On 19 December 2014, Naomi Sharang wrote a long piece in the Nigerian Observer (News agency of Nigeria – NAN). After a short general introduction, the author zooms in on the Nigerian situation and the role of human rights defenders, interviewing a NGO representative as well as someone from the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Here follow the main excerpts: Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘rape’
Tackling Human Rights Violations In Nigeria
December 19, 2014Congolese gynecologist wins Europe’s Sakharov Prize in 2014
October 22, 2014The 2014 Sakharov Prize goes to the Congolese physician Denis Mukwege for his treatment of the victims of gang rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congolese physician Denis Mukwege, will be awarded this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Mukwege has been treating rape victims at a clinic in Bukavu on the Rwandan border for decades. He has performed thousands of surgeries on women to heal their injuries sustained in violent attacks, often by local militias. The 59-year-old founded a gynaecology unit and maternity ward in Bukavu in 1996, the first of its kind in the area. He has since expanded the station to an entire hospital, which he runs. The Second Congo War began in August 1998, ravaging the region. Mukwege is said to have performed over 10,000 operations on rape victims ever since.
The other finalists were Ukraine’s pro-Western Euromaidan movement and Azerbaijani rights defender Leyla Yunus.[https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/more-on-the-sakharov-prize-and-the-arab-nominees/]
For more information on the award see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/sakharov-prize-freedom-thought
The 2014 prize will be awarded at a ceremony in Strasbourg on 26 November.
Congolese gynecologist wins Sakharov Prize | News | DW.DE | 21.10.2014.
for our french speakers: http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/10/21/le-docteur-mukwege-recoit-le-prix-sakharov-pour-son-soutien-aux-femmes-violees-en-rdc_4510098_3214.html
Somali Human Rights Defender Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim receives Oxfam Novib/PEN Award For Freedom Of Expression
February 24, 2014Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, a participant in the Protective Fellowship Scheme for Human Rights Defenders At Risk at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at York University, was jailed in his native Somalia in 2013 after he interviewed a woman who claimed she was raped by government security forces. On 21 February 2014 he was honored as the recipient of the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award For Freedom Of Expression which recognises writers who have been persecuted for their work and continue to write
via Persecuted journalist in spotlight at University of York From York Press.
http://www.pen-international.org/oxfam-novibpen-award-for-freedom-of-expression/
“Better to die while speaking the truth” – human rights defenders in the DRC continue to be threatened
December 16, 2013On 16 December Amnesty International came out with a special report on the death threats and intimidation by armed groups and state security forces in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo [North Kivu] over the past year have, with the aim of silencing human rights defenders, even after the defeat of M23. The report “Better to die while speaking the truth” details the heightened clampdown on human rights defenders by armed groups and the national security forces since the crisis escalated last 
year. “The whole population is vulnerable to human rights abuses in North Kivu and those speaking out to protect these people are deliberately targeted from all sides,” says Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director. Read the rest of this entry »
Human Rights First Honors Doctor Denis Mukwege in Washington on 21 October|
October 17, 2013
As founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Denis Mukwege and his staff have treated over 30,000 survivors of sexual violence. The hospital not only addresses the immediate medical needs of survivors, but also provides legal and psycho-social services. Dr. Mukwege has received numerous awards for his tireless advocacy against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and for his courageous efforts to provide essential services to survivors of rape.
Human Rights First will honor Dr. Mukwege with its 2013 Human Rights Award, an honor dedicated to human rights defenders on the frontlines of the struggle for freedom. Physicians for Human Rights collaborates with Dr. Mukwege and the staff of Panzi Hospital to bolster local networks of collaboration among the health and legal communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to end impunity for sexual violence and support meaningful access to justice for survivors of these crimes.
On Monday 21 October 2013 (15h30) there is a public reception at the Stewart R. Mott House, 122 Maryland Avenue, NE, Washington, DC.
via Reception Honoring Dr. Denis Mukwege | Human Rights First.
Related articles
Pakistan and rights of women: unbearable
September 28, 2013This short write-up on violence against women and against women human rights defenders in particular in Pakistan is interesting in itself but equally interesting is to note that the Oman Tribune is carrying it. This kind of south-south spreading of human rights news is encouraging: Read the rest of this entry »
“Fabricated” charges like trafficking and sexual harassment used to silence Uzbek Human Rights Defenders
September 26, 2013In what could possibly put trafficking campaigners and human rights organisations on a collision course, the Uzbekistan authorities have recourse to trafficking and sexual harassment charges to put human rights defenders behind bars. Read the rest of this entry »
Today Woman Human Rights Defenders in Nepal launch national campaign against rape
September 21, 2013The Himalayan Times of 20 September reports that the National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders in collaboration with more than two dozen other organisations working for the rights of women and children is all set to launch a ‘National Campaign Against Rape’ today. The campaign will continue till December 10 when the Human Rights Day is observed. The main objective of the campaign Read the rest of this entry »
Arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of 13 Women Human Rights Defenders in Kolkata, India
June 17, 2013On 17 June, 2013 the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders [joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights] issued a statement on the fate of 13 women human rights defenders in India.
Read the rest of this entry »
Less bad: on appeal Somali journalist gets 6 months instead of 1 year for reporting a rape case
March 8, 2013On 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.
Related articles
- Somalian radio journalist and human rights defender Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim sentenced to one year in prison (thoolen.wordpress.com)
- Somali ‘false rape victim’ cleared (bbc.co.uk)
- Somali woman wins appeal against sentence for claiming soldiers raped her (guardian.co.uk)
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 