Andreza Jorge is a human rights defender and activist working to empower communities in favelas in Brazil. She was also a participant to the 2023 edition of ISHR’s flagship training course, the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP).
Today, the Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment is one of the recipients of the prestigious 2023 United Nations Human Rights Prize. The coalition is awarded for its essential role in advocating for the recognition of the right to a healthy environment by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in July 2022.
On 15 June 2022, the National Assembly of Niger passed a law on the rights and duties of human rights defenders. This makes Niger the fourth African country to adopt such a law. However, for the law to produce the desired effects, it must be widely known and understood by all stakeholders. The establishment of an independent and inclusive protection mechanism will ensure the full implementation of the law.
The adoption of the draft law approving the status of Non-Governmental Organisation in Angola by the National Assembly considerably limits in its provisions the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and shrinks civic and democratic space. We are calling the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders to help address this situation.
On Environmental Day, ISHR submitted a petition to the UN Secretary-General signed by 492 individuals to support Nicaraguan Indigenous and environmental defender Anexa Alfred Cunningham who was forcibly exiled after participating in a UN meeting.
Anexa Alfred Cunningham is a human rights defender and an advocate for the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities in Nicaragua. In response to her engagement with UN bodies, the government of Nicaragua has sent her into forced exile.
On 10 May 2023, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) held a panel aiming to discuss ways to realise States’ obligations regarding the production of ESCR data and its use in policy-making, as well as how the Commission could work with States in realising them.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission) examined the combined 12th to 15th periodic reports of the Republic of Senegal during its public session held from 3 to 13 May 2023 in Banjul, The Gambia. The report presents the progress made by Senegal to effectively implement the African Charter between 2015 and 2022.
On 9 May, ISHR delivered a statement on the situation of the village Similimi in Côte d’Ivoire affected by the operations of a manganese extracting company. This statement also highlighted the lack of an African legal instrument protecting the environment, human rights and environmental defenders.
ISHR joins SANID petition calling on the UAE to open up civic space and release human rights defenders from arbitrary detention.
