The goal of the International Centre for supporting Rights and Freedoms (ICSRF) is “the provision of legal assistance to human rights activists in all countries of the world and its commitment to establish a new generation of cadres working in the field of defense of human rights“, although strangely its website http://www.icsrf.org/ is at the moment only in Arabic and the scope of its activities seems to be restricted to the Arab-speaking world.
The creation of the new network was announced at the conclusion of a regional training course entitled “supporting skills of the defenders of human rights in the Arab countries”, held from 24 to 25 January 2013 in Kuwait with the participation of 32 participants from Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman including human rights organizations, human rights defenders and activists monitoring and documenting human rights violations.
The ‘Freedom – Network of Human Rights Defenders’ is established under the management of the International Centre for supporting Rights and Freedoms (ICSRF) and the members of the network will be selected from the participants who attended one of the training courses of the ICSRF or from those who work closely with the ICSRF. They will be trained on how to use international law and communication skills with media – both at the theoretical and practical level – in addition to the role of each member in monitoring and documenting violations. The ICSRF aims to create “a new generation of human rights defenders who are able to practice human rights work in a professional manner in line with the international law and the latest international developments as well as to establish a network of human rights defenders.”
Although everything points more to a regional than an international network, one can only wish them success as the Middle East is a region where Human Rights Defenders require support and freedom.
The Palestinian News Network on 4 February 2013 reported that in the early hours of Wednesday 23rd January 2013, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Hassan Yasser Karajeh, a 29 year old youth activist in the Stop the Wall Campaign, violently breaking into his home in the West Bank village of Safa, west of Ramallah. Since then he is in interrogation without access to his lawyer or family. He is part of a new generation of active Human Rights Defenders. ‘Stop the Wall‘ asks solidarity groups, social movements, human rights organizations and concerned citizens to act together to free Hassan Karajah and stop the repression of human rights defenders in Palestine.
Radhia Nasraoui, human rights defender and lawyer, is awarded the 2012 Olof Palme Prize, for her untiring work against torture and impunity for more than three decades. As a concerned and patriotic citizen, she has under severe pressure defended human rights in Tunisia and challenged authorities under the motto “We must use our voices. Not saying anything makes us accomplices of the oppression”.
Waleed Sami Abu al-Khair receives the 2012 Olof Palme Prize for his strong, self-sacrificing and sustained struggle to promote respect for human and civil rights for both men and women in Saudi Arabia. Together with like-minded citizens and colleagues, Waleed Sam Abu AlKhair does so with the noble goal of contributing to a just and modern society in his country and region.
THE OLOF PALME PRIZE, the Swedish labor movement’s most prestigious award since 1987 when the Olof Palme Fund’s Board decided to establish an annual prize for a particularly significant achievement in the spirit of Olof Palme. The prize consists of USD 75 000.
Most posts in this blog are of a serious nature, but this one is close to comical if anyone has bothered to read previous posts on Bahrain. Just some excerpts:
Manama, Dec. 3. – His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman asserted that the Kingdom of Bahrain and the High Commissioner for Human Rights share the same goal and mission of protecting human rights and respecting human dignity.
“Bahrain is a democracy, reform and popular participation hub where rights are protected and liberties are respected,” HRH Premier said as he met here today a delegation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), led by Frej Fennich, Middle East and North Africa Section Chief.
HRH Premier pointed out that “Bahrain is a one-family society and we do not accept that one of our compatriots’ basic rights are abused or dignity undermined,” noting that the government’s main interest is to protect the Bahraini citizens’ rights, including the right to live in security and stability, without intimidation or terrorism.
The Premier emphasized that freedoms are guaranteed in Bahrain by the force of the Constitution, but, he added, when they are used as a pretext to undermine the security of individuals and destabilize countries, jeopardize their economies and pose a threat to their cohesion and civic peace, the matter goes beyond the natural exercise of freedom and becomes “terrorism”, and therefore should be confronted decisively.
………
HRH Prime Minister added that there has been injustice inflicted on the kingdom because of the misleading and incoherent information disseminated by some sides, explaining that Bahrain has invited international organisations in order to allow them to be informed on reality within total transparency.
Perhaps not totally unexpected: the source is the Bahrain New Agency
The Ceremony of the Alkarama Award will be held on Friday 7 December 2012 at 18h30 in Geneva at Centre International Conférences, Genève
This year, the laureates are two human rights defenders from the Gulf region:
– Dr Mohamed Abdullah Al Roken, United Arab Emirates
– Dr Saud Mukhtar Al Hashimi, Saudi Arabia.
In a letter to the editor of the Guardian of 8 November 2012, Andrew Lovatt puts the question very clearly:
Countries that sell arms to states that have repeatedly violated the human rights of their people should receive universal condemnation from their own citizens for the role they play in furthering the misery and bloodshed around the globe, and Britain’s sale of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and the UAE should be no exception. Human Rights Watch has reported numerous human rights abuses conducted by both states, which have included the assault and intimidation of nonviolent human rights defenders, political activists and civil society actors in an attempt to suppress freedom of expression and protect the regimes from democratic change.
Britain’s long-standing international support for democracy and human rights has already been undermined by the sale of 72 Typhoons to Saudi Arabia. Should Britain prop up these oppressive states further by putting an extra £6bn worth of military hardware into their hands, its position will rightly be viewed as hypocritical by the rest of the world. Andrew Lovatt Market Drayton, Shropshire
The goal of the International Centre for supporting Rights and Freedoms (ICSRF) is “the provision of legal assistance to human rights activists in all countries of the world and its commitment to establish a new generation of cadres working in the field of defense of human rights“, although strangely its website http://www.icsrf.org/ is at the moment only in Arabic and the scope of its activities seems to be restricted to the Arab-speaking world.
Manama, Dec. 3. – His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman asserted that the Kingdom of Bahrain and the High Commissioner for Human Rights share the same goal and mission of protecting human rights and respecting human dignity.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 