Issue No 25

June 2007

 

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

 

FRONT PAGE
VENEZUELA: A united or divided civil society?

An interview with Feliciano Reyna

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

ETHIOPIA: International day in solidarity with Daniel and Netsanet

ZIMBABWE: Joint statement calls for SADC to make human rights a priority

 

ANALYSIS

Promoting rights while offsetting risks

A paper by Peter van Tuijl

 

GOOD NEWS

BELARUS: EU suspends trade benefits over labour abuses

 

COUNTRY UPDATES

BHUTAN: NGO law enacted

BURMA: Government backed gangs attack human rights defenders

CAMBODIA: NGO environmental report banned

COLOMBIA: Son of union leader killed by armed gang

COTE d'IVORE: Two human rights organisations attacked

GEORGIA: Activists arbitrarily detained and charged

GERMANY: Ban on demonstrations at G8

GUATEMALA: Threats against civil society organisations

IRAN: Women's rights defender sentenced

OPT: New decrees orders review of NGO licenses

MEXICO: Environmentalist killed, one injured

MOROCCO: Activists sentenced for criticising royalty

NEPAL: Women's human rights defenders receive threats

NIGERIA: Threats against members of Ogoni movement

PAKISTAN: Law restricts electronic media

RUSSIA: Raid of NGO ruled legal

SOMALIA: Government raids NGO compound

SOUTH AFRICA: Authorities regularly deny right to protest

SUDAN: Oxfam pulls out due to security concerns

SYRIA: Seven activists sentenced

THAILAND: Draft constitution restricts civil liberties

TUNISIA: Police preventing work of organisation

YEMEN: SMS, websites blocked

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

NGOIC: Web resource for information on UN Human Rights Council

CIVICUS: What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog

 

FRONT PAGE

 

VENEZUELA: A united or divided civil society

An interview with Feliciano Reyna

In the 2006 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Venezuela was criticised, among other reasons, for the political pressure imposed upon civil society actors, and increasing restrictions on freedom of expression. Following the introduction of an international cooperation bill in 2006, many civil society organisations feared restrictions on foreign funding and increased government interference. In an interview with Civil Society Watch, Feliciano Reyna describes the challenges facing civil society in Venezuela.

Read the full interview, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/FRONTPAGE_Venezuela.htm

 

CIVICUS ALERTS

 

ETHIOPIA: International day in solidarity with Daniel and Netsanet

30 June 2007 – In a resounding call for justice and human rights in Ethiopia on 28 June, organisations and individuals in more than 10 countries stood in solidarity with two civil society leaders on trial for treason in Ethiopia. Through letters, rallies and vigils they called for the acquittal of Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, coordinators of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in Ethiopia, as part of an International Day of Solidarity, organised by CIVICUS and GCAP.

http://www.civicus.org/csw/press_release_post.htm

 

ZIMBABWE: Joint statement calls for SADC to make human rights a priority

28 June - In a joint statement on Zimbabwe released by Amnesty International, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and supported by over one hundred civil society organisations, including CIVICUS, the organisations called on the leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to ensure that human rights issues are at the centre of any dialogue between the Government of Zimbabwe and the political opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

http://www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/news/view.php?load=arcview&article=3986&c=Resource+Centre+News

 

ANALYSIS

 

Promoting rights while offsetting risks

A paper by Peter van Tuijl, Executive director of the European Centre for Conflict Prevention (as of 1 August)

The risks for NGOs involved in advocating public policies are varied and always depend on particular circumstances related to a specific country or context, and the issues at hand. This paper tries to outline an inventory of action and reaction with respect to these risks, and the impact on NGO rights.

Read the paper: http://www.civicus.org/csw/Promoting_rights_Tuijl.pdf

 

GOOD NEWS

 

BELARUS: EU suspends trade benefits over labour abuses

The European Union's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits in Belarus were suspended on June 21 as punishment for the Belarusian government's failure to implement the International Labor Organization's (ILO) recommendations regarding the country's trade unions. The Geneva-based ILO has said that in Belarus union bank accounts have been frozen, union activists fired from their jobs, and there have been limitations on the right to strike. Those charges led the European Union to announce on June 15 that Belarus would be removed from the GSP. The "preferences" are intended to benefit developing countries by lowering tariffs.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/06/0c75b987-c1e6-40c4-899b-7ba510d389ba.html

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES

 

BHUTAN: NGO law enacted

23 June - The Civil Society Organisation Act was enacted by the 87th National Assembly session on 20 June, reports Kuensel Online. All civil society organisations will reportedly have to register with the authorities, and submit annual reports, including audited financial statements.

http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8644

 

BURMA: Government backed gangs attack human rights defenders

15 June - The Asian Human Rights Commission has received many detailed and worrying reports about the resurgence of government-backed gangs of thugs who have allegedly attacked human rights defenders and persons holding prayer vigils for the release of political prisoners.  Also, on 16 May, Burma's Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order that denied the license extension of 24 civil organisations, including the Free Funeral Services Society and the Chinese Traders Association, founded in 1909, reports Irrawaddy News.

http://www.ahrci.org/?doc=bbs/gnuboard.php&bo_table=asia_news&wr_id=904&PHPSESSID=aac1aad8f3ae62d7105ee9b135b

http://www.irrawaddy.org

 

CAMBODIA: NGO environmental report banned

7 June - A report by the environmental NGO Global Witness, accusing the Cambodian elite of damaging the environment through logging, was banned by the Cambodian Minister of Information on 3 June, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7083

 

COLOMBIA: Son of union leader killed by armed gang

18 June - On 6 June, an armed gang broke into the the home of textile union leader Hernando Melan Cardona, and killed his son and seriously injured his wife and other son, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org

 

COTE d'IVORE: Two human rights organisations attacked

6 June - Two human rights NGOs in Côte d’Ivoire, the Action pour la Protection des Droits de l’Homme and the Ligue Ivoirienne des Droits de l’Homme were attacked and ransacked by some 300 members of a student federation, reports the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

http://www.achpr.org/english/news/press%20release_Cote%20d,Ivoire.html

 

GEORGIA: Activists arbitrarily detained and charged

14 June - Police arbitrarily detained and charged members of the Egalitarian Institute. They were charged with “violating public order” and “disobedience to the police” and sentenced to 25 days, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7093

 

GERMANY: Ban on demonstrations at G8

1 June - Leading up to and during the G8 Summit in Germany, authorities issued a ban on demonstrations in a broad area around Heiligendamm and the local airport at Rostock, in northeast Germany.  A court upheld the ban, even after an appeal by activists. The summit took place from June 6 to 8 in Heiligendamm.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aac2LAuvkNd4&refer=germany

http://www.pr-inside.com/german-court-tightens-protest-ban-around-r140813.htm
 

GUATEMALA: Threats against civil society organisations

24 May - Intruders broke into the office of ActionAid in Guatemala City and stole computer hard-drives on 20 May. ActionAid was the fifth member of the International Forum of NGOs to be attacked within the previous month, reports Front Line.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1008
 

IRAN: Women's rights defender sentenced

30 May - Bahareh Hedayat, a women’s rights defender, was condemned to a suspended sentence of two years’ imprisonment by a Revolutionary Court on 26 May for “acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering,” reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=4331

 

OPT: New decrees orders review of NGO licenses

24 June - On 20 June 2007, the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a decree mandating the new Minister of the Interior the power to review all 'licenses' of all civil society organisations, reports the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.

http://www.mezan.org/site_en/press_room/press_detail.php?id=646

 

MEXICO: Environmentalist killed, one injured

30 May - Environmentalists Aldo and Misael Zamora were attacked by a group of illegal loggers on 15 May in Santa Lucia, Municipality of Ocuilan, reports Global Response. Aldo Zamora was shot dead, and his brother Misael was seriously wounded and had to be hospitalised.

http://www.globalresponse.org/

 

MOROCCO: Activists sentenced for criticising royalty

11 June - Seven activists were arrested, two were allegedly tortured and all were sentenced to prison for criticising royalty during Labour Day event, reports the  Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

http://www.hrinfo.net/en

 

NEPAL: Women's human rights defenders receive threats

Rita Mahato and Dev Kumari Mahara, staff members of the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre in Siraha district, Nepal received threats of rape and murder on 14 June 2007, reports Front Line. These threats are the latest in a series of threats against the two human rights defenders.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1033

 

NIGERIA: Threats against members of Ogoni movement

24 May - Various members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People in Nigeria have received death threats and attempts on their lives, reports the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

http://www.escr-net.org

 

PAKISTAN: Law restricts electronic media

6 June - President Pervez Musharraf promulgated the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance (2007) on 4 June, giving sweeping powers to the state regulator to take punitive action against the country's private electronic media, reports the Pakistan Press Foundation.

http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org

 

RUSSIA: Raid of NGO ruled legal

26 June - On 20 June, the Moscow Golovinsky Court ruled as legal the January 2007 seizure of documents in the office of Educated Media Foundation, reports the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations. In May, tax authorities reportedly froze the NGO's bank accounts, citing incorrectly filed tax reports.

http://www.cjes.ru

 

SOMALIA: Government raids NGO compound

20 June - The Somali government has been criticised by civil society groups in Somalia after raiding an NGO compound in the capital, Mogadishu on 18 June, allegedly to search for illegal weapons, reports IRIN News.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200706200814.html

 

SOUTH AFRICA: Authorities regularly deny right to protest

11 June - The city of Cape Town is regularly banning gatherings in a manner that flagrantly denies the rights of people to gather and protest, reports the Freedom of Expression Institute.

http://www.fxi.org.za

 

SUDAN: Oxfam pulls out due to security concerns

17 June - Due to ongoing, escalating violence against Oxfam aid workers and equipment, Oxfam will permanently phase out activities in Gereida, the largest camp in Darfur where more than 130,000 people have sought refuge from violence, reported the organisation in a statement.

http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/2007/pr070617_oxfam_withdraws_from_gereida_darfur

 

SYRIA: Seven activists sentenced

22 June - Seven human rights defenders were sentenced to between five and seven years' imprisonment on 17 June 2007 for allegedly taking part in a pro-democracy discussion group and publishing articles on the internet which criticised the lack of democracy and freedom in Syria, reports Front Line.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1039

 

THAILAND: Draft constitution restricts civil liberties

14 June - Human rights activists have expressed concern over the reversal of Article 32(3) of the draft constitution. Rather than protecting civil liberties, it expands police powers to search people without a warrant, reports the Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=119433

 

TUNISIA: Police preventing work of organisation

18 June - Since 18 May 2007, police have surrounded the building which houses the offices of the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia, preventing the staff from getting into their offices, effectively shutting down the organisation, reports Front Line.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1030

 

YEMEN: SMS, websites blocked

June 6 — Journalists, human rights activists and politicians staged a sit-in on 5 June to protest the blocking of SMS news services from Nass Mobile and Without Chains Mobile, as well as blocking Aleshteraki.net, Al-Shoura.net and Al-Umah.net web sites, reports Yemen Times.

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1057&p=front&a=2

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

 

NGOIC: Web resource for information on UN Human Rights Council

NGO Information and Cooperation (NGOIC) is a web-based mechanism for information-sharing and cooperation among NGOs with a view to improving and facilitating NGO participation in the newly created United Nations Human Rights Council. NGOIC is offered as a free service to interested NGOs, and participation is voluntary. NGOIC is a civil society initiative, and is independent of governments and the UN secretariat.

For more information, visit http://www.ngoic.org

 

CIVICUS: What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog

Have your say, visit http://civicus.civiblog.org 

 

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

To subscribe or unsubscribe please e-mail , cswcommunity@civicus.org

CIVICUS House, 24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street, Newtown, Johannesburg, 2001, 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

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.