Posts Tagged ‘video clip’

Front Line Defenders award 2023 goes to front line defenders…..

June 5, 2023

Front Line Defenders announced the five winners of its 2023 Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, at a special ceremony in Dublin on 26 May 2023. Laureates from each of the major global regions travelled to Ireland to accept the Award, including:

“This year’s laureates are a courageous and inspiring group of people who reflect the determination, dynamism and diversity of human rights defenders (HRDs) who are on the front lines of fighting for a more just world,” said Olive Moore, Interim Director of Front Line Defenders. “Their vital work in defence of human rights in DRC, Ecuador, Jordan, Philippines and Ukraine impacts countless people in their communities and beyond. By shining an international spotlight on their struggles and empowering them to continue their work, we at Front Line Defenders hope this Award will touch the lives of many more people on whose behalf they act.

For more on the Front Line award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk and its laureates, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/2E90A0F4-6DFE-497B-8C08-56F4E831B47D

Watch a video:

The 2023 Front Line Defenders Award winners:

AFRICA

Olivier Bahemuke Ndoole (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a leader among environmental and land defenders in DRC and one of the most trusted advocates on behalf of communities impacted by land grabs, trafficking, and illegal resource extraction activities. He is also the only advocate who organises judicial training and capacity-building sessions for DRC citizens on topics related to environment and community rights in Goma, eastern DRC.

AMERICAS

Segundo Ordóñez (Ecuador), an Afro-descendant human rights defender, is one of the most visible faces and the community representative in the two legal proceedings brought against the Japanese-owned company Furukawa Plantaciones C. A. and the State of Ecuador. The cases have focused on how workers on abacá (Manila hemp) plantations suffer labour exploitation as they farm the raw materials in slavery-like conditions.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Jeany ‘Rose’ Hayahay (Philippines) is a woman human rights defender based in Mindanao, the Philippines. Since 2019, she has been the spokesperson of the Save Our Schools Network (SOS Network), a coalition of child-focused NGOs, church-based groups and other stakeholders advocating for children’s right to education in Mindanao.

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Digital Security Lab Ukraine (Ukraine) is a team of specialists in the field of digital security and internet freedom. They help Ukrainian journalists, human rights defenders and public activists solve problems with digital security, as well as promote the realisation of human rights on the internet by influencing government policy in the field of digital rights.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Hala Ahed (Jordan) is a Jordanian human rights lawyer who has worked with a number of human rights and feminist organisations to defend women’s rights, workers’ rights, and the freedoms of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly in Jordan.

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/statement-report/front-line-defenders-announces-winners-2023-award-human-rights-defenders-risk

Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo Dekpoh from Togo tells his story

May 12, 2023

Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo Dekpoh works at the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN) in Lome, Togo. He spoke to ISHR about what drove him to become a human rights defender and about the challenges that he and his colleagues in Togo and West Africa face in working towards the realisation of human rights.

https://ishr.ch/defender-stories/human-rights-defenders-story-pierre-claver-akolly-amegnikpo-dekpoh-from-togo/

Short message from the new High Commissioner for Human Rights: Volker Turk

October 18, 2022

On 17 October 2022 Volker Türk begun his mandate as the 8th UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/09/15/new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job/

Who are human rights defenders?

July 2, 2022

On 30 June 2022 the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights uploaded this video clip outlining the basic issue of human rights defenders:

In crisis, civic space is the ‘most crucial – and valuable’ element of building resilience. @ High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet says, “a vibrant civic space is a lever of a stable, secure society. Yet, we continue documenting attacks against defenders and journalists, off-line and online, worldwide.”

Profile of Soun Yuthyia from Cambodia

May 11, 2022

I chose to be a human rights defender by, hopefully, protecting those who don’t know where to find a solution when there are human rights abuses happening to them.”

Soun Yuthyia is the advocacy director for The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, an organisation that seeks to protect and promote respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. He shares his vision for the future of Cambodia and how his work has positively impacted the people of Cambodia.

Yuthyia also shares his experience with HRDAP and the ISHR Academy in the below video:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/vAfHKFScArU

https://ishr.ch/defender-stories/human-rights-defenders-story-soun-yuthyia-from-cambodia/

Profile of Woman Human Rights Defender Maria Luisa Acosta

March 8, 2022

Dr. Maria Luisa Acosta is the coordinator of the Centro de Asistencia Legal a Pueblos Indígenas (CALPI), an organisation that supports and seeks to realise the rights of Indigenous and Afrodescendant peoples and communities in Nicaragua. She shares her vision for the future and how, despite the personal toll of her work, she remains steadfast in her convictions.

States have the obligation to respect defenders, to provide them with security, to heed their calls and to consider that we are people who support the most vulnerable sectors of society, and that this is a contribution to democratic life.

https://ishr.ch/defender-stories/human-rights-defenders-story-maria-luisa-acosta-nicaragua/

Animated video clip on work of UN Special rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

March 8, 2022

On 7 February 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders released an animated video explaining how to raise concerns about threats to HRDs and human rights abuses by governments and businesses.

Communications are the main tool used to addressed attacks, such as criminalization, smear campaign, threats and killings. Communications will remain confidential for up to 60 days, giving governments and businesses the time to respond to the allegations. The SR also makes two official country visit every year, and writes two thematic reports.

The UN Special Rapporteur has a mission to promote and protect the work of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs). Find out how she does this, and how you can send information about a Human Rights Defender at risk.

See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2021/05/20/special-rapporteur-mary-lawlor-starts-new-website/

Visit: https://srdefenders.org/

Follow: https://twitter.com/MaryLawlorhrds

Ukraine: visually documenting violations

March 1, 2022

Witness stands with the victims of Russia’s unlawful attacks. In a conflict that is rife with disinformation, false narratives, and manipulated media, the importance of capturing and preserving trusted, authentic accounts of human rights crimes cannot be underestimated.   They are sharing resources for those on the ground in Ukraine and Russia – who are navigating immense risks as they capture and share video documentation of potential human rights violations and war crimes. And, they are sharing resources for those of us witnessing from a distance, so that we amplify grassroots truths and decrease the spread of mis/disinformation. 

Guidance for Frontline Documenters working with and learning from activists documenting and preserving visual evidence of war crimes and human rights violations from Syria and Yemen to Brazil, it developed its peer-reviewed and field tested Video As Evidence Field Guide. Earlier they also worked with Ukrainian civil society and human rights groups during the 2014-15 conflict to prepare versions in Ukrainian and Russian

In Ukrainian: ПОЛЬОВИЙ ПОСІБНИК “ВІДЕО ЯК ДОКАЗ” Field Guide: Video as Evidence wit.to/VAE-UA  

In Russian: ПОЛЕВОЕ ПОСОБИЕ «ВИДЕО КАК ДОКАЗАТЕЛЬСТВО» Field Guide: Video as Evidence wit.to/VAE-RU  

https://www.witness.org/

 

Donovan Ortega, young Human Rights Defender from Mexico

February 5, 2022

We try to defend happiness from a principle of reality” – Donovan Ortega, Human Rights Defender.
Donovan Ortega is a human rights defender from Mexico who participated in the 2021 online edition of ISHR’s Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP).
Donovan is responsible for the international advocacy agenda at the Fray Francisco de Vitoria Human Rights Center in Mexico, and had the opportunity to do advocacy activities at the Human Rights Council in the framework of Mexico’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

In this short video, he explains how his work will help to achieve his objectives and vision in the future.

Mauricio Ochieng – transgender human rights defender from Kenya

December 14, 2021

Mauricio Ochieng‘ is a transgender activist and a SOGIESC human rights defender from the Western part of Kenya. In this short video, posted by the ISHR, he explains how his work will help to fight discrimination, achieve equality and create a better future for transgender people in Kenya. “So I saw the need of engaging different activists and human rights defenders across the region to make sure that this kind of arrest should not happen to anybody because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.”

https://ishr.ch/defender-stories/human-rights-defenders-story-mauricio-ochieng-from-kenya/