Naw Ohn Hla appears in court in Kyauktada Township in October last year on charges of organizing Kayin Martyr’s Day. (Photo-Nay Myo Win) Published 11 December 2020
Naw Ohn Hla, chairperson of Democracy and Peace Women Network in Myanmar, has been presented with the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award 2020 by Civil Rights Defenders based in Sweden. The award announcement was made on Human Rights Day on December 10.
Naw Ohn Hla is a Karen democracy activist, politician, human rights defender, environmental rights and land rights activist for decades. She has been active in campaigning against the Letpadaung mining project in northern Burma. Naw Ohn Hla is also serving as general secretary of the United Nationalities Democracy Party.
Naw Ohn Hla has received the award for her exceptional perseverance in the fight against oppression and for her continued courage to stand up to those in power, Civil Rights Defenders said in its statement.
“We are standing by the victims of human rights violations. It is now encouraging to see that not only us but also the international community is standing by this. It also encourages us to do more,” said Naw Ohn Hla.
She said she would accept the award at the headquarters of Civil Rights Defenders in Sweden together with the 2021 award winner because this year sees the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Laureates of this year’s Right Livelihood Awardhave been announced today – 22 September 2016 – in Stockholm, Sweden:
SYRIA CIVIL DEFENCE (Syria)
Syria Civil Defence (The White Helmets), ‘for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war’. It is the first time that a Right Livelihood Award goes to a Laureate from Syria.…for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war.
is recruiting a Communications Manager, based in Geneva or Stockholm. The successful applicant will be shaping its international communications strategy and working closely with its Laureates. She/he will lead the Right Livelihood Award Foundation’s communications team and be responsible for the conceptualisation, implementation and the daily running of all communications of the foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
The Natalia Project[http://www.nataliaproject.org], the assault alarm for human rights defenders which I referred to in previous posts, won two gold and one silver at the 53rd annual Guldägget Awards in Stockholm. Guldägget [Golden Egg] is Sweden’s oldest and most prestigious competition in creative communication. The Natalia Project earned recognition for using innovative technology to safeguard individuals at risk. In his acceptance speech, Robert Hårdh of Civil Rights Defenders said, “This campaign is for real, it saves lives.” The Natalia Project was launched in April 2013 as a security solution for human rights activists at risk. In the case of an assault, a wearer can directly notify the Civil Rights Defenders, as well as the world through social media. PFO Tech developed the assault alarm bracelet, GPS tracking system and social media integration behind the Natalia Project. The bracelet and system, which is easily integrated into individual company security platforms, now protects journalists and human rights defenders around the world.
On 8 April 2014 Sarah Cortes posted a short report on Cambridge Community Television about how Cambridge internet freedom advocates trained human rights defenders at the recent Civil Rights Defenders Conference in Stockholm.
Civil Rights Defenders [CRD] brought 121 human rights defenders from over 30 countries together last weekend to share their stories and participate in training by legal, security and technology specialists. One of them is Andrew Lewman from Cambridge-based Tor who provided training in internet and digital security to help activists who may be under surveillance from governments whose policies and activities they protest. “Activists may not realize the extent to which their governments may monitor their computers, cellphones and other devices,” said Lewman. “Learning to improve digital security may save their life, in some cases“. CRD itself has not yet published a general report.
Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defendersis looking for a replacement to the organisation’s Programme Director for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia department. This is a full-time position starting from 24 March 2014, lasting at least until 10 February 2015 though it might be prolonged. Deadline for applications is 20 January 2014.
The Programme Director is stationed in Stockholm, though frequently travelling and meeting with human rights defenders in the region, and representing Civil Rights Defenders in public. The tasks of the Programme Director include fundraising. Qualifications: MA in Law, Political Science, International Relations or related fields/areas, including training in international human rights mechanisms; Minimum of 5 years of working experience with human rights; At least 2 years of management experience; Working experience from Eastern Europe, Central Asia or the South Caucasus, preferably in human rights, and extensive knowledge about the human rights situation in the region; Fluency in at least two of the following languages: English, Swedish, and Russian.
Application to kim.matthis[at]civilrightsdefenders.org
On 5 April 2013 Civil Rights Defenders announced a potentially life-saving gizmo which is a personal alarm to alert in the case of kidnapping of Human Rights Defenders. The slick promotional video clip above makes cleat what it intends to do. Civil Rights Defenders has dubbed it the Natalia Project (named after Natalia Estemirova, a leading, human rights defender in the North Caucasus, who was brutally kidnapped and murdered). The bracelet uses GPS and social media to inform of a kidnapping within seconds.
The bracelet uses a mobile signal to notify of an attack and issues a real-time GPS location of the victim directly Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 