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Posts Tagged ‘UN’
Harassment of HRDs confirmed by the UN
August 18, 2012A few months ago I drew your attention to the annual effort by the UN to collect information on the harassment of those who cooperate with the United Nations (its representatives and mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteurs). Now – on 13 August 2012 – the report has been published as GA A/HRC/21/18 and makes grim reading. Several countries (such as Bahrain, Colombia, Iran, China, Sri Lanka) continue to punish or intimidate persons who had the courage to stand up in the United Nations and accuse their country of human rights violations. Government controlled media routinely refer to them as ‘traitors’ and that is the least of the bad treatment given. One would wish that the UN would be even more outspoken and concrete in protecting its own sources!
full document in PDF:
Concrete steps towards better protection of human rights defenders
March 15, 2012On March 8 and 9, 2012, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), organised the fourth “inter-mechanisms” meeting, which was hosted by the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, Switzerland. This is a unique informal platform where under Chatham House Rules key actors meet to fine tune standards and mechanisms for Human Rights Defenders.
On this occasion, international and regional mechanisms and programmes for the protection of human rights defenders – operating within the United Nations, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Council of Europe, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights(IACHR) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – joined by representatives of the European Union, the International Organisation of the Francophonie and various NGOs, discussed the drafting of a joint report on existing standards and recommendations related to the protection of human rights defenders at the international and regional levels. IACHR offered to take a coordinating role in drafting the report, with the back up of the Observatory. This report would be inspired by the 2011 Commentary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and the IACHR Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders. Such a document, the first of its kind, will not only be a useful tool to human rights defenders, States and other relevant stakeholders, but will also demonstrate a unity of approaches among mechanisms.
Participants also shared their experiences and lessons learnt in order to identify possible ways tostrengthen the coordination and cooperation among existing mandates on the protection of human rights defenders. In particular, action-oriented discussions focused on how to ensure accountability for human rights violations against human rights defenders, which is a central issue for all mechanisms and programmes in order to combat impunity.
Participants also discussed core policy challenges affecting the protection of human rights defenders in relation to freedom of association, as well as possibilities of cooperation with the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. A specific focus on the right to receive and access funding, including foreign funding was discussed, reflecting renewed preoccupations by mechanisms on restrictions by States in this regard. These issues should be further discussed during a future inter-mechanisms meeting, to be organised by the Observatory.
For more information, please contact :
• OMCT : Delphine Reculeau : + 41 22 809 49 39
• FIDH : Karine Appy / Arthur Manet : + 33 1 43 55 25 18
Iranian Government Criticizes UN Report on Human Rights as biased !
March 13, 2012If it was not so serious a subject, the Iranian government’s response to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran could be considered comical. On June 17, 2011, the UN Human Rights Council named former Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed as its human rights investigator on Iran. Numerous reports including this blog reported last year that Iran was not willing to cooperate with this rapporteur. So it is a bit much to hear now the official complaint that the Rapporteur has relied on “political motivations based on news provided by terrorist groups”. On Monday 12 March, a senior Iranian official censured Shaheed for his biased report against the Islamic Republic with the following words: “The documents presented by Ahmed Shaheed in this report were extracted from the resources and groups which are terrorist and are known as undesirable elements all over the world,” (Director-General of the Iranian Presidential Office for International Affairs Mohammad Reza Forqani speaking to FNA).
Government spokesman Mehman-Parast’s statement that “Iran is ready to cooperate with human rights bodies like the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights” now sounds utterly unbelievable.
Fars News Agency :: Spokesman Criticizes UNs Biased Report on Irans Human Rights.
Syria: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights does not mince words before General Assembly
February 16, 2012While many of us are in despair over the inaction by the Security Council due to the exercise of a veto on geopolitical grounds, one high level official, Mrs Pillay, at least speaks out relentlessly, recently at the General Assembly of the UN in New York. The short video here embedded was uploaded by the UN:
United Nations starts to open Human Rights Resource Centres in Southern Africa
February 13, 2012On 10 February 2012, the Regional Office for Southern Africa of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (ROSA) launched a Human Rights Resource Centre at the Oliver Tambo Law Library at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The inauguration ceremony took place on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Class of the LLM in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa, hosted by the Human Rights Centre of the University of Pretoria. The establishment of the Human Rights Resource Centre at the University of Pretoria is part of a larger project whereby ROSA aims to establish human rights resource centres in the Southern African countries overseen by ROSA. The establishment of the next human rights resource centre will be in Maputo, Mozambique, as part of the Human Rights Centre of the Faculty of Law at the Universidade E. Mondlane, and is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2012.
First ever United Nations report on LGBT human rights presented to General Assembly
December 17, 2011
Image by US Mission Geneva via Flickr
- Image via Wikipedia
The first formal report on the state of LGBT human rights was presented to the UN General Assembly on Thursday 15 December by Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights, who has been an outspoken supporter of LGBT human rights. This the result of the adoption of a Resolution by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011 asking for this study.
She concludes that on the basis of the information presented in this report, a pattern of human rights violations emerges that demands a response. “Governments and inter-governmental bodies have often overlooked violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said. LGBT people face widespread discrimination everywhere in the world and are subjected to extreme violence, including rape, beatings and torture, evidenced by confirmed reports of mutilation and castration that were characterized by a “high degree of cruelty” .
LGBT persons also face criminal punishment in 76 countries and risk capital punishment in five countries, including Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. The report lays out the evidence of widespread discrimination and arbitrary arrests and criminal punishment based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.
The full report is entitled “Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity” and is available from : OHCHR: Discriminatory Laws and Practices and Acts of Violence Against Individuals Based on their Sexual Ori…
Andrew Anderson speaks – and speaks well – on the Anniversary of UN Declaration on HRDs – YouTube
December 9, 2011Take a minute to listen to the fine words and lovely Scottish accent of Andrew Anderson on behalf of Front Line, one of the 10 NGOs on the Jury of the MEA. He summarizes very well the progress made and problems remaining in the implementation of the UN Declaration on HRDs.
Front Line Defenders Statement on Anniversary of UN Declaration on HRDs – YouTube.
National Human Rights Commission of India supports idea to create day for HRDs
December 8, 2011In message marking the UN declaration on Human Rights Defenders on the 9th December, the well-respected National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) has joined the call for making 9 December a special day for HRDs. A small group of bloggers on bloggersunite (www.bloggersunite.org) has been pushing for this since 2009 and the support by the NHRC is most useful. The text of the message is:
“The National as well as international community around the world are increasingly realizing and acknowledging the role and contribution of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in strengthening the human rights regime throughout the globe. The NHRC considers the HRDs as its partner in the endeavour to fulfill its role as an institution for promotion and protection of rights of common man. The NHRC understands that there are many security risks for human rights defenders and they have to tread a very risky and difficult path to perform their duties/tasks as a Human Rights Defender. The problems and harassment of the HRDs are in the knowledge of the NHRC and it has always made sincere efforts to ameliorate the problems. Measures like Focal Point for Human Rights Defenders, dedicated website space for HRDs and sensitization of functionaries of both state and non state actors, through workshops/trainings/seminars/meetings, have gone a long way in making the voice of the HRDs heard and restoration of their identity as promoter and protector of human rights. The Commission believes that 9th December, which is the day when the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders was adopted by United Nations on 9 December 1998, be declared as Human Rights Defenders Day to acknowledge and pledge continued support to the HRDs who are working for the creation and sustenance of a rights aware and rights respecting civil society.”
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 