Posts Tagged ‘United Nations’
March 4, 2013
In one of my posts of last week I referred to the panicked, knee-jerk reaction of the Sri Lankan Government to the showing of the film No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka at the UN in Geneva. Now I have come across a much more reasonable and constructive reaction published in the Sri Lankan The Island of 1 march 2013. The whole piece is worth reading; here follow just some excerpts for those pressed for time:
Every time, the United Nations Human Rights Council meets in session or one of the international Human Rights Organizations issues a statement on violations of human rights in Sri Lanka, the government of Sri Lanka gets into a combat mode. Their response follows the rule that attack is the best form of defence. The attack takes the form of personal abuse directed at the human rights defenders; there is no attempt to meet the issues of violations that have been raised. Its apologists and other hangers-on merely follow suit with hysterical outbursts against the United Nations, the international community and the local human rights defenders. None of them seem to care to read the reports released by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights or by the different human rights organizations. Their criticism of the reports is therefore not informed and raises more issues than clarifying any. Mahinda Samarasinghe [the SL Ambassador] is normally not prone to such hysterical responses; his speech at the current sessions of the UNHRC therefore seems untypical of him.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: FIFHR, film, film festival, Geneva, Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, Hague, human rights, humanitarian law, impunity, investigation, Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, LLRC, Navanethem Pillay, No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan government, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, war crimes
March 4, 2013
It seems that International Women’s Day is increasingly becoming a day on which human rights defenders become a central theme. An example is York University in the UK where 8 international human rights defenders studying at the University of York’s Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) spoke in recognition of International Women’s Day on Saturday 2 March about their experiences as “Women of the Front Line”. Relaying their own backgrounds and the influences that encouraged them to begin defending human rights, the women spoke for over an hour on displacement of women and children in periods of conflict, inequalities of women’s rights in their countries’ legal systems, and on cases of domestic violence including beating and rape. The speakers included, Karak Denyok Miakol, a social worker and the founder of Diar for Rehabilitation and Development Association DRDA, Samira Hamidi, the Country Director of the Afghan Women’s Network, Kultan Sh. Hassan, the human rights officer of the Women’s Action for Advocacy and Progress Organisation in Somaliland and Lineo Tsikoane, a human rights defender from Lesotho. Challenging the traditions and cultures of society presents these women with constant challenges and threats; Lineo Tsikoane admitted how “on many occasions I do not sleep at home” for fear of being arrested by the government. Questioned on the conflict between being a human rights defender and a mother, all acknowledged the challenge, but as Kultan Sh. Hussan stated, they accept that “we have a responsibility more than that”. They also emphasised the importance of engaging men in their campaigns and ensuring that women had equal access to education. They encouraged the use of letter writing, internet petitions and campaigns here in support of their causes as a source of solidarity and inspiration that their plight is being acknowledged 
internationally. Sanna Eriksson, the Centre Coordinator for the CAHR, hoped that the event would foster a better engagement of these International Human Rights Defenders and the local community in York as well as raise awareness of International Women’s Day. The event also showcased poetry by the Human Rights Defenders, depicting personal insights on issues of female genital mutilation and the continuing oppression of women’s voices around the world.
York’s CAHR is planning a special issue of its respected Journal of Human Rights Practice on the topic of the Protection of Human Rights Defenders for the last quarter of this year.
via Showcase of International Human Rights Campaigners | Nouse.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, CAHR, Centre for Applied Human Rights, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, international women's day, protection, Somaliland, Special Rapporteur, United Nations, women human rights defenders, Women's rights, York university
March 2, 2013
The first side event “Killings and Violence against Women based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” will take place on 5 March 2013 (16h30) at the Armenian Convention Center
630 2nd Avenue (at 35th street)
Panelists
TAMARA ADRIAN (Venezuela)
General Director of Diverlex Diversidad e Igualdad a Través de la Ley,
World Trans Secretary of ILGA
MONICA TABENGWA (Botswana)
Africa Researcher, LGBT Program, Human Rights Watch
KIM VANCE (Canada)
Co-Director, ARC International
Moderator
CYNTHIA ROTHSCHILD (USA)
Consultant, COC Netherlands Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, CSW, Gender identity, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, impunity, intimidation, LGBT rights, New York, protection, Sexual orientation, side event, UN, United Nations, Violence against women, women human rights defenders
March 1, 2013
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 3 Comments »
Tags: Geneva, Human right, Human Rights Council, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights House Foundation, legislation, Non-governmental organization, Norway, protection, Special Rapporteur, UN Resolution, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
February 27, 2013
On Thursday 28 February 
OMCT and FIDH organise a meeting in room XXI in the Palais des Nations of the UN (starts 13h00) on the topic: ‘RESTRICTIONS ON NGO FUNDING: FROM HARASSMENT TO CRIMINALISATION“. Many of my recent posts have dealt with this increasing phenomenon which is simply the more sophisticated way of Governments repressing the voices of human rights defenders, activists and dissidents.
The programme looks as follows:
Introductory remarks
Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
H.E. Mr. Colin Wrafter, Director, Human Rights Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland
Chair Antoine Bernard, FIDH CEO
Panel speakers:
Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General
Olga Sadovskaya, CAT –member of the OMCT GA– (Russia)
Farida Makar, CIHRS (Egypt)
Adil Rahman Khan, ODHIKAR –member of the OMCT GA- (Bangladesh)
Entrance is free and public but one should get access to the UN building.
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | 4 Comments »
Tags: activists, civil society organisations, funding, Human right, Human Rights Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, legal restrictions, meeting, NGOs, Non-governmental organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OMCT, repression, side event, United Nations
February 26, 2013
With apologies to the early viewers of my post of today regarding the Geneva film festival and the showing of a documentary in the UN building on alleged war crimes committed by both sides in the conflict, the link to the Sri Lankan Ambassador’s letter was faulty. This is now repaired with: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/465065/Letter-to-the-President-Human-Rights-Council-2.pdf.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: AI, Channel 4, FFIDH, Geneva, HRW, Human right, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Ambassador, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
February 26, 2013
(UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)
If you are looking for good quotes from top UN officials on human rights, you will find some in the panel discussion that took place on 25 February to mark the 20th anniversary of an indeed benchmark meeting, the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993. The resulting Vienna Declaration, which led to the creation of the post of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, strengthened human rights work, and reinforced the universality of human rights and the duty of States to uphold them. “Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the lifeblood of the United Nations,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a video message to panel discussion in Geneva to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.“Since the Organization was founded, Member States and civil society partners have worked to build a body of human rights instruments that can uphold the principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he noted. The declaration – adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, and later endorsed by the General Assembly – led to the creation of the post of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. As a member of a women’s rights organization who participated in a side event at the 1993 Conference, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recalled that the event took place amid a “time of transformation” with the end of the Cold War and as progress had been made in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. In remarks read out on her behalf by Bacre Ndiaye, Director of the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR, Ms. Pillay said the Conference was also the first time that representatives of governments and civil society spoke about women’s rights at a conference dedicated to human issues and not specially women’s issues. “This shift in human rights thinking paved the way for key advances,” she noted, including the adoption of the UN Declaration on violence against women, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It also contributed to how the gender perspective was integrated into human rights work and the Organization as a whole. “However, much remains to be done. As was the case 20 years ago, women and girls continue to be sexually and physically abused, and their abusers go unpunished,” Ms. Pillay said, adding that women’s political participation and full empowerment are a “work in progress.” The High Commissioner also urged civil society to continue its strong engagement with the UN, noting the vital role non-governmental organizations played in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action “The United Nations cannot attain its lofty objectives without the participation of those it is supposed to serve. It is only by listening to their concerns that we can we ensure that our action is grounded in the real lives of real people,” she said.
via United Nations News Centre – Top UN officials mark 20th anniversary of declaration strengthening human rights.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ban Ki-moon, Human right, Navanethem Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Vienna, World Conference on Human Rights
February 26, 2013
Since 2003, the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival (with the more complicated French name and abbreviation: le Festival du film et forum international sur les droits humains – FIFDH) takes place in parallel to the UN Human Rights Council. Based on the concept “A film, a subject, a debate”, the FIFDH features documentary as well fiction, on themes linked to human rights such as: violence against women, poverty, torture, international justice and even climate change. During 10 days the public is invited to watch the films, meet film makers, actors, experts and victims of human rights violations. There are special screenings for students, and teachers are issued with thematic material. This year a total of 40 films will be screened. New this year is the competition for international fiction. The Jury includes filmmakers and human rights defenders such as: Ai Weiwei, Patrick Chapatte, Romain Goupil and Fadwa Suleiman, Syrian actress in exile. The longstanding festival director is Leo Kaneman: for the programme see: http://www.fifdh.org/
In the meantime, a big controversy has erupted about the showing of the documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” in what is called in UN terminology a ‘side event’, organised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the above-mentioned FIFDH, on the premises of the UN. As reported by AP on 25 February, the Sri Lankan Ambassador has sent a letter to the whole Human Rights Council denouncing the film as “discredited, uncorroborated and unsubstantiated” and warning that the Council would be violating its own rules if the film is screened March 1 in Geneva as planned.
The 90-minute documentary alleges government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels engaged in war crimes during the final stages of the conflict in 2009. The film shows interviews with eyewitnesses and original footage of alleged atrocities against civilians including summary execution, sexual violence and torture. The film director Callum Macrae denied that it distorted the facts: “We believe that our film contains very important evidence about the terrible events in the last few months of this war and we believe we have a duty to make that evidence available to the diplomats and country missions at the U.N. Human Rights Council who must make important decisions about how to ensure accountability and justice in Sri Lanka“. See: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lanka-opposes-screening-critical-film-18590958. The Sri Lankan Ambassador’s letter which certainly will help to attract a larger audience is to be found on: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/465065/Letter-to-the-President-Human-Rights-Council-2.pdf.
Posted in AI, films, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Ai Weiwei, Amnesty International, documentary, ECOSOC, Fadwa Suleiman, film festival, fims, Geneva, Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Watch, impunity, International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, international justice, Kaneman, media, No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, reconciliation, Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, war crimes
February 25, 2013
(High Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay addresses the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)
As the United Nations Human Rights Council began its work today, 25 February 2013. the High Commissioner Navi Pillay stressed the importance of strengthening international processes that will monitor and prevent rights violations around the world as well as hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.Addressing the opening of the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that despite significant progress over the past two decades on issues such as the elimination of violence against women and tackling impunity for international crimes, there continue to be systematic human rights violations around the world. In her address to the Council, Ms. Pillay also noted that while the increased involvement of civil society in defending human rights is a welcome development, there have been an alarming number of reports of governments persecuting human rights defenders because of the nature of their work.“I continue to hear of brave human rights defenders, journalists or bloggers who have been threatened, harassed, arrested or killed because of their work on behalf of the human rights of others,” Ms. Pillay said. “Such intimidation has sometimes even occurred during the proceedings of this Council. We must never tolerate such pressure, or reprisals against those who rightly seek to engage the international human rights system.”
via United Nations News Centre – UN Human Rights Council opens with call to strengthen international justice system.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 6 Comments »
Tags: Geneva, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Navanethem Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Pillay, protection, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
February 25, 2013
Protection International (PI) is published on 23 February 2013 its first FOCUS report. To commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), the report presents the results from PI’s research on public government policies to protect human rights defenders internationally. It analyzes the development of public policy meant to protect human rights defenders. While acknowledging advances that have clearly enhanced existing regional and international mechanisms, the report adopts a critical approach since States are ultimately responsible for protecting Human Rights Defenders, starting with governments.PI hopes this report will contribute to the discussion on how to improve existing public policies and spur discussion between civil society organizations and governments of countries where protection of human rights defenders is far from being ensured.
The full report can be downloaded in several languages via: FOCUS Report 2013 : “Public Policies for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders: The State of the Art” | | ProtectionlineProtectionline.
Posted in books, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: 2013, Advocacy Organizations, annual report, Civil society, Focus 2013, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, PI, policies, politics, protection, Protection International, UN Declaration, United Nations
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 