Posts Tagged ‘United Nations’
November 27, 2013
(High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. UN Photo/Sarah Fretwell)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, had hardly pronounced herself on the new ‘demonstrations law’ in Egypt, issued on Sunday, and a number of high-profile demonstrators was arrested. Yesterday Mona Seif, the MEA Nominee of 2013, and a group of other human rights defenders were arrested when they were protesting in-front of the Shura Council against the suggested constitutional article that guarantees the continues referral of civilians to military trials. Observers believe that the authorities want to send a message in the context of the new law referred to above. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, Cairo Institute for Human Rights, Egypt, final nominees 2013, freedom of assembly, freedom of demonstration, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Law, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Mohamed Abdelazia, Mona Seif, Navi Pillay, no military trial, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, woman human rights defender
November 27, 2013
To mark my post number 1000, I have chosen the subject of human rights awards, timely as today, 27 November, is also the LAUNCH OF THE TRUE HEROES AWARDS DIGEST on www.trueheroesfilms.org. The number of human rights awards has exploded with over 50 new awards created in just the last decade, bringing the total number to well over 100. Most of the research was done when I was writing an article on Human Rights Awards for the Special Issue of the OUP Journal of Human Rights Practice on ‘The Protection of Human Rights Defenders” which comes out on 29 November (for more info go to: http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/). Doing the research I found that the information on awards is scattered all over the internet and that human rights defenders would greatly benefit if the dat were put all together in a searchable way in a single Digest.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights Defenders, THF | 2 Comments »
Tags: 1000 posts, awards, blog, database, digest of human rights awards, Geneva, Havel, honor, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights awards, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, information, internet, laureates, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, recognition, role models, THF, True Heroes Foundation, United Nations
November 18, 2013
(Minister Eamon Gilmore at the 13th annual NGO Forum on Human Rights, on 13 November)
Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore, announced at the 13th annual NGO Forum on Human Rights in Dublin [this year’s forum was on “Ideals and Interests: the place of human rights in foreign policy”] that he had initiated a complete review of Ireland’s foreign policy and external relations – the first such audit to be carried out in nearly two decades. This is important as Ireland – although a small nation – is one of the few with an explicit policy to support human rights defenders.
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Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Arab spring, Eamon Gilmore, Foreign Policy, foreign policy of Ireland, Human right, human rights, human rights and development, international human rights, Ireland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, NGO Forum, Non-governmental organization, reprisals, UN, United Nations
November 11, 2013
If the coming days I am a bit less prolific with news on human rights defenders (maybe a welcome respite!) there is a good human rights reason: I will be in Berlin where on 13 November 2013 the first annual Werner Lottje Lecture will be inaugurated. It is an initiative by Bread for the World and the German Institute for Human Rights. As a good friend of Werner I am delighted to be allowed to speak about his enormous contribution to the human rights world as it is today: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: Berlin, Bread for the World, Brot fur die Welt, EKD, film, Foreign Policy, German Institute for Human Rights, German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, human righs, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, HURIDOCS, Igor Kalyapin, International Alert, International Service for Human Rights, Joint Mobile Group, lecture, Margaret Sekaggaya, Martin Ennals, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, UN Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, United Nations, Werner Lottje, World Council of Churches
November 2, 2013
“Women human rights defenders risk violence, prejudice and exclusion for their courageous work. Through this resolution, we want to contribute to their protection,” says Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende. Norway is coordinating the UN General Assembly’s work in New York on the protection of human rights defenders. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, has on several occasions expressed great concern for the challenging working conditions of human rights defenders. This is the first time a resolution on the situation and significance of women human rights defenders has been put on the table. “We want to send a clear signal of support to women who fight for human rights around the world, and we call on member states to enable and allow for their work to make our societies better,” says Brende. The resolution also calls on national human rights institutions, regional organizations and the UN system to take action. The draft resolution was formally presented on Friday 1 November.
via Norway’s Proposal to Protect Women Human Rights Defenders – The Nordic Page – Panorama.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 3 Comments »
Tags: human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, international protection, Margaret Sekaggya, New York, Norway, UN General Assembly, UN Resolution, UN Special Rapporteur, United Nations, United Nations Special Rapporteur, women human rights defenders
October 31, 2013
reports that on 30 October human rights lawyer, Ms Wang Yu, was finally permitted access to Chaoyang Detention Centre in Beijing in order to see Cao Shunli, who had reportedly been detained since 14 September 2013.
Wang Yu reported that Cao Shunli is extremely thin and has not received any medical attention in the detention centre. According to Wang Yu, Cao Shunli has been detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
[On 14 September 2013, two security agents prevented Cao Shunli from boarding a flight from Beijing Capital Airport to Geneva. She was flying to take part in a training on UN mechanisms]
[In the months leading up to China’s Univeral Period Review (UPR) on 22 October 2013, Cao Shunli had been campaigning for greater civil society involvement in the UPR process]
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Beijing, Cao Shunli, China, detention centre, freedom of expression, Front Line Defenders, Geneva, ill treatment, illegal detention, United Nations, UPR, Wang Yu, woman human rights defender
October 30, 2013
(Indigenous people in Totonicapán, Guatemala. Photo: OHCHR/Rolando Alfaro)
Yesterday’s post about the G.A. report of UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders pointing to the pressure on environmental HRDs, is followed immediately by another on a similar topic: on 28 October 2013 the ‘UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises‘ made its report to the General Assembly and concludes that States and corporations need to do more to prevent the violation of indigenous peoples’ rights as a result of business-related activities.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: corporate accountability, Cultural Rights, Discrimination, environmental issues, GA, Human right, Indigenous People, indigenous peoples, Indigenous rights, Land issues, minority rights, Pavel Sulyandziga, UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, UN Working Group, UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, United Nations, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Working Group
October 29, 2013
On 28 September I shared a message concerning criteria to help select the best possible successor as Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. It mentioned 31 October as deadline, but the UN now informs us that the deadline for applications for special rapporteurs – to be appointed at the 25th session of the Human Rights Council (March 2014) – has been extended to Thursday 14 November 2013 (Midnight, GMT). If encountering technical difficulties, the Secretariat may be contacted by email: hrcspecialprocedures@ohchr.org.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Council, Human rights defender, Margaret Sekaggya, Rapporteur, Secretariat, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, special rapporteurs, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations Special Rapporteur
October 29, 2013
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should esta
blish a mission in Belarus, the delegates to the Third Belarusian Human Rights Forum, which took place in Vilnius on Saturday and Sunday, say in a statement on 27 October. The delegates also urge the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to take measures to encourage Belarusian authorities to respect human rights. It is necessary for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to preserve its Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus and for all OSCE institutions and bodies, including the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, to step up cooperation with Belarus’ civil society. The delegates condemn violations of human rights by Belarusian authorities and urge them to abide by international commitments and implement recommendations within the framework of the UN Universal Periodic Review. Authorities should invite all UN special rapporteurs to visit Belarus, above all, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on Belarus.
At the same meeting, Ales Bialiatski‘s wife called on the West to be consistent in relation to Belarus. Natallia Pinchuk calls not to close the question of rehabilitation, not to reduce pressure on the Belarusian authorities and not to make concessions until all political prisoners are released, Radio Svaboda reports. “Some human rights defenders began to propose in their articles and speeches to lift demands for the full rehabilitation of political prisoners. They say the regime will never agree on it. But I think we must be consistent first of all. If we began to demand the rehabilitation, we must keep to this position. Secondly, people’s rights remain restricted without rehabilitation. They have only half-freedom,” she said. “We, relatives of the political prisoners, expect firmness and applying all instruments from the European Union and the US. It’s very important that the US and Europe have a concerted approach,” she said. Natallia Pinchuk is sure that her husband, who serves his term in a correctional colony shares her opinion.
via Belarusian human rights defenders urge UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish office in Minsk | Belarus: civil society under attack | Freeales.fidh.net and
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/10/28/78577/
Posted in FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ales Bialiatski, Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, belarusian authorities, Charter97, EU, European Union, FIDH, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Minsk, Natallia Pinchuk, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OSCE, Radio Svaboda, Third Belarusian Human Rights Forum, United Nations, UPR, USA, Vilnius, West
October 29, 2013
Human rights defenders working on behalf of communities affected by large-scale development projects are increasingly being branded ‘anti-government’, ‘against development’ or even ‘enemies of the State’, the Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, has warned. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 3 Comments »
Tags: criminalization, death threats, detention, development, environmental issues, freedom of expression, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, judicial harassment, Land issues, Margaret Sekaggya, retaliation, Sekaggya, Special Rapporteur, UN General Assembly, United Nations, United Nations Special Rapporteur
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 