Posts Tagged ‘USA’
June 12, 2014
On 25 June 2014, Marilyn Carlson Nelson will receive The Advocates’ 2014 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award in Minneapolis [see http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/don-and-arvonne-fraser-human-rights-award]. The winner this year is an interesting choice as it is rare to give a human rights award to a corporate leader. Named as one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the former CEO and chairman of Carlson, is an unusual human rights defender. Under her leadership, Carlson became the first major U.S.-based travel company to commit to training its hotel employees to watch for and report child sex abuse when she signed the travel industry’s International Code of Conduct to end sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. She also helped to defeat the Minnesota marriage amendment that was before the state’s voters in 2012. The op-ed she wrote for the Star Tribune went viral and encouraged other Minnesota business leaders to voice their support for LGBTI rights.
via Outstanding Human Rights Defenders Being Honored at Awards Dinner, June 25 | The Advocates Post.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: awards, child abuse, corporate accountability, Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, LGBTI, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Minneapolis, sexual abuse, USA, woman human rights defender
May 23, 2014
With the introduction: “Human rights defenders are people like you – people who stand up for the right of others in the face of risk. In the U.S., human rights defenders face specific threats that impact their collective ability to work and seek justice“, five NGOs based in the USA and working for human rights in the US call on other human rights defenders to register for a training course on human rights education on Wednesday 28 May 2h00 pm to 3h00 pm (EDT). Dream Defenders, Maryland Legal Aid, the US Human Rights Network [USHRN], the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Center for Reproductive Rights come together to teach about the work of U.S.-based human rights defenders and the special protections they have under international law; and to have the opportunity to hear from fellow human rights defenders about how they have successfully used these international protections and other forms of international advocacy to protect themselves and their ability to work. Speakers:
- Ejim Dike, Executive Director of the US Human Rights Network
- Sunita Patel, Staff Attorney at Center for Constitutional Rights
- Karla Torres, Human Rights Fellow at Center for Reproductive Rights
- Ahmad Abuznaid, Legal and Policy Director at Dream Defenders
- Reena Shah, Director of Human Rights Project at Maryland Legal Aid
For more information and to download the flyer in PDF: Defending the Defenders | US Human Rights Network.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Centre for Constitutional Rights, Centre for Reproductive Rights, defend the defenders, Dream Defenders, Human Rights Defenders, international human rights, international procedures, Maryland Legal Aid, training course, United States, US Human Rights Network, US Human Rights Network [USHRN], USA
May 13, 2014
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which celebrates 25 years, announces a line-up of 22 features, which includes 20 documentaries and 2 fiction films – 16 of which were made by women. It will run from 12 to 22 June 2014 in New York. There is a special section on “Human Rights Defenders, Icons and Villains”, which features:
“E-TEAM”
(New York premiere)
Filmmaker(s): Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman, directors; Marilyn Ness, producer
Year: 2013 / 89m
“Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus”
(New York premiere)
Filmmaker(s): Madeleine Sackler
Year: 2013 / 76m
“The Green Prince”
(New York premiere)
Filmmaker(s): Nadav Schirman
Year: 2014 / 101m
“Nelson Mandela: The Myth and Me”
(US premiere)
Filmmaker(s): Khalo Matabane
Year: 2013 / 84m
“Watchers of the Sky”
(New York premiere)
Filmmaker(s): Edet Belzberg
Year: 2014 / 114m
Human Rights Watch Festival Line-Up Includes 16 Features By Women|Filmmakers,Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews | Indiewire.
Posted in films, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Belarus, Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus, E-team, films, Human Rights Defenders, human rights film festivals, human rights films, Nelson Mandela, Nelson Mandela: The Myth and Me, New York, The Green Prince, USA, Watchers of the Sky
April 13, 2014
In a very interesting post in Dissident Voice of 12 April, Binoy Kampmark picks up on the item I referred to on 9 April (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/snowden-alleges-spy-agencies-have-targeted-human-rights-defenders/) about Snowden’s allegation that human rights defenders were also the subject of surveillance. He not only shows the discrepancy between the (rather positive) Guidelines on HRDs by the State Department and what NSA is actually doing, but also provides a link to a November 2013 report by Centre for Corporate Policy, a Washington, D.C. thinktank, titled “Spooky Business: Corporate Espionage Against Nonprofit Organizations,” which shows that aversion to dissent is endemic, and attracts birds of a feather in both government and corporate circles. According to the report, the precondition for such espionage is that the non-profit organisation in question “impairs or at least threatens a company’s assets or image sufficiently.” The targets are varied, including “environmental, antiwar, public interest, consumer, food safety, pesticide reform, nursing home reform, gun control, social justice, animal rights and arms control groups.
Irresistible: Espionage, Dissent, and NGOs | Dissident Voice.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Binoy Kampmark, business, Centre for Corporate Policy, civil society organisations, corporate accountability, digital s, Dissident Voice, Human Rights Defenders, mass surveillance, NGOs, Snowden, State department, USA
April 9, 2014
Posted in AI, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: AI, Amnesty International, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, digital security, Edward Snowden, electronic surveillance, government surveillance, HRW, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, intelligence agency, Snowden, spy, UK, USA, whistleblower
February 28, 2014
In this post I draw your attention to two annual reports: The US State Department released its Country Reports 2013 and Front Line Defenders published its “2014 Annual Report” which somewhat confusingly covers 2013. The last one is the most interesting from the perspective of this blog as the focus is of course on Human Rights Defenders. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: annual report 2013, Country Reports 2013, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Defenders, human rights violations, impunity, mass surveillance, resource extraction, US State Department, USA
February 19, 2014
In an Open Letter to the 3 leaders of North America, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights urges that human rights are moved to the center of the debate. The North American Leaders Summit, held in the city of Toluca, Mexico, today should not center only on economic growth through increased free trade. Since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, illegal drug trafficking has increased in the region and arms easily flow from the U.S. to the other countries. Human rights defenders are among the casualties.
…….
“Although the security discourse has changed since President Peña Nieto took office in December 2012, the statistics continue to demonstrate that the violence has not stopped, neither human rights violations. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Canada, drug policy, Harper, human rights, human rights violations, Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, Mexico, North America, North American Free Trade Agreement, North American Leaders Summit 2014, Obama, Pena, Toluca, USA, war on drugs
February 15, 2014
A good example of the interaction of the work of international [human rights] organisations and local media is this piece from El Universal in Venezuela under the title: “Front Line Defenders reject intimidation of human right advocates”. It mentions:
- Front Line Defenders called for prompt and unbiased investigation into the arbitrary detention and assault of human rights activist Inti Rodríguez and defamation of Humberto Prado, a representative of non-governmental organization Venezuelan Prison Watch .
- The UN requests inquiry into involvement of armed gangs in violent events.
- The European Union calls for peaceful dialogue in Venezuela
- USA asks Maduro’s government to respect freedom of expression.
via Front Line Defenders reject intimidation of human right advocates – Daily News.
Posted in EU, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Dialogue on Human Rights, EU, Front Line (NGO), human rights, Humberto Prado, intervention, Inti Rodríguez, intimidation, UN, USA, Venezuela, Venezuelan Prison Watch, violence
January 26, 2014
The Human Rights Coalition (HRC), prisoner Robert Saleem Holbrook (pictured above) and College of Charleston Professor Kristi Brian brought a lawsuit on 8 January against employees of the State Correctional Institution (SCI) and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC) in the USA for confiscation of mail sent to Holbrook, a co-founder of HRC. “It is long overdue that prison officials are held to account for their attempts to silence those who speak out against this abusive system. The rights, health and lives of our loved ones are at stake.” HRC-Philadelphia activist Patricia Vickers stated. This lawsuit challenges the ability of PA DOC officials to target political dissent and human rights defenders with censorship. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: censorship, Human Rights Coalition (Philadelphia), Human Rights Defenders, imprisonment, lawsuit, Philadelphia, prison conditions, Robert Saleem Holbrook, USA
January 24, 2014
On 23 January Human Rights First released a report that describes how the Egyptian government is increasingly targeting non-violent human rights defenders and activists through widespread repression, stifling basic freedoms and exacerbating the chronic instability that has plagued the country for the past three years. The new report titled, “Back to Square One: The U.S. Government and Political Change in Egypt,” outlines recommendations for the U.S. government to take a new course of action to advance human rights and the rule of law in order to achieve greater stability in this vital country. “The U.S. must overhaul its approach to Egypt if it’s to really get on the right side of history” said Brian Dooley of HRF.
The report calls on the U.S. government to:
- Provide clear, sustained and consistent public statements from Washington on its assessment of the situation in Egypt and the ramifications for U.S. interests, including human rights and democracy;
- Work with its donor partners to establish sizeable, sustained economic incentives for Egypt’s leaders that should be conditioned on Egypt adhering to democratic norms and international human rights standards;
- Use its vote and influence at the IMF to withhold loans to Egypt until sound economic policies are in place and meaningful progress is made on human rights and the rule of law;
- Use targeted funding to support civil society efforts to combat human rights abuses and promote an enabling environment that advances religious pluralism and tolerance;
- Promote clear, uniform conditions for the registration and operation of political parties that agree to be bound by the rules of peaceful, democratic contestation;
- Push the Egyptian authorities to investigate all incidents of violence against Christians, assaults on their property and institutions, and hold accountable those responsible; and
- Make available through the Justice Department, resources for prosecutions and police trainings.
For more information about today’s report or to speak with Dooley, please contact Mary Elizabeth Margolis at margolisme[at]humanrightsfirst.org.
Posted in books, HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Brian Dooley, diplomatic pressure, Egypt, Foreign Policy of the USA, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, IMF, minority rights, police violence, special report, USA
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 