We often look up to governments in the EU to be strong in defending fundamental freedoms, at the UN and through their diplomatic missions. But what about at home?
Confronted with a ‘crisis’ of migration, some governments in the Western world have been stoking xenophobia and racism, rather than showing migrants respect and upholding their dignity. As former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein pointed out in his parting message, several leading politicians are in fact ‘eager to inflate their image by harming migrants and refugees, the most vulnerable in society’.
A panel convened by OHCHR on 27 September, with speakers from the Hungarian Helsinki Foundation, Médecins sans Frontières, and the U.S. Human Rights Network, discussed the challenges faced by defenders of migrant and refugee rights. The organisers also screened ISHR’s short video on the right to defend the rights of people on the move, a key focus of the 2018 report by UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders Michel Forst.
The people they help face conflict, poverty, and exploitation. They face lawsuits, arrests, and violence. Both migrants and migrants’ rights defenders need our support.
To show our solidarity, ISHR has partnered with Cinéma Grütli and Outside the Box. The first 10 people to send an email entitled ‘CODE ISHR’ to the producers at [email protected] will receive two invitations to either the 2 or 6 November screenings in Geneva of the documentary Libre, highlighting challenges facing migrant rights defenders in Italy and France.
Photo: ISHR
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, ISHR delivered to both Geneva’s Administrative Council and its legislative counterpart, the Municipal Council, physical copies of the more than 1000 signatures collected in support of a memorial honouring Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli.
The 79th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 14 May to 3 June 2024. The session will be preceded by the NGO Forum, which will be held in hybrid format from the 11-13 May 2024.
13 April 2024 marked one year since the Chinese authorities arbitrarily detained prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, woman defender Xu Yan. As their health steadily deteriorates, 30 rights groups and the European Union have renewed their call for their prompt release.
