This blog tries not to keep track of all the personal appointments in the human rights movement – that would be impossible – but the additions to the Board of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in Geneva announced on 30 May 2013 are too impressive to leave unmentioned: Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘human rights’
Tiananmen remembrance doesn’t stop in spite of Government’s efforts
June 5, 2013Twenty-four years after the bloodshed of Tiananmen, China’s Communist Party is exercising its traditional response to the unwelcome anniversary: detaining and silencing dissidents and blocking bereaved families who hope to observe the day with mourning from the graveyards; mobilizing extra police officers to ensure that no protests break out around Tiananmen Square; and scrubbing Chinese Internet sites of any references and images that refer to or even hint at the upheavals of 1989.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On 4 June the police in China blocked the gate of a cemetery housing victims of the Tiananmen crackdown on its 24th anniversary. More than a dozen security officials deployed outside the stone gate at the Wanan graveyard near the hills of western Beijing, which mothers of the victims visit each year, and told AFP journalists to leave the area. Read the rest of this entry »
Controversy over alleged abduction of Turkish activist from Athens
June 4, 2013A really strange case has popped up in Athens, not immediately related to the demonstrations in Turkey but it could add to the tension: A Turkish activist, Bulut Yayla, was reportedly abducted from Solonos Street in Exarchia on Thursday 30 May 2013 and two days later he was traced in Istanbul’s antiterrorism department, where he was being held for questioning. Read the rest of this entry »
Statement by Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition on equality in public life
June 4, 2013
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition submitted the following statement to the UN Human Rights Council whose Working Group on women’s equal, full and effective participation in Read the rest of this entry »
Side event focusing on Russia and Belarus on 5 June in Geneva
June 3, 2013
The FIDH Representative to the UN in Geneva (http://www.fidh.org) invites people to a side event entitled: RUSSIA & BELARUS: JOINT OFFENSIVE AGAINST THE HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM, which will be held on 5 June 2013, in room VIII of the Palais des Nations, from 2pm – 4pm.
Participants:
Mr. Miklos Haraszti, Special Rapporteur on Belarus (TBC)
Olga Abramenko, Director of ADC Memorial (Russia) who was recently charged for publishing a report entitled “Roma, Migrants, Activists: Victims of Police Abuse” and submitting it to the UN Committee Against Torture.
Valentin Stefanovitch, Deputy Head of Human Rights Center VIASNA (Belarus) who will provide context on the Belarusian situation and draw comparisons with the harassment of Russian NGOs.
Dimitry Kolbasin, Head of the Information Department of AGORA (Russia) who will focus on the increasing repression of Russian human rights NGOs.
Valery Sozaev, Advocacy Manager, LGBT Network (Russia) who will specifically tackle issues facing LGBT people
Outcome of ISHR side-event on business and human rights defenders
June 3, 2013
Last week I informed you that the Geneva-based NGO, International Service for Human Rights Finally, organised a side-event on business and human rights defenders (co-sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and promised to keep you informed of the outcome. Thanks to the quick reply from Phil Lynch, Read the rest of this entry »
AWID report on illegal detention of Women Human Rights Defenders in Sudan
June 3, 2013
Via Protection on Line I got this fairly detailed report by Katherine Ronderos done for AWID on the situation of women human rights defenders in Sudan. It tells how the Sudanese people, inspired by the Arab spring and led by women and youth, took the streets of Sudan demanding regime change in 2011. Authorities violently cracked down on these demonstrations, detaining more than 150 women, who were sexually abused or tortured, injured and beaten in the protests. Since June 2012, new protests against the Sudanese regime have intensified violence against women human rights defenders.
Human rights defenders and corporate accountability before the UN Human Rights Council
May 31, 2013Today an interesting meeting took place in Geneva as a side event to the UN Human Rights Council on the topic: “Human rights defenders working on corporate accountability: How can the Human Rights Council contribute to their protection?”
In its report to the Human Rights Council, Read the rest of this entry »
Egyptian NGO bill with big shortcomings in crucial last phase
May 31, 2013
(Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi)
In the context of restrictive legislation to hinder the work of human rights defenders, the Egyptian case deserves urgent attention now. The law on NGOs is being rewritten in this important country and others in the region may follow the example. Despite recent amendments Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian trade union asks: “Do we really want guys like Wahid to be in our Cabinet?”
May 30, 2013
The National Union of Banking Employees NUBE in Malaysia will be filling cases against former Maybank Chief Executive Officer Abdul Wahid Omar at the Jalan Duta Court. Wahid has been appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Economic Planning. What is interesting is that the trade union takes a proactive stand by saying that someone who has shown blatant disregard for workers rights should not be a minister in the government! Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 