Posts Tagged ‘human rights’

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IDRC is funding research on how to defend rights in a hostile context

March 19, 2025

On 14 March 2025, IDRC announced that it is funding research to uphold fundamental democratic freedoms and address rising threats to peoples’ rights. The CAD4.13 million investment supports six projects across five regions:

Ugandans demonstrating in Kampala hold up posters of women who have been kidnapped and murdered.

Demonstrators in Kampala, Uganda, march in 2018 to draw attention to the murders, kidnappings and, activists claim, a lack of action by the police in response. Frederic Noy/Panos Pictures

The freedom to associate, participate in decision-making and express views is fundamental to democracy. Yet, in many countries around the world, these hard-won political and civil rights are being questioned and eroded through physical attacks, online intimidation, smear campaigns, digital surveillance and the lack of response from authorities when attacks occur. Legal and policy restrictions limit individual rights such as same-sex unions and reproductive health services while, increasingly, obstacles like funding bans and censorship are reducing the ability of people and organizations to contest these measures. 

Research is needed to inform the strategies and actions of organizations, groups and movements that advocate for the respect for human rights. Research institutions, networks, and women’s rights and LGBTI+ organizations are leading IDRC-supported research to:

  • understand what drives the erosion of rights in each context 
  • analyze the strategies used to counter these trends 
  • explore how to strengthen rights defenders, for example through alliance-building and cross-movement solidarity
  • generate policy recommendations to safeguard rights 

Read about the projects

Addressing gender discrimination and violence — focus on Eastern and Southern Africa

Defending against gender backlash: Strategies of resilience in Southeast Asia

Enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights and gender equality in Sierra Leone and Liberia

Protecting LGBTIQ+ human rights movements and organizations in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador

Upholding rights at a time of global backlash: Strategies in the Middle East and North Africa

Fostering a solidarity network: Collective learning and action in support of gender equality

The six research projects are connected through a common research agenda aimed at producing insights across regions and globally.

https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/news/new-research-explores-how-defend-rights-hostile-context

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Human Rights Defender Itai Dzamara disappeared 10 years ago in Zimbabwe

March 10, 2025

March 7, 2025

(AP)

Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Zimbabwean journalist and pro-democracy activist Itai Peace Dzamara, Amnesty International 7 March 2025 called on authorities to urgently establish an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into his whereabouts. 

See: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/itai-dzamara/

Dzamara was a leader of the Occupy Africa Unity Square, a pro-democracy protest group. Two days before his enforced disappearance, Dzamara addressed an opposition rally where he called for mass action against Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economic conditions. 

Immediately after Dzamara’s abduction, his wife filed a missing person report at Glen Norah Police Station in Harare. The next day, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights approached the High Court to try to force the state to expend all available resources to investigate and locate Dzamara. 

The High Court of Zimbabwe ordered police and state security agents to search for Dzamara and report on their progress every two weeks. However, according to his lawyer, none of the security services have fully complied with the order. Police have reportedly not given any substantial information on the details of their supposed investigation when they submitted reports to the court, and have stopped submitting reports. 

“Authorities have yet to conduct any credible inquiry into Itai Dzamara’s fate or whereabouts,” said Tigere Chagutah. “It is time for the authorities to stop pretending and get serious about finding Itai Dzamara and holding accountable whoever is suspected of responsibility for his enforced disappearance.” ..

Since Dzamara’s enforced disappearance, many other activists and human rights defenders in Zimbabwe have suffered harassment, intimidation or torture. In the last two years alone, at least ten opposition activists have been abducted. 

Six people were abducted after disputed elections in 2023, including opposition activist and church leader Tapfumaneyi Masaya whose body was later found dumped on a farm. Others were allegedly tortured, some reported being injected with an unknown substance. 

Last year, amid a massive crackdown on dissent opens in a new tab before a regional summit held in Harare, security agents pulled four activists off a plane and reportedly tortured them for up to eight hours. 

Authorities have not conducted investigations into any of these cases. 

“With the perpetrators of Itai Dzamara’s enforced disappearance enjoying complete impunity, it should be no surprise that similar human rights violations continue in Zimbabwe,” said Tigere Chagutah. “Zimbabwe’s government must protect human rights defenders, activists and opposition political parties to ensure they are able to do their work.” 

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/zimbabwe-ten-years-without-answers-since-journalist-and-activist-itai-dzamaras-enforced-disappearance/

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Spread of ‘foreign agent’ laws in Eastern Europe

February 27, 2025

Natika Kantaria is a human rights advocate with nearly a decade of experience planning and implementing advocacy campaigns in human rights. She has worked with international organizations and watchdog NGOs and collaborated with the public and private sectors. For the ISHR she wrote a piece on 26 February 2025 about a worrying trend: ‘Foreign agent’ laws have been introduced in various countries, violating international human rights law and threatening to silence human rights defenders. This pattern is particularly evident in Eastern Europe, where NGOs courageously resist and need the support of the international community. See e.g. my earlier posts:

‘Foreign Agent’ Laws Spread, now also Georgia ?
Kyrgyzstan (and Slovakia) on their way to emulate Russia with draft law on ‘foreign representatives (agents)’

Societies thrive when everyone can work, speak out, and organise freely and safely to ensure justice and equality for all. Legislation requiring NGOs to register as ‘foreign agents’ is a barrier to this virtuous cycle. Despite the European Court of Human Rights’ 2022 ruling that Russia’s 2012 foreign agent law violated freedom of expression and association, the governments of Hungary, Georgia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have proceeded undeterred to introduce similar laws. 

These laws specifically target NGOs and not-for-profits that receive foreign funds and require them to register as foreign agents, organisations serving the interests of a foreign power, or agents of foreign influence. By doing so, they restrict the capacity of  human rights defenders to organise, participate and exercise their right to defend rights by:

  • imposing disproportionately high fines and heavy sanctions to NGOs refusing to comply, which may ultimately lead to the termination of their operations 
  • using vague wording, that ultimately gives too much room and power for government interpretation. For instance, the requirement for NGOs to register in official records or identify themselves as ‘agents of foreign influence’ lacks clarity and specificity.  
  • increasing the burden of NGOs by introducing heavy reporting and auditing requirements. The State’s alleged need for transparency as their primary purpose can, therefore, be effectively addressed through existing legislation regulating NGOs.
  • employing a negative narrative that stigmatises and delegitimises the work of the civil society organisations and human rights defenders. This rhetoric promotes hostility and distrust toward civil society and encourages attacks against defenders.

Furthermore, such laws contradict the commitments of these countries under international human rights law. Article 13 of the 1998 UN Declaration on human rights defenders recognises the right of defenders to solicit, receive and utilise resources.

Article 10 of the Declaration +25, a supplement to the UN Declaration put forward in 2024 by civil society, human rights defenders and legal experts, addresses States’ attempts to prohibit foreign contributions or impose unjustified national security limitations. It stipulates that States should not hinder financial resources for human rights defenders and outlines measures to prevent retaliation based on the source of their funding. These laws violate rights related to freedom of expression, association, and privacy, as outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Foreign agent laws also run counter to commitments made by countries at the regional level as members of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), including recommendation CM/Rec(2018)11, which emphasizes the protection and promotion of civil society space and OSCE guidelines for protecting human rights defenders. 

NGOs are increasingly becoming a primary target for repressive governments. According to the CIVICUS Monitor 2024 report, the countries mentioned above that have introduced ‘foreign agent’ laws have either ‘closed’ or ‘obstructed’ civil society space. In addition, the Trump administration’s rhetoric and its decision to freeze foreign aid have contributed to strengthening hostile narratives already present in ‘foreign agent laws’ in Eastern Europe and have emboldened governments in their efforts to publicly undermine these organisations.  

While the silencing of NGOs has become part of the agenda for many governments, and the rise of ‘foreign agent’ laws serves as a step towards establishing authoritarian regimes, civil society actors continue to mobilise in response. Strengthening engagement with international human rights mechanisms, fostering joint global advocacy, and providing support to targeted organisations and groups are essential steps that international NGOs and the international community should take to build resistance, reinforce coalition efforts, and protect the work of human rights defenders.

International and regional human rights mechanisms have called for governments to either repeal these laws, or not to adopt them in their current forms. On 7 February 2025, three UN independent experts issued a statement in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the government reintroduced the ‘Law on the Special Registry and Publicity of the Work of Non-Profit Organisations’ after its initial withdrawal in May 2024. The statement stressed that creating a register of non-profit organisations receiving foreign funding in one of the entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina will impose severe restrictions on NGOs and would grant government control over their operation, including the introduction of an annual inspection, with further reviews of legality of CSOs receiving foreign funding possible upon requests from citizens or relevant authorities.

In this unsupportive environment, donors have a fundamental role to play. ‘As civil society actors devise strategies to push back against these repressive tactics, private philanthropy and bilateral and multilateral donors have vital support roles to play,’ writes James Savage, who leads the Fund for Global Human Rights’ (FGHR) programme on the Enabling Environment for Human Rights Defenders. ‘They can help civil society prepare for future challenges, so that it is organised not only to respond to evolving forms of repression but also to get ahead of them by tackling their root causes,’ Savage concludes.

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/spread-of-foreign-agent-laws-in-eastern-europe-pose-increasing-threats-to-civil-society

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Taner Kılıç, last of human rights defenders in notorious ‘Büyükada Trials, acquitted in Turkey

February 26, 2025

Taner Kılıç, a human rights activist and the final defendant in the so-called “Büyükada Trials,” was acquitted on Tuesday, marking the end of a case widely seen as a stain on Turkey’s human rights record, Turkish media reported. 

On July 5, 2017, 10 human rights advocates were detained during a workshop that was taking place in a hotel on Istanbul’s Büyükada, one of the Princes’ Islands. Among those detained were İdil Eser, then-director of Amnesty International Turkey; İlknur Üstün of the Women’s Coalition; Özlem Dalkıran, a member of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly; and several others. Two weeks after their detention eight were jailed after a court appearance, while the other two were released pending trial. 

While the group was still in detention, pro-government news outlets published reports accusing them of being foreign agents and that the workshop in Büyükada was a “spying activity.”  However, an indictment prepared by the prosecutor three months later accused the group of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.” They were linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gülen movement. 

Taner Kılıç, Amnesty Turkey’s honorary chair, who wasn’t among those who were initially detained but had been imprisoned on June 6, 2017 for alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt, was added to the indictment and his case was merged with the Büyükada trials.

In 2020 he was sentenced to more than six years in prison for links to the Gülen movement. 

That same year, Günal Kurşun from the Human Rights Agenda Association, along with İdil Eser and Özlem Dalkıran, were sentenced to two years in prison. Nalan Erkem from the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, İlknur Üstün, Iranian-Swedish writer Ali Gharavi, German human rights activist Peter Steudtner, Veli Acu from the Human Rights Agenda Association, Nejat Taştan from the Association for Monitoring Equal Rights and Şeyhmus Özbekli from the Rights Initiative were acquitted.

On October 17, 2022 the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the sentences, and in the retrial, Eser, Kurşun, Dalkıran and Kılıç were acquitted. However, the prosecutor objected to Kılıç’s acquittal and requested a review of the decision. As a result, the case was sent back to the appeals court. Ultimately, the final ruling favored Kılıç, with his acquittal upheld. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/07/03/will-long-running-saga-of-trial-against-the-istanbul-10-end-on-friday-3-july/]

The Büyükada trials were harshly criticized by international human rights organizations such as Freedom House and Amnesty International. 

Following the initial convictions, Freedom House said it was “an assault on human rights.” 

“The conviction of Taner Kılıç, Günal Kurşun, İdil Eser, and Özlem Dalkıran in this politically motivated case lays bare the Turkish authorities’ ongoing assault on human rights and the justice system’s abdication of its responsibility to protect them,” said Marc Behrendt, director for Europe and Eurasia programs at Freedom House. “We call on the Turkish courts to reaffirm the rule of law and to fulfill their obligation to uphold fundamental rights and freedoms in Turkey.”

Amnesty International called the trials “an ordeal” and said it was a “baseless trial” that “represents a shocking example of the authorities’ attempt to criminalize the defense of human rights with implications for everyone in Turkey.” 
“This injustice has become a stark symbol of the massive crackdown on human rights and on those who defend them,” said Amnesty International.

However Amnesty warns: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/turkiye-acquittal-of-taner-kilic-after-eight-year-ordeal-comes-amid-new-wave-of-repression-of-rights-defenders/

Prominent human rights activist acquitted in notorious ‘Büyükada Trials,’ marking the end of a dark chapter
All defendants acquitted in Turkey’s trial of rights activists after 8 years

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Side event 7 March 2025 on Protection of defenders against technology-facilitated rights violations

February 25, 2025
  • Location: Physical
  • Date: 07 March 2025
  • Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM CET
  • Address: Room XXV, Palais des Nations
  • Event language(s) English
  • RSVP Needed: no

New and emerging technologies have become a fundamental tool for human rights defenders to conduct their activities, boost solidarity among movements and reach different audiences. Unfortunately, these positive aspects have been overshadowed by negative impacts on the enjoyment of human rights, including increased threats and risks for human rights defenders. While we see the increased negative impacts of new technologies, we do not see that governments are addressing these impacts comprehensively.

Furthermore, States and their law enforcement agencies (often through the help of non-State actors, including business enterprises) often take down or censor the information shared by defenders on social media and other platforms. In other cases, we have seen that businesses are also complicit in attacks and violations against human right defenders.

Conversely, lack of access to the internet and the digital gaps in many countries and regions, or affecting specific groups, limits the potential of digital technologies for activism and movement building, as well as access to information. 

The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted in 1998, does not consider these challenges, which have largely arisen with the rapid evolution of technology. In this context, and, as part of activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders, a coalition of NGOs launched a consultative initiative to identify the key issues faced by human rights defenders that are insufficiently addressed by the UN Declaration, including on the area of digital and new technologies. These issues are also reflected in the open letter to States on the draft resolution on human rights defenders that will be considered during HRC58. 

This side event will be an opportunity to continue discussing the reality and the challenges that human rights defenders face in the context of new and emerging technologies. It will also be an opportunity to hear directly from those who, on a daily basis, work with defenders in the field of digital rights while highlighting their specific protection needs. Finally, the event will also help remind States about the range of obligations in this field that can contribute to inform the consultations on the HRC58 resolution on human rights defenders. 

Panelists:

  • Opening remarks: Permanent Mission of Norway
  • Speakers:
    • Carla Vitoria – Association for Progressive Communications 
    • Human rights defender from Kenya regarding the Safaricom case (via video message)
    • Woman human rights defender from Colombia regarding use of new technologies during peaceful protests
    • Human rights defender from Myanmar regarding online incitement to violence against Rohingya people
  • Video montage of civil society priorities for the human rights defender resolution at HRC58
  • Moderator: Ulises Quero, Programme Manager, Land, Environment and Business & Human Rights (ISHR)

This event is co-sponsored by Access Now, Asian Forum for Human Rights & Development (FORUM-ASIA), Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa HRD Project), Huridocs, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Peace Brigades International, Privacy International, Protection International,  Regional Coalition of WHRDs in Southwest Asia and North Africa (WHRD MENA Coalition). 

for the report, see: https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/human-rights-defenders-and-new-emerging-forms-of-technology-a-blessing-or-a-curse/

https://ishr.ch/events/protection-of-defenders-against-new-and-emerging-forms-of-technology-facilitated-rights-violations

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Launch of the Free Expression Legal Network to support free expression and free media

February 25, 2025

The Free Expression Legal Network, a new initiative dedicated to strengthening legal protections for free expression and media freedom, was launched at Webber Wentzel’s Sandton office on 18 February 2025, with more than 50 People in attendance. Developed by the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), the Press Council, the Campaign for Free Expression (CFE), and other organisations and legal experts, the network aims to ensure that individuals and organisations facing legal threats can access the support they need.

Among those that this new initiative aims to support are journalists, smaller media outlets, community-based organisations and businesses that lack access to corporate or external legal representation. It aims to ensure co-ordination with several other international efforts of this kind to provide a stronger framework for defending free expression,

The network will focus on several key areas to strengthen legal protections for free expression and media freedom. Media freedom is critical – ensuring that individuals and media organisations can report and impart information freely and hold power to account without fear of legal repercussions. Additionally, the network will support media viability by providing legal guidance to help media outlets navigate financial and operational challenges, ensuring their long-term sustainability. Another critical area is policy advocacy, where the network will assist with legal challenges related to media regulation and press freedom policies, helping to create a more supportive legal environment for journalism. Lastly, the initiative will prioritise small and community media, offering essential legal resources to newsrooms and organisations that often lack adequate legal support, ensuring they have the protection needed to operate effectively.

But this initiative comes at a time of new and sinister threats to freedom of expression more generally. Unchecked and unprecedented powers to platform and platform certain voices and sources of information present pronounces threats to freedom of expression globally. It is intended that this network, enabling resources and expertise, is able to respond innovatively, nimbly and effectively in meeting these dangers.

The keynote address was delivered by Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Judge of the International Criminal Court, and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Drawing from her extensive experience in international human rights law, she provided invaluable insight into the legal challenges surrounding free expression and the role of judicial systems in upholding these rights. Emphasising the power of collective action, she stated, “If you clap with a single hand, nobody yells for you. But if a lot of people form a network clap, they will be heard. So, I can only see success for an initiative like this, I encourage them to go for it here. 

Anton Harber, Campaign for Free Expression Director, emphasised the importance of the new body in defending free speech, stating, “This new body will be a vital tool in preventing attacks on free speech and free media, bringing together a range of resources to respond quickly and strongly. It will help ensure that anyone whose free speech is threatened will be properly defended. It will also be proactive – pushing for change to laws that don’t defend free speech or the right to information. In the face of growing threats to free speech, we are building a strong defence“.

Echoing this urgency, Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of Campaign for Free Expression, highlighted the global nature of these challenges, adding, “I think that the threats to free expression are especially intense at this time, not only in our country but in the world generally. It is especially important that those who have their rights to expression violated and threatened are offered expert support and legal assistance in order to counter those threats”.

Dario Milo, a partner at Webber Wentzel and a leading expert in media law, emphasised the importance of this initiative, stating: “The Free Expression Legal Network is a significant step forward in ensuring that journalists, media organisations and other human rights defenders, particularly those with limited resources, have access to the legal guidance they need. At a time when media freedom is under increasing pressure, this initiative will play a crucial role in safeguarding free expression and upholding the public’s right to know.”

For more information on the Free Expression Legal Network and how to get involved, please contact Anton Harber, Director, CFE, anton@harber.co.za 

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Looking towards 2025: Blog post by OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock

February 25, 2025

In this interview, OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock shares his vision for 2025 and key priorities in the fight against torture. From the launch of the Global Torture Index to the SOS Defenders platform, he highlights the initiatives that will shape the movement and strengthen global human rights efforts, including the Global Week on Torture—an event not to be missed.

His message for 2025 is clear: “resilience and unity, not despair.”

What is your vision for 2025, and what priorities should we focus on to maximize our impact on human rights?

In my vision, 2025 is the year in which we rise to the challenge and stand up in the anti-torture movement and uphold the absolute prohibition of torture. Today, in an increasingly dangerous world where states are turning away from human rights, fostering division and weakening protections, and some questioning universal norms altogether, the message must be resilience and unity, not despair. It is essential to protect all victims of torture and to defend the universality of human rights, which is under threat.

I am convinced that our SOS Torture Network must serve as an anchor for human rights and universality. As a movement, we stand united—to protect those at risk, to support our fellow human rights defenders under threat, and to ensure that the absolute prohibition of torture remains intact.

What impact do you hope the launch of the Global Torture Index will have?

The Global Index on Torture is the new flagship program of OMCT, with its launch anticipated in June 2025. I think it is the tool we have been lacking for years, and a tool all actors working against torture can benefit from. It combines reliable data with often-overlooked narratives to make the hidden reality of torture visible. This index will allow us to measure its scope, its impact on society, and advocate for political and legal reforms. It will help identify risks and develop effective anti-torture strategies. This index is not only an OMCT tool but a collective resource to support the efforts of network members towards concrete reforms and the prevention of torture.

Why is the Global Week on Torture important and what can people expect?

Four years ago, we held the first ever Global Week Against Torture, and we saw the power and energy that such a week can create. Many of us, especially those of our members working in very complicated dire situation, often feel alone. It offers a unique opportunity to share experiences, best practices and to learn from each other and to stand in solidarity across countries and regions. The Global Week all makes us feel and understand that we are united in a struggle and reflect that the real force of the OMCT is in its SOS Torture Network.

How will the SOS Defenders platform and the SOS Database help serve human rights defenders?

One of the most important achievements in 2024 has been the launch of the SOS Defenders platform. The platform gives a face to more than 400 human rights defenders that are currently imprisoned because they stood up for human rights. We don’t forget them. We want to demonstrate to governments that the detention of these defenders is an attack on democracy and freedom, and we need to make states who support human rights understand that this is the moment to step up in their actions. OMCT, along with its SOS Torture Network must raise the alarm bells and act to protect from torture and ill-treatment in detention.

https://www.omct.org/en/resources/blog/%C3%A0-lhorizon-2025-le-secr%C3%A9taire-g%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral-de-lomct-sur-lavenir-des-droits-de-lhomme

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Joint civil society statement on the fifth anniversary of the “Xiamen gathering” crackdown

February 11, 2025

On the fifth anniversary of the “Xiamen Gathering” crackdown, 34 civil society organisations (on 10 February 2025) across the world reaffirm their solidarity with Chinese human rights defenders and lawyers persecuted for advocating for human rights:

26 December 2024 marked the fifth anniversary of the crackdown on the “Xiamen gathering”, a private gathering that about 20 Chinese human rights defenders and lawyers convened in Xiamen, China in December 2019 to discuss the situation of human rights and civil society in China. In the weeks after, Chinese authorities interrogated, harassed, detained and imprisoned every participant who was not able to leave China then and subjected almost all of them, including some families and friends, to travel bans, up to the present day, under the pretext of national security.

Among those detained were legal scholar Xu Zhiyong and human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi. Both are leading human rights defenders who spearheaded the “New Citizens’ Movement”, empowering citizens as rights-bearers to advocate for a more equal, rights-respecting and free society, and to combat corruption, wealth inequality and discrimination in access to education. In 2014, Xu and Ding were both sentenced to four years and three and a half years in prison, respectively, for participating in the New Citizens’ Movement and charged with “gathering a crowd to disturb public order”.

From 26 December 2019, and over the weeks that followed, the Chinese authorities forcibly disappeared both under Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL), a criminal procedure allowing secret detention for up to six months without access to legal counsel or family. RSDL is considered by UN Special Procedures experts to constitute secret detention and a form of enforced disappearance, and may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. While held under RSDL, both men were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, before being charged with the national security crime of “subversion of State power”. They were subsequently convicted in a secret trial and handed severe prison sentences of 14 and 12 years, respectively, in April 2023. Despite multiple calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and from UN Special Procedures’ experts as recently as November 2024, China has failed to address these grave violations.

These cases are emblematic of a broader and alarming trend of persecution  of human rights defenders and lawyers in China. Authorities systematically employ RSDL, harsh national security charges, torture and other ill-treatment, prolonged detention, travel bans and harassment to silence dissent and dismantle independent civil society. The use of vague charges such as “subversion of State power” or “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” has become a routine tactic to criminalise human rights work, despite UN human rights experts’ repeated call for them to be repealed. Victims often face prolonged pre-trial detention, lack of due process, restricted access to lawyer and adequate healthcare, and torture or other ill-treatment aimed at extracting forced ‘confessions’.

This systematic repression is further reflected in the cases of human rights lawyers Xie Yang and Lu Siwei, feminist activist Huang Xueqin, labour activist Wang Jianbing, and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, all of whom are currently subjected to arbitrary detention or imprisonment  . UN Special Procedures’ experts have recently described these cases as part of “recurring patterns of repression, including incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance aimed at […] silencing human rights defenders and dissenting or opposing views critical of the Government”.

As we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the crackdown, we, organisations and activists from all over the world, continue to stand in solidarity with all human rights defenders and lawyers in China who courageously advocate for justice despite knowing the risks of doing so.

We urge the Chinese government to:

  1. Immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders and lawyers arbitrarily detained or imprisoned for their human rights work, including Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi;
  2. End the systematic crackdown on civil society, including harassment, unjustified detention, enforced disappearance, and imprisonment of human rights defenders and lawyers;
  3. Amend laws and regulations, including national security legislation, the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, to bring them fully in line with international human rights standards;
  4. Rescind the travel bans imposed on the gathering participants as well as their friends and families immediately.

Signatories:

  1. Alliance for Citizens Rights
  2. Amnesty International 
  3. Asian Lawyers Network (ALN) (Japan)
  4. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  5. Free Tibet (United Kingdom)
  6. Human Rights in China
  7. India Tibet Friendship Society Nagpur Maharashtra (India)
  8. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  9. International Campaign for Tibet
  10. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  11. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) 
  12. International Tibet Network
  13. Judicial Reform Foundation (Taiwan) 
  14. Lawyers for Lawyers (Netherlands)
  15. LUNGTA – Active for Tibet (Belgium)
  16. PEN America (United States)
  17. Safeguard Defenders (Spain) 
  18. Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association (Switzerland)
  19. Taiwan Association for Human Rights (Taiwan)
  20. The 29 Principles (United Kingdom)
  21. The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders 
  22. The Rights Practice (United Kingdom)
  23. Tibet Justice Center (United States)
  24. Tibet Solidarity (United Kingdom)
  25. Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group (V-TAG) (Netherlands)
  26. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  27. Acción Solidaria (Venezuela)
  28. Amnistía Internacional Chile (Chile)
  29. CADAL (Argentina)
  30. Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Francisco de Vitoria OP, A.C. (Mexico)
  31. CONTIOCAP – Coordinadora Nacional de Defensa de Territorios Indígenas Originarios Campesinos y Áreas Protegidas en Bolivia (Bolivia)
  32. Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres (Nicaragua)
  33. Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos Todos los Derechos para todas, todos y todes (Mexico)
  34. Voces de Tíbet (Mexico)

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/joint-civil-society-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-xiamen-gathering-crackdown

https://safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/fifth-anniversary-xiamen-gathering-crackdown

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, OHCHR | 1 Comment »
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Impact of US funding freeze on human rights defenders

February 6, 2025

The suspension and, in some cases the termination, of US foreign aid is having profound and adverse human rights impacts, threatening the very existence says Phil Lynch of ISHR in his Director’s update: “Impact of US funding freeze on human rights defenders and ISHRe of many human rights defenders, organisations and institutions“.

ISHR is directly affected by the US funding freeze. The suspension of US government funds means we’ve already had to terminate, defer or reduce activities to support human rights defenders working in highly restrictive contexts.

Together with announced and anticipated reductions in support for human rights organisations from some other governments and institutional philanthropy, it has also required that we take a number of significant anticipatory cost-saving measures, reducing our capacity to support human rights defenders globally.

The US funding freeze is also very adversely affecting a number of our national NGO partners, including those supporting human rights defenders in countries such as Afghanistan, China and Venezuela, among others. If you are in any position to support these organisations we would be delighted to connect you.

As I have recently written together with incoming and outgoing ISHR Board Chairs Taaka Awori and Vrinda Grover, we simply can’t afford to give up hope in our shared work for freedom, equality and justice. But we will not win and cannot survive on starvation rations.

We need investors – governments, foundations, corporations and individuals – to join us and create the resources that enable us to be sustainable, innovative and impactful. We particularly need medium and small States to step up investment, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because their interests are not served by the law of the jungle where might is right.

This investment needs to be made in civil society at the national, regional and international levels, as well as in the international human rights system to which frontline defenders increasingly turn when justice and accountability are denied at the national level. The realisation of human rights will provide an unmatched return on investment.

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And we invite you to take action for a fairer future now, whether by sharing our training and information  material, amplifying our messages on social media, making a donation or in-kind contribution, or participating in our campaigns. Your every action makes a difference. 

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/directors-update-impact-of-us-funding-freeze-on-human-rights-defenders-and-ishr

Freeze in Foreign Aid Harms Human Rights Defenders, Damages U.S. Interests

https://www.freiheit.org/sub-saharan-africa/are-trumps-policies-holding-human-rights-organisations-hostage

and later:
https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/lives-at-risk-chaotic-and-abrupt-cuts-to-foreign-aid-put-millions-of-lives-at-risk/

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ICJ seeks Legal Adviser (Human rights and the digital space)

February 3, 2025

Although the preferred job location is Bangkok, Thailand (Hybrid), remote work is possible for candidates with the legal right to work in their country, provided the location aligns with the organization’s operational and budgetary considerations.

Start date: March 2025 – Closing date 16 Feb 2025

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is a worldwide organization of judges and lawyers united in affirming international law and rule of law principles that advance human rights. Its strategic goals for 2021-2025 are: (1) to develop, defend, and strengthen international institutions, instruments, and standards on rule of law and human rights; (2) to improve domestic implementation of, and compliance with, international law and standards; (3) to bolster the effectiveness and independence of judges and lawyers; and (4) to improve access to justice for all and accountability. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ICJ has a presence in Africa, Latin America, Asia & the Pacific, Europe & Central Asia, and the Middle East.

To lead the implementation of the ICJ’s work on human rights in the digital space at the global and regional levels, we are seeking a full-time Legal Adviser. Key requirements for this role include expertise and working experience related to human rights in the digital space, excellent legal skills and sound political judgment, and proven ability to develop and carry out legal advocacy strategies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Legal and Policy Office, the Legal Adviser is expected to:

• Provide leadership and contribute to the design and implementation of ICJ work related to human rights in the digital space, including the work at the country, regional and global levels;

• Lead and implement work on a global project aimed at developing policy and legal action on protecting human rights in the digital civic space;

• Implement the programme work on human rights in digital space in a way that advances the strategic directions of the ICJ.

REQUIREMENTS

  • University degree in law with advanced studies in international human rights law.
  • Proven experience working in the area of international human rights law.
  • Expertise and working experience related to human rights in the digital space, including in the areas of freedom of expression, right to privacy, non-discrimination and equality, sexual and gender-based violence, and human rights and businesses enterprises.
  • Excellent legal skills and sound political judgment and proven ability to develop and carry out legal advocacy strategies.
  • Advanced expertise in general international human rights law
  • Practical legal and advocacy experience on the implementation of international human rights standards; litigation experience desirable.
  • English native speaker level; knowledge of Spanish, French, and/or Arabic an asset.
  • Demonstrated analytic and writing ability, including substantial report-writing experience;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills;
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a multi-cultural team;
  • Demonstrated commitment to human rights and the rule of law;
  • Availability to start in March 2025 is required.

How to apply

Interested applicants should provide the materials outlined below to recruitment@icj.org by 16 February 2025, midnight Central European Time (CET). Early applications are encouraged as they will be reviewed on a rolling basis, the ICJ reserves the right to close this vacancy earlier if a sufficient number of quality applications has been received.

  1. A CV (maximum 2 pages);
  2. A cover letter;
  3. Application form filled out.

Please include “Legal Adviser HRDS” in the subject line of the application e-mail.

https://reliefweb.int/job/4129125/legal-adviser-human-rights-and-digital-space

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