Civil Rights Defenders Explained

Civil Rights Defenders
Type:Non-profit
NGO
Human rights organisation
Focus:Human rights
Civil and political rights
Registration Id:802011-1442 (Sweden)
Headquarters:Östgötagatan 90
Stockholm
Sweden
Key People:Anders Petterson, Executive Director;[1] Benedicte Berner, Chair of the Board;[2] Gerald Nagler, Founder and Honorary Chair of the Board[3]
Area Served:Eastern Europe
Central Asia
Europe
Southeast Asia
Latin America
East Africa
Former Name:Swedish Helsinki Committee[4]

Civil Rights Defenders (Formerly the Swedish Helsinki Committee[5]) is an international non-governmental organisation based in Stockholm, Sweden, that does human rights work with a focus on civil and political rights.[6] They primarily work to support local human rights defenders by providing them with capacity building, training, and funding, as well as security and emergency support for human rights defenders at risk.[7]

Founded in 1982 as the Swedish Helsinki Committee, the original focus of Civil Rights Defenders was to monitor and support the civil rights portion of the Helsinki Accords. In 2009, the organisation changed its name to Civil Rights Defenders[8] and it now works in Sweden,[9] Eastern Europe,[8] Central Asia,[10] Southeast Asia,[11] the Western Balkans,[12] Latin America,[13] and in East & Horn of Africa.[14]

History

Civil Rights Defenders was founded in 1982 as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (Svenska Helsingforskommittén för mänskliga rättigheter) to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, along with Helsinki Committees for Human Rights in several countries.[15] Gerald Nagler, who also co-founded the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, was the founder of the Swedish Helsinki Committee, and then also Chairman of the organisation from 1992 until 2004. Robert Hårdh led the organisation as Secretary General from 2000 until 2009 and then as Executive Director until 2017.[16]

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the organisation also worked to monitor and improve the human rights situation in the former Yugoslavia throughout the conflicts of the 1990s.[17] In 2009, the Swedish Helsinki Committee changed its name to Civil Rights Defenders,[18] and began working in additional regions of the world with the primary mission to support local human rights groups in repressive countries.[19] They also now act as a watchdog human rights organisation in Sweden.[20]

Natalia Project

The Natalia Project is an alarm system for human rights defenders at risk that helps to ensure the survival of human rights defenders. It was launched in 2013, and is named after Natalia Estemirova, a Russian human rights activist and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award who was abducted and murdered in 2009 while working to document cases of human rights abuses in Chechnya.[21]

The device uses cellphone and satellite navigation technology to transmit an alarm signal that its bearer is in acute danger. Triggering the alarm transmits data about the bearer's location and personal details to enable a local and global response. Each Natalia Project participant receives security training and develops an incident response protocol based on their specific circumstances.[22]

Program Participants: Frank Mugisha[23] (Uganda), Olena Shevchenko[24] (Ukraine), Génesis Dávila (Venezuela), Abdifatah Hassan Ali[25] (Somalia).

Defenders’ Days and Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award

Since 2013, Civil Rights Defenders has organised the human rights conference, "Defenders' Days", now held in Stockholm every two years. The conference's main aim is to develop human rights activists working within their own repressive countries.[26] [27]

Civil Rights Defenders also annually awards the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award to a human rights defender. According to Civil Rights Defenders, the award is given to someone who “despite the risk to his or her own safety, strives to ensure that people’s civil and political rights are recognised and protected. Their work is carried out without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation.”[28]

Recipients

Previous Defender of the Year Award recipients are:

!Year!Recipient!Country!Ref
2013Nataša Kandić, the Humanitarian Law Center[29]
2014Ales Bialiatski, the Human Rights Centre Viasna[30]
2015Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh (pen name: Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom), Vietnamese Bloggers Network[31]
2016 Intigam Aliyev, Legal Education Society[32]
2017Edmund Yakani, Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation[33]
2018Murat Çelikkan, Hafıza Merkezi (Truth Justice Memory Center)[34]
2019Márta Pardavi, Hungarian Helsinki Committee[35]
2020Naw Ohn Hla, a Karen democracy activist[36]
2021OVD-Info, a human rights and media project
2022Xheni Karaj and Frank Mugisha, providing protection and a community for LGBTI+ persons in Albania and Uganda . ,
2023Foro Penal, a human rights organization[37]
2024Marija Suljalina, human rights organization Almenda in Ukraine.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Civil Rights Defenders – Our Team . crd.org . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171214190320/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/about-us/board-staff/ . 2017-12-14 . dead .
  2. Web site: Civil Rights Defenders – Our Team . www.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171214190320/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/about-us/board-staff/ . 2017-12-14 . dead .
  3. Web site: Civil Rights Defenders – Our Team . www.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171214190320/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/about-us/board-staff/ . 2017-12-14 . dead .
  4. Web site: Civil Rights Defenders – About Us – Sweden's International Human Rights Organisation . www.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171214184804/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/about-us/ . 2017-12-14 . dead .
  5. Web site: Archived copy . www.sida.se . 2017-12-14 . 2017-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215001253/http://www.sida.se/contentassets/486d511ad4b24e04b170034427e2b3ad/the-swedish-helsinki-committee-programme-in-the-western-balkans-1999-2003_2154.pdf . dead .
  6. Web site: About Us. Civil Rights Defenders. en-US. 2019-06-07.
  7. Web site: Archived copy . Civil Rights Defenders . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215000333/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/files/TimeToAct_1703-webb-uppslag.pdf . 2017-12-15 . dead .
  8. Web site: Archived copy . www.sida.se . 2017-12-14 . 2017-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215001237/http://www.sida.se/contentassets/24b52bf509f04e2d9dd3fa9c9858b6ed/review-of-civil-society-organisations-in-moldova_3242.pdf . dead .
  9. Web site: Slumpvis utvald eller etnisk profilering? . www.etc.se . Gäst . 2017-12-12 . sv . 2019-06-07.
  10. Web site: Azerbaijan police launch brutal crackdown on LGBTQ community. Hume. Tim. 2017-09-28. Vice News. en. 2019-06-07.
  11. Web site: Archived copy . www.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2017-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215000333/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/files/TimeToAct_1703-webb-uppslag.pdf . 2017-12-15 . dead .
  12. Web site: Belgrade Pride: Authenticity in the face of violence. Lipkin. Joan. 2017-11-12. www.lgbtqnation.com. 2019-06-07.
  13. Web site: Erik Jennische: Allvarlig kris som landet lever i" - Nyheterna - tv4.se. www.tv4.se. sv. 2019-06-07. 2019-06-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20190607070119/https://www.tv4.se/nyheterna/klipp/erik-jennische-allvarlig-kris-som-landet-lever-i-3926312. dead.
  14. https://www.omvarlden.se/Opinion/debattartiklar/upp-till-bevis-sverige/ "Up to proof Sweden!"
  15. Web site: Parked at Loopia. www.levrikare.se. 2019-06-07. 2017-12-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20171215235943/http://www.levrikare.se/baettre-vaerld/social-raettvisa/57-baettre-vaerld/social-raettvisa/135-svenska-civil-rights-defenders-bakom-nytt-skyddssystem-foer-utsatta. dead.
  16. Web site: Civil Rights Defenders – (Svenska) Efter 19 år på Civil Rights Defenders går Robert Hårdh vidare till nytt spännande uppdrag . www.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2018-01-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180110060236/https://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/news/svenska-efter-19-ar-pa-civil-rights-defenders-gar-robert-hardh-vidare-till-nytt-spannande-uppdrag/ . 2018-01-10 . dead .
  17. Web site: Openaid.se. Openaid.se. en-US. 2019-06-07. 2017-12-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221347/https://openaid.se/activity/SE-0-SE-6-7600038301-SRB-15162/. dead.
  18. Web site: Archived copy . www sida se . 2017-12-14 . 2017-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215001237/http://www.sida.se/contentassets/24b52bf509f04e2d9dd3fa9c9858b6ed/review-of-civil-society-organisations-in-moldova_3242.pdf . dead .
  19. Web site: Working for Human Rights: The Work is Never Done School of Public Policy. spp.ceu.edu. 2019-06-07.
  20. News: Roma Register: State guilty of ethnic discrimination - Radio Sweden. Radio. Sveriges. Sveriges Radio. 10 June 2016. en. 2019-06-07.
  21. Web site: A Bracelet That Protects Activists From Murder. Isaacson. Betsy. 2013-04-08. HuffPost. en. 2019-06-07.
  22. News: Smart bracelet protects aid workers. 2013-04-05. 2019-06-07. en-GB.
  23. Web site: Ugandan LGBTI Activist Frank Mugisha Included in the Natalia Project. November 23, 2018.
  24. Web site: Olena Shevchenko: the LGBTI+ Activist Who Refuses to be Silenced. September 22, 2020.
  25. Web site: Abdifatah Hassan Ali: a Somali Blogger and Social Media Activist. March 20, 2020.
  26. Web site: Erik Helmerson: Putin skapar ett nytt Sovjet. 2016-04-10. DN.SE. sv. 2019-06-07.
  27. Web site: Defenders' Days – Empowering Human Rights Defenders at Risk. Platform. European Liberties. Liberties.eu. 20 April 2015 . en. 2019-06-07.
  28. Web site: Defenders' Days Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award . defendersdays.civilrightsdefenders.org . 2017-12-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180110044045/http://defendersdays.civilrightsdefenders.org/civil-rights-defender-of-the-year-award/ . 2018-01-10 . dead .
  29. Web site: (English) Nataša Kandić – Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2013 - Fond za humanitarno pravo/Humanitarian Law Center/Fondi për të Drejtën Humanitare Fond za humanitarno pravo/Humanitarian Law Center/Fondi për të Drejtën Humanitare . 2019-06-07 . www.hlc-rdc.org.
  30. Web site: 2014-05-12 . Ales Bialiatski: Civil Rights Defender of the Year . 2019-06-07 . World Movement for Democracy . en-US.
  31. News: 2017-06-29 . Vietnamese blogger jailed for 10 years for 'defaming' regime . en-GB . The Guardian . Associated Press . 2019-06-07 . 0261-3077.
  32. News: 7 April 2016 . Intigam Aliyev Civil Rights Defender Of The Year . az . Azadlıq Radiosu . 2019-06-07.
  33. Web site: Människorättspris till sydsudanes | Metro . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221216/https://www.metro.se/artikel/m%C3%A4nniskor%C3%A4ttspris-till-sydsudanes-xt . 2017-12-15 . 2017-12-15 . www.metro.se.
  34. Web site: 2018-02-08 . Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2018 – Murat Çelikkan . 2019-06-07 . Civil Rights Defenders . en-US.
  35. Web site: 2019-04-04 . Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2019 – Márta Pardavi . 2020-02-04 . Civil Rights Defenders . en-US.
  36. Web site: 10 December 2020 . Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2020 – Naw Ohn Hla . 2021-01-26 . Civil Rights Defenders . en-US.
  37. Web site: 2023-04-26 . Foro Penal gana prestigioso premio sueco Civil Rights Defenders por su labor en DDHH . 2023-10-04 . El Estímulo . es.

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