“Voices of LGBTI Human Rights Defenders” on 19 March, from 10h00 – 12h00 in Room XXIV of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Human Rights Defenders from Nigeria and Malaysia will be among those presenting.
Posts Tagged ‘LGBTI’
Rolando Jiménez Perez, Chilean human rights defender, has the floor
March 6, 2014Rolando Jiménez Perez, Chilean human rights defender, is given the floor in the newsletter of the International Service for Human Rights [ISHR] of February 2014. Here are some of the most quotable statements but the whole interview with Camille Marquis is worth reading:
‘I wanted to fight for human rights in order to help lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals and to put an end to any brutality for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity. During the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Rolando Jiménez Pérez was a member of the Communist Party driven, along with his fellow party workers, by the goal of restoring democracy. His sexuality was used by the party as a means to belittle him. This brought home to Rolando just how strong a role a person’s sexual orientation could play and he made up his mind that once the dictatorship was over he would turn his attention entirely to human rights and in particular towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Rihanna adds star power to campaign for gay rights in Russia
February 18, 2014Last week I blogged about the mixed record of star power (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/star-power-and-human-rights-a-difficult-but-doable-mix/) and it is nice to add a positive example: Rihanna.
On 16 February 2014 Faith Karimi and Neda Farshbaf wrote for CNN how pop star Rihanna is adding major star power to the campaign for gay rights in Russia. The singer behind hits such as “Disturbia” and “SOS” tweeted a photo of herself wearing a hat emblazoned with P6, short for Principle 6. This campaign speaks out against Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law as the nation hosts the Winter Olympics. And Rihanna has 34 million followers on Twitter! The photo links to her Instagram account, which has about 12 million followers. In subsequent tweets, she posted links to other articles highlighting the issue.
Rihanna adds star power to P6 campaign for gay rights in Russia – CNN.com.
Chair of Ennals Foundation calls on Museveni to veto anti-homo bill
February 13, 2014The Chair of the Martin Ennals Foundation, Mrs Micheline Calmy Rey, has today called for President Museveni to veto the anti-homosexual bill passed by the Ugandan Parliament on 20 December 2013. The Martin Ennals Foundation has also called on the Ugandan government to take effective steps to protect LGBT persons from violence and discrimination. Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera was awarded the Martin Ennals Award in 2011 for her activities in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender rights in Uganda.
Where is it (il)legal to be gay?
February 6, 2014The BBC has produced a map which shows the broad legal status of gay people living in UN member states, according to data provided by the UN’s human right’s office, who built on information from the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association.
The legal status of people in same-sex relationships depends very much on where they live. At one end of the spectrum there are those countries that punish homosexuality with the death penalty – Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen – as well as in parts of Nigeria and Somalia. At the other end, there are those countries where gay couples have the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples. However, the categorisation of countries according to their approach to gay rights is not without problems. Some states have conflicting laws on same-sex relationships, simultaneously having laws that punish and protect, while other countries have different laws in different regions. This is reflected in the key. Countries have been categorised by their most progressive or regressive laws, apart from where laws are contradictory. Countries where gay rights vary between states have been coloured by their most progressive or regressive law. [The map does not reflect day-to-day experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans and intersex people. In many places where anti-discrimination laws exist, gay people continue to be persecuted by state authorities and wider society.]
There is also an interesting timeline, pulled together by the UN, which uses 1789 – the date of the French Revolution – as its starting point. It was chosen by the UN as a baseline, as it was a time when homosexuality was criminalised in many countries.
Vacancy at ISHR for Advocacy Manager (women, LGBTI rights)
February 4, 2014The International Service for Human Rights [ISHR] is seeking an Advocate and Program Manager to join their team of six managers. THIS position will lead the work with women defenders and LGBT rights defenders and coordinate ISHR’s engagement with one or more international mechanisms. Applications close 7 March 2014.
- Among qualifications and experience requested figure:
- A degree in law, international relations, journalism, politics or social science.
- At least 5 years’ professional experience working to influence human rights laws, policies and institutions, preferably with NGOs, intergovernmental organisations or governments.
- Experience in designing and implementing successful human rights programs, campaigns and initiatives.
- Excellent oral and written communication in English with proficiency in a second UN language, particularly Arabic, French or Spanish, being an advantage.
- Capacity to travel overseas, sometimes at short notice.
The successful applicant will be employed on an initial one-year contract with the possibility of ongoing employment.
via Vacancies | ISHR.
Office of NGO ‘Alternative’ in Ivory Coast attacked again
January 28, 2014
reports that on 25 January 2014 the office of LGBTI rights organisation Alternative in Côte d’Ivoire was attacked for the fourth time, and a security guard was hospitalised. The attack is the fourth such attack in one week, and follows previous threats. During the attack on the offices, laptops and desktop PCs were stolen and everything else in the office destroyed, including the electricity supply lines and emergency food supplies for people living with AIDS. It is reported that although members of the organisation called on the nearby police to help, the police did not come.
[On 20 January 2013, a mob attacked the home of human rights defender Mr Claver Touré, executive director of Alternative. For more information http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/24748]
Defending human rights is increasingly dangerous activity in many parts of the world, states latest UN report
January 19, 2014The most recent report by the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, has been made public and will be officially presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2014. It is the last report by this Rapporteur whose mandate will terminate. The report finds that human rights defenders – especially journalists, lawyers, trade unionists and those who work to promote women’s rights and the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons – face ‘extraordinary risks’. It highlights cases of defamation, attacks, detention, torture and even killings. The report also documents an increased incidence of violations against people and communities opposed to mining, construction and development projects, with protesters attacked both by State and private security forces. ‘Human rights defenders play a crucial role in exposing and seeking accountability for violations by both governments and corporations. Their work is crucial to transparency, good governance and justice for victims,’ commented Phil Lynch of the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva.
The report also documents the worsening ‘use of legislation in a number of countries to refrain the activities of human rights defenders and to criminalise them’, with cited examples including laws to ‘curb the promotion of homosexuality’ and to restrict NGO access to foreign funds. ‘In the last four weeks alone, Nigeria, Russia, Uganda, Malaysia and the Ukraine have enacted or applied laws to criminalise human rights defenders and to silence their critical voice,’ Mr Lynch added.
In addition to documenting violations, the report makes a wide range of recommendations to ensure that human rights defenders are protected and can operate in a ‘safe and enabling environment’.
For those too busy to read the whole new UN report [PDF] here are the
V. Conclusions and recommendations: Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia should reverse ban against leading human rights coalition COMANGO
January 13, 2014Several NGOs, including the International Service for Human Rights from which I the took the statement of 12 January, 2014, have asked the Malaysian authorities to immediately reverse a ban issued against a leading coalition of human rights organisations. On 8 January 2014 the Malaysian Home Ministry issued a statement that it had declared the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs [COMANGO] to be illegal on the basis that it deviates from the Islamic faith through its support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. The Ministry further justified the ban on the basis that members of the coalition are not registered under he Malaysian Societies Act 1966.The move to ban COMANGO is a clear violation of the rights to freedom of association and assembly, said ISHR Director Phil Lynch, adding the suspicious circumstance that the ban was issued in response to COMANGO submitting a report to the UN Human Rights Council on Malaysia’s human rights record in March 2013, which makes it look like a case of reprisals against human rights defenders. For more info contact: Phil Lynch, Director, on p.lynch[at]ishr.ch.
via Malaysia must reverse ban against leading human rights coalition | ISHR.
Dutch Advisory Council broadly endorses Government’s human rights policy
January 10, 2014On 24 September 2013 the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs [AIV] published its advice on the Government’s policy letter (a kind of white paper) on human rights (“Respect and Justice for All”) of June 2013. The Council, which can be quite critical, has broadly endorsed the proposed policy. The link to the full document is below but the highlights are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 