Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network | Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Posts Tagged ‘Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network’

Call for Consultancy for Strategic Plan for AfricanDefenders

July 30, 2019

On 29 July, 2019 the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (AfricanDefenders) – a network of five African sub-regional networks – issued a Call for Consultancy to develop a Strategic Plan for AfricanDefenders.

The scope is to develop Strategic Assessment report recommendations and a five years Strategic Framework for AfricanDefenders for the period of 2020 to 2025. The scope and focus of the assignment is to provide technical, strategic and facilitation support to enable the development of AfricanDefenders’ strategic plan. Develop an analysis framework and work plan to guide the assessment.

The Consultant will conduct a thorough but focused assessment of AfricanDefenders’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats, with a view to identifying appropriate strategic options for the 2020 to 2025 operational period. The assessment will include review of relevant documents, in particular the Kampala Plan of Action for Human Rights Defenders+10, the Paris Plan of Action, the Marrakesh Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Zanzibar 2019 Final Communique. In addition to existing project documents, strategic plans of key partner agencies, donor organizations, and related domestic and international reports.

The consultant will also develop the following:
1. Online/offline survey for AfricanDefenders members and stakeholders and beneficiaries;
2. Conduct individual interviews with key informants; and
3. Facilitate in-depth focus group/facilitated discussions using web-based technologies and/or teleconferencing.

The tasks under this assignment are to be undertaken in a maximum period of 30 working days. A draft as well as final strategy will be presented to the Steering Committee of the AfricanDefenders. The location of the assignment is flexible, but part of the work will be in Kampala, Uganda and most probably the validation in Banjul, The Gambia.

QUALIFICATIONS

The Consultant(s) is expected to:
• Have professional experience of work in the human rights sector in Africa.
• Be Fluent in spoken and written English and French.
• Knowledge in Arabic or Portuguese is a high added advantage.
• Be willing to travel to Kampala and other focal countries and be available to meet with partners.

The Consultant(s) are requested to submit a project proposal (outlining the tools, methods and sampling model to be used) and comprehensive indicative project budget as part of their motivation and application for consideration.

Submitting your application
Please send your application to jobs@defenddefenders.org with the subject line “AfricanDefenders Consultancy” by 30 August 2019. Your application should include your CV and past experience, budget, work-plan and 3 references for similar work undertaken. Do not send copies of certificates or degrees.

Call for Consultancy to develop a Strategic Plan for AfricanDefenders

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Tags: AfricanDefenders, call for applications, consultant, job opportunity, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, strategy

2019 edition of the Africa Shield Awards by AfricanDefenders

June 21, 2019

On 14 June 2019, AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) awarded distinguished five human rights defenders on the African continent [for more on this and other regional awards, see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/african-human-rights-defenders-shield-awards]The winners are Beatrice Mtetwa, Felix Agbor Aniyor, Donald Deya, Fatou Jagne Senghor, and the Sudan Women Protest. The Shield Awards highlight the positive impact of their outstanding human rights work and their unwelding motivation.

The Shield Awards comprise five sub-regional awards and an overall Africa Shield Award. For this third edition, a jury composed of Hon. Commissioner Soyata Maiga, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR); Hon. Commissioner Rémy Ngoy, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa; Margaret Sekaggya, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders; and Hassan Shire, Chairperson of AfricanDefenders, acknowledged that Sudan Women Protest should be granted the overall Africa Shield Award – also the winner of the North African Regional Award. Sudan Women Protest is a community of Sudanese women activists at the frontline of the Sudanese revolution since December 2018 – bringing to the fore women voices and rights. “This is for all the women, mothers, daughters who stood up to mobilise the people and to ensure that their rights are not forgotten – we all stand in solidarity with them,” said Walaa Salah, a Sudanese activist living in Kenya, who received the award on behalf of the community, as the women activists on the ground are immobilised due to the ongoing violence. “I hope I will be able to travel to Sudan, and bring this shield as a testimony to your solidarity.”

Beatrice Mtetwa, Shield Award winner for Southern Africa, is a Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Mtetwa has protected and promoted human rights for years, with a focus on HRDs and journalists, by representing on pro-bono hundreds of HRDs facing harassment and abusive detention in Zimbabwe. As a founding member and board member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), she continues to nurture leaders on the continent who carry her visionary mission of establishing a blue chip human rights lawyer’s organisation in Zimbabwe that has made access to justice for HRDs facing judicial persecution a reality in her home country. “This means a lot, particularly because it comes from my fellow African HRDs,” she said while receiving the award from Sekaggya. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2014/11/06/human-rights-documentary-beatrice-mtetwa-the-rule-of-law-on-television-and-internet/].

The Central African Shield Award was presented to Felix Agbor Anyior Nkongho, a Cameroonian lawyer and the founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa. He has provided pro bono legal services to hundreds of victims. While seeking social justice and equality in the Anglophone region of Cameroon, he was arrested, charged, and tried at a ilitary tribunal for terrorism, rebellion to incite civil war, revolution, contempt against the State, and secession, which carries the death penalty. He was thrown into a cell with 12 alleged members of the Boko Haram terrorist group, later transferred to solitary confinement for 45 days, and was not allowed to attend his father’s funeral. Today, he is documenting and reporting systematic human rights violations committed by both government security forces and the armed separatist groups in the Anglophone region of Cameroon. “We, HRDs, defend the rights of others, so I thank you for protecting us,” he said.

Fatou Jagne Senghor, Executive Director of Article 19 West Africa, received the Shield Award for West Africa for her engagement on freedom of expression and media freedom. The award recognises Senghor’s longstanding human rights work in West Africa in general, and in The Gambia in particular. She plays an important role in regards to ensuring accountability on human rights violations, building the capacity of civil society, and strengthening the reforms in The Gambia. “Freedom of expression is increasingly under attack, and we need defenders like Fatou to protect us,” emphasised George Morara, Commissioner of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, while handing Senghor her shield.Donald Deya received the Shield Award for the East and Horn of Africa sub-region. Deya is an international human rights lawyer who represent and support victims of human rights abuses on the African continent. He represented numerous victims before the ACHPR, , the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the East African Court of Justice, and several national High courts. Deya is also the head of the Secretariat of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), chair of the Boards of the Centre for Citizens’ Participation on the African Union (CCPAU) and the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP). He dedicated the award to all African HRDs who suffer from persecution.
Through their human rights work, the awardees have faced harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention, and even the threat of death – but they have never abandoned their tenacious commitment to human rights protection and promotion. Expressing her appreciation to their efforts, Hon. Maiga said: “I congratulate all the winners for their courage, and acknowledge the risks they take, and their strength that enables them to stand up for the rights of others.”

On a special note, Hassan Shire presented the Shield of Africa award to Hon. Commissioner Maiga Soyata. This special award is presented by AfricanDefenders to valuable dignitaries who have demonstrated longstanding contributions to protecting and promoting the rights of African citizens. Hon. Maiga dedicated 12 years of her life to protecting the rights of Africans across the continent, notably promoting the rights of women in Africa through the Maputo Protocol. “This is a coronation for her outstanding role in the protection of the rights of African citizens,’’ said Hassan Shire.

Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, Beatrice Mtetwa, Cameroon, digest of human rights awards, Donald Deya, Fatou Jagne Senghor, Felix Agbor Anyior Nkongho, Hassan Shire, human rights awards, Maiga Soyata., Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, shield of africa awards, Sudan Women Protest, the Gambia, Zimbabwe

Swaziland should immediately release two Human Rights Defenders arrested on 17 March

March 19, 2014

Swaziland should immediately release Mr. Thulani Maseko and Mr. Bheki Makhubu, the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network said today. The human rights defenders (the first a lawyer and the second a journalist) were arrested on Monday 17 March 2014, reportedly in response to articles published in a national magazine. Maseko is a prominent human rights lawyer working at the national and regional levels, a senior member of Lawyers for Human Rights Swaziland and the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, which is part of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network. Makhubu is the Editor-in-Chief of the Nation. The two men were arrested under the same warrant, issued by Chief Justice Ramodibedi, on charges of “scandalizing the judiciary” and contempt of court. Their lawyer was not permitted to represent the pair when they were jointly charged on 18 March 2014. They have been remanded pending a bail hearing on 24 March 2014. The charges are apparently in relation to articles published in the Nation Magazine questioning the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Chief Government Vehicle Inspector, Bhantshana Gwebu. Mr. Gwebu had been arrested and charged with contempt of court after he arrested the driver of a High Court judge. As an absolute monarchy, the King of Swaziland has the discretionary power to suspend constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and in practice these rights are frequently curtailed. Mr. Maseko has previously been charged with sedition for public statements made.“Human rights defenders must be able to speak out on issues of public interest,” said Hassan Shire, Chairperson of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network. “We call on the Swaziland authorities to drop the charges against Mr Maseko and Mr Makhubu and allow them to continue with their important work.”

via Swaziland: Release Human Rights Defender and Journalist – East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, Bheki Makhubu, Chief Justice Ramodibedi, Hassan Shire Sheikh, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyer, illegal detention, Journalist, Lawyers for Human Rights Swaziland, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Swaziland, Thulani Maseko

Imam Baba Leigh writes impressively how opposing the death penalty in Gambia forced him into exile

November 5, 2013

A huge social media campaign was mounted on behalf of Imam Baba Leigh during his incarceration [Twitter].

“Just a few days ago, on 22 October, I was given an award from the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network. I was not expecting it, which makes me all the more happy and appreciative. Sadly, I was not allowed to go and receive it in my home country, The Gambia, because there was a chance I could be arrested there. My responsibility, as a Muslim and as a scholar, is to ensure people enjoy their human rights, regardless of colour, race, gender, religion, tradition, economic status or anything else. We are all human beings at the end of the day. As a human rights activist receiving such a prestigious award is wonderful. You feel your work is recognised and encouraged.

Problems for me started when, in August 2012, our head of state President Jammeh promised to execute several inmates. So I went to talk to The Standard newspaper and urged the President to forgive them. “Forgiveness is part of faith and they are no longer a threat to the security of the nation,” I said quoting the holy Qur’an. A week after the executions, the Islamic Council of The Gambia made a declaration that the executions were Islamic. I gave a Friday sermon at the mosque and replied the executions had nothing to do with Islam. They were un-Islamic. Even though the holy Qur’an mentions executions, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) valued forgiveness. My comments caused a lot of commotion. The newspaper was shut down. I started receiving intimidating calls…

On 3 December, I was arriving home after a funeral when I found two men from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) there waiting for me. “You are wanted [at the NIA offices] to answer some questions,” they said…I was then put in a jail until around 1.00am. Then they started beating, hitting and kicking me. For nine days I suffered a lot. You never know how important and valuable freedom is until it is taken from you. I used to struggle trying to get people out of jail. Trying to bring peace. Trying to bring peaceful coexistence. I didn’t know this is the way things are until the day I was detained. You can understand ending up in prison if you commit a crime, if you are taken to a judge and sentenced. At least then you would know why you are being held, and for how long. I was abducted and then held incommunicado – I couldn’t see anybody, I couldn’t hear anybody.

I had not committed any crime and my conscience was clean. After nine days, they told me I was going home and they put me in another car. The man taking me said “we are taking you home”, but they drove to a hidden place called Bambadinka, which means “hole of dragons”. There I was put in a very small, very filthy, dirty room. I spent five months there. I was kept in a dark, small room where I couldn’t see or hear anything, only rats and spiders. After five months and 17 days, I was released. Some people say that I am now free. But this is not freedom. Freedom is to be able to go home when you want to. I’m just in a bigger jail.

My ambition is to speak for those who have no pulpit, no opportunity for themselves. And to pass the peaceful message of Islam and other religions. I’m urging people in position of authority, presidents and kings alike, to embrace the freedom of their people and to protect it. You can be a president today, you can be a leader today, you can be an authority today, but things change very quickly. You can find yourself fall from the presidency into prison. Then you will need the work of Amnesty International.”

[Imam Baba Leigh is currently in the USA where he has been receiving medical treatment]

‘This is Not Freedom … I’m Just in a Bigger Jail’: Imam Baba Leigh Takes us into his Gambian Nightmare – IBTimes UK.

Five Human Rights Defenders Awarded in African Region (thoolen.wordpress.com)

Posted in AI, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: abolition, AI, awards, death penalty, death threats, Emad Baghi, executions, exile, Gambia, human rights, human rights awards, Human rights defender, IBTimes, illegal detention, illtreatment, Imam Baba Leigh, Islamic Council of The Gambia, islamic law, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, Sharia, the Gambia

Five Human Rights Defenders Awarded in African Region

October 24, 2013

The Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network, one of the regional partners of the MEA, on 22 October, awarded 5 activists with its Africa Human Rights Defenders Award. The winners of this first edition are:

Imam Baba Leigh from the Gambia (released on 11 May from jail as reported in this blog)
Paulete Oyane Onda from Gabon,
Livingstone Sewanyana from Uganda,
Yara Sallam from Egypt and
Maria Lucia Inacio da Silveira from Angola.

via Imam Baba Leigh, 4 other Human Rights Defenders Awarded – Foroyaa Newspaper.

Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: Africa, Africa Human Rights Defenders, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Angola, awards, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights awards, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Imam Baba Leigh, Livingstone Sewanyana, Maria Lucia Inacio da Silveira, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, Paulete Oyane Onda, The Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network, Uganda, Yara Sallam

New series of awards for Human Rights Defenders in Africa

August 22, 2013

Although the deadline for nominations (15 August) has passed, I still want to draw your attention to a new series of human rights awards instituted by Pan-African HRDs Network (PAHRD-Net), which in turn is made up of five sub-regional networks i.e. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, West Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network hosted by the International Commission of Jurists and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and Central African Human Rights Defenders Network.

The new awards aim to honour exceptional individuals who peacefully promote and protect universally recognized rights as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Altogether six awards will be presented, one Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Award and five sub-regional awards:

– East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013

– West Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013

– Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013

– Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013

– Northern Africa Human Rights Defenders Award 2013

Both individuals and organizations are eligible. Awards include support to the human rights work of the winning individual or organisation with a total value of 10 000 USD for the Pan-African award winner and 5 000 USD for each sub-regional award winners. The winners will be selected by an independent jury. Nominations should be returned to: hrdaward@defenddefenders.org.

The awards will be presented to the winners at the occasion of the 54th Ordinary Session of the Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights scheduled to be held in October 2013 in Banjul, The Gambia.

allAfrica.com: Africa: Call for Nominations – Pan African HRD Award 2013.

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Tags: Africa, awards, Banjul, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, International Commission of Jurists, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, protection, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

NGO Forum Highlights Recent Pattern of Suppression in Zimbabwe

April 15, 2013

Having two days ago referred to the scathing attack on human rights defenders in Zimbabwe by two academics, it is perhaps fitting to give some attention to the a NGO forum recently held in Banjul where over 50 of Africa’s top human rights advocates discussed the current shrinking space for civil society in Zimbabwe. The event, held on the sidelines of the NGO Forum in advance of this week’s session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights ACHPR, convened a expert panel that included Dzimbabwe Chimbga (ZLHR), Susan Mutambasere (NGO Forum), Mabassa Fall (International Federation for Human Rights), FIDH, Hassan Shire (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network), and Wade McMullen (RFK Center). “Zimbabwe’s troubles from 2008-9 have returned,” noted Chimbga, “Over 400 human rights defenders have been targeted by the government in various ways in recent months.” The panel found systemic repression of civil society in violation of Zimbabwe’s international obligations. Several key issues were brought to the fore in the ensuing discussion, including the need for solidarity across the African continent and international community in advance of the impending elections in Zimbabwe. In response, pledges of solidarity, information sharing, and technical support came from across the region, including from human rights advocates in Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, and Uganda. In particular, the discussion highlighted the need of SADC to both monitor and ensure that Zimbabwe’s electoral environment is free and fair in the months leading up to the vote. As a result of the side event, a resolution was passed by the entire NGO Forum, requesting that the African Commission more effectively engage on the issue of Zimbabwe.

via RFK Center, ZLHR and NGO Forum Highlight Recent Pattern of Suppression in Zim | The Zimbabwean.

“Revolutionaries Are The Real Human Rights Defenders” at least in the view of some in Zimbabwe (thoolen.wordpress.com)

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Banjul, Dzimbabwe Chimbga, elections in Zimbabwe, Hassan Shire, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, NGO Forum, Non-governmental organization, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, RFK, Zimbabwe, ZLHR

Pan-African protection of Human Rights Defenders boosted with EU grant

February 5, 2013

Having just today reported on the new human rights defenders network created in the Arab world, I would be amiss not to draw attention to the developments of an already existing network in Africa. On 4 February 2013 the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRD-Net) officially launched from Kampala, Uganda, a 3-year programme totalling 1.8 million Euros to promote a safe legal and working environment for human rights defenders (HRDs) across Africa.

“The tireless and innovative work done at the sub-regional level to protect human rights defenders will now have a dedicated venue at the Pan-African level for mutual support and reinforcement,” said Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson of PAHRD-Net and Executive Director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP). Today’s launch is the result of a process started in 1998 in Johannesburg (All-Africa Human Rights Defenders Conference) and renewed in 2009 at the follow-up meeting in Kampala.

PAHRD-Net brings together the five sub-regional human rights defenders networks in Africa (the Central African HRD Network, the East and Horn of Africa HRD Network, the North Africa HRD Network represented through the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Southern Africa HRD Network hosted by the International Commission for Jurists, and the West African HRD Network) to meet the protection needs of human rights defenders and especially to address the needs of the five groups of most-at-risk: journalists fighting to end impunity and corruption, women human rights defenders, defenders working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, HRDs working under oppressive regimes or in armed/post-conflict areas, and HRDs engaging with the resource extraction industries.

Human rights defenders are individuals working alone or through organizations under the goal of promoting respect for universal human rights norms. Frequently HRDs come into conflict with the entrenched local power structures of state and non-state actors through their activism. This conflict can put in jeopardy the security of the HRD and their work and family networks. HRDs are often the victims of harassment, threats, assault, injury, and death across Africa, and many are forced into exile, a move which may effectively end their advocacy for human rights. The consolidation and growth of protection mechanisms within the sub-regions will improve the responses available to mitigate these threats and develop HRDs’ ability to manage their own security effectively.

The European Commission supports the new programme under its global fund for Democracy and Human Rights, which is to underpin the implementation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders

For further information please contact:

Hassan Shire Sheikh – Chairperson, Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network executive@defenddefenders.org

Joseph Bikanda – Coordinator, Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network: Tel +256-312-202133, +256-312-265825, or panafrica@defenddefenders.org

Rachel Nicholson – Advocacy Officer, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project: Tel +256-312-265-824, +256-778-921274, or advocacy@defenddefenders.org

for full text of announcement: http://www.defenddefenders.org/2013/02/kampala-launch-of-new-programme-for-improved-protection-of-human-rights-defenders-in-africa/

Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: Africa, EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, European Commission, Hassan Shire Sheikh, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Johannesburg, journalists, Kampala, PAHRD-Net, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, protection, resource extraction, women human rights defenders

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Posts Tagged ‘Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network’

Call for Consultancy for Strategic Plan for AfricanDefenders

2019 edition of the Africa Shield Awards by AfricanDefenders

Swaziland should immediately release two Human Rights Defenders arrested on 17 March

Imam Baba Leigh writes impressively how opposing the death penalty in Gambia forced him into exile

Five Human Rights Defenders Awarded in African Region

New series of awards for Human Rights Defenders in Africa

NGO Forum Highlights Recent Pattern of Suppression in Zimbabwe

Pan-African protection of Human Rights Defenders boosted with EU grant

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