un geneva

• Statement at HRC 29 on LGBTI Thematic Reports

  Delivered by Dora Tuez

  CIVICUS wishes to address the Council on the High Commissioner’s report on discrimination and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Statement at HRC 29 Panel discussion on the effects of terrorism on human rights

  CIVICUS strongly condemns last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Somalia, France and Kuwait and express our deepest sympathies with the victims and their families. But we also applaud the principled stand of the High Commissioner in addressing the challenges to human rights: “The fight against terror is a struggle to uphold the values of democracy and human rights – not undermine them”.

• Statement at HRC 29 to UNSR on Right to Freedom of Expression And UNSR on Peaceful Assembly & Association

  29th session of the Human Rights Council

  Thank you Mr. President. CIVICUS warmly welcomes the timely reports of both Special Rapporteurs. We commend the Special Rapporteurs for supporting an inclusive consultative process with a wide range of civil society actors to address the pressing concerns raised in their reports.

• Statement at Human Rights Council on excessive and lethal force against protesters

  CIVICUS greatly welcomes the Council’s growing recognition of the crucial role civil society plays in facilitating the full realization of all human rights. In particular, we welcome the Council’s increased attention to the need to protect and promote the right to freedom of assembly to effectively engage with a range of stakeholder on pressing rights issues.

• Statement at the Human Rights Council on Syria, Egypt and Bahrain

  On Syria: CIVICUS sincerely hopes that the mediated peace talks will finally get off the ground and lead to results. However, we are concerned that between the 1st and 11th of March, the Syria Ceasefire Monitor reported over sixty violations, including mortar attacks, airstrikes, barrel bomb attacks, sniper attacks and other attacks on the civilian population that continue to result in the deaths of children and adult civilians. CIVICUS calls on all parties to abide by its provisions and refrain from attacks on the civilian population. We also urge the COI to investigate these ceasefire violations within the scope of its mandate. CIVICUS also repeats our call to the Syrian authorities to immediately release all unlawfully detained civilians, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience, to ensure the ‘tracking of missing victims of enforced disappearance and the independent ‘monitoring of places of detention’ as recommended by the COI in its current report.

• Statement on human rights situations in Guantanamo and Bagram

  Oral Statement
  Item 4 General Debate
  5 June 2013

  Statement delivered on behalf of:

  Human Rights Watch, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Conectas Direitos Humanos, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), International Service for Human Rights and International Commission of Jurists,

  With the support of:

  African Democracy Forum; African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies; Think Centre, Singapore; Task Force Detainees Philippines (TFDP), Philippines; Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Philippines; Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan; Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP), Timor Leste; INFORM Information Documentation Centre, Sri Lanka ; People's Watch, India; People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), South Korea; Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesia; IMPARSIAL, Indonesia; Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia; People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), India; Law and Society Trust (LST), Sri Lanka; Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), Nepal; Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India; Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC), Nepal; KontraS, Indonesia; Pilipina Legal Resource Centre (PLRC), Philippines; Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), Mongolia; Function 8, Singapore; Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC), Singapore; Project X, Singapore; Alliance National Timor Leste International Tribunal (ANTI), Timor Leste; Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI), India;
  ***

  The United States continues to detain individuals for indefinite periods without charge or trial at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan in violation of its obligations under international human rights law.

• Statement on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention: Belarus

  23nd session of the
  Human Rights Council
  Item4    

  Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention: Belarus

  By Yuri Dzlibladze

  Thank you Mr. President,

  CIVICUS and the Committee of International Control over the Human Rights Situation in Belarus, a coalition of more than 50 NGOs from different countries, welcome the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human rights situation in Belarus. We believe it clearly reflects the situation on the ground and the main concerns of the international community.

  As a result of our monitoring on the ground, we see that the human rights situation in Belarus has not only remained bad, but it has deteriorated further. Firstly, in the areas of freedoms of association, expression, and assembly as well as concerning the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, enforced disappearances, impunity of perpetrators of human rights abuses, and violations of due process and fair trial safeguards.

  We support references in the report to specific areas where comprehensive review of relevant legislation, policies, strategies and practices should be done on the basis of relevant UN documents containing recommendations on the human rights situation in Belarus that should serve as a framework for legislative and policy change.

• Statement to Human Rights Council on the systematic attacks against civil society around the world

  High Commissioner, CIVICUS welcomes your annual report, very rich update this morning and your strong independent voice! We share your concern that a growing number of states are selectively adhering to their international human rights and humanitarian law obligations. We note, in particular, the introduction of a spate of national legislation undermining the rights to freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly and participation in public affairs.

• Statement to the HRC on Bahrain by Nada Dhaif

  22nd  session of the Human Rights Council
  Item 6

  Delivered by Dr Nada Dhaif

  Thank you Mr. President,

  I would like to thank the 44 member states who signed the Swiss initiated statement last week on Bahrain.

  We hope to see more statements of this nature in future, with more signatures, and with more action from the counsel.

  As you all know there has been a significant increase in the reprisals against Human Rights Defenders in the context of UPR.

  Unfortunately the Bahraini authorities gave the worst example of repression of Human Rights Defenders, and therefore, I am deeply concerned for the welfare of two of my Bahraini friends who have joined me to advocate in Geneva, Mr Mohammed AlBoflasa, who was the first political detainee of the uprising in Bahrain.  He and his family were severely targeted and he is threatened with arrest and detention upon his return to Bahrain for his participation at the UNHRC.  

• Statement to the Human Rights Council on Bahrain

  21st session of the
  Human Right Council
  Item6

  UPR Bahrain
  Delivered by Nada Dhaif

  Thank you Madam President

  My name is Nada Dhaif, Chairperson of Bravo (Bahraini Rehabilitation & Anti-Violence Organization) Let me tell you about the situation in many villages and neighborhoods.  The people in the villages are not armed, their weapons are their voices.

  There are no men left.  Most of them are behind bars. Women are left with no income; they suffer from humiliation, blackmail, harassment and arrest and cannot protect their children.  A good example is a recent case of Zainab Al-Khawaja who was injured in the leg after state security forces ordered crowd controlled forces to directly shoot at her. She was alone.  She is still detained, heavily injured and without access to her family or proper medical care.  

• Strengthening the Human Rights Council at 10

  This joint civil society paper has been prepared by 20 leading international, national and regional non governmental organisations, on the occasion of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 10th Anniversary.

  As the HRC enters its 10th anniversary year, this civil society paper details a number of short- and medium-term steps that would enhance its ability to better fulfil its role. Any healthy and functional body should be open to exploring opportunities for self-improvement on a continuing basis.

  The 10th anniversary should be not only an occasion for celebrating the achievements of the HRC, but primarily to critically reflect on its shortcomings, and to enhance its impact and effectiveness. It is imperative that civil society is able to participate and contribute fully and substantively to both formal and informal discussions in this regard.

• Swaziland Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 12th Session of the UPR Working Group

  Click here to download

• The Human Rights Council should listen to the voices of those affected

  Statement at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

  Item 2 General Debate

  Delivered byLisa Majumdar

  Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you to the High Commissioner for her update.

  There is so much the Council can and should do during this session to address the grave situations you reported. The successes and failures of this Council have a tangible impact for those at the forefront of defending human rights.

  Last week the Council acted strongly on the conflict in Ukraine to take a step towards accountability for Russian aggression. This session, we expect the Council to take its opportunity to strengthen human rights and protect civic space elsewhere. To build on accountability efforts in Myanmar. To take robust action on Nicaragua’s worsening human rights crisis, and to address the civic space backsliding in Cambodia. And to strengthen protection for those standing up for human rights in conflict zones.

  The success and credibility of the Council relies on the engagement and participation of those on the frontline of human rights – the activists, journalists, environmentalists, colleagues – who risk their lives and freedom to stand up for human rights. The Council is stronger when it has the full participation of civil society, and can hear the voices of those affected. It can protect and support those trying to effect positive change in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It can create a route to justice for victims of violations and accountability for perpetrators.

  But it can only do so if its members, as set out in GA Resolution 60/251 ‘uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.’ Their failure to do so weakens the Council, and undermines its outcomes. We call on the Council to seek the reform needed to address this.

  We thank you.

• The deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent killings in Al-Qusayr

  On 29 May 2013, the UN Human Rights Council squeezed in an urgent debate on Syria into its already crowded schedule. CIVICUS representative Renate Bloem delivered the following statement. 

  CIVICUS supports this urgent debate, although it comes too late for the some 100, 000 people who have lost their lives, including those in Al-Qusayr. The un- civil war in Syria and the enormous human suffering is a direct consequence of the failure of the international community to arrive at diplomatic consensus on how to deal with the crisis in its early days when peaceful pro-democracy protestors and civilians were bombarded with heavy weapons by the regime in gross violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.

• The work of human rights defenders is crucial to the work of this Council

  Statement at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

   Item 3 General Debate

  Delivered byLisa Majumdar

  Thank you, Mr President.

  The work of human rights defenders is crucial to the work of this council. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to power, at great personal risk. The report by the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders shows all too clearly what this risk entails.

  In Belarus, seven members of the Human Rights Centre Viasna have been jailed for their human rights work – which is evidence of a larger repression. In Nicaragua, human rights defender María Esperanza Sánchez García has been arbitrarily detained for over two years under false charges. Nicaragua has systematically sought to silence the voices of human rights defenders.

  The Special Rapporteur reiterated again that States must ensure an enabling environment to protect human rights defenders. Spurious legal proceedings brought against defenders not only act as a chilling effect but are also a serious drain of the human and financial resources of defenders and NGOs, compounding other serious challenges in access to resources which prevent defenders and NGOs from carrying out their work. We call on States to ensure access to resources for human rights defenders and other civil society.

  The Council is currently negotiating a resolution which will highlight the work of human rights defenders in conflict and post-conflict situations which resonates all too well in the world today.

  Human rights defenders play a crucial role in conflict prevention and in post-conflict reconstruction, and it is vital to ensure their safety and ability to operate. We call on all states to support and implement the resolution, and we call on the Council to hold states accountable for their treatment of human rights defenders.

• TOGETHER WE STAND: Coordinating efforts for a global movement on the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

  Over 50 people from 6 continents and representing more than 30 key platforms and organisations engaged in civil society-led campaigns relating to sustainable development gathered in Istanbul, Turkey on 23-24 February 2014. The meeting was convened by CIVICUS in collaboration with the United Nations, the Overseas Development Institute and the United Nations Foundation. This communiqué summarises the discussions held in Istanbul.

  TOGETHER WE STAND: Coordinating efforts for a global movement on the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

   

• Uganda: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review at the 12th Session of the UPR Working Group

  Uganda: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review at the 12th Session of the UPR Working Group -  click to download (PDF)

• UN Human Rights Council: CIVICUS and partner presentations

  8 March 2012

  Presentations by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and one of its partners from the Philippines, Karaptan, are available to view here.

  CIVICUS has called for a human rights perspective and space for civil society to be integrated into the fight against poverty, and the need for freedom of expression on the internet. Karapatan has called attention to multiple instances of arbitrary arrests and detentions in the Philippines.

  The 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council is taking place from 27 February to 23 March 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

• UN Human Rights Council: further CIVICUS and partner presentations

  Three more contributions to the UN Human Rights Council by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and one of its partners from the Philippines, Karaptan, are available to view here.

  CIVICUS repeats its call for an enabling environment for civil society, and for the protection of human rights defenders, while Karapatan draws attention to human rights violations in the Philippines.

  The 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council is taking place from 27 February to 23 March 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

• UN side event: Civil Society Space: Emerging threats and actions to restore freedoms

  Civil society relies on physical and digital spaces to perform their functions. In doing so they are protected by the freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, opinion and expression. However, these freedoms are under attack through a worsening policy and legal environment that seemingly seeks to restrict civil society. Over the past year, we have witnessed a proliferation of laws that aim to: criminalise and deter peaceful protests; limit political participation and advocacy; undermine digital security and erode internet freedoms; undermine association, assembly and expression of LGBTI and other minorities; and introduce impunity for attacks on civil society actors.

  This side event, paneled by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, and civil society activists from El Salvador, Libya, Malaysia and Ukraine, will seek to identify what the emerging threats are to civil society operations, and reflect on key steps that States and the UN must take to protect the spaces in which civil society operate.