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Unprecedented
as well, was the length of the 43rd HRC session, which began on 24
February and was concluded on 23 June 2020, having resumed after a
three-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. DefendDefenders’
Geneva office proved to be an invaluable asset in these difficult times,
as access to UN premises remains limited and travel to Geneva
impossible for most nationals of East and Horn of Africa countries. To
learn more about our advocacy work at the HRC, you can read my reflections on the 43rd session and follow DefendDefenders on Twitter, to stay updated on the 44th session, which started on 30 June and is expected to end on 17 or 20 July.
As
COVID-19 lockdowns and physical distancing measures can exacerbate
mental health issues like stress, anxiety or depression – issues HRDs
are particularly vulnerable to – we decided to shine a light on HRD mental well-being in June. We profiled inspiring mental health professionals in the human
rights field and compiled advice on well-being for HRDs. We have also
translated our COVID-19 guidelines for HRDs into French and Arabic. They contain advice on securely working from home, cyber security, and well-being.
On
this note, stay safe and take care of your well-being as the situation
remains uncertain and precautionary measures continue to be needed.
Yours sincerely,
Hassan Shire
Executive Director, DefendDefenders |
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We
encourage all human rights defenders who need emergency protection to
reach out to us via protection@defenddefenders.org or our 24/7 emergency
phone line on +256 783 027 611. This line is also available on signal.
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Human Rights Defender of the Month: Vanessa Tsehaye |
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Vanessa
Tsehaye started her work as a human rights defender (HRD) at an early
age: at 16, she founded a high school group in support of imprisoned
Eritrean journalist Seyoum Tsehaye. Seven years later, the same diaspora
organisation, One Day Seyoum, is one of Eritrea’s leading human rights organisations – spear-headed by the now 23-year old Vanessa.
The
man for whom it was founded, Seyoum, is Vanessa’s uncle. The journalist
was arrested in 2001 during a crackdown on critics and non-governmental
media. For 19 years now, Seyoum has been a prisoner of conscience, held
without trial and under inhumane conditions, like so many others. "The Eritrean situation is very unique. In these past 19 years, very few things have changed for the better, if any,” says Vanessa.
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- AfricanDefenders’ new podcast series "Exile Shall Not Silence Us” - new episodes will be released every Monday in July.
- Our webinar series on the impact of COVID-19 on HRDs. You can find recordings here.
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Updates from DefendDefenders: |
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- On 23 June 2020, the UN Human Rights Council concluded its 43rd session (HRC43).
The session opened on 24 February but was suspended on 13 March, due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed on 15 June and closed after the
adoption of 40+ resolutions, including on South Sudan (the resolution extended the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan) and HRDs (the resolution extended the UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate);
- Read Hassan Shire’s "Reflections”
on HRC43, including country-specific and thematic developments
witnessed during the session. These include reflections on the COVID-19
crisis and its human rights implications, as well as the work of
DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders in this regard. DefendDefenders’
oral statements during HRC43 are available here;
- The Council’s 44th session (HRC44) will take place from 30 June-17 July 2020, with strict health measures in place. DefendDefenders will advocate for a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on
Eritrea and work on Sudan and civic space, among other issues;
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DefendDefenders' Nicolas Agostini at the HRC43 in Geneva, respecting COVID-19 health measures. |
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- In a new report,
DefendDefenders examines to what extent and how the 11 States of the
East and Horn of Africa contribute to the advancement of the rights of
women and girls at the United Nations. "Making a Difference for Women
and Girls?” aims to make knowledge about States’ behaviour at the Human
Rights Council available to civil society partners, observers and the
general public, contribute to citizen engagement with governments of the
sub-region, enhance scrutiny, and further efforts towards the
realisation of women’s and girls’ rights;
- The
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) decided to hold
its 28th extraordinary session from 29 June-1 July 2020. It will hold
its 66th ordinary session (ACHPR66) online, from 13 July-7 August 2020.
Read DefendDefenders’ last bi-annual report to the ACHPR;
- DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders together hosted a webinar series on the impact of COVID-19 on African HRDs. Each webinar had more than
100 participants, with translations into French and Arabic;
- From
8-12 June, DefendersTech participated in the virtual Internet Freedom
Festival's Organizational Security Village, which brought together
people from across the digital security field. On the third day, we
hosted a session covering security governance in CSOs. You can find
coverage of all five days on Internews' blog;
- From 15-26 June, DefendersTech conducted a training of digital security auditors online, focusing on the SAFETAG framework. The training was attended by participants representing 11
different organisations from Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe;
- From
23-26 June, DefendersTech conducted the third and final Ttaala workshop
for six Uganda-based NGOs. The focus was on project management
(ClickUp), social media management (HootSuite), and social media
analytics. We look forward to seeing their developments;
- DefendersTech
is offering a small number of IT certification exam vouchers to our
Safe Sister fellows. This includes non-exhaustive: CompTIA Security+,
and CompTIA CySA+ Cybersecurity Analyst, Cisco Certified CyberOps
Associate (formerly Cisco CCNA Cyber Ops), as well as CompTIA Linux+;
- DefendDefenders
protection team took part in webinars, online grant meetings, and
conducted an online physical and digital security management training
for Alliance of Women Advocating for Change which started on 23 June;
- The protection team also initiated the month of HRD mental well-being,
including three online therapy sessions, one public webinar, five video
clips providing tips on self-care and stress management, and well-being
quotes and HRD testimonies; and
- DefendDefenders
received 36 protection support requests. 14 requests were supported, 11
referred, and seven were rejected. One case is pending and three were
withdrawn.
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Updates from AfricanDefenders: |
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- Together with 25 other civil society organisations and associations and 20 legal experts, AfricanDefenders released a statement condemning the interference of the independence of judicial officers in
Malawi by the Executive branch of the government. The statement was
featured in an online publication called The Mast;
- On World Refugee Day (20 June 2020), AfricanDefenders launched a podcast series entitled "Exile Shall Not Silence Us.” Based on testimonies of over 120
exiled HRDs, in-depth case studies and live interviews with four exiled
HRDs, the podcast series highlights the professional, security,
socio-economic, and psychosocial challenges of HRDs in exile in Africa,
but most of all their achievements and resilience strategies. Stay
tuned for the next episodes;
- Under
the Ubuntu Hub Cities Initiative, AfricanDefenders received 10
applications in June. We supported six applications, three are still
under review and one was withdrawn; and
- AfricanDefenders
participated in several webinars in an effort to exchange best
practices with different stakeholders especially in the context of
COVID-19.
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Updates from the East andHorn ofAfricasub-region: |
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Burundi:
- After Burundi’s President Nkurunziza unexpectedly passed, DefendDefenders and partners called on the new President, General Évariste Ndayishimiye, to open a new
chapter for Burundi’s civil society. In particular, we encouraged
reconciliation and the granting of pardons to all HRDs that are
currently unjustly detained, such as Germain Rukuki, Nestor Nibitanga,
Egide Harerimana, Christine Kamikazi, Terence Mpozenzi and Agnès
Ndiribusa.
- On 26 June, the International Day of Support for Victims of Torture, ACAT-Burundi reminded the government of its obligation to end torture. Since 2015,
ACAT-Burundi identified 240 cases of torture and suspects many more.
Djibouti:
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A video clip of a detained air force pilot, Fouad Youssuf Ali, saying he had been tortured, sparked days of anti-government protests in Djibouti. Hundreds took to the streets of Djibouti City on 4 June,
before being brutally dispersed and arrested by police. The military
officer had denounced discrimination and corruption, he was arrested for
alleged treason. Demonstrations remain uncommon in the country.
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In
early June, two reporters for the Paris-based privately owned radio
station and news website La Voix de Djibouti, Kassim Nour Abar and
Mohamed Ibrahim Waiss, were arrested while covering the ongoing protests. A third journalist, Osman Yonis
Bogoreh, went into hiding upon the police’s arrival. The Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounces this harassment of journalists. Abar
and Waiss have been released without charges, whilst Bogoreh remains in
hiding.
Eritrea:
- In a report published in early June 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea,
Daniela Kravetz, stated that she found no evidence of substantial
improvement regarding the country’s human rights situation.
Ethiopia:
- On 10 June, Ethiopia’s Parliament approved to extend Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s term by one year, after the elections
scheduled for August 2020 were postponed. A leading opposition
politician resigned in protest over the election delay and the northern
Tigray region announced to proceed with elections as scheduled. Divisions between Ethiopia’s
ethnically-based political groups have deepened since Abiy came into
power.
- On 11 June, protestors in Ethiopia’s Somali Region demanded that the Regional President step down after a child died due to lack of assistance from the regional
government. The region has witnessed more protests lately, as public
dissatisfaction with the Regional President has grown, political crisis
in the region has deepened, and the opposition has grown in
capacity.
- Upon the killing of a truck driver, allegedly by two police officers, protests erupted in Oromia region on 13 June. Police used tear gas to disperse protestors, who had closed roads.
Kenya:
- According to Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority, more than a dozen people were killed by police while enforcing the COVID-19 curfew. 87 complaints against
police have been reported since the end of March, with 15 deaths and 31
injuries directly linked to actions of police officers during the curfew
enforcement. Human rights activists have protested against the alleged
police killings for weeks now. On 26 June, three protesters were shot
and killed, the responsible police officers are being investigated.
Somalia/Somaliland:
- On 8 June, a teenager was allegedly shot deadby
a police officer in Mogadishu. According to eyewitnesses, the police
officer asked the teenager for $1 and shot him in the head upon refusal.
- On 16 June, Somaliland police arrested Somali Cable TV journalists, Khadar Mohamed Tarabi and Khadar Rigah
Ahmed, while filming a local protest in Las Anod, demanding more
inclusion in the Somali government-Somaliland talks in Djibouti. The
arrest follows after the police raided and dispersed protesters. Both
journalists have been released without charges.
- Two police officer from Puntland have been suspended for torturing two women. A viral video, recorded by the police officers, shows them the detaining young women.
- Somaliland authorities closed two major television stations, Universal TV and Star TV. According to
sources, Universal TV did not broadcast Somaliland President Muse Bihi’s
address to mark the independence of the country from Britain, which led
to its closure by authorities.
Sudan:
- One year after the violent 3 June 2019 massacre during Sudan’s protests, justice has yet to be delivered. Human Rights Watch suspects that the killing
of 120 people and violations against hundreds more could amount to
crimes against humanity.
- In early June, the security situation at the border between Sudan and Ethiopia escalated,
when suspected Ethiopian militias killed at least one Sudanese army
officer and a child in a cross-border attack. Observers link the
incident to the diplomatic crisis related to the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam dispute between Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Khartoum.
- Ali
Kosheib (also known as Kushayb), a fugitive from the ICC for war crimes
and crimes against humanity committed by government-backed militias in
Darfur since 2007, voluntarily surrendered to authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) and is in the custody of the ICC since 9 June.
- In mid-June, Sudan’s general prosecutor announced that two mass graves containing the bodies of dozens of military officers and secondary
school students, had been found in Khartoum. An ongoing investigation
may present new evidence for alleged crimes against humanity committed
by members of the Bashir regime.
- Hundreds of thousands marched in Sudan’s capital on 30 June, demanding justice for the people killed
by security forces during anti-Bashir protests last year.
South Sudan:
- On 3 June, hundreds gathered to protest the killing of six civilians by a soldier. According to the protestors, the killing followed a quarrel over a land plot.
- 7 June, Jacob Kuwinsuk Gale, a South Sudanese MP, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in northern Uganda, where he took part in the national dialogue for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.
- South Sudan businessman and the chairman of 7th October Movement, Kerbino Wol, was killed in an armed confrontation on 16 June.
- South
Sudanese civil society activist Kanybil Noon, a representative of civil
society on the Strategic Defence and Security Review Board of the peace
agreement, remains arbitrarily detained at the National Security Service (NSS) headquarters without access to his family and lawyer, upon his arrest in late May.
- Thousands of people have fled into the bush, following fighting in the east of South Sudan. Fighters
from different communities are killing people, raiding cattle and
burning homes. Médecins Sans Frontieres is worried that those displaced
by the fighting will catch life-threatening diseases as they have no
shelter.
- On 23 June in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.
Tanzania:
- The Tanzanian government is contemplating introducing amendments to the country’s laws that will prevent human rights defenders and organizations from filing lawsuits on behalf
of, or for the benefit of, victims of human rights violations, Amnesty
International has learnt. If passed, the proposed amendment - which was
before the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Parliamentary Committee on 5
June - will require anyone seeking legal redress for human rights
violations to prove that they were personally affected.
- On 7 June, Lawyers and civil society actors expressed concern over a new bill that will shield the sitting President and other leading politicians from prosecution.
- Police raided a three-day training for HRDs held by the Tanzanian Human Rights
Defenders' Coalition (THRDC) in Kisenga. Two staff members were
arrested.
- On 23 June, opposition leader Zitto Kabwe and seven Tanzanian opposition politicians were arrested for "unlawful assembly.” President Magufuli has banned political
activities until the National Electoral Commission announces the
official period of campaigning ahead of the 2020 elections. The
politicians have been released on bail.
- In yet another worrying move, authorities revoked the licence of the "Tanzania Daima” newspaper, alleging violations of journalistic ethics and laws.
Uganda:
- Ugandan police arrested two lawmakers for allegedly mobilizing protesters in order to demand
the closure of a border town with South Sudan amid a rise in coronavirus
cases, local media reported.
- Police in Kyenjojo has arrested one of its officers for shooting a resident. According to the Regional
Police Commander Rwenzori West the officer will be charged with
attempted murder.
- A 65-year-old man was battered to death by Local Defense Unit officers enforcing night curfew guidelines Oyam district in northern Uganda.
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For more information, please contact |
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Hassan Shire
Executive Director, DefendDefenders
on executive@defenddefenders.org or +256 772 753 753
(English and Somali) |
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Estella Kabachwezi
Senior Advocacy and Research Officer, DefendDefenders
on advocacy@defenddefenders.org or +256 782 360 460
(English)
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About DefendDefenders
DefendDefenders (Eastand Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)seeks
to strengthen the work of human rights defenders throughout the region
by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and by
enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights.
DefendDefenders
focuses its work on Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, Somalia (together with Somaliland), South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania
and Uganda. Visit us at www.defenddefenders.org |
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Follow is on social media:
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NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020
Dear friends and colleagues, George Floyd's murder has sparked unprecedented global outrage. Thousands of people in more than 4,000 cities around the world have made use of their right to peaceful assembly and condemned systemic racism and po