Posts Tagged ‘impunity’
April 24, 2013
The Martin Ennals Jury just announced today (at 11h00 local time) the three Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013. The MEA is the main award of the whole human rights movement thanks to its international Jury composed of 10 well-known human rights organisations (see below). The aim of the award is to provide protective publicity. The Final Nominees are:
Mona Seif, Egypt – Final Nominee MEA 2013
Mona Seif, Egypt: Core founder of the ”No To Military Trials for Civilians”, a grassroots initiative which is trying to stop military trials for civilians. Since February 2011, Mona has brought together activists, lawyers, victims’ families,local stakeholders and started a nationwide movement against military trials. As part of the recent crackdown on the freedom of speech in Egypt she has been charged along with other Human Rights activists. She noted that “International solidarity, and I mean people’s support not governments’, empowers us to continue our battle and stop military trials for civilians“.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arab spring, Chechnya, Egypt, final nominees 2013, Final Nominees for the Martin Ennals Award 2013, Haiti, Human right, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyer, Igor Kalyapin, impunity, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Joint Mobile Group, Mario Joseph, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, military trials, Mona Seif, news, No To Military Trials for Civilians, Russia, torture, woman human rights defender
April 23, 2013
Karl Ombion, writing for Bulatlat.com, reports that in a court hearing on 18 April 2013 at RTC Branch 55, in Himamaylan City, Adjutant General Alexis Gopico and Lt. Col Ricardo B Bayhon positively identified the two suspects in the brutal murder of Philippine human rights defender Benjamin Bayles as military enlisted men. Edre Olalia, legal counsel of the victim’s family, and Secretary General of National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), confirmed this report. Bayles was murdered 14 June 2010 by two suspects who claimed to be Roger Bajon and Ronnie Caurino when they were captured by Himamaylan police operatives hours after the incident. Olalia said “the confirmation, positive identification and specific personal pinpointing of the killers of activist Benjamen Bayles by top army officials as enlisted personnel under their command is a welcome development and a high point in making perpetrators of extra judicial killings accountable.” This is ultimately a product of public vigilance and pressure by human rights defenders aided also by conscientious legal work, Olalia stressed, but it remains to be seen if this leads to a deeper investigation, determination of other guilty parties, including possibly, superior officers. The accused who are lowly private first class personnel maybe sacrificial dispensable small fry to stop the investigation and let masterminds escape identification and prosecution.”“As in other cases, like that of Jonas Burgos, extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances and other rights violations, there is no closure until there is full justice for the victims,” Olalia concluded.
via Military admits Bayles killers as their own « Bulatlat.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Benjamin Bayles, Civil society, Enlisted rank, extra judicial killings, Extrajudicial killing, Filipino, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, justice, killing, lawyer, military, Olalia, Philippine, Philippines
April 19, 2013
Intervening at the 53rd ordinary session of African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, on 18 April 2013, the FIDH and the OMCT, in the framework of their Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, expressed their grave concern about the situation of human rights defenders in Africa, which they stated had not observed an improvement. Violations of human rights targeting defenders have continued, notably in Algeria, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Judicial harassment based on false accusations, accompanied by arbitrary arrests and detentions, remains the most common harassment technique, especially in Algeria and Zimbabwe, but also in Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, The Gambia and Sudan. In several countries, including The Gambia and DRC, defenders have also been subjected to threats and smear campaigns. In late December 2012 / early January 2013, the presence in Goma in the Kivu region of non-State armed groups notably led to increased threats against local defenders, forcing many of them to hide or flee into exile. The targeted defenders are, inter alia, members of NGOs and lawyers in Chad, DRC, Zimbabwe, journalists in Djibouti, trade unionists fighting against impunity in Algeria, Djibouti, DRC, Zimbabwe or defending land rights and the right to a healthy environment in Cameroon; defenders of the right to work in Algeria and the right to health care in Sudan; advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in The Gambia, women’s rights in DRC, The Gambia, and free and fair elections in Zimbabwe; and activists campaigning against arbitrary detention in Egypt. Some excerpts follow but the reference to the full report is below:
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Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Algeria, Arab region, Arab spring, Burundi, congo drc, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, FIDH, funding, Gambia, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, International Federation for Human Rights, judicial harassment, Non-governmental organization, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, OMCT, regulation, Sudan, threats, World Organisation Against Torture, Zimbabwe
April 2, 2013
On 21 March 2013 human rights defenders gathered in Yaounde, Cameroon for the first counterparts meeting of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network PAHRD-Net adopted a plan of action to promote stronger collaboration and protection of human rights defenders across Africa. During the week-long meeting, representatives from the five sub-regions, the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network REDHAC, West African Human Rights Defenders Network, Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, as well as thematic focal points for women human rights defenders, defenders working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity and HRDs working in conflict zone and journalist working to end impunity and corruption, shared experiences and best practices for protection, security management, advocacy, research, information technology, program management and fundraising.
In the plan of action, the PAHRD-Net steering committee agreed to carry out a number of joint activities to strengthen the capacities of the sub-regional networks and to work together to increase the protection and security support available to human rights defenders at risk across the continent.At the end of the meeting, Hassan Shire, PAHRD-Net chairperson said: “African human rights defenders encounter myriad risks and obstacles in carrying out their work. With the steps agreed today, PAHRD-Net looks forward to seeing empowered, safer and more effective HRDs working throughout the continent.” The meeting was made possible by the EU, the Swedish International Development Agency, and the National Endowment for Democracy.
via Cameroon: Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Adopt Plan of Action – East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, Cameroon, European Union, Hassan Shire, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, National Endowment for Democracy, networking, PAHRD-Net, Pan-Africanism, protection, Swedish International Development Agency, women human rights defenders
March 5, 2013
In IPP Media of 5 March 2013 appears a lengthy piece by correspondent GERALD KITABU who interviewed the head of the NGO ‘Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition’ (THRD-Coalition) Mr ONESMO OLENGURUMWA on the protection of human rights defenders in Tanzania. It interesting to see such an article which demonstrates the depth of the Human Rights Defenders issue at the local level. Here follow a few quotes:
QUESTION: Who is a human right defender?
ANSWER: A human rights defender is any individual, groups and organs of society seeking to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and freedom. Human rights defenders include lawyers, judges, journalists, whistle blowers, bloggers, students, religious leaders, trade unionists and any other person working to combat human rights abuses in a peaceful manner.
Q: What is the current situation of human rights defenders in Tanzania?
A: Our organization has recorded a number of security incidents towards human rights defenders. Despite being change agents, these activists are continuously harassed, detained, interrogated, imprisoned, tortured and even at times paying the ultimate price when they are killed for what they do. A good example is the last year’s killing of Iringa based Channel Ten journalist Daudi Mwangosi, the barbaric and brutal torture of Dr. Stephen Ulimboka, the death of Issa Gumba, the suspicious death of women human right defender in Mara Eustace Nyarugenda who was the director of Action Based Foundation, continuing constant threats towards other journalists like Cosmas Makongo, Josephat Isango, Charless Misango, the indefinite ban of Mwanahalisi and the arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders. These are just few incidents that paints a bad picture on the map of Tanzania when it comes to observing human rights….
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Human right, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, IPP media, journalists, Non-governmental organization, Non-state actor, ONESMO OLENGURUMWA, protection, Tanzania, THRD-Coalition, UN Declaration
March 4, 2013
In one of my posts of last week I referred to the panicked, knee-jerk reaction of the Sri Lankan Government to the showing of the film No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka at the UN in Geneva. Now I have come across a much more reasonable and constructive reaction published in the Sri Lankan The Island of 1 march 2013. The whole piece is worth reading; here follow just some excerpts for those pressed for time:
Every time, the United Nations Human Rights Council meets in session or one of the international Human Rights Organizations issues a statement on violations of human rights in Sri Lanka, the government of Sri Lanka gets into a combat mode. Their response follows the rule that attack is the best form of defence. The attack takes the form of personal abuse directed at the human rights defenders; there is no attempt to meet the issues of violations that have been raised. Its apologists and other hangers-on merely follow suit with hysterical outbursts against the United Nations, the international community and the local human rights defenders. None of them seem to care to read the reports released by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights or by the different human rights organizations. Their criticism of the reports is therefore not informed and raises more issues than clarifying any. Mahinda Samarasinghe [the SL Ambassador] is normally not prone to such hysterical responses; his speech at the current sessions of the UNHRC therefore seems untypical of him.
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: FIFHR, film, film festival, Geneva, Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, Hague, human rights, humanitarian law, impunity, investigation, Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, LLRC, Navanethem Pillay, No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan government, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, war crimes
March 2, 2013
The first side event “Killings and Violence against Women based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” will take place on 5 March 2013 (16h30) at the Armenian Convention Center
630 2nd Avenue (at 35th street)
Panelists
TAMARA ADRIAN (Venezuela)
General Director of Diverlex Diversidad e Igualdad a Través de la Ley,
World Trans Secretary of ILGA
MONICA TABENGWA (Botswana)
Africa Researcher, LGBT Program, Human Rights Watch
KIM VANCE (Canada)
Co-Director, ARC International
Moderator
CYNTHIA ROTHSCHILD (USA)
Consultant, COC Netherlands Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, CSW, Gender identity, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, impunity, intimidation, LGBT rights, New York, protection, Sexual orientation, side event, UN, United Nations, Violence against women, women human rights defenders
February 27, 2013
The Jakarta Post of February 26 2013, reports that Human Rights Defenders suspect the government’s recent initiative to hold discussions on the possibility to open human rights tribunals relating to the 1997/98 abuses were politically motivated. They argued that the discussion, which was raised in the run up to the 2014 General Elections, could implicate some of the strong presidential candidates. “We are actually surprised to learn that the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister, Djoko Suyanto, had just begun talks with the House of Representatives leadership on the plan to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal on the 1997-1998 forced disappearance case” the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Families of Missing Persons Association (IKOHI) said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday. “On the one hand, it is good that the tribunal might be finally established. On the other hand, however, we are concerned that the tribunal is merely [a] political tool to crush political opponents,” they added. The activists were referring to two former military leaders who are active in politics: General Wiranto and Lt. General Prabowo Subianto, who were both implicated in the violations during the 1998 riots. Kontras and Ikohi are among the organizations who have repeatedly accused the government of ignoring the victims of past human rights abuses because it failed to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal even though a mandate had been given by the House already in 2009.
via NGOs accuse Govt of delaying human rights tribunal | The Jakarta Post.
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Forced disappearance, gross violations, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, IKOHI, impunity, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jakarta Post, Kontras, Non-governmental organization, Prabowo Subianto, students, tribunal, Wiranto
February 26, 2013
Since 2003, the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival (with the more complicated French name and abbreviation: le Festival du film et forum international sur les droits humains – FIFDH) takes place in parallel to the UN Human Rights Council. Based on the concept “A film, a subject, a debate”, the FIFDH features documentary as well fiction, on themes linked to human rights such as: violence against women, poverty, torture, international justice and even climate change. During 10 days the public is invited to watch the films, meet film makers, actors, experts and victims of human rights violations. There are special screenings for students, and teachers are issued with thematic material. This year a total of 40 films will be screened. New this year is the competition for international fiction. The Jury includes filmmakers and human rights defenders such as: Ai Weiwei, Patrick Chapatte, Romain Goupil and Fadwa Suleiman, Syrian actress in exile. The longstanding festival director is Leo Kaneman: for the programme see: http://www.fifdh.org/
In the meantime, a big controversy has erupted about the showing of the documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” in what is called in UN terminology a ‘side event’, organised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the above-mentioned FIFDH, on the premises of the UN. As reported by AP on 25 February, the Sri Lankan Ambassador has sent a letter to the whole Human Rights Council denouncing the film as “discredited, uncorroborated and unsubstantiated” and warning that the Council would be violating its own rules if the film is screened March 1 in Geneva as planned.
The 90-minute documentary alleges government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels engaged in war crimes during the final stages of the conflict in 2009. The film shows interviews with eyewitnesses and original footage of alleged atrocities against civilians including summary execution, sexual violence and torture. The film director Callum Macrae denied that it distorted the facts: “We believe that our film contains very important evidence about the terrible events in the last few months of this war and we believe we have a duty to make that evidence available to the diplomats and country missions at the U.N. Human Rights Council who must make important decisions about how to ensure accountability and justice in Sri Lanka“. See: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lanka-opposes-screening-critical-film-18590958. The Sri Lankan Ambassador’s letter which certainly will help to attract a larger audience is to be found on: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/465065/Letter-to-the-President-Human-Rights-Council-2.pdf.
Posted in AI, films, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Ai Weiwei, Amnesty International, documentary, ECOSOC, Fadwa Suleiman, film festival, fims, Geneva, Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Watch, impunity, International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, international justice, Kaneman, media, No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, reconciliation, Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, war crimes
February 25, 2013
(High Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay addresses the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)
As the United Nations Human Rights Council began its work today, 25 February 2013. the High Commissioner Navi Pillay stressed the importance of strengthening international processes that will monitor and prevent rights violations around the world as well as hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.Addressing the opening of the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that despite significant progress over the past two decades on issues such as the elimination of violence against women and tackling impunity for international crimes, there continue to be systematic human rights violations around the world. In her address to the Council, Ms. Pillay also noted that while the increased involvement of civil society in defending human rights is a welcome development, there have been an alarming number of reports of governments persecuting human rights defenders because of the nature of their work.“I continue to hear of brave human rights defenders, journalists or bloggers who have been threatened, harassed, arrested or killed because of their work on behalf of the human rights of others,” Ms. Pillay said. “Such intimidation has sometimes even occurred during the proceedings of this Council. We must never tolerate such pressure, or reprisals against those who rightly seek to engage the international human rights system.”
via United Nations News Centre – UN Human Rights Council opens with call to strengthen international justice system.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 6 Comments »
Tags: Geneva, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Navanethem Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Pillay, protection, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 