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Issue No 36 |
May 2008 |
Welcome to Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin, an e-newsletter of updates and analyses concerning civil society's rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression around the world. The Bulletin is compiled by the staff at Civil Society Watch, a programme of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Please feel free to forward the Bulletin to friends and colleagues. We welcome your comments and contributions!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
CIVICUS World Assembly
CIVICUS World Assembly:
People, power, participation
Uzbekistan: Ongoing imprisonment of activists part of pattern of repression
Uzbekistan: Three years after Andijan, civil society even more restricted
The Food Crisis: Hunger for bread, hunger for roses
Deleted, but not gone...
GOOD NEWS
RUSSIA: Repressive media law dropped
BELARUS: Human rights defender sentenced
CHINA: Two nuns violently arrested for protest
EGYPT: Implementation of court decision to re-open NGO delayed
GUATEMALA: Forensic investigators receive death threats
INDIA: Filmmaker arrested under Public Security Act
IRAN: Women's rights activist sentenced
PALESTINE: NGO forced to end conference
SAUDI ARABIA: Leading rights activist arrested
SRI LANKA: Legal action threatened against press freedom organisation
THAILAND: Minister promotes suppression of websites
UN: Human Rights Council
electionsUSA: Terrorism accusations raise concerns
ZIMBABWE: Trade unionists under pressure
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: 2008 human rights report released
CIVICUS: Invitation to participate in needs assessment survey
CIVICUS World Assembly: People, Power, Participation!
The CIVICUS World Assembly will be held from 18 to 21 June 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland under the theme of People, Power, and Participation. The Civil Society Watch programme is proud to be hosting a workshop on threats to civil society, an Eurasian networking session, as well as the World Assembly's first public human rights rally.
Civil society under threat: Enhancing security and support
This interactive Civil Society Watch workshop is designed to enable participants to identify threats to themselves and their organisations, including digital security issues and national repression, develop plans and strategies to protect themselves and thus strengthen civil society in countries where it is under threat. The workshop will be held on Thursday, 19 June from 14:30 to 16:30.
Eurasian regional networking session
CIVICUS' ongoing work to outreach to Eurasia will be complemented by the World Assembly's first Eurasian regional networking session. It will bring together the delegates from the region, as well as international organisations. The session aims to encourage an informal network of civil society activists from Eurasia and create a platform for discussion about civil societies in Eurasian countries. This bilingual session will take place on Thursday, 19 June at 19:00.
Every human has rights: Stand up against poverty and injustice
This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, yet for many around the world, human rights remain a dream. The rights to affordable food, safe shelter, liveable wages – and even the right to speak out against policies which deny these basic needs – are under threat. Join us as we march to Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park and support efforts to end global poverty and defend the freedom to speak out against injustice. The march and rally will take place on Saturday, 21 June from 10:30 to 12:30.
For more information, contact cswatch@civicus.org, or visit www.civicusassembly.org
UZBEKISTAN: Ongoing imprisonment of activist part of pattern of repression
16 May 2008 – Imprisoned Uzbek civil society leader, Ms. Mutabar Tojiboyeva was has been awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. While applauding the recognition of Tojiboyeva for her defence of human rights, CIVICUS lends its voice to the appeal of other prominent rights groups in demanding her immediate release, amidst reports that her health is swiftly deteriorating.
Read the full statement, visit: http://www.civicus.org/new/media/Statement-Mutaba-May2008FINAL.doc
UZBEKISTAN: Three years after Andijan, civil society even more restricted
13 May 2008 – Three years after the killing of hundreds of protesters in the Uzbek city of Andijan, CIVICUS calls on Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his government to protect the rights of citizens and civil society to peacefully protest without threat.
Read the full statement, visit: http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUSSTatement-Three-years-after-Andijan-killings.doc
The Food Crisis: Hunger for bread, hunger for roses
How many of us thought that the horrors of widespread hunger were a thing of the past? In Ireland, the potato famines are a distant memory for a wealthy, modern country. And yet on other continents, decade after decade famines have continued to strike, sometimes with faint echoes in the international press and corresponding aid campaigns. Other times they are surrounded by complete silence, no one bearing witness to acts of solidarity amid the suffering. Eugen Brand, Director General of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, writes about the food crisis.
To read the article, visit http://www.civicus.org/csw_files/ANALYSIS_FOODCRISIS_No36.htm
Deleted, but not gone . . .
Wojtek Bogusz, Front Line & Dimitri Vitaliev, digital security consultant
That sensitive information once on your computer (which you believe is deleted), could land you in a difficult situation. Files that have simply been deleted, although they appear gone, are actually lurking undetected inside your computer. This is the fifth article in a CSW Monthly Bulletin series highlighting practical ways you can increase your digital security and privacy.
For more information, visit http://www.civicus.org/csw_files/DIGITAL_SECURITY_No36.htm
RUSSIA: Repressive media bill dropped
20 May - The State Duma will not pass a bill that had raised alarm about media freedom by toughening the penalties for libel, reports the Moscow Times. Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, a senior leader of United Russia, said his party had changed its position on the bill, which would have allowed courts to close media outlets for publishing libellous statements. Critics said the bill would have given authorities an additional tool to crack down on dissent. The bill passed its first reading in the Duma last month by a vote of 339-1, raising alarm among media-freedom groups.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/362870.htm
BELARUS: Human rights defender sentenced
26 May - A member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Paval Lyavinau, was given 10 days of administrative arrests and a fine for allegedly "using foul language and resisting the militia". He was arrested while providing legal assistance to a journalist whose apartment had been raided by the authorities, reports Charter 97.
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2008/5/26/6847/
CHINA: Two nuns violently arrested for protest
27 May - Two nuns from Dargay Hardu Nunnery, were violently arrested by police while staging a peaceful protest at the Kardze County Government headquarters, calling for freedom for Tibet and the release of political prisoners, reports OMCT.
EGYPT: Implementation of court decision to re-open NGO delayed
21 May - In a celebrated decision, the Administrative Court of Cairo on 30 March 30 struck down the decision of the Ministry of Social Solidarity to close down the Centre for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS). However, OMCT expressed concern that as of 20 May, the decision had still not been implemented, delaying CTUWS from resuming its activities.
http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7801
GUATEMALA: Forensic investigators receive death threats
22 May - Fredy Peccerelli and Omar Girón of the Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala (Foundation of Forensic Anthropology in Guatemala – FAFG) have received death threats via email regarding reports they had released on forensic investigations into human rights violations, reports Front Line.
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1447
INDIA: Filmmaker arrested under Public Security Act
13 May - Journalist and filmmaker Ajay T.G. was arrested on 5 May under the Chhattisgarh state’s draconian Special Public Security Act (PSA), and charged with sedition and with having unlawful contact with a banned organisation. He joins social worker Binayak Sen, leading member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, who remains detained after being charged under the PSA last year, reports the Hindu.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/13/stories/2008051353850900.htm
IRAN: Women's rights activist sentenced
28 May - Mr. Amir Yaghoub-Ali, student and member of the One Million Signatures Petition Campaign which seeks to put pressure on the Iranian legislators in order to withdraw provisions that have adverse effects on women’s human rights, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on 25 May for “endangering national security”, reports OMCT.
http://www.protectionline.org/The-Observatory-Iran-Sentencing-of,7001.html
PALESTINE: NGO forced to end conference
11 May - The police forcibly ended a conference organised by the Palestinian Media, Research and Studies Center "Badael" on 10 May, forcing participants to leave the conference hall under the pretext that the organisers did not obtain prior permission from the Ministry of Interior to organise the conference, reports Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.
http://www.mezan.org/site_en/index.php
SAUDI ARABIA: Leading rights activist arrested
21 May - On May 19, Saudi secret police apprehended leading human rights activist Matrook al-Faleh on the premises of King Saud University in Riyadh, where he teaches political science. His arrest took place two days after he publicly criticised conditions in a prison where two other Saudi human rights activists are serving jail terms, reports Human Rights Watch.
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/05/21/saudia18895.htm
SRI LANKA: Legal action threatened against press freedom organisation
20 May - The Sri Lankan defence ministry has threatened legal recourse against the Free Media Movement for suggesting in a press release that the government had allegedly hacked the Lanka Dissent website, reports IFEX.
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93859
THAILAND: Minister promotes suppression of websites
20 May - The Thai minister of information and communication technology, Man Pattanotai, reportedly said in a radio interview on 14 May that prosecuting websites because of their content would cause a "big scandal" so it is better to just "suppress the news" by closing them down or blocking access, stated Reporters Without Borders.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=27082
UN: Human Rights Council elections
21 May - Fifteen countries from around the world have been elected to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting next month, following one round of balloting among Member States at UN Headquarters in New York, reports Amnesty International.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/united-nations/human-rights-council-elections-2008
USA: Terrorism accusations raise concerns
28 May - Staff for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee - Chair Joe Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins - published a report on homegrown terrorism and the Internet that has raised free speech and guilt-by-association concerns, OMB Watcher reports. In addition, YouTube parent company Google rejected a request from Lieberman to remove all content posted by terrorist organisations, saying videos with legal, nonviolent, and non-hate speech content would remain online.
ZIMBABWE: Trade unionists under pressure
16 May - Raymond Majongwe, the General Secretary of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe and a member of the General Council of the Zimbabwe Council of Trade Unions, has been arrested while ZCTU President Lovemore Motombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe are still in detention, reports ITUC.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0805/S00222.htm
Amnesty International: 2008 human rights report released
Amnesty International's Report 2008, shows that sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations, people are still tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries, face unfair trials in at least 54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries.
To read the report, visit http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Homepage
CIVICUS: Invitation to participate in needs assessment survey
The CIVICUS LTA (Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability) programme has created a survey that seeks to identify the needs and challenges of civil society organisations in order to know how best to assist them in improving their LTA structures. Using a participatory approach, the programme aims to coordinate and strengthen LTA initiatives within civil society around the world.
To participate in the survey, visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=O6PQjF3_2bG6mGwtTV1StvEQ_3d_3d
CONTACT US
We hope you enjoyed the Bulletin! If you would like to send an appeal or share information with us regarding issues affecting civil society in your region, please contact the Civil Society Watch (CSW) team at, cswatch@civicus.org
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CIVICUS House, PO Box 933, Southdale, Johannesburg, 2135, South Africa, tel +27 11 833 5959 / fax +27 11 833 7997
CIVICUS is an alliance of members and partners in over 100 countries, dedicated to strengthening civil society and citizen action around the world. Civil Society Watch is a programme of CIVICUS, which seeks to expose, address and prevent threats to civil society's rights to freedom of association, expression and assembly. For more information, visit www.civicus.org and www.civilsocietywatch.org
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in this bulletin are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked here, and are not necessarily those of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.