detention of Said Jaddad, and at his physical and psychological integrity, in particular given his reported medical condition. Front Line Defenders believes Said Jaddad’s detention to be solely motivated by his human rights work and views this act as part of an ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders in Oman, including continued acts of judicial harassment. For further information on this situation, please see Front Line Defenders’ appeal dated 15 June 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/18650 .
Posted in Front Line | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Arab spring, arbitrary arrest, blogger, detention, Freedom House, Front Line Defenders, Frontline, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Watch, Non-governmental organization, Oman, Said Jaddad
January 16, 2013
Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, executive director of the US-based NGO Witness, wrote a post in the Huffington Post of 15 January about this fascinating topic on the occasion of Witness’ 20th anniversary. Here are some quotes before making a more critical comment:
“Twenty years ago, WITNESS was created because a world with many cameras — a world “where the eyes of the world are opened to human rights” — did not yet exist, a big bold vision at the time. Today, building on two decades of experience in creating tangible human rights change by exposing the truth through video, we are envisioning the next frontier: a world where video is not only ubiquitous, but has given millions the power to hold human rights abusers accountable, to deliver justice and to transform the human rights landscape.”….”So in 2013 and beyond, we are committed to building “video-for-change” communities, supporting networks of human rights defenders, from communities fighting forced evictions in Brazil to youth in the U.S. campaigning to protect the environment.”
In 2012, Witness launched the Human Rights Channel in partnership with YouTube and Storyful to ensure that important human rights stories are seen and contextualized. “We are committing in 2013 and beyond to take on the systems. The technology companies that run the platforms must create more human rights friendly spaces for all of us. And we decided to focus on the international legal systems to improve the understanding of how to authenticate citizen media to hold perpetrators of abuse accountable. We are working to achieve this vision by partnering and sharing in order to meet the challenge in front of us. We’ll join forces with technology mavens and mobile developers, with courageous human rights defenders worldwide, with brave bloggers, with witnessing citizens, with peer networks and effective organizations.”
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Witness has indeed greatly advanced the use of images in the struggle for human rights and its future plans are daunting. What is missing – understandably in a piece that celebrates the achievement of a group’s anniversary – is the wider picture of what the human rights movement is doing with images. From the visualization of human rights defenders (the Martin Ennals Award, Front Line Defenders, Rights Livelihood Awards, Tulip Award, Civil Rights Defenders, HRF to mention just some who regularly make film portraits and/or stream their proceedings), the production of films on HRDs (e.g. True Heroes foundation), the systematization of access to images (e.g. by HURIDOCS) and the showing of films by a myriad of human rights film festivals (HRW, AI, Movies that Matter, and some 30 others). This modest blog alone has made some 60 references to the use of film images for human rights, many by Witness and the organizations mentioned above.
I mentioning this not because of ‘fairness’ in the sense that others need to be mentioned also, but because the full scope of the challenges ahead needs to be seen and addressed. Human rights images face the same problems as documentation: (1) information overload; (2) finding the most relevant information (even more daunting for images as searching directly on images is still far away); (3) authenticity and veracity; (4) ensuring quantity and quality of dissemination (what goes ‘viral’ is not necessarily what serves human rights) and (5) protecting of sources and participants (have the persons in the film given informed consent?). And I am sure there are quite a few other important issues.
So when the executive director of Witness states that it excites her “that we, together with so many allies, are taking the challenge for the future head on“, one must hope that it includes all those who can contribute to her vision of a world ” where many, many more citizens and human rights defenders have access to knowledge, skills and tools enabling them to create compelling, trustable videos and to make sure that their video is acted upon and human rights change happens.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/witness/human-rights-2013_b_2475221.html
Follow Witness on Twitter: www.twitter.com/witnessorg see its annual report: annual report
Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: 2012, Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, film, film festival, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, HURIDOCS, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Movies that Matter, Non-governmental organization, True Heroes Foundation, Tulip award, video, Witness (human rights group), YouTube
January 9, 2013
Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, wrote in her blog through Al-Jazeera, on 9 January 2013, a very informative piece under the title: “Human Rights Watch: Time to stand with human rights defenders” with the provocative byline: It is disappointing to see HRW’s unwillingness to stand with those who are working to promote and defend human rights.
The full article one should certainly read at: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/20131781532514238.html but what matters here is the policy question to what extent a (decent) NGO (i.c. HRW) should take to task another (very biased) NGO (i.c. UN Watch).
In short, the pro-Israeli, UN-bashing UN Watch discovered that the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, US lawyer Richard Falk, was still ‘on the Board’ of HRW. HRW quickly replied that he was only a member of HRW’s local support committee in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives and that it was an oversight that he still held this honorary position and that it was rectified (“longstanding policy, applied many times, that no official from any government or UN agency can serve on any Human Rights Watch committee or its Board. It was an oversight on our part that we did not apply that policy in Richard Falk’s case several years ago when he assumed his UN position”). UN Watch of course cried victory implying that Falk was expelled an enemy of human rights or because he is anti-Semitic.
The author of the blog finds fault with HRW’s meek response that did indeed not amount to a strong defense of Richard Falk’s credentials, impartiality and expertise. Should HRW not have made clear that substantively it stands with Richard Falk, that he was removed for technical reasons only and would be welcomed back as soon as he ceases to be UN Rapporteur? These are policy question that each NGO should answer for itself but in the context of UN Watch’s obsession to undermine the work of the UN in general and Richard Falk in particular a more robust stance would have been useful. I think that the similarity – even confusion – in name should also have led HRW to take a tougher public stand.
Phyllis Bennis concludes with: “Given his Middle East staff’s consistent work, there is no question that Ken Roth and the HRW board understand that human rights criticism of Israeli occupation is well-grounded in fact, and that such criticism remains a crucial element in changing the public, media and policymaking discourse in the United States. If we are ever to have any hope of changing US government policy in Palestine-Israel towards one grounded in human rights and international law, consistent human rights criticism and a willingness to stand with human rights defenders like Richard Falk when they face attack, remain crucial tools – for all human rights activists, including the leadership of Human Rights Watch.”
Posted in HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: HRW, human rights, Human Rights Watch, Institute for Policy Studies, Israeli-occupied territories, Kenneth Roth, NGOs, Palestine, Phyllis Bennis, Richard Falk, UN, UN Special Rapporteur, UN Watch
December 19, 2012
Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission organised on 11 December an event, “Leadership in the Fight against Homophobia,” together with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Permanent Missions to the UN of Argentina,Brazil, Croatia, the European Union, France, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States.
“Ban Ki-moon wholeheartedly denounced homophobia and transphobia and called for decriminalization of homosexual conduct,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. “What makes his speech profound is that he vehemently criticized so called ‘anti-propaganda’ bills, which criminalize public discussion of homosexuality. Such draft bills are being discussed in the parliaments of Ukraine and Russia and should be rejected immediately.”
The hall in the UN Building was packed with hundreds of attendees, who watched a video message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The event included statements by two well-known singers, Ricky Martin, and Yvonne Chaka-Chaka of South Africa, who closed the program with a song.
Jessica Stern, executive director at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, honored three international human rights defenders who took part in the program: “The voices of Human Rights Defenders Olena Shevchenko (Ukraine), Blas Radi (Argentina), and Gift Trapence (Malawi) are a clarion call to all – to UN diplomats, world leaders, activists, and every day people – that we cannot compromise on human rights….We are all born equals and human rights must be equal for everyone, everywhere. No more, no less.”
In his speech, Ban applauded Argentina for introducing some of the most progressive legislation in the world on gender recognition. Radi helped bring about passage of the gender identity law, which was approved by the Argentinian Senate on May 8 and became effective on June 4.
“Let me say this loud and clear: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else,” SG Ban said. “They, too, are born free and equal. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in their struggle for human rights.”
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: argentina, Ban Ki-moon, Boris Dittrich, gay rights, homophobia, Human Rights Watch, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, LGBT rights, Secretary General, UN
December 12, 2012
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The photojournalist Fernando Moreles has been awarded the second Tim Hetherington Grant, an annual visual journalism award focusing on human rights, Human Rights Watch and World Press Photo announced 0n 11 December 2012. Human Rights Watch and World Press Photo established the grant to honor the legacy of Hetherington, a photojournalist and filmmaker who was killed during fighting in Libya in April 2011. The €20,000 grant was given to Moleres for his project “Waiting for an Opportunity,” in which he is documenting the harsh realities of juvenile justice in Sierra Leone. For more than two decades Moleres, who was born and lives in Spain, has been committed to documenting the plight of the most vulnerable populations and covering issues relating to children and labor, juvenile justice, and refugees. “Fernando Moleres’ moral and emotional commitment to his photographic subjects is clear,” said Carroll Bogert, deputy executive director at Human Rights Watch. “Tim Hetherington would have loved this work and Human Rights Watch is thrilled to support it.”
Related articles:
Fernando Moleres Wins Tim Hetherington Grant (hrw.org)
Tim Hetherington, 1970-2011 (edendale.typepad.com)
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Tags: Carroll Bogert, Fernando Moleres, film, Freetown, human rights, Human Rights Watch, Libya, photo journalism, Sierra Leone, Tim Hetherington, Tim Hetherington Grant, visual journalism, World Press Photo
November 6, 2012
Radio Netherlands reports today, 6 November, that a three-day UN-sponsored internet talking shop has kicked off in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brings together 1,500 delegates from around the world to discuss issues such as identity protection online, how content can be controlled and the role of governments in managing the internet. At the same time, Azeri activists and human rights organisations are using the gathering to draw attention to the lack of freedom in the host country itself.
Dutch Europarliamentarian Marietje Schaake, who has been awarded the title of ‘Most Wired’ MEP, said at a preparatory event: “An open and free internet is an enormous chance for everyone in the world. “We shouldn’t look at internet freedom in terms of nations, but in terms of values.”
………..
Azeri journalists jailed
Just as they did in May of this year during the Eurovision Song Contest, Azeri activists are seizing on increased international media attention to point out human rights breaches in their home country. In a report issued last week, Human Rights Watch stated that “the government of Azerbaijan has a poor and worsening record on freedom of expression, online and offline”.
Several political activists, human rights defenders and journalists have been jailed, and last week the Azeri parliament adopted amendments increasing fines up to thousands of euros for ‘unsanctioned public gatherings’. In an open letter to the Azerbaijani government published in British newspaper The Independent, activist Emin Milli says, “you once suggested in a speech that the internet is free in Azerbaijan. I am sure you will repeat this message at this global forum. It is true that people in Azerbaijan are free to use the internet, but it is also a fact that they can be severely punished afterwards for doing so.”
Uncensored internet: a human right? | Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Azerbaijan, Baku, Eurovision, Human Rights Watch, internet, Internet Governance Forum, journalists, Schaake, UN
November 1, 2012
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Official Blasts West’s Double-Standard Policies on Human Rights in Iran
TEHRAN (FNA)- Secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council Mohammad Javad Larijani rapped the West’s double-standard policies and stances on human rights issues, saying that western states shelter terrorist groups like the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) and award them in the name of defending human rights.
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“Our people are familiar with the West’s discriminatory and hostile attitude towards the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Larijani said in a meeting with Head of Iran-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group Bijan Jirsarayee in Tehran on Wednesday.
Larijani rapped the double-standard polices and behavior of the western states towards the human rights issues in Iran.
On one hand, the western states shelter and support terrorist groups like the MKO … and cooperate with the US in imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran which have inflicted great losses on the Iranian people and is a blatant violation of human rights, and on the other hand, they suddenly emerge as advocates of human rights and grant awards to culprits in Iran as if they are defenders of human rights, he added.
The European Parliament announced that this year’s winners of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought are two Iranian culprits (!ed), lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi. Sotoudeh is now imprisoned in Iran for security crimes and Panahi is a fugitive living outside Iran.“
The rest of the article is one long rambling statement against the MKO and the support it gets from the West (read for yourself if you want to) but with the marvelously inconsistent quotation of …Human Rights Watch, one of the NGO regularly denounced as a stooge of the same West..
“A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations. According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.”
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Fars News Agency :: Official Blasts Wests Double-Standard Policies on Human Rights in Iran.
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Tags: award, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, Iran, Javad Larijani, MKO, Nasrin Sotoudeh
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 