DefendDefenders Newsletter August 2019
Dear friends and colleagues, Last week, we commemorated the International Day of Victims of Disappearance, in solidarity with the many African human rights defenders (HRDs) that have disappeared, been tortured, and/or killed. It is an atrocious crime which demands our immediate attention. FOCODE have reported 140 disappearances of HRDs and political opponents in Burundi over […]
Reflections on the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council
Oral statements to the Council Briefing papers and press releases Side-events at the Council Outcomes and resolutions My delegation attended the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC41), building on successful outcomes of previous sessions. We emphasise that being a member of the Council does not prevent scrutiny, and that the Council should stand […]
Kenya: DefendDefenders submits joint report to the 35th Session of the UPR Working Group
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all United Nations Member States. The process provides for the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and national human rights institutions (NHRIs). Civil society actors and NHRIs can submit information which can be […]
AfricanDefenders in the Footsteps of Madiba!
Tata Madiba! In your dream, you believed in human dignity, equality, justice, peace and fundamental freedoms: “for to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.’’ Tata Madiba! You inspire us. You empowered us and taught us to be a rose between the thorns of discrimination […]
DefendDefenders Newsletter June 2019
Dear friends and colleagues, A steady and proactive presence at regional and global human rights platforms is essential to enable the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) at the national level in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region. World Press Freedom Day, commemorated in May, and the UN International Day in Support of Victims […]
Annual Report 2018
Read our Annual Report 2018. In 2018, DefendDefenders and its partners continued to monitor and document human rights violations across the East and Horn of Africa sub-region, with a focus on the contexts affecting the work of HRDs. The year was filled with human rights contrasts in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region, and worldwide, as […]
Ubuntu Hub Cities launched in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
On 14 February 2019, AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) launched the Ubuntu Hub Cities in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – an Africa-based relocation programme for human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk. “Côte d’Ivoire is the first country in Africa to have adopted and implemented a specific law for the protection of HRDs” said Hassan […]
Ethiopia: DefendDefenders meets stakeholders and HRDs in Addis Ababa
The appointment of Dr. Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister of Ethiopia comes with increasing reforms in the country, including opening up of civic space. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a delegation from DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) and AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, […]
HRC40: DefendDefenders and partners call for continued UN investigations and reporting on South Sudan
Letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council; Excellencies, We, the undersigned national, regional and international non-governmental organisations, write to call on your delegation to actively support the full renewal of the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (“the Commission” or “the CoHR”) […]
Eritrea: change course and engage with UN rights review
PRESS RELEASE – The Eritrean government should seize the opportunity of its human rights review, today at the UN Human Rights Council (“the Council”), to finally commit to addressing the grave human rights violations identified by independent observers. Eritrea’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) comes a month after it took a seat within the UN’s top […]