Watch this video (made by the Universidad Francisco Marroquín film crew) if you missed the 2017 Oslo Freedom Forum from 22-24 May. Over the course of five days, ‘Spikersuppa square’ was filled with art, film, and presentations; explored innovations and ideas at the Tech Lab and Interactive Expo; heard from keynote speaker Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg; learned about human rights defenders and honored this year’s Havel Prize laureates. Next year’s forum (10-year anniversary) will take place on 28-30 May, 2018. For reservations: alex@oslofreedomforum.com.
On 30 October 2016 the ISHR published this video interview with Natasha Latiff who is the founder and executive director of Strategic Advocacy for Human Rights (SAHR). Following an ISHR training for human rights defenders held in Geneva in June, she spoke to ISHR about her organisation’s work on women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez explains how technology is helping to break the information monopoly the Castro dictatorship has maintained for more than fifty years. In a country where purchasing internet access costs up to a third of the average salary, Sanchez says thumb-drives loaded with information are a vital tool of progress. Cuba is the last dictatorship in the Americas, but change is coming, and Sánchez is convinced that—aided by more information and education—the next revolution will lead to the democracy the Cuban people desire and deserve. This video is a bit older (Oslo Freedom Forum 2014) but still relevant.
KIOS is perhaps not the best-known human rights foundation in the world but that is surely mostly due to the fact that it operates from a small base: Finland. KIOS was founded by 11 Finnish human rights and development NGOs. The representatives of the founding NGOs form the Board of KIOS. In Finland, KIOS raises awareness on the significance of human rights and the work of human rights defenders in developing countries. It also advocates for the development of good practices in Finnish foreign and development policy in support ofHRDs. KIOS focuses its external support on 3 countries in East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) and 3 in South Asia (Nepal, Sri Lanka and to Tibetan civil society organizations in exile). Some long-term partner organizations of KIOS are also supported in Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia and Pakistan. Ulla Anttila is the Executive Director.
On 17 December 2016 KIOS published four video links of interviews with human rights defenders from Asia and Africa (video links), available on You Tube:
This is the second item addressing the world of human right defenders in 2017. I do this with an ‘old piece’ by Chris Stone, President of the Open Society Foundations, dating back to 21 December 2015 saying that across the globe, governments are shutting down spaces for civic engagement. Something that indeed has become evident.
It starts with the short video clip above in which George Soros, Binaifer Nowrojee, Mburu Gitu, and other experts discuss why this is happening—and how civil society can unite to prevent it.
All around the world, active citizenship is under attack and the space for civic engagement is closing—not just in countries that have struggled under repressive or autocratic governments, but also in democracies with longstanding traditions of supporting freedom of expression. There are many different reasons for this shrinking of the public space.
In some countries, especially newer democracies or countries undergoing political transitions, those in power are fearful of civic activism. Seeing its power, officials in governments with no previous experience regulating political protests or public debates have come down with a heavy hand, erring on the side of preventing change rather than encouraging it.
In other countries, including France and the United States—partly in response to the fear of terrorism—well-established civil liberties have been suspended or cast aside in the name of security. Such measures, from mass surveillance to martial law, reduce the space for civic life, the space where citizens do the work of improving our communities and societies.
Civil society is enormous in its size and diversity. We are members of the media, for-profit businesses, volunteer associations, political parties, trade unions, faith communities, private foundations, and nonprofit organizations. If we are united at all, we are united by our work outside of government and the state to advance the common good—even though we have different ideas of what that looks like.
Because the space we need for this work is closing, we must come together, understand our mutual dependence and interrelatedness, and support each other in this work. We must forge a new solidarity.
Fair Trials, a human rights organisation, has created a new animation showing what it would feel like to live in a world without fair trials. To accompany the animation, Fair Trials have set up a website: www.withoutfairtrials.org, which explains why fair trial rights are important, what they mean and the consequences if they are not respected. For example, the right to a fair trial encompasses the right to access a lawyer, the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty if accused of a criminal offence and the right to be told the case against you in a language you understand.
The right applies whenever there is a determination of someone’s civil rights and obligations or any criminal charge against them. The animation looks at the importance of the right to a fair trial from the police station, to the courtroom and in prison. The animation highlights that around the world, fair trial rights are being denied to many people, everyday. For example, the website accompanying the animation says that in China, imprisoned human rights defenders are being denied access to lawyers and in Spain it is common for suspects not to be given information about the case against them until shortly before the trial starts.
Every December, Amnesty supporters across the globe will write millions of letters for people whose basic human rights are being attacked. It’s all part of Write for Rights, AI’s global letter-writing marathon. The video clip includes MEA laureate 2016 Ilham Tohti. It’s one of the world’s biggest human rights events and carries on a long tradition of people writing letters to right some of the world’s biggest wrongs.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 