Issue No 13

February-March 2006

 

Welcome to Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin, an e-newsletter of news 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
Cautious praise for the new UN Human Rights Council

Interview with Vicente Garcia-Delgado, CIVICUS UN Representative

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

BELARUS: Civil society under attack following flawed elections

KYRGYZSTAN: CIVICUS concerned by Ombudsman’s attempts to limit NGOs

RUSSIA: Open letter on amendments restricting civil society

 

GOOD NEWS

INDIA: Government issues statement of clarification

KYRGYZSTAN: Decree restricting freedom of assembly revoked 

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES
BANGLADESH: Protesters beaten during strike

BURMA / MYANMAR: Freedom of movement for UN and NGOs restricted

CAMBODIA: NGOs call on donors to pressure government

CHINA: Report details anti-freedom of expression mechanisms

DJIBOUTI: Arrests mark deterioration of freedom of association

ERITREA: Four NGOs forced to close

GUATEMALA: 27 human rights defenders attacked in Jan-Feb

INDONESIA: Law restricts rights of trade unions

KAZAKHSTAN: President warns protesters

KENYA: Four NGOs threatened with deregistration

MALDIVES: Freedom of assembly curtailed

NEPAL: Civil society activists attacked

PHILIPPINES: Attacks against activists continue

SUDAN: Draconian NGO bill passed

SWAZILAND: Protesters crushed testing the limits of new constitution

TRANSNISTRIA: Decree restricts foreign funding and involvement in NGOs

SYRIA: Human rights centre closed

USA: Patriot act renewed

UZBEKISTAN: Ninth human rights defender sentenced, NGOs close

ZIMBABWE: NGO bill being "polished up"

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

MANDAT INTERNATIONAL: Human rights search engine launched

FIDH/OMCT: Annual report released

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

 

FRONT PAGE

 

Cautious praise for the new UN Human Rights Council

Interview with Vicente Garcia-Delgado, CIVICUS UN Representative

 

On 27 March, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights concluded its sixty-second and last session after 60 years of work. In bidding farewell to the contentious body, UN officials praised the Commission for its work, and applauded its successes. Many human rights activists are looking with great hopes towards the ushering in of its replacement, the UN Human Rights Council. The Council promises to make it more difficult for states with tarnished human rights records to be elected and maintain membership in the Council. It will also lengthen the time the Council meets, and put all UN Member States through a review of their human rights records.

 

In an interview with Civil Society Watch, Vicente Garcia-Delgado evaluates the improvements and the possible pit falls of the new Council.

 

To read the full interview, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/FrontPage--interview-Vicente.htm

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

 

BELARUS: Civil society under attack following flawed elections

3 April - CIVICUS condemns the widespread arrests and detention of political and civil society activists following the recent presidential elections in Belarus, widely considered flawed by Belarusian civil society and international observers.

CIVICUS urges the Government of Belarus to release immediately and unconditionally all imprisoned activists and end violations of freedom of association, assembly and expression.

According to reports by VIASNA, a human rights centre in Belarus, a recorded 480 people had been arrested and were being detained as of 28 March, although other sources claim close to 600 could be in prison. Observers estimate over 20,000 protesters participated in peaceful demonstrations in Minsk on 19 March, the official election day, and thousands of others have taken to the streets since then.  

To read the full alert, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/Belarus-alert.htm

Read other CIVICUS alerts on Belarus: http://www.civilsocietywatch.org

Read the Warsaw Regional NGO Congress' resolution: http://www.warsawcongress.pl/resolution_en.doc

 

 

KYRGYZSTAN: CIVICUS concerned by Ombudsman’s attempts to limit NGOs

 

3 April - CIVICUS joins the Association of Civil Society Support Centers in Kyrgyzstan in expressing concern about attempts by the Kyrgyz Ombudsman to limit the activities of civil society.

 

In a recent letter to the Prime-Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ombudsman, Tursunbay Bakir Uulu suggested amendments to Article 4 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “About noncommercial organizations” to include new legislation restricting NGOs. The proposed legislation would prohibit the creation of new NGOs and limit the activities of existing NGOs which are financed by foreign governments, foreign political parties, or other entities from foreign countries.

 

To read the full appeal, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/Kyrgyzstan-LetterofSupport.htm

 

RUSSIA: Open letter on amendments restricting civil society

 

3 April - In a letter to President Vladimir Putin, CIVICUS expressed its concern with the recently passed amendments regulating civil society organisations. Although it is premature to determine the exact effects of the law, CIVICUS fears it could place unnecessary burdens and restrictions on both local and foreign civil society organisations. Certain vague and ambiguous aspects of the law could also lead to arbitrary implementation, if they remained ill-defined. 

 

To read the full letter, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/RUSSIA-Appeal.htm

To read an analysis of the law, visit:  http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/news/2006/02-28.htm

 

GOOD NEWS

 

INDIA: Government issues statement of clarification

12 March - Voluntary Action Network India has applauded a government decision to issue a circular of clarification to the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that legitimate donors of associations and NGOs do not face problems while crediting donations to their accounts. There were reportedly some complaints that quite a few banks had been creating difficulties for NGOs even while crediting legitimate donations to their accounts

 

To read more, visit: http://www.vaniindia.org/

 

KYRGYZSTAN: Decree restricting freedom of assembly revoked

 

22 February - Kyrgyz rights activists have welcomed the government decision to revoke a decree restricting the right of assembly, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Among other regulations, the decree reportedly stipulated where rallies could be held and demanded that local authorities be informed 10 days in advance of plans to organise a rally. The decree had been issued on 11 January 2005, just months before elections that ousted President Askar Akaev.

 

To read more, visit: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/02/af9e038e-04ff-4836-b6c4-e30597fa9798.html

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES

 

BANGLADESH: Protesters beaten during strike

23 February - Police beat a number of political activists and demonstrators during a nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike and peaceful demonstration programme called by a 14 political opposition party alliance on January 22, 2006, reports the Asian Human Rights Commission.

 

View Source:

http://www.ahrchk.net

 

BURMA / MYANMAR: Freedom of movement for UN and NGOs restricted

13 February - Under new guidelines, government officials must accompany UN and NGO staff when travelling in the country, and there are rumours that they may be forced to hire their staff only from a government-prepared list of candidates. UN and international NGOs have reportedly expressed concern that if the guidelines come into force, they may have to cease operations in the country.

 

View Source:

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-6LZ3M6?OpenDocument

 

CAMBODIA: NGOs call on donors to pressure government

23 February - Five leading international organizations from Asia, Europe, and the United States called on Cambodia's international donors to intensify pressure on the Cambodian government to end its repression of fundamental human rights and the pillaging of Cambodia's state land and natural resources, reports Human Rights Watch. In the wake of recent jailing of activists, attempts to weaken the media and the political opposition and the suppression of protests, the groups reportedly asked donors to insist Cambodia complies with human rights commitments, while also continuing to support civil society in the country.

 

View Source:

http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=asia&c=cambod

 

CHINA: Report details anti-freedom of expression mechanisms

Chinese authorities exploit information technology controls to restrict freedom of expression, says a report by Freedom House. According to the report, the Chinese Communist Party exerts near complete control over the country's 358 television stations and 2,119 newspapers. Access to politically threatening Internet sites and web blogs is blocked; foreign radio broadcasts are scrambled and the sale of publications with content critical of the government is reportedly restricted.

 

View Source:

http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/33.pdf

 

DJIBOUTI: Arrests mark deterioration of freedom of association

14 March - The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders expressed deep concern over the continuous deterioration in the situation of trade union rights defenders in Djibouti: repression of collective action, unfair dismissals, legal prosecution, arrests and arbitrary detentions of independent trade unionists have been multiplying since September 2005. Four trade unionists have been arrested and imprisoned for allegedly "supplying information to a foreign power."

 

View Source:

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223570&Language=EN

 

ERITREA: Four NGOs forced to close

23 March - Eritrean authorities have asked three international NGOs and one local NGO to stop operating in the country, saying they had failed to meet the requirements of a permit allowing them to work there, reports IRIN News. In a letter dated 20 March, the ministry of labour and human welfare asked American charity Mercy Corps International, Concern World Wide of Ireland and Great Britain's ACORD, as well a local group known as Hansenians Eritrean Welfare Organisation, to terminate their operations in Eritrea.
 

View Source:

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52407&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ERITREA

 

GUATEMALA: 27 human rights defenders attacked in Jan-Feb

17 March - Between January and February of 2006, 27 economic, social and cultural rights defenders were attacked, reports the Human Rights Defenders Unit of the National Movement for Human Rights. Most of those attacked were union workers who have been denied the right to organise. Garin Orellana, a development activist of Zacapa, was attacked and murdered. In addition, violent evictions affecting poor and indigenous communities have reportedly started again. The indigenous land movement has reportedly called for a mass mobilisation of resistance to denounce the lack of improvement of their situation and the racist nature of Guatemala.

 

INDONESIA: Law restricts rights of trade unions

28 March - Proposed amendments to Labour Law No 13/2003 would weaken minimum wage provisions, restrict the right to strike, reduce entitlements to severance pay for retrenched workers and increase possibilities for employers to impose disciplinary measures on workers, reports the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The measures are reportedly part of the government strategy to "race to the bottom" in order to attract foreign investment.

 

View Source:

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223606&Language=EN

 

KAZAKHSTAN: President warns protesters

2 March - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told police on 1 March to take a tough line with lawbreakers, in a veiled warning that no more public protests over the killing of an opposition politician would be tolerated, reports Reuters. His warning, delivered in a national address, reportedly came after the country's main opposition leaders were sentenced to short jail terms for holding a rally on Sunday. Under Kazakh law, protesters must apply to local authorities 10 days before a demonstration. Opposition applications are routinely turned down, reports Reuters.

 

View Source:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/02/017.html

 

KENYA: Four NGOs threatened with deregistration

20 March - Twenty-six NGOs operating under the name of the Kenya Human Rights Network have spoken out against government threats to deregister four NGOs in the name of national security, reports the East African Standard. The groups threatened include, Center for Law and Research International (Clarion), Northern Aid Womankind, Christian Partners Development Agency and Corruption Watch International. In February, the government reportedly warned that NGOs which organised protests would face deregistration.

 

View Source:

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=38165

 

MALDIVES: Freedom of assembly curtailed

30 March - Defying a state ban on the their demonstration, protesters in the capital Male rallied on 30 March against police abuse and arrest of women political activists during previous demonstrations, reports Minivan News. They were also protesting the flawed trial and politically motivated arrest of Jenny Latheef, a journalist and human rights activist who remains in prison. During an organising meeting on 29 March, coordinators (mostly aligned with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party), were reportedly assaulted by attackers throwing oil and urine at their building.

 

View Source:

http://www.minivannews.com

 

NEPAL: Civil society activists attacked

16 February - Two human rights defenders were assaulted by army personnel of the Ranadal Gulma on 13 February 2006, reports the Asian Human Rights Commission. The victims of this brutal attack were Kalli Bahadur Malla, who is the Kalikot District Representative of a local human rights organization; INSEC, and Rabindra Shai, a journalist of the Dristi Weekly and also the Kalikot District President of the NGO Federation. Malla was reportedly seriously injured by the assault and had to go to hospital. According to AHRC, "this attack by the army personnel is a direct violation of the victims’ right not to be tortured and the freedom of movement as guaranteed by various international laws. It also indicates the vulnerable position that human rights defenders are exposed to in Nepal."

 

View Source:

http://www.ahrchk.net

 

PHILIPPINES: Attacks against activists continue

22 March - The Asian Human Rights Commission reported continued threats and killings of activists throughout March. On 7 and 17 March 2006, gunmen riding on motorcycles shot dead Nestor Arinque of Bohol and labour leader Tirso Cruz of Tarlac. Activists in Baguio City, Luzon were also reportedly threatened, -  Windel Bolinget, secretary general of the Cordillera People's Alliance, his colleague Joan Carling; and Manny Loste, regional coordinator of a local human rights organisation.

 

View Source:

http://www.ahrchk.net

 

SUDAN: Draconian NGO bill passed

14 March - The law regulating the activities of civil society organisations, 'The Organisation of Humanitarian and Voluntary Work Bill 2006' was passed in a final reading by the National Assembly on 20 February, reports Amnesty International.  The law reportedly imposes restrictions on the work of NGOs operating in Sudan, and grants discretionary regulatory power to the government over the operations of NGOs. Following the enactment of the law, the Humanitarian Aid Commission, the Government agency which oversees all humanitarian organisations in Sudan, reportedly issued a formal notice to the directors of the Sudan Social Development Organisation ordering the suspension of all its activities within west Darfur province.

 

View Source:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGAFR540092006

 

SWAZILAND: Protesters crushed testing the limits of new constitution

22 March - The political party People's United Democratic Movement organised a demonstration to 'test' the limits of the new constitution over the weekend of 18 March, reports IRIN News. The new constitution, which came into force in January, reportedly carries a Bill of Rights which guarantees freedom of expression and assembly. The Times of Swaziland quoted a police officer as saying that political organisations would not be permitted to hold public meetings, and "this will remain so until the parties are officially unbanned by the king," reports IRIN News.

 

View Source:

http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=Swaziland

 

SYRIA: Human rights centre closed

5 March - Activists have slammed a government decision to close the country's first human rights centre, which opened in mid-February with support from the European Union, reports IRIN News. The opening of the centre on 23 February had been considered a major breakthrough on the local human rights front. The government reportedly closed the centre, which offered legal advice, counselling and training on human rights issues, because it had not received official permission to operate. 

 

View Source:

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52019&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=SYRIA

 

TRANSNISTRIA: Decree restricts foreign funding and involvement in NGOs

7 March - The President of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic signed a Decree on 7 March prohibiting the foreign funding of NGOs registered in the Transnistria, reports the International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law. According to the Decree, NGOs are prohibited from receiving funding directly or indirectly from any international or foreign organisations, foreign governments, any legal entity registered in Transnistria with foreign share capital over 20%, foreign citizens and stateless persons, as well as from anonymous sources. In addition, foreign citizens may not be founders or members of NGOs. If these restrictions are violated, the NGO's activities can be terminated by the decision of the head of local tax inspection, or the official representing the registration authority.

 

View Source:

http://www.icnl.org

 

USA: Patriot act renewed

2 March - The US Senate voted to renew the Patriot Act on 2 March, approving the two most controversial aspects for four more years — letting FBI agents secretly sweep up records from banks, Internet companies doctors and libraries, and making it a crime for those places to tell their customers their records have been searched, reports CBS news.
 

View Source:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/28/politics/main1356811.shtml

 

UZBEKISTAN: Ninth human rights defender sentenced, NGOs close

7 March - An Uzbek court sentenced its ninth human rights defender Mukhtabar Tojibayeva this year, for eight years in prison for economic crimes, reports Human Rights Watch. Tojibayeva is reportedly a critic of President Islam Karimov's handling of a bloody crackdown in the town of Andizhan last year when witnesses saw troops opening fire on civilians. Freedom House has also reportedly been ordered closed by the courts. The Eurasia Foundation, another U.S.-funded group, announced it was closing following charges that it had registered improperly and had held unauthorised workshops.

 

View Source:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07466816.htm

http://www.hrw.org

 

ZIMBABWE: NGO bill being "polished up"

8 March - In an interview with ZimOnline, Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said that government was just "polishing up" its NGO Bill before the controversial law that will impose severe restrictions on civil society is brought back to Parliament for enactment. He reportedly said the bill would become law this year but did not give specific dates. Harare believes it needs the controversial law to deal with some NGOs Chinamasa said are working with foreign powers to topple the government.

 

View Source:

http://www.zimonline.co.za/headdetail.asp?ID=11732

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

 

MANDAT INTERNATIONAL: Human rights search engine launched

Mandat International has launched a new search engine for international human rights and humanitarian law. This extremely useful tool allows researchers to search over 250 international conventions analysed article by article. It provides direct access to key articles, individual country obligations, relevant customary law and reservations and the status of ratifications for each country.

 

The search engine is available at http://www.whatconvention.org/

 

FIDH/OMCT: Annual report released

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has released their 2005 annual report, documenting the situations of 1,172 human rights defenders, as well as obstacles to freedom of association in nearly 90 countries.

The report is available at http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=3165

 

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

Civil society must regularly confront controversial issues which affect both what we do and how we do it.  Here is an opportunity to share your thoughts on these topics, to speak out and to make a difference! Help CIVICUS develop its vision of a global community of active, engaged citizens committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world.

 

Have your say by visiting 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.

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CIVICUS House, 24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street (formerly Pim), Newtown, Johannesburg, 2001, PO Box 933, Southdale, Johannesburg, 2135, South Africa, tel +27 11 833 5959 / fax +27 11 833 7997, info@civicus.org.

CIVICUS is an alliance of approximately 1000 members in 105 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.