News on the topic: human rights defenders
29.03.2018 Belarus: UN expert calls for end to rights abuses and deplores State repression
A new wave of arbitrary arrests, the use of the death penalty and violations of media freedom in Belarus have prompted a UN expert to call on the authorities there to respect their human rights obligations and implement recommendations made over the past two decades.
28.03.2018 Belarus: Arbitrary arrest and subsequent release of seven observers of Viasna and BHC, and obstacles to the right to peaceful assembly
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus.
27.03.2018 Enhance the process to select new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, a coalition of more than 70 civil society organisations has put forward proposals to revitalise and enhance the process to select the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
12.03.2018 A Year for Human Rights Defenders
“At a time when human rights defenders are being attacked, harassed and stigmatised around the world… we should pay tribute to these thousands of men and women to whom we owe so much.”
22.02.2018 The price for speaking out: Nabeel Rajab sentenced to 5 years for tweeting in Bahrain
Beirut-Geneva-Paris, February 21, 2018 - Today in Bahrain, prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, BCHR President and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, was sentenced to 5 years in prison under trumped-up charges in relation to tweets denouncing the torture against detainees at Jaw prison and exposing the killing of civilians in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition.
05.02.2018 Miklós Haraszti: International scrutiny of the situation in Belarus has to be continued
The last report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus will stress the need of renewing the country mandate, Miklós Haraszti said during a meeting with Belarusian and international human rights activists, which took place at the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius on January 31.
29.01.2018 Leading Chechnya Rights Defender Framed for Drug Possession
Leading Chechen human rights defender Oyub Titiev is currently being held by Federal authorities in Chechnya.
11.01.2018 Chechnya: immediately release human rights defender Oyub Titiev
(10 January 2018) We, members of the Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP), are deeply concerned at reports of the arrest of Oyub Titiev, head of Human Rights Center Memorial’s Grozny office in Chechnya on highly dubious narcotics charges. We call for his immediate and unconditional release and dropping of all charges.
13.12.2017 Restricting civil society participation in OSCE a tremendous setback for Helsinki process, says CSP
“Restricting civil society participation in the work of the OSCE would be a tremendous setback for the Helsinki process and a betrayal of the spirit and founding values of this unique peace advancement initiative,” says an appeal by the Civic Solidarity Platform, a network of more than 90 human rights NGOs from throughout the OSCE region.
29.11.2017 HRD Memorial launched to commemorate slain defenders
On 24 November, an international coalition of national and international human rights organisations launched the HRD Memorial website and database. This is a unique project aimed to commemorate all the human rights defenders (HRDs) who have been killed since the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders came into effect in 1998.
29.11.2017 UN CERD to hear alternative reports on Belarus
On November 30, the 94th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is expected to consider the report of the Belarusian government on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Belarusian human rights defenders will present alternative reports to the Committee.
22.11.2017 Belarus overlooks UNGA resolution on the role of human rights defenders
On November 20, UN Member States unanimously endorsed the free and independent role of human rights defenders at the UN. Belarus is not among the 75 countries that co-sponsored the key resolution by the UN General Assembly, which clearly stated the need to protect human rights defenders around the world. By doing this, the Belarusian authorities have witnessed their true position towards the human rights community, Ales Bialiatski, head of the HRC "Viasna", said.
03.11.2017 Ukrainian human rights activist banned from Belarus
Nazarii Boiarskyi, a Ukraine-born human rights activist, was detained by Belarusian border guards when crossing the Lithuanian border last evening. He was forced to get off the train and told that his name was on Belarus’ travel ban list, a Vilnius-based human rights activist Alena Tankachova said on Facebook.
30.10.2017 Human rights activist Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk fined 920 rubles
The court of Baranavičy completed today the trial of local human rights activist Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk, finding him guilty of insulting and disobeying a police officer. As a result, the human rights activist was fined 920 rubles.
23.10.2017 Viasna’s volunteer briefly detained by border guards
Anisiya Kazliuk, an activist of the volunteer service of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", was detained by border guards as she was returning from Lithuania in the evening of October 22.
