Issue No 26

July 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
USA :Funding nonprofits post 9/11

An interview with Vanessa Dick, Grantmakers Without Borders

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

ETHIOPIA: Two activists remain imprisoned, while 38 others freed

 

ANALYSIS

Reflections on the UN Human Rights Council, one year on

An article by Lucia Nader, Conectas Human Rights, Brazil

 

GOOD NEWS

INDONESIA: Defamation laws declared unconstitutional

NETHERLANDS: EU court rejects ruling to freeze funds of organisations

 

COUNTRY UPDATES

AUSTRALIA: Not enough human rights protection in anti-terror laws

BAHRAIN: New report highlights restrictions on labour rights

BELARUS: President threatens to shut down US funded NGOs

BURMA: Lawyer suspended after criticising court

CAMBODIA: Human rights defender killed

GEORGIA: Activists arbitrarily detained and charged

CHINA: Cyber-dissident and son sentenced

COLOMBIA: Report documents most dangerous place for trade unionists

ECUADOR: Environmentalists threatened and attacked

EL SALVADOR: Police suppress protest, injuring 75

FIJI: Civil society activists banned from travelling

INDIA: Human rights activist charged

IRAN: Trade unionist held in prison

IRAQ: Women activists targeted

MALAYSIA: Bloggers threatened ahead of election

PALESTINE: Civil society organisations attacked

PHILIPPINES: Constitutionality of anti-terror law challenged

RUSSIA: Draconian anti-extremism measures signed into law

SOUTH AFRICA: Two activists murdered in hate crime

SRI LANKA: NGOs face restrictions in Eastern province

TURKEY: Academic challenges law in European Court

VIETNAM: Police suppress farmers' protest

ZAMBIA: New bill could threaten NGO independence

ZIMBABWE: Women activists face increasing repression

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

CONECTAS : VII International Human Rights Colloquium

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

 

FRONT PAGE

 

USA: Funding nonprofits post 9/11

An interview with Vanessa Dick, Advocacy Coordinator, Grantmakers Without Borders

Post 9/11, funding has become increasingly complex for US grantmaking associations and those they fund around the world. The US Department of Treasury has actually gone as far as accusing charities of being "significant" sources of terrorist funding. As a result, US funders are left manoeuvring through the system of counterterrorism laws and long, dense lists of organisations and individuals labelled as terrorists. Vanessa Dick, Advocacy Coordinator for Grantmakers Without Borders, describes the challenges facing both grantmakers and grantseekers.

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

 

CIVICUS ALERTS

 

ETHIOPIA: Two activists remain imprisoned, while 38 others freed

23 July - While welcoming the pardoning of 38 opposition politicians and journalists in Ethiopia on 20 July, CIVICUS and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) reminded the Ethiopian government that many others, including GCAP coordinators Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, remain in prison anxiously awaiting their verdict. 

http://www.civicus.org/csw/CIVICUS.GCAP.Ethiopia.PR-23.07.07.htm

 

ANALYSIS

 

Reflections on the UN Human Rights Council, one year on

An article by Lucia Nader of Conectas Human Rights, Brazil

When the United Nations Human Rights Council was formed a year ago, there were great hopes that it would improve upon its much criticised predecessor, the Human Rights Commission. Member states looked anxiously forward to a more effective, less politicised body. Civil society anticipated more active and constructive involvement. And human rights advocates around the world pushed for a mechanism that would more successfully expose and condemn violations as they occurred. Lucia Nader of Conectas Human Rights in Brazil, reflects on the Council's first year, its accomplishments, and its continued struggle against the disappointments of the past.

Read the paper: http://www.civicus.org/csw/ANALYSIS_Conectas.htm

 

GOOD NEWS

 

INDONESIA: Defamation laws declared unconstitutional

19 July - Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional articles 154 and 155 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, commonly known as the “hate sowing” (Haatzai Artikelen) offences, reports Human Rights Watch. Articles 154 and 155 criminalised “public expression of feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt toward the government” and prohibited “the expression of such feelings or views through the public media.” The articles specified prison terms of up to seven years for violations. These offences were often used by the government to restrict peaceful criticism of the government.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/07/19/indone16428.htm

 

NETHERLANDS: EU court rejects ruling to freeze funds of organisations

11 July - The European Union's second highest court overruled decisions taken in 2002 to freeze the funds of a Filipino residing in the Netherlands, who was said to be head of an organisation responsible for a range of terrorist acts in the Philippines. At the same time the court concluded that the EU Council of Ministers erred in freezing the funds of a Dutch-based group called Stichting Al-Aqsa that describes itself as an Islamic social welfare institution that has been providing humanitarian support for Hamas, the Palestinian political group now in control of Gaza. 

http://curia.europa.eu/en/actu/communiques/cp07/aff/cp070047en.pdf

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES

 

AUSTRALIA: Not enough human rights protection in anti-terror laws

5 July - According to legal experts, there are not enough human rights protections in Australian anti-terror laws, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/laws-lack-checks-experts/2007/07/04/1183351293904.html

 

BAHRAIN: New report highlights restrictions on labour rights

18 July - A new report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) highlights restrictions against trade union organising, the right to strike, discrimination and forced labour.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/WTO_TPR_Bahrain_final_16-July-07.pdf

 

BELARUS: President threatens to shut down US funded NGOs

16 July - President Alexander Lukashenko on 13 July vowed to shut down NGOs found receiving US funding, saying citizens who take such financing are destroying the country, reports the Moscow Times. Belarusian NGOs are already forbidden by law to receive foreign funding.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/07/16/019.html 

 

BURMA: Lawyer suspended after criticising court

12 July - The Supreme Court has suspended lawyer Thein Nyint from practice for two years after he criticised a court ruling during an interview with the Washington DC-based Radio Freed Asia, reports Mizzima News.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84756

 

CAMBODIA: Human rights defender killed

9 July - Human rights defender Seng Sarorn was shot dead on 4 July, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. He was a member of the Culture and Environment Preservation Association and leader of the community of Sre Kor village (Stung Treng province).

http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7129

 

CHINA: Cyber-dissident and son sentenced

17 July - Zhu Yufu, a cyber-dissident and pro-democracy activist who was released in 2006 after spending seven years in prison, was on 16 July 2007 sentenced to another two years in prison. His son, Zhu Ang, arrested at the same time, was given a one-year suspended sentence, reports IFEX.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84876/

 

COLOMBIA: Report documents most dangerous place for trade unionists

3 July - A sham paramilitary demobilisation process, combined with thousands of cases of threats and killings and a chronic lack of investigations and prosecutions, makes Colombia one of the most dangerous places in the world for trade unionists, says an Amnesty International report.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR230012007
 

ECUADOR: Environmentalists threatened and attacked

25 July - Community leader Jaime Polivio Perez Lucero has been threatened and activist Mercy Catalina Torres Teran has been attacked, because of their opposition to a mining project close to their homes in the Intag area of Imbabura province, reports Global Response.

http://www.globalresponse.org
 

EL SALVADOR: Police suppress protest, 13 charged with terrorism

12 July -13 people were reportedly charged with "public disorder" and terrorism related offences, following police repression of a 2 July protest against water decentralisation, reports Common Dreams.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/12/2467/

 

FIJI: Civil society activists banned from travelling

19 July - Three civil society activists - Angenette Heffernan, Director of the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity, Graham Leung, former President of the Fiji Law Society, and Shamina Ali, Coordinator of the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre - have been placed on a travel ban list, reports the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

 

INDIA: Human rights activist charged

18 July - Subash Mohapatra, the head of the Forum for Fact-finding Documentation and Advocacy was charged 17 July 2007 on trumped-up charges under Articles 186, 353, 294 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, reports Reporters Without Borders.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84917/

 

IRAN: Trade unionist held in prison

13 July - Human rights defender and President of Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkat-e Vahed (Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company), Mansour Osanloo was abducted on 10 July 2007 by unknown assailants and is being held in Evin Prison, reports Front Line.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1085

 

IRAQ: Women activists targeted

24 July - Women's rights activists are increasingly being targeted by militants, and dozens have been kidnapped since 2003, reports IRIN News.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=73392 

 

MALAYSIA: Bloggers threatened ahead of election

26 July - The Malaysian government has threatened to invoke draconian laws against bloggers in what appears to be a move to limit information and free expression ahead of the general election expected in early 2008, reports the Southeast Asian Press Alliance.

http://www.seapabkk.org

 

PALESTINE: Civil society organisations attacked

11 July - The Palestinian Network of Non-governmental organizations (PNGO) has issued a statement expressing concern over the ongoing attacks against civil society organisations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

http://www.imemc.org/article/49416

 

PHILIPPINES: Constitutionality of anti-terror law challenged

24 July - More than 20 petitions have been filed by various organisations and individuals before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the anti-terror law. The Supreme Court has ordered President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other respondents to comment on the petition, reports the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85068

 

RUSSIA: Draconian anti-extremism measures signed into law

26 July - President Putin has signed into law a package of amendments that would expand the definition of extremism to include public discussion of such activity. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the amendments could be used to silence government critics.

http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/europe/russia26july07na.html

 

SOUTH AFRICA: Two activists murdered in hate crime

12 July - Lesbian and gay rights activists Salome Masooa and Sizakele Sigasa, an outreach coordinator at Positive Women’s Network, were tortured and brutally murdered on 8 July in what appears to be a hate crime, reports the Treatment Action Campaign.

http://www.tac.org.za/nl20070712a.html

 

SRI LANKA: NGOs face restrictions in Eastern province

26 July - Security forces have placed restrictions on NGOs in areas of the Eastern province, directing them not to engage in development activity without permission from the government, reports the Free Media Movement.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85126/

 

TURKEY: Academic challenges law in European Court

12 July - Taner Akcam, a professor of history at Minnesota University, in the United States, is taking Article 301 (insulting Turkishness) to the European Court of Human Rights. The law has put approximately 100 writers, journalists and academics on trial, reports the IPS Communication Foundation.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84775

 

VIETNAM: Police suppress farmers' protest

20 July - Police broke up a peaceful protest by hundreds of farmers in Ho Chi Minh City on 18 July 2007, Human Rights Watch reports.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/07/20/vietna16441.htm

 

ZAMBIA: New bill could threaten NGO independence

19 July - An NGO bill introduced to parliament on 18 July could threaten the independence of civil society in the country, reports IRIN News. If passed, it could force NGOs to submit reports on an annual or quarterly basis.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200707190651.html

 

ZIMBABWE: Women activists face increasing repression

25 July - Zimbabwean women are suffering increasing repression as they mobilise to confront the government in the face of a spiralling economic and social rights crisis in Zimbabwe, according to a new report by Amnesty International.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr460232007

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

 

CONECTAS: VII International Human Rights Colloquium

The Colloquium is an annual capacity building and peer-learning event designed for young activists from the global south. This year's Colloquium aims to strengthen the impact of human rights activists' work and provide opportunities to build collaborative networks.

For more information, visit www.conectas.org/coloquio

 

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

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

 

CONTACT US

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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

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.