News Archive
Page 57 of 134 (1332 articles)
Environmental rights defenders are key to sustainable development, UN asserts
There can be no environÂmenÂtal protection and, ultimately, no sustainable development without respect for environmental human rights defenders (HRDs), the UN Human Rights CounÂcil (“CounÂcil”) warned today through the adoption of a strong, subÂstantive resolution on the proÂtection of environmental HRDs. As the negative effects of cliÂmate change, resource exploitation and environmental damage on human […]
UN Human Rights Council – 40th regular session
Item 3: General debate  Oral statement Delivered by: Estella Kabachwezi Mr. President, In December 2018, DefendDefenders published a report on marginalised human rights defenders (HRDs) in East Africa. The report covers the situation of indigenous, women, and LGBT+ HRDs in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and outlines recommendations to improve their protection and adÂdress […]
Enhancing human rights defenders’ protection: DefendDefenders at the UN Human Rights Council
Today, the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (“the HRC”or “the Council”) opens for four weeks in Geneva. A DefendDefenders delegation led by the Executive Director, Hassan Shire, will actively advocate for enhanced protection for human rights defenders (HRDs) across the East and Horn of Africa. “The Council is a key forum to […]
Ubuntu Hub Cities launched in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
On 14 February 2019, AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) launched the Ubuntu Hub Cities in Abidjan, CĂ´te d’Ivoire – an Africa-based relocation programme for human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk. “CĂ´te d’Ivoire is the first country in Africa to have adopted and implemented a specific law for the protection of HRDs” said Hassan […]
Ethiopia: DefendDefenders meets stakeholders and HRDs in Addis Ababa
The appointment of Dr. Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister of Ethiopia comes with increasing reforms in the country, including opening up of civic space. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a delegation from DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) and AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, […]
HRC40: DefendDefenders and partners call for continued UN investigations and reporting on South Sudan
Letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council; Excellencies, We, the undersigned national, regional and international non-governmental organisations, write to call on your delegation to actively support the full renewal of the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (“the Commission” or “the CoHR”) […]
Human rights defender of the month (January 2019):Â Yared Hailemariam
Yared Hailemariam is an Ethiopian human rights defender (HRD), and the Executive Director of the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), a non-governmental and non-partisan organisation based in Brussels and Geneva, founded by activists that fled the country and other members of the Ethiopian diaspora. He served as a lead investigator at the Ethiopia […]
Human Rights Defenders of the Month (February 2019): Mildred Apenyo
Mildred Apenyo is a prominent Ugandan women’s right activist and feminist through her work as an entrepreneur, trainer, and writer. Apenyo is also the founder of FitCliqueAfrica, Uganda’s first female-only gym, aimed at empowering women and sexual minorities.
Joint Letter from Non-governmental Groups: Human Rights Council Should Create Independent Fact-Finding Group for Sudan
Dear Excellencies, We, the undersigned Sudanese, African and international organisations and individuals, write to you ahead of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council (“the Council”), which will take place from 25 February-22 March 2019, to express our concerns and urge you to address the Sudanese government’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and ongoing […]
DefendDefenders call for applications for the new round of DOC-IT Program in Uganda
Do you want to boost your impact on the web? DefendDefenders is pleased to announce a new year of our DOC-IT program. We invite applications from Ugandan human rights organisations that are seeking to boost their impact through data analysis, visualisation skills, and web-driven campaigning. Apply by February 8th, 2019! Through DOC-IT, we aim to […]