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Another Way in Which 9-11 ”Changed Everything”
– My own government, in its response to the despicable violence wrought by hijacked planes three years ago, has fallen far short of its own best traditions and in contravention, bordering on contempt, of international law, said Gara LaMarche, Vice-President and Director of U.S. Programs, Open Society Institute, at the HRH Anniversary Conference 13 October. (22-OCT-04)
THe drafting on the UN Declaration on defenders
Use of violence in promoting human rights was a highly disputed issue in the drafting of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders in 1998, said Jan Helgesen, one of the key persons in this process. Helgesen spoke at the HRH conference 13 October. (22-OCT-04)
Norwegian MP: – Human rights houses can facilitate protection
– Human Rights Houses can facilitate protection, said Norwegian MP Thorbørn Jagland, who spoke at the Opening of the HRH Anniversary Conference 13 October. (22-OCT-04)
– Our job is to try to keep them alive
– Human rights defenders working on the front line are the ones who bring about change. It is our job to try to keep them alive and contribute to creating the space for them to be able to carry out their legitimate activities without fear of persecution, said Mary Lawlor from Frontline at HRH´s Anniversary conference ´Activists under Attack. Defending the Right to be a Human Rights Defender. Frontline provides practical assistance to defenders at risk. (22-OCT-04)
Colombia: Many human rights defenders murdered
– In two years, 46 trade unionisits, 6 journalists and 33 human rights defenders have been murdered in Colombia, said Carlos Ivan Lopera (picture) from Redepaz Peace Network, speaking at the HRH Anniversary Conference 13 October. Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, not the least for human rights defenders. (21-OCT-04)
Norwegian Minister of Justice wants a policy on defenders
– Haven’t we done so, we should do it, said Norwegian Minister of Justice Odd Einar Dørum, when confronted with the fact that Norway – unlike the EU – still hasn’t developed a transparent, comprehensive policy on human rights defenders. (20-OCT-04)
Watchdogs needed everywhere
– Human rights defenders have a fundamental role to play in any political system. Not even one government can claim that there is no need for watchdogs that follow their actions and report about human rights violations, said HRH´s Executive Director Maria Dahle at the opening of the anniversary conference 13 October in Oslo. (19-OCT-04)
Belarus: Denied the right to act
– Under the presidency of Alaksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian government limited political and cultural liberties and established close contacts with the world’s most repressive regimes in order to create a kind of world-wide antidemocratic international, said Vice President of the Belarusian Pen Center, Andrej Dynko, at the Anniversary conference of the Human Rights House Network that opened in Oslo today. (13-OCT-04)
– More hostile environment for defenders
– The environment in which human rights defenders operate is becoming more and more hostile, limiting the space for negotiation. Those who stand up for human rights often pay high price for their courage, said Musa Gassama, Deputy Director and Manager of the Human Rights Defenders Office in Geneva, at the HRH Anniversary conference opening today in Oslo. (13-OCT-04)