Read on to remain up to date with the latest international human rights news, views and developments!
On 14 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders launched a report celebrating their achievements. The report uses and pushes for a more effective and positive narrative on those who defend human rights.
Human rights defenders welcome the adoption of a resolution on a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment by record vote after almost five decades of activism as a ‘promising start’.
Europeans have shown unity and decisiveness in taking action to shelter Ukrainian refugees. But as the humanitarian crisis unravels, long-term solutions will require policies that promote collaboration and distributed leadership.
On Thursday 7 April, a two-thirds majority of States at the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of suspending Russia's membership of the UN Human Rights Council.
Human rights inspire hope. In January 2022, we asked you to share some of the human rights stories and successes that inspire you. Thanks for being both courageous and vulnerable in sharing them!
Here at ISHR we have a custom of starting all staff meetings by sharing our inspirations. The inspiration might be something deeply personal, like the resilience of a loved one recovering from illness, something local, like the renaming of a Geneva street to honour a feminist activist, or something work-related, like the release of a human rights defender from arbitrary detention following a concerted global campaign.
Since 1994, the Martin Ennals Award honours human rights defenders from around the world who show exceptional commitment to promoting fundamental rights, often at the risk of their own lives. For the 2022 edition, the Jury selected three activists who, through their courage, unfailing hope and strategic approaches, inspired others to take up human rights. Their identities will be revealed on 19 January 2022 during an online press conference. The Martin Ennals Award Laureates 2022 will be honoured during a hybrid ceremony co-hosted by the City of Geneva and the Martin Ennals Foundation on 10 February 2022.
The passage of a human rights defender resolution by the Third Committee of the GA by consensus, with 85 co-sponsors, is another important step in ongoing work to strengthen the promotion and protection of those who defend rights.
Futures thinking encourages us to identify small ‘signals of change’ which might help to identify and influence the futures that come to pass. At ISHR we’ve identified and, together with advocates and activists from around the world, helped contribute to a number of small but significant signals of positive human rights change in recent weeks.
Tech tools can provide great opportunities and challenges to document human rights violations, notably in contexts of acute crisis.
The Martin Ennals Foundation has granted Yu Wensheng, a leading Chinese human rights lawyer, the 2021 Martin Ennals Award. Lawyer Yu was among the three finalists to the Award selected by a jury of ten global human rights organisations - among which ISHR -, along with Loujain AlHathloul from Saudi Arabia and Soltan Achilova from Turkmenistan.
It's difficult to encapsulate such a complex year in a word, but "interconnected" is one that comes to mind when reflecting on 2020. We are proud to have remained deeply interconnected with defenders and to have supported, protected and amplified their work at the national, regional and international levels. With them, the "essential workers" of our times, we strive for a 2021 full of freedom, equality, dignity and justice.
