Posts Tagged ‘twitter’
May 3, 2013
As readers of this blog know I would have readily reported on any developments surrounding the MEA especially since the Final Nominees 2013 were announced recently. A few days ago a controversy arose around the nomination of Mona Seif, the courageous Egyptian human rights defender who was selected because of her campaign against military trials for civilians. UN Watch, an NGO affiliated to the American Jewish Committee, and famous for its strident monitoring of anything that smacks of criticism of Israel, accused Mona Seif of being a terrorist sympathizer on the basis of 3 older tweets in which she strongly defended the right of Palestinians to resist Israeli occupation. The organisation started a twitter campaign to have Mona recalled as nominee.
Mona Seif, Egypt – Final Nominee MEA 2013
The problem is that I am – in a personal capacity – the Chair of the Jury which is composed of ten of the world’s leading human rights NGOs (see list http://www.martinennalsaward.org). I am a non-voting chair whose only role is to facilitate the process and I do not participate in the selection. The board of the Martin Ennals Foundation also has no role in the selection as the Statutes provide for a fully independent Jury. Only the NGOs on the Jury can vote on the recipient of the MEA. Still, I feel that my capacity of Chair of the Jury obliges me to show restraint in speaking out.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in HRW, human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: American Jewish Committee, Egypt, freedom of expression, HRW, Human Rights Defenders, HumanRights, Israel, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Jury, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA nominees 2013, MonaSeif, No To Military Trials for Civilians, Non-governmental organization, Robert Mackay, terrorism, twitter, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Watch
April 26, 2013
This is the way the NGO “Chinese Human Rights Defenders” (CDHR) presents itself at the Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Ulaan Bator, so close to ‘home’:
“Do the names Zhou Decai, Cao Haibo, Chen Wei, Chen Xi or Cui Fufang ring a bell to you? They are all prisoners of conscience in China. The Chinese Human Right Defenders (CHRD) are doing all they can to make the stories of prisoners of consciousness heard.
On its website, CHRD defines itself as “a network of Chinese and international activists promoting human rights and empowering rights defenders in China. A non-governmental organization, CHRD provides logistical support and capacity-building services to human rights advocates, monitors human rights developments, and assists victims of human rights abuses. CHRD advocates the peaceful realization of human rights protection through democratization and rule of law reform.”
There are many activities of the network: just to name numerous reports have been published, the last one of them being the “2012 annual report on the situation of human rights in China”; It also submits constant reports and appeals to the UN on the situation of human rights in China, urging it to act for its improvement; their website and Twitter account provide constant updates on human rights violations in China, as well as pictures and videos, with stories which do not usually reach the mainstream media.”
via Chinese Human Rights Defenders- Promoting human rights and empowering grassroots activism in China | Ulaanbaatar Ministerial Conference- Civil Society.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Cao Haibo, Chen Wei, China, CHRD, Community of Democracies, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Ministerial Conference, Non-governmental organization, twitter, Ulaanbaatar, Ulan Bator, Zhou Decai
April 20, 2013
You can join the ‘engine room’ and the New Tactics online community for an online conversation on “Incorporating Social Media into Your Human Rights Campaigning“. This will take place from 13 to 17 May 2013.
Social media are increasingly being used by human rights organizations around the world, but the question remains how do organizations use these tools strategically and creatively to reach their goals? The online conversation will explore topics such as:
- How to define your social media goals and targets;
- Strategizing about how to reach your stakeholders with social media;
- Making decisions about the resources you should devote to building and maintaining a social media presence;
- How to use social media without putting your staff and your constituents at risk.
This online conversation will be an opportunity to exchange experiences, lessons-learned and best practices among practitioners using social media strategically in human rights work.
To learn more and sign up: Incorporating Social Media into Your Human Rights Campaigning | New Tactics in Human Rights.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, exchange experiences, facebook, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Defenders, human rights organizations, media presence, New Tactics in Human Rights, on line conversation, social media, twitter
April 15, 2013
On 9 April 2013, the Criminal Investigation Department in Kuwait detained human rights defender Mr 
Abdullah Fairouz on charges of insulting the judiciary using social media. The Prosecution Office has ordered ten days of detention pending interrogation on the charges. Abdullah Fairouz is a prominent Kuwaiti human rights defender and writer who has worked for several years on the rights of the Bedoun (citizens without identity cards or any prove of their citizenship). The human rights defender is also a member of the Bedoun Committee at the Kuwait Society for Human Rights. Hours after the disappearance of the human rights defender, it was confirmed that he had been detained at the Criminal Investigation Department after a judge ordered his arrest on accusations of insulting the judiciary by publishing tweets and blog posts. The human rights defender had been criticising the issue of a default judgement against Dr Obaid Al Wasmi and Saud Asfour. The defendants had not been notified of their hearing date and the judgement was issued without their knowledge. A request to visit the human rights defender by Mr Khalid Al-Hamidi, director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, was rejected by the Criminal Investigation Department without motive.
Front Line Defenders believes that the detention of Abdullah Fairouz is solely motivated by his peaceful and legitimate human rights work, and views this act as part of an ongoing campaign of judicial harassment against human rights defenders in Kuwait.
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdullah Fairouz, al hamidi, Bedoun, blog, Criminal Investigation Department, Front Line Defenders, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, Kuwait, Middle East, social media, twitter
March 12, 2013
In a case that was followed closely in this blog, a Bahraini human rights defender accused of sending out twitters with ‘false information’, there is finally some good news: a Bahraini court has acquitted Said Yousif Al-Muhafdah of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR – 2012 Final Nominee of the MEA). “It’s a great relief that Said Yousif was acquitted today, bringing an end to three months of judicial harassment. Let’s hope this means the courts are beginning to show a better understanding of what freedom of expression means,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. Al-Muhafdah was arrested in December 2012 for “spreading false information on Twitter.”
His case is one in a string cases stemming from the Kingdom’s ongoing judicial harassment of human rights defenders. It followed last year’s jailing of Nabeel Rajab, President of the BCHR, and of human rights activist Zainab Al Khawaja in February 2013. “This is a small victory, but unfortunately there are many other cases of judicial harassment that continue to wind their way through Bahrain’s judicial system,” Brian Dooley noted. On March 21, the appeal of 23 medics, each sentenced to three months in prison after treating injured protestors in 2011, will continue. A verdict is expected at a date soon after. Dooley, who has authored four reports about the ongoing crackdown in Bahrain, has been forbidden access to the nation for more than a year. “This is not how a nation that wants to trumpet its human rights record treats monitors” Dooley added.
via Acquittal in Bahrain Twitter Case Comes as Dooley Denied Access Again | Human Rights First.
Posted in HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: acquittal, Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, BCHR, Brian Dooley, HRF, Human right, human rights, human rights activist, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, illegal detention, judicial harassment, MEA 2012 nominee, Middle East, Nabeel Rajab, Said Yousif Al-Muhafdah, trial observation, twitter, Zainab Al-Khawaja
November 28, 2012
On 23 November I referred to the video contest on human rights in Armenia and wondered where the others were. Here is one more, in Turkey as reported by BIANET on 27 November:
With its slogan “Make a film. Be Viral. Create a Change”, Human Rights Online Video Contest selected five young directors who recorded stories about how they see and interpret human rights issues in the environment. Finalists were selected by a jury including Ece Temelkuran, Melek Özman and Fatih Keskin.
The winner video will be selected following a public voting ending on December 3. Anyone can vote for the contest through http://www.youtube.com/humanrightsturkey. The delegation also urged social media users to share the video through Twitter and Facebook. The winner–the most viral video on social media–will be announced on the delegation website.
A closing ceremony will be held in Ankara to award the winner on December 12.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: BIANET, EU, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, media users, Turkey, twitter, video clips, Viral video, YouTube
September 27, 2012
On 26 September Human Rights First (HRF) reports that a Bahraini court sentenced Zainab Al-Khawaja to two months in prison for publicly tearing a picture of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It notes that the ruling confirms Bahrain’s reputation as a volatile place without due respect for the rule of law.
“The Bahraini regime seems locked into a spiral of imprisoning human rights leaders and it is unable to tolerate freedom of expression. This is not the reform the king promised” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley ”
Zainab Al-Khawaja, a well-known activist, is the daughter of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison after being arrested, tortured and given an unfair trial in a military court for taking part in the pro-democracy protest. Throughout the uprising in Bahrain, Zainab Al-Khawaja has worked to bring to light abuses committed by the Bahraini regime. Through her blog and twitter account, @angryarabiya, Zainab has urged to world to show its support for the Bahraini people.
“In 18 months, Bahrain has rocketed from obscurity to international fame as a place where doctors were tortured and human rights activists are jailed for peaceful dissent. Zainab’s sentence reinforces this image of a regime addicted to targeting its human rights defenders, and only able to respond to dissent with repression,” Dooley concluded.
Zainab Al-Khawaja’s verdict comes just one day before another prominent human rights leader, Nabeel Rajab, is scheduled to hear the verdict in his appeal of a three-year prison sentence for his part in what the government calls “illegal gatherings.” Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), an organization selected by Human Rights First to receive the 2012 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty and also one the three nominees for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012 which will be decided on 2 October in Geneva.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: award, Bahrain, Brian Dooley, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, Nabeel Rajab, twitter, Zainab Al-Khawaja
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 