share information on human rights defenders, with special focus on human rights awards and laureates
The participants of the 38th Congress of the International Human Rights Federation (FIDH), which has started on 23 May in Istanbul, organized a procession with the demand to release their colleagues political prisoners Read the rest of this entry »
ARTICLE 19 is to launch a programme to protect journalists and human rights defenders in Tunisia, following a series of meetings with media workers and civil society groups in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Twelve months ago, Witness and its partners at Storyful launched the first dedicated space on YouTube for verified citizen video on human rights issues. 
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1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to highlight the continuing need for closer monitoring by the Human Rights Council and the international community of the renewed threats and attacks that human rights defenders working in Nepal have had to face since the beginning of the year. Worries about potential reprisals from the former belligerents have arisen following progress in the investigation and prosecution of cases of human rights violations committed during the conflict. Read the rest of this entry »
“Angola: From Theory to Practice – Its Time to Guarantee the Capacity of Human Rights Defenders to Act” (original: ANGOLA: Da Teoria à Prática – É hora de garantir a capacidade de atuação dos defensores dos direitos humanos) is the title of the report (preliminary findings) published today by The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture OMCT.
The Observatory carried out a fact-finding mission in Angola, from April 21 to May 1, 2013, to analyse the context in which human rights defenders are operating in the country. The mission delegation met with, amongst others, members of human rights NGOs, journalists, lawyers, artists, along with representatives of national authorities, political parties and foreign diplomatic missions. Read the rest of this entry »
(Photo credit: HRNJ-Uganda website)
Freedom House got carried away a bit when it published the following:
Freedom House would like to congratulate Ugandan human rights activist Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala, on being awarded the European Union Human Rights Defender Award for the year 2012. Ssebaggala is one of the founding members of the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) and has been its National Coordinator since 2009. He was honored for his efforts in defending media rights, recording and highlighting restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information, as well as attacks on journalists. Ssebaggala is certainly a most deserved winner, but when Freedom House states: “The European Union established the award to raise awareness about the work of individual human rights defenders (HRDs) around the world. [emphasis added]” it exaggerates quite a bit as is made clear by the EU delegation in Kampala in 2011 when it created the purely national award http://www.deluga.ec.europa.eu/index.php/delegation-activities-in-uganda/political-press-information/press-and-info/news-releases/182-new-new-new-eu-local-hrd-awards-nominations.
IFEX at the end of its congratulatory piece at least recognises the local character of the award. http://www.ifex.org/uganda/2013/04/24/award_freedom/
Freedom House Grantee Receives the European Union Human Rights Defender Award | Freedom House.
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) strongly condemns the attempted assassination of the Honduran journalist Fidelina Sandoval, who was shot at outside the television and radio station Globo TV where she works on the morning of 8 April, 2013. Fidelina Sandoval was crossing Boulevar Morazán on her way to work when a grey van with two men sitting in the front caught her attention. She turned her face so as not to be looking directly at them, but seconds later heard a shot fired from a gun. The WHRD IC is disturbed by this attack and expresses its concern for the well-being of Fidelina Sandoval, her family and her colleagues, who have also been targeted. Globo TV alone has experienced multiple attacks including raids and the destruction of equipment, as well as threats, persecution, intimidation and other forms of rights violations and violence against the numerous staff members.
The WHRD IC is further disturbed by the escalating violence against WHRDs and widespread impunity in Honduras since the coup d’état in June 2009. As highlighted in a case study on Honduras in the WHRD IC’s Global Report <http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/pdf/WHRD_IC_Global%20Report_2012.pdf> , repression and denial of rights are not isolated cases but rather demonstrate a general policy of terror and abuse enacted with impunity – particularly towards women.
(Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)
Presenting his report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Mr. Shaheed said that Iran has made some “noteworthy advances” in the area of women’s rights, including advancements in health, literacy and in enrolment rates on both the primary and secondary levels. Read the rest of this entry »
On 7 February I reported via Front Line Defenders that journalist and human rights defender Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim – nicknamed Koronto – in Somalia was arrested convicted to one year jail for ‘fabricating’ – i.e. reporting on – a rape case and allegedly entering the house of the reported rape victim without consent. The charges (!) against the rape victim were dropped by the appeals court on 3 March 2013, but Koronto’s sentence was upheld, albeit with a reduction to 6 months.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 