Posts Tagged ‘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
January 5, 2014
Dan Beeton of the Center for Economic and Policy Research reported on 3 January 2014 that Colonel German Alfaro, the commander of Operation Xatruch III in Honduras’ Aguan Valley, personally denounced Annie Bird, co-director of the U.S. and Canada-based human rights NGO Rights Action, on TV and radio, alleging among other things that she is engaging in “destabilization work” in the Aguan. The accusations came just after Bird accompanied campesinos in the Aguan to the Attorney General’s office to file human rights complaints, including some against Honduran soldiers. Alfaro also said he was opening an investigation into Bird’s activities. In response, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and another 33 human rights, labor and religious organizations called on the US State Department to denounce Alfaro’s comments. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Aguan, Annie Bird, Bertha Oliva, campesinos, Colonel German Alfaro, Honduras, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, intimidation, NGO Rights Action, threats, USA, Victor Fernandez, WOLA, woman human rights defender
December 20, 2013
Whether
Edward Snowden is a human rights defender or a criminal has been much debated and was also reported on in this blog. He was nominated for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize and received the Netizen’s award from the NGO Reporters without Borders. Now the highly respected
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), through its Executive Director
Anthony Romero, has taken a clear stand and his article of 17 December 2013 is provided here in full:
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, American government, Amnesty, Anthony Romero, Congress, Edward Snowden, electronic surveillance, European Parliament, government surveillance, human rights awards, Human rights defender, National Security Agency, netizens award, NSA, patriot, Reporters without Borders, right to privacy, Sakharov Prize, Snowden, United States, USA, whistleblower
October 31, 2013
In an effort to solicit a response from the longtime Olympic partner Coca Cola, New York-based NGO ‘All Out’ dispatched three mobile billboards to Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta. The billboards bore messages: “Don’t Stay Bottled Up,” and “Speak Out Against Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws.” Trucks carrying the messages circled the company’s campus as All Out supporters displayed posters across the street from the main gates.
(trucks roll by Coca-Cola headquarters – ATR)
“150,000 people have sent messages to Coca-Cola asking them to speak up and speak out against Russia’s anti-gay laws,” says Wesley Adams, COO of All Out. “Coca-Cola’s been a strong supporter of gay and lesbian people in the United States. We’re asking them to extend that commitment to Russia as a Top Olympic Sponsor.”
(A protester holds a sign across from the company’s main gate – ATR)“We’ve asked for three things,” he says. “One is to speak out against Russia’s anti-gay laws. Two is to financially support Russian human rights defenders who are working on the ground there and three is to ask the IOC to change their rules so that future Olympics will only go to countries that respect human rights.”
Written and reported by Nick Devlin in Atlanta On-the-Scene — Human Rights Group Demonstrates at Coca-Cola HQ
.
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Tags: All Out, Atlanta, Civil society, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola headquarters, day rights, human rights, International Olympic Committee, LGBT rights, Olympic, Russia, United States, USA, Wesley Adams
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
September 18, 2013
Hailey Colwell on 18 September describes how: Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Antioquia, Colombia, environmental issues, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Law, Minnesota Daily, research, schooling, training course, University of Medellín, University of Minnesota, USA
August 25, 2013
(Commissioners of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – Photo: OAS)
By letter of 23 August 2013, addressed to Dr. Emilio Álvarez Icaza, executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a group of human rights NGOs [National Religious Campaign Against Torture, California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement, California Prison Focus, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, Disability Rights Legal Center, Stanford International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic, American Friends Service Committee (Western Region), ACLU National Prison Project, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, Fair Chance Project, Center for Constitutional Rights, Justice Now, National Lawyers Guild, San Diego Committee for Prisoners Rights, The Real Cost of Prisons Project and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law] requested a thematic hearing with a focus on people incarcerated in California prisons. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: American Friends Service Committee, California, california coalition for women prisoners, Centre for Constitutional Rights, detention, Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Human right, Human Rights Defenders, IACHR, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, mandatory minimum sentences, national prison project, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Organization of American States, prison conditions, racial discrimination, solitary confinement, thematic hearing, USA
June 12, 2013
The US State Department announces today, 12 June 2013, the winners of its annual human rights awards: The Human Rights Defenders Award is given to individuals or non-governmental organizations that have shown exceptional valor and leadership in advocating for the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression: Syrian human rights activist Hanadi Zahlout organized peaceful protests in the beginning of the Syrian revolution and continues to work for a peaceful democratic transition. The second recipient of this award, Iraqi NGO Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, has fearlessly advocated for human rights and was critical in concrete achievements in the protection of female detainees, as well as taken on critical work on curriculum reform to promote religious freedom.
At the same time the State Department announced as the winner of the Diplomacy for Human Rights Award its Ambassador, John Tefft, in the Ukraine. And for the Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award (which honors a U.S. Department of State employee who has implemented creative strategies to support human rights and democracy) Erin Webster-Main from the Embassy Rangoon, Burma.
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Tags: awards, Burma, Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, Hanadi Zahlout, human rights, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, human rights organization, Iraq, john tefft, Non-governmental organization, Syria, syrian human rights, Ukraine, US State Department, USA, Yangon
May 21, 2013
(Konstantin Dolgov -Image from vaseljenska.com)
On 16 May 2013 Russia Today spoke with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights Konstantin Dolgov, to find out his view on the situation as the hunger strike in Guantanamo hits its’ 100-day landmark. It is good to see Russia express its concern about this and even invoke the views of human rights defenders. Below I give some quotes from the interview. If only Russia would always be so concerned with their views! As to illustrate this the Moscow Times comes today with an article by Jonathan Earle Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: AI, Baltic countries, Council of Europe, EU, Foreign agent, Gitmo, Guantanamo, homophobia, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights organization, illegal detention, jonathan earle, Konstantin Dolgov, minority rights, Moscow Times, politics, Ravil Mingazov, registration, RT (TV network), Russia, Russia Today, terrorism, United States, USA
March 10, 2013
On 8 March 2013 – probably timed to coincide with the debate in the UN Human Rights Council – the U.S. Department of State published an overview of it support for Human Rights Defenders. It reads in part:
Protecting and supporting human rights defenders is a key priority of U.S. foreign policy. The Department’s objective is to enable human rights defenders to promote and defend human rights without hindrance or undue restriction and free from fear of retribution against them or their families. The work of these brave individuals and groups is an integral part of a vibrant civil society, and our investment in and support of them is likewise an investment in and support of the rule of law and democracy. Every day, around the world, many in civil society turn to us for assistance in emergency situations and to help them achieve longer-term goals that will make their countries more just and democratic.
After a short description of who are considered Human Rights Defenders and a quote from Hillary Rodham Clinton (as U.S. Secretary of State Krakow, Poland on July 3, 2010): “When NGOs come under threat, we should provide protection where we can, and amplify the voices of activists by meeting with them publicly at home and abroad, and citing their work in what we say and do.” The webpage sets out the way in which the State Department protects and supports human rights defenders, including:
Posted in books, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Foreign Policy, Human right, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, International Women of Courage Award, Non-governmental organization, protection, State department, UN Declaration, UN Human Rights Council, United Nations Human Rights Council, United States, US, USA
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 