Delivering on Human Rights Defenders

                    This post is a summary of the report published with the title above in July 2012 at  https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/report-delivering-on-human-rights-defenders-2012.pdf

               On a daily basis, around the world, Human Rights Defenders monitor the state of human rights and fundamental freedoms and strive to address their violations. They fight for 'freedom', 'justice', and 'accountability' even in, especially in, countries and regions of the world where these words are at risk of losing their very meaning, because of laws, practices or actions of governments, criminal organizations, and abuses. For their courageous and visionary work, and despite international standards to protect them, Human Rights Defenders are too often subjected to threats, to severe persecution, to arbitrary arrest and detention. They 'disappear', are tortured, and even killed because of their work. And systematic smearing of their reputations are tools used to intimidate them into submission, to discredit them, and to silence them. Standing by Human Rights Defenders is a longstanding commitment for the European Union. ( EU ). Through EU and delegations on the ground, we monitor their trials, strive to release them when unfairly detained, sensitize local communities and wider public to their work, consult with them on appropriate EU action for improving the human rights situation in specific countries, support their activities, and strive to protect and shelter them against harm. We also encourage governments to engage with Human Rights Defenders and with Civil Society Organizations at large. We believe this is a prerequisite for enhancing the promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms, and democracy. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) of 1998 states that all individuals, groups and organs of society have the right and the responsibility to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet, in many parts of the world HRDs are too regularly defamed, falsely accused, unfairly detained, threatened with death, beaten, tortured. Their families are harassed and their offices raided. They are socially ostracised and are fired from their jobs. The EU is committed to supporting those who strive to make all human rights recognised, fulfilled and respected, sometimes at the risk of their own lives and the wellbeing of their families. The personal and professional security of HRDs is the first and foremost priority of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). http://www.eidhr.eu/  Making sure that activists are aware of the risks they face when monitoring oppression and promoting human rights. Having access to timely, reliable and independent data about the human rights situation on the ground is paramount. This is particularly difficult in countries where there is a conflict, where there is a partial or complete state control of the media, where secure access to the internet is almost impossible, or where reprisals against dissidents are feared. The work of HRDs in the field also needs to be accompanied by strong advocacy and awareness-raising action on the international scene. The coordination between EIDHR partners, their actions and their capacities and initiatives and the European Parliament on the political level, are paramount to ensuring that HRDs all over the world succeed in making their societies fairer, more democratic and fully endowed with fundamental rights and freedoms. Since 2007, The EIDHR has complemented its geographical coverage with additional support dedicated to targeted groups of HRDs. Below are some examples of various specialised groups of defenders. Journalists, bloggers and media workers are often targeted because of their reports on human rights violations or because they witness human rights violations. Due to the impact they can have on society by disseminating information about human rights, attempts to silence them involve killings, arrests, torture, harassment, or acuse of legal framework such as censorship. Another group of HRDs at particular risk are lawyers, who are regularly subjected to threats. There are cases where the simple appointment of a lawyer to a human rights activist has led to the imprisonment of the lawyer. Defenders of the human rights of women and female defenders who defend any human rights face particular risk because of the intersection between their advocacy and their gender. They are often at risk of violence, prejudice and exclusion because they are challenging socio-cultural stereotypes about the role and status of women. Although economic, social and cultural rights are given the same emphasis in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, legal mechanisms for claiming redress for violations are severely underdeveloped in comparison. An EIDHR project addresses violations of international labour standards and textile workers' human rights, particularly freedom of association and the right to organise and bargain collectively. Also, helps factory workers to be fairly treated and decently paid. It sounds the alarm when workers' rights are violated, ranging from poor working conditions, low or no wages, harassment. violence, suspension, dismissals and some cases death. The project provide immediate support for urgent cases. It helps to build the capacity of defenders of garment workers' rights in producer countries and raise awareness in developed countries. An estimated 500 000 undocumented migrants cross Mexico every year in their attempt to reach USA. They face arrest, extortion, kidnap and murder by criminal organizations or even the police along the way. Their defenders are faced with progressive criminalisation and are victims of harassment and violence simply for providing assistance to migrants. Gender identity and sexual orientation are used as justifications for serious human rights violations around the world. LGBT people are victims of persecution, discrimination and gross ill-treatment or violence. HRDs protecting those who are or who are themselves perceived to be LGBT are at particular risk. Many countries contain ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities whose human rights are often abused due to their perceived threat to majority groups. Discriminatory actions are often justified by reference to 'national security' or populist discourse stressing the preservation of languages and cultures. Generally, these minorities are poorer and face discrimination. Indigenous people are often the victims of historical exclusion or forced assimilation, many are victims of human rights violations, discrimination, and land grabbing. Their defenders are often exposed and become victims of violations themselves.  An EU project support the Asia indigenous People Pact (AIPP) in setting up a mechanism to support Indigenous People Human Rights Defenders at risk. The fund created responds to urgent needs of IHRDs and their families, alleviating their suffering and mitigating the consequences of the violation of their rights. The project also promote indigenous people' rights through advocacy and lobbying, supported by increased documentation, capacity and alliance building. HRDs working on land and environmental issues are highly exposed to attacks on their physical integrity, often by non-state agressors, and many are killed because of their work on the environment impact of extractive industries and development projects, or the right to land of indigenous.                                                                                                                                                                       

2nd Anniversary of the Protests of June 2013

                             The second biggest protest in Brazil history, only smaller than the movement of direct election now, must be always remembered. Last month the movement called by many as Journey of June  completed two years. This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the title of, "It is not only about grievances: Emotional dynamics in social media during the Brazilian protests." Published at http://pac.cs.cornell.edu/pubs/icwsm2015.pdf. The second with the title of, "Understanding the Brazilian 'spring'." It was published at  http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/understanding-the-brazilian-spring-4832/

                 In 2013, Brazil experienced a period of conflict triggered by a series of protests. While the popular press covered the events, little empirical work has investigated how first-hand reporting of the protests occurred and evolved over social media and how such exposure in turn impacted the demonstrations themselves. In this study we examine over 42 million tweets shared during the three months of conflict in order to uncover patterns in online and offline protest-related activity and as well as language use, and underlying motivations of protesters. Social media has emerged as a powerful resource of collective political action, both for the protesters as well as for observers aiming to better understand their dynamics. For instance, facebook and twitter have been extensively used to facilitate mobilization. Such usage of social media leaves behind a record of information that enables researchers to explore questions surrounding human nature in newfound ways, at broader scales, and in real-time. Throughout the lifecycle of a protest, emotions are a key driver behind why individuals join, sustain, and abandon the movement. Anger, indignation, and outrage may be the emotions most obviously associated with protesters, a main reason people participate in protests is to express grievances and frustrations stemming from perceived injustices or other forms of affliction and hardship. However, positive emotions can also play a role in motivating involvement. For instance, pride in participating or hope for a better future. Researchers have recently started to use social media to examine the emotional expressions of individuals during times of social turmoil and tension. Studies have found correlation between negative moods expressed on Twitter with levels of violence. By analyzing the emotions expressed on Twitter users during the Brazilian protests that occurred in 2013 and involved millions of individuals across more than 100 cities. Unlike other movements in which the demands were explicit, the turmoil in Brazil did not have a single motivation and witnessed demonstrations of diverse grievances as the conflict grew. To determine whether a tweet is protest-relevant, we mined hashtags used during the Brazilian protests as an initial indicator of tweet relevance and built a co-occurrence graph between hashtags that occurred more than 8 times in the dataset. The following hashtags were used and are all correlated: #ogiganteacordou (the giant woke up), #vemprarua (come to the street), #verasqueumfilhoteunaofogealuta (you will see that your son does not run away from the fight). To explore how people used Twitter throughout the protests, we studied temporal trends in posting levels, hashtag usage, tweet sentiment, and active users. Following up on protest-related use, we found that most hashtag were used during June, especially after June 13. We suspect this relates to the fact that even though the protests began on June 6, the movement became more violent after June 13, a day known as "bloody Thursday" due to the brutality that police displayed against protesters. This violence fueled mobilization in additional cities and recruited more supporters to the movement, both in the streets and on social media. In this paper we undertook an analysis of how twitter reflects protest dynamics in Brazil throught May-June of 2013, a period in which major demonstrations happened across the country. While prior studies have analyzed sentiment on social media during periods of conflict and protest, our research explored how societal mood changes over time and in the context of the Brazilian protests. Further, we studied both positive and negative emotions, and we investigated possible explanations underlying observed emotional trends. For researchers aiming to gain insights into collective behavior, specially in times of social movement and political unrest, our work demonstrate the utility of computational approaches. Our research also bears practical implications for government leaders, who can use social media both to make sense of motives that drive protesters' participation as well as to assess the efficacy of measures with which authorities could respond.

               Much of the global media has focused on the protests occurring throughout Brazil. Almost all have drawn their own conclusion as to the cause of the tumult. Similarly, there has been an enduring preoccupation in most news associated with the violence. In reality, both the causes and the effects of the Brazilian protests are only poorly understood and for its part, the violence portrayed in the media has been the exception rather than the rule. I know I was there. I watched while proterstors massed outside Brazil's Congress on the evening of June 17th, but stopped politely to let the bus carrying our delegation pass to return to hotel. From their  perspective, however, and as the multitude of the placard they carry illustrate, they view the constant increases in bus fares and other public services, and even foodstuffs as counterpoint to the billions the country has invested and will invest for showcase events like the World Cup and the Olympics. These are also the same billions in the view of the protestors that could be directed to existing and pressing needs in Brazil to effect health care and improve education. In fact, there are strong parallels with the political demonstrations that occurred in the early 1980s, when the ruling Brazilian military first indicated its intention to move the country back toward civilian rule after nearly 20 years in power. Then, the direct elections now movement counted heavily on idealistic youth, who took to the streets in thousands as part of an effort to speed up democracy. And to a considerable extent, they succeeded, with the return to electoral democracy in 1986. As Brazilians currently observe the effect of people across the Arab world and elsewhere, in the protests across the country that show no sign of slowing. What remains to be seen is the response from powers at the national level.

World Youth Skills Day

               Next Wednesday, July, 15th, all the world will celebrate The World Youth Skills Day, a day to remember the importance of education to the development of the young people, of the country, of the world. The education was, is and it always will be the main feature, the aim source of any country's development.  This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published at https://en.unesco.org/events/world-youth-skills-day. The second was published  at https://www.worldskills.org/what/promoting-skills/world-youth-skills-day/. The third was published http://www.skillsforemployment.org/KSP/en/eventsnew/index.htm. The fourth was published at http://www.ilo.org/skills/areas/skills-for-youth-employment/lang--en/index.htm

              

                To raise awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills development, the UN General Assembly has decided to celebrate the first World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) on 15th July 2015. WYSD celebrations coincide with an important year of setting the agenda for the future: a new climate agreement and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals are just around the corner. That is why this year's theme is "Youth skills for work and life in the post-2015 agenda". WYSD is in line with the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, which propose two goals on education and skills for employment: 1)Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. 2) Promote sustained, inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

               The UN designated day seeks to generate greater awareness of and discussion on the importance of technical, vocational education, and training and the development of skills relevant to both local and global economies. It is hoped that it will contribute to reducing unemployment and underemployment among youth. It will highlight youth skills development to draw attention to the critical need for marketable skills. Activities and initiatives all aimed at raising the profile and recognition of skilled people, and showing how important skills are in achieving economic growth and personal success. Inspiring, educating youth is an integral part of the development.

               The Sustainable Development Goals represent a step forward in development thinking by bringing together sustainable development with poverty alleviation, inequality and technological change in a holistic account of how people's lives can be enhanced. This vision reemphasises the importance of work to development in a way that contribute to incomes, productivity and competitiveness but also help in addressing issues of environmental degredation, safe sanitation and community development. However, work also contributes to human development, integrating people and furthering development of their identities.The competition WorldSkills this year will be in Sao Paulo from 12th August to 17th August. Competitors from over 50 countries simulate real work challenge that must be completed to international standards of quality. They demonstrate individual and collective technical skills to perform specific tasks for each of the professional skills. Throughout its 65 year history, the competition brings together the best young people from around the world in their chosen profession. They represent the best students selected in local and national skills competitions for professional education. The event also provides contact and exchange of information on best practices in professional education. The experience and the results of all of the competitions provide valuable feedback to their students, teachers, countries and schools in which they are being trained. It is the first time in history that the WorldSkills Competition will be held in South America. This time, the competition is being organized by SENAI, which is one of the five largest school of professional and technical education in the world.

               Skills development is a primary means of enabling young people to make a smooth transition to work. A comprehensive approach is required to integrate young women and men in the labour market, including relevant skills training, labout market information, career guidance and employment services, recognition of prior learning, incorporating entrepreneurship with training and effective skills forecasting. Improved basic education and core work skills are particularly important to enable youth to engage in lifelong learning as well as transition to the labour market. In many countries formal technical education and training is an option for a small minority of young people. 

70th anniversary of the United Nations

                Ten days ago, on June 26th, the United Nations celebrated its 70th anniversary. This post is a tribute to this very important NGO. This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at  http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51260#.VZlcGvlViko. The second was published at http://moderndiplomacy.eu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=810:happy-70th-birthday-un-charter&Itemid  The third was published at http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30198.html. The fourth was published at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council

                 On June 26th, 1945, the United Nations was born from the ashes and rubble of the Second World War as delegates from fifty nations came together to sign the U.N. Charter, the organization's founding document and the bedrock of global peace and development. Seventy years later, Secretary-general Ban KI-moon is returning to San Francisco where the charter was first signed to celebrate the U.N.'s founding and call on the international community to renew their commitment towards the shaping of a better planetary future for all. "The 70th anniversary falls in a year of momentous decisions on our common future. Countries are shaping what we hope will be an inspiring new sustainable development agenda and moving towards a agreement on climate change." Wrote Mr. Ban. The Secretary-General has frequently recalled his first encounter with the U.N. dating back to his childhood during the Korean War when, as a displaced person fleeing his burning village, he and his family relied on the U.N. to rescue them. His family, he has said, was saved from hunger by U.N. food relief operations and, when doubts surfaced over whether the world was concerned about their suffering. Beyond the indelible trauma that conflict has on a child, Mr. Ban's first experience with the U.N. also left him with the core conviction of the immense difference the U.N. can make in the lives of people around the world. "As the distinctions between the national and the international continue to fall away, challenges faced by one become challenges faced by all. With our fates ever more entwined, our future must be one of ever deeper cooperation, nations united by a spirit of global citizenship that lives up to the promise of the U.N.'s name." Secretary-General concluded.

               On October 24th, 2015, the United Nations will be 70 years old. However, it was before October, more specifically on June 26th, 1945 that the charter, its document of foundation, was signed by 50 of 51 original member countries. Since that year, several things have changed, including the geopolitical order of the world. The charter has been amended five times since its constitution. In 1965 there were 2 amendments, both of them concerning the expansion of membership: one in the security council ( 11 to 15 non-permanent members ) and the other in the Economic  and Social Forum ( from 18 to 27 members ). The amendments reflect the increasement of members in the organization. The U.N. started with 51 members and now contemplates 193, being South Sudan the most recent country to join the U.N. In terms of discussing and promoting actions towards global issues, the U.N. is one of the most important organizations to unite countries. The Millennium Development Goals are for instance useful methods to achieve milestones in the fight against poverty, hunger and other social challenges that need a chain of support to be tackled properly. A reformed Security Council is a must for the international community. International conflict are still a reality in different continents, in which vulnerable countries can not fight alone without the help of the U.N. It is not reasonable to leave the decision of these countries' future in the hands of only 5 permanent members. Conflicts are escalating and the use of peacekeeping missions is becoming even more necessary. In order to decrease costs among the most important contributors, which is mostly the reason why the permanent members remain the same. U.N. should cooperate even more with regional organizations and other national instances. It is only when member states, and people, realizes that lives go beyond any other interests, that one will be able to surpass differences and work together towards a common future. the reality of the 21st century is very different from 70 years ago, so it is urgent to update the charter in terms of a fairer geographical representation.

                 The U.N. has repeatedly emphasized the need to integrate human rights into the broad range of its activies. It is essential to recognize the potential of almost all U.N. human rights mechanisms and procedure for contributing to the protection and promotion of people's rights. The creation of a body of international human rights law is one of the U.N.'s great achievements. The U.N. has helped negotiate more than 70 human rights treaties and declarations, many focused on the rights of vulnerable groups. Together, these treaties and declarations have helped create a 'culture of human rights' throughout the world, providing a powerful tool to protect and promote all rights. The U.N. promotes respect for the law and protection of human rights in many ways, including: 1) Monitoring the human rights records of nations, The committes receive technical, logistical and financial support from the U.N. The U.N. also has an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization by all people of human rights. 2) Appointing 'special procedures' to address specific country situations or broader issues: The U.N. may also appoint experts to address a specific human rights issue or particular country. These experts may conduct studies, visit specific countries, interview victims, make specific appeals and submit reports and recommendations.

                 The U.N. Humans Rights Council is a U.N. System inter-governmental body whose 47 member states are responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. The U.N. General Assembly elects the members who occupy the 47 seats. The General Assembly takes into account the candidates states' contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard. The term of each seat is three years, and no member can occupy a seat for more than two consecutives terms. The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership. The U.N.H.R. Council holds sessions three times a year, in March, June, and September. The U.N.H.R.C. can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies, at the request of one-third of the member states. South American members of the U.N.H.R.C. Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Venezuela.