ANNUAL REPORT 2O16
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT 2O16
UNITING LIBERALS IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
03
COMMITTEE OVERVIEW
04
PRIORITY WORKING AREAS
05
FREEDOM OF BELIEF
05
LGBT RIGHTS
08
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
09
RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
13
THE GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
14
LI HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
16
IMPRISONED FOR THINKING
16
31ST SESSION
18
32ND SESSION
19
33RD SESSION
19
LI HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN
20
5TH EDITION
21
6TH EDITION
21
LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM
22
Published by Liberal International with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF). The FNF's funds originate from a grant by the German Foreign Office, resulting from a decision of the Bundestag. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
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UNITING LIBERALS IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS Promotion and advancement of human rights lies at the heart of the liberal agenda. The belief in individual rights, liberty, and equality forms the very basis of every liberal policy and during these turbulent times of fast-rising populism and far right extremism it has never been more important to unite the liberal voice in the defence of human rights. Throughout the calendar year 2016, the Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LI HRC) took the lead on a number of issues not least on ending violence against women in politics and promoting freedom of belief by reaching out to new partners and reinvigorating the cooperation with existing ones. From bringing together a number of liberal parliamentarians at the Inter-Parliamentary Union to debate the elimination of gender-based violence to engaging in discussions on anti-radicalization with the Mayor of the Molenbeek municipality in Brussels, 2016 proved to be a year of great success showing the value of mutual support in our global liberal network. In Geneva, members of the Human Rights Committee assembled at the United Nations Human Rights Council to discuss liberal solutions to the growing authoritarianism around the world and the ever declining freedom of the media. Participants were able to engage with a number of former political prisoners and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Representative on Freedom of the Media reaffirming Liberal International as a leading voice on fundamental freedoms among the political internationals. The LI Human Rights Committee has continued to grow and has seen the highest and most diverse group of members join its ranks with more women than men for the first time. At the same time the Africa Liberal Network has strengthened its human rights profile becoming an invaluable partner to the work of the Committee with African liberals comprising one third of all LI HRC members. As we look to establish a strong front against human rights abuses around the world and strengthen Liberal International’s position as a key international actor on the human rights scene, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to my colleagues for their selfless devotion and support to the work of the Committee. I very much look forward to our continued work and the possibility for future engagement with established and new human rights allies. Yours sincerely,
Markus Löning Vice-President on the Bureau of Liberal International Chairman of LI Human Rights Committee
“The belief in individual rights, liberty, and equality forms the very basis of every liberal policy and during these turbulent times of fast-rising populism and far right extremism it has never been more important to unite the liberal voice in the defence of human rights.”
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COMMITTEE OVERVIEW Over the course of 2016, the LI Human Rights Committee has shown a consistent growth in terms of diversity in its membership and priority work areas. The 196th LI Executive Committee in Tblisi, Georgia saw the election of 24 representatives from 16 countries across 3 continents who vowed to deliver on the Committee’s newly ratified priorities which included the promotion and advancement of Women’s Rights, LGBTI rights, the Responsibility to Protect Principle and Freedom of Belief. Full information about the new committee including the biography of all Committee members can be found on the LI website.
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FREEDOM OF BELIEF Gathering a diverse set of Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LIHRC) members, liberal politicians and representatives from across the civil society sector at the European Parliament in Brussels, the LI Human Rights Committee met to discuss Freedom of Belief in an Era of Radicalization.
PRIORITY WORKING AREAS
The first part of the event was hosted by the Mayor of Molenbeek (a municipality of Brussels), Francoise Schepmans (Mouvement Reformatuer, Belgium), at the Cultural Center of Molenbeek alongside Jo De Ro, Member of Parliament (Open VLD, Belgium) and Olivier Vanderhaeghen, a local Radicalisation Prevention Officer. Chaired by Boris Van Der Ham, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament (Democrats 66, Netherlands), the debate focused on the challenges of combatting radicalization and on the prevention of stigmatization of religious minorities. In his welcoming remarks LI HRC Chair and LI VP on the Bureau Markus Loening explained that it is important to debunk the myth of Molenbeek which is currently considered as a hot bed for terrorism in Brussels while at the same time prevent Muslim residents of the municipality from being discriminated on a daily basis.
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Addressing the issue of integration, Mayor Schepmans explained that Belgium has been an immigration land for a long time but integration has not been prioritised and this is a challenge which needs to be addressed by both the federal government and municipalities.
“I am proud that Liberal International has come here to Molenbeek in the Maison de Culture, in the centre of the commune, to have an exchange with me as a Mayor but also with key educational social actors in order to really understand the situation of Molenbeek. This exchange of expertise and experience enables us to move forward with very precise ideas in the fight against radicalization.” Mayor Francois Schepmans Molenbeek Municipality, Brussels
Vanderhaeghen echoed De Ro’s conclusions by stressing that radicalization prevention could only be achieved through a multi-disciplinary approach. Religion, as he argued, was not the main driver of radicalization but rather social isolation, emotional fragility and a sense of not belonging to the community along with a lack of equal opportunities for young people. In this sense it is very much an identity/ideological problem. He further added that a lot of prevention work usually takes place with the family in order to reinforce the emotional link between the radicalised person and his/her relatives so that re-integration and social insertion in the society can be achieved. Capacity building and creating an environment with free and open speech is crucial for such success. The second part of the event was hosted by LI HRC Member and Member of the European Parliament Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Movement for Rights and Freedom, Bulgaria) at the European Parliament where speakers included Dr. Solomon Passy, Former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Abir Al-Sahlani, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament (Centerpartiet, Sweden), Sophie In't Veld, Deputy Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament (Democrats 66, Netherlands) and Adam Deen, Managing Director at the Quilliam Foundation.
De Ro on the other hand explained that a specialist on religious affairs has to be incorporated into the integration work in order for it to be effective whereas Vanderhaeghen stressed that religion is not the main driver of radicalisation but it is rather an ideological/identity problem stemming from social isolation and emotional fragility.
“Radicalization needs a multi-disciplinary approach as it doesn't take place in the mosque but rather in the public space. The emotional link between the radicalised person and his/her family needs to be re-enforced so that re-integration and social insertion in the society can be achieved” Jo De Ro Member of Parliament (Open VLD, Belgium)
Al-Sahlani spoke at length about the need for democratization in the Middle East in order to address the underlying cause of fundamentalism which in turn breathes extremism while In't Veld insisted on removing class justice in order to prevent radicalization. Dr. Passy enriched the discussions by presenting a perspective on the need to manage migration while Deen focused on the lack of tolerance created by extremism which in turn manifests into violence.
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“As long as we have dictatorships in the Middle East we will also have fundamentalists because there is lack of hope. The feeling of being insignificant and as little as human being can be feeling in a dictatorship, actually is the best ever ground for that fundamentalist approach to Islam. Without a political change in the Middle East, without democratisation, without involving all citizens, without having true liberal values, who are for everyone in the Middle East, I don’t think that we will be able also to tackle the challenges with fundamentalism.”
The concluding remarks of the debate were delivered by LI Past President Annemie Neyts (Open VLD, Belgium) who emphasized that radicalization has become a "container phrase" as we don't know what it means and therefore we need to invest in understanding the triggers of the problem. The event also saw an evening reception hosted by Former ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson at the Permanent Mission of Gibraltar, a working lunch hosted by LI President of Honour Hans Van Baalen MEP and the awarding of 2016 LI Prize for Freedom to the jailed Saudi liberal blogger Raif Badawi (please refer to the Section on LI prize for Freedom in this report for more information).
Abir Al-Sahlani Member of LI Human Rights Committee | Former Member of Parliament
“What we see now with ISIS and Al-Qaeda is that they are extreme manifestation of prevalent views. Theological views that need to be changed but that change has to come from within. It cannot be from non-Muslims, it must be from Muslims calling from that change. The Islamic tradition has the intellectual resources to bring about a liberal Islam, a progressive Islam. The challenge that we have now is that we don’t have enough individuals that are smart enough, and those individuals are not supported enough. Those are the two challenges that we have now.” Adam Deen Director Quilliam Foundation
Sponsors to the event included the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF, LI Cooperating Organisation), the ALDE Party (LI Cooperating Organisation) and ALDE Group (LI Full-member).
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LGBT RIGHTS Providing support to pro-LGBTI movements around the world and promoting and advancing LGBTI Rights in general is a key objective for LI Human Rights Committee and its LGBTI Rights Working Group. As such LI is uniquely positioned to serve as a link between liberal political parties and LGBTI organisations strengthening the global LGBTI political and social context.
LI AT IDAHO 2016 FORUM Ellen Trane Nørby, the Danish Minister for Children, Education and Gender Equality (Venstre, Denmark) hosted the 2016 International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – IDAHO Forum in Copenhagen (Denmark) gathering a number of European ministers, politicians and representatives from various organisations and institutions.
“The IDAHO Forum is an important part of the struggle to break down the taboos regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, to stop discrimination and harassment and to strengthen cooperation across Europe” Ellen Trane Nørby Minister for Children, Education and Gender Equality | Venstre (Denmark)
The Forum’s debates focused on LGBTI-conditions at the workplace and social acceptance of LGBTI-people in ethnic minority communities. The Danish liberal Minister identified these themes as “areas where the personal freedom to be with the one you want and freely choose your partner is under pressure.” She said that “the struggle is needed” as throughout Europe “too many LGBTI-people are still excluded from equal participation in the society.”
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Speaking on behalf of EU’s governing body – the European Commission, Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality (ANO, Czech Republic), presented a list of actions to advance LGBTI Equality. “This list is the Commission's commitment to work concretely on increasing the social acceptance of all our citizens and on reducing homophobia and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation" she said. Commissioner Jourová expressed the Commission's commitment to continue working on the adoption of the Equal Treatment Directive which envisages full protection of the rights of LGBTI people in the area of goods and services. Liberal International Secretary General Emil Kirjas addressed the Forum by sharing his personal experiences as member of the LGBTI community in terms of social acceptance. He also presented the important work that Liberal International and liberals across the world are doing in promoting an end of LGBTI discrimination. “This is not a struggle about some special rights. Our work is to end any form of discrimination in the society and in front of the law,” said Kirjas. Emphasising the achievements in Africa in cooperation with the Africa Liberal Network (LI cooperating organisation) he appealed for close cooperation between political parties and civil societies in order to achieve “a real change”. “In many societies majority of the people are unaware of the essence of the problem,” he said, before adding that the broad cooperation should focus on “touching the hearts of the people, in order to change”. All Ministers present signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, committing to fight against homophobia and transphobia. The signatories recognize that LGBT people are an asset to society, that LGBT inclusion is good for the economy, that international cooperation is beneficial, but that there is still work to be done.
33%
LGBT relationships are illegal in 74 countries 13 Countries
it is punishable by death
17 Countries
bans are in place to prohibit “propaganda”
40 Countries
there is a “gay panic” clause to use as a defence for crimes such as assault or murder
WOMEN’S RIGHTS LI JOINS NDI #NOTTHECOST CAMPAIGN Taking steps to build a coalition in support of its campaign to globalise the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women, Liberal International partnered with the National Democratic Institute (NDI - LI cooperating organisation) to end violence against women in politics. LI President Dr. Juli Minoves made the announcement during his speech at the NDI's #NotTheCost Conference, which took place in New York City on the margin of the 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).
"As liberals our message has always been clear: all violence against women must stop. We at Liberal International wholeheartedly join the #NotTheCost campaign and see it as a natural extension of our own campaign to extend the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women beyond the borders of Europe" Dr. Juli Minoves Liberal International President
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LI LAUNCHES NDI #NOTTHECOST CAMPAIGN TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION Gathering liberal Members of Parliament (MPs) representing 13 countries during the 135th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), parliamentarians from LI member parties united in a call for action on the issue of stopping violence against women in politics.
LI Human Rights Committee member and International Network of Liberal Women (INLW) Vice President, Khadija El Morabit, addressed the event alongside Dr. Minoves sharing her experiences as a female liberal politician and entrepreneur from Morocco.
Hosted in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute, the meeting featured a presentation on NDI's #NottheCost campaign along with a workshop where MPs were encouraged to share their own personal experiences with the issue in an effort to comprise a long-term liberal strategy for fighting back.
The closing remarks were delivered by the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Liberal Party of Canada), Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, who highlighted Canada's commitment to serve as the world's leader in gender equality.
In her welcoming remarks the Head of LI Human Rights Programme, Tamara Dancheva, said: "For Liberal International, IPU is a valuable platform where we can help coordinate and project a common liberal voice on leading human rights causes including promotion and advancement of women's rights. Prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women, including women in politics, is a leading cause for LI and its Human Rights Committee which is why we are proud to have partnered with NDI on this occasion."
In a bilateral meeting with NDI Chairwoman and former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, Dr. Minoves committed Liberal International to support NDI's work and to lead global efforts in the promotion and advancement of women's rights.
Welcoming remarks were also delivered by the Permanent Observer of IPU to the United Nations, Paddy Torsney, who stressed on the importance of education and training in order to change the societal environment in which female political candidates operate.
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LI AND NDI ADVANCE #NOTTHECOST CAMPAIGN AT 197TH LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING In partnership with the National Democratic Institute, LI Human Rights Committee held a panel discussion on stopping violence against women in politics in line with NDI's #NotTheCost campaign, which focused on formulating concrete policy recommendations for liberal parties on the issue. The meeting was chaired by LI Deputy President and Premier of Cape Town Helen Zille (Democratic Alliance, South Africa) and featured a presentation on the campaign by NDI Resident Director for Morocco Jane Hurtig. LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament Abir Al-Sahlani (Centerpartiet, Sweden), Member of Parliament Jean-Jacques Flahaux MP (Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium) and Fouzia El-Bayed MP (Union Constitutionelle, Morocco) all shared powerful personal testimonies with the issue describing the challenges and threats women in politics face. Recalling her experience as a female Member of Parliament in Iraq, Al-Sahlani said: "In Iraq, women were considered the weakest link in society and were targeted in public life on a regular basis. As a Member of the Iraqi Parliament I was on the hit list of Al Qaida for daring to accuse them on public TV for harassing women who don’t wear the hijab.” El Bayed discussed at length the legislation on the issue of prevention and elimination of violence against women in Morocco presenting her work as member of several Arab networks which fight gender-based violence.
Flahaux shared the positive experience from Belgium where recent governments have been led by women but stressed that 40% of women in in the country still face a threat of sexual or verbal harassment or abuse. Participants agreed that visibility of such crimes is crucial for prevention and elimination of violence, including in politics, and that zero tolerance policies are needed within political parties and organisations in order to put a stop to both mansplaining and harassment against women.
LI DELEGATION AT 60TH SESSION OF UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (UNCSW) Contribution to the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), the only United Nations organ solely responsible for promoting gender equality and advancement of women worldwide, is key for the work of the LI Human Rights Committee and its specifically designated Working Group on Women’s Rights. 2016 marked the most active contribution of Liberal International to the work of UNCSW to date with the LI Human Rights Committee co-organizing two separate side events and holding a number of bilateral meetings making the case for the globalization of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women before a diverse group of UN diplomats and NGO representatives.
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The liberal delegation to the 60th UNCSW Session consisted of LI President Dr. Juli Minoves, INLW Board Members Khadija El Morabit (Morocco), Maysing Yang (Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan), Lysbeth Valkenburg-Lely (Netherlands) and Head of LI Human Rights Programme Tamara Dancheva (Bulgaria/UK). The delegation met with the Icelandic Ambassador to the United Nations Einar Gunnarsson to discuss concrete actions LI and INLW can undertake to support the efforts of the Icelandic liberal government to promote the objectives of a new Icelandic initiative: the Barbershop Conference rallying male leaders in support of women's rights. A bilateral meeting was also held with the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights His Excellency Ivan Simonovic who expressed firm support for the work of LI Human Rights Committee. Possible areas for cooperation identified were the UN Free and Equal Campaign on LGBTI Rights, the universal abolition of the death penalty and establishing a minimum threshold of values which any future UN Secretary General should uphold.
“Liberal International has a role to play in fighting modern day challenges to human rights and we are pleased to identify so many areas where our common objectives meet.” Ivan Simonovic UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights
LI SIDE EVENTS AT 60TH SESSION OF UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (UNCSW) Under the theme Ending Violence against Women and Girls and in cooperation with the International Network of Liberal Women and LI partner UN Watch, LI Human Rights Committee brought together a diverse number of liberal politicians, NGO representatives, and diplomats to discuss the challenges which remain to end gender-based violence and promote and advance women’s rights globally. The event served to highlight the problems that remain but also best practices and opportunities for improvements by different stakeholders. The panellists recommended a number of ideas in terms of how to build a strong response to the on-going challenges to women rights’ violations and women’s empowerment around the world along with practical steps needed to remove discrimination in law and practice towards women. Speakers among others were LI HRC Member and INLW Vice-President Khadija El Morabit, and Mu Sochua MP, the President of the Women Caucus of the Council of Asian Liberal and Democrats. Under the theme From Legislation under the Istanbul Convention to Implementation: Addressing Violence against Women with Different Approaches and at Different Levels, the second LI HRC event was organized together with the International Network of Liberal Women, UN Watch and Rutgers and it featured Member of Parliament Fouzia El Bayed (Union Constitutionnelle, Morocco), the President of the Women’s Forum of the Liberal Democratic Party of Macedonia Juliana Nikolova (LDP, Macedonia), Member of Parliament Patricia Olamendi (Nueva Allianza, Mexico) and Jeroen Lorist, technical advisor under the Prevention+ Project at Rutgers.
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RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
Issues which were debated at length included the importance of providing legal protection for all women, equal access to education and involving men in the battle to end violence against women on all levels be it individual, family, group, institutional or legislative. Speaking of the importance of regional legal instruments, Olamendi coined the Inter-American Convention as crucial in ending violence against women in Latin America but underlined that an international instrument such as a globalized Istanbul Convention is necessary in order to make a real difference in the future. As Member of the Arab Women Parliamentarians Network of Equality, El Bayed informed the audience that due to a Constitutional change all laws in Morocco have now gradually been adapted to conform to the Istanbul Convention and there is now a commission, led by her, to prepare a similar document for the Arab world together with 17 other Arab countries. Closing the session, Lorist presented a short movie on the impact of men on the respect for women’s rights as prepared by Rutgers and underlined the importance of institutions and non-profit organisations in the fight for gender equality.
“There is no excuse for my country not to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention. I will go on campaigning to this end, because violence against women and girls and domestic violence should fall under an international legally binding instrument.� Juliana Nikolova Liberal Democratic Party of Macedonia
Building on a record of the strong cooperation established with the Office of the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, an LI delegation led by LI President Dr. Juli Minoves met with His Excellency Ivan Simonovic to discuss common areas of work, from eradicating the death penalty to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle. Dr. Minoves used the opportunity to congratulate H.E. Simonovic on his appointment as the new UN Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect and pledged to work together to raise the global awareness about the principle and other common objectives under the framework of LI Human Rights Programme. Highlighting some of the key goals for his upcoming mandate, the new UN Special Advisor explained that he would like to focus on the operational aspect of his work with regular briefings on country situations to the UN Security Council. "There are big challenges to preventing human rights violations at the moment but I believe that the newly introduced Kigali principles on the protection of civilians are a step in the right direction," he concluded. LI Vice-President Baroness Kishwer Falkner inquired into the possibility of conducting a UN study on hypothetical cases of RtoP implementation as to assess the challenges and opportunities better which was echoed by CALD Chairperson Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren.
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THE GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS For a third year in a row Liberal International co-hosted the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, which saw some of the bravest human rights defenders and activists from around the world come together and testify about the grievous abuses they had suffered in the hands of the world’s most notorious authoritarian regimes.
THE GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Addressing the opening of the Summit at the United Nations Human Rights Council, LI HRC Member and ALDE Party Vice-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP (Movement for Rights and Freedom, Bulgaria) cautioned of the emergence of a new trend called monocracy. “There is no doubt that we meet at a critical time in the history of human rights characterized by the new rise of monocracy. Nowadays there are many countries which violate or do not even recognise fundamental human rights like freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. I would remind these regimes and their leaders that human rights cannot be taken away for any reason as they are a given” he said. Representing the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY, LI full-member), which was one of the co-hosts of the Summit alongside LI, the President of the Young Liberals of Canada, Justin Kaiser, spoke at length of the greater sense of political participation among young people and reminded that they have an obligation to protect human rights. Immediate Past President of the Parliamentary Assemble of the Council of Europe (PACE) Anne Brasseur (Democratic Party, Luxembourg) delivered the keynote speech on the occasion of the presentation of the Geneva Summit’s Women’s Rights Award. She stressed that human rights, democracy and the rule of law do not know and should never know any borders and commended the recipients of the award for their courage, conviction and determination to protect the rights of women who had been targeted by the Daesh regime. Addressing the laureates, Vian Dakhil, the only female Yazidi Member of the Iraqi Parliament and Professor Dr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan, psychologist and international expert in transcultural psychiatry and traumatology, Brasseur stressed on the significance of their struggle for human rights.
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“This award is not only a small recognition for the tremendous work you are doing but should also be and must be a reminder to us all that we have to be your spokespersons in order to help stop this on-going violation of the most fundamental human rights of the most vulnerable population.” Anne Brasseur Immediate Past President of PACE | Democratic Party, Luxembourg
Dr. Irwin Cotler (LPC, Canada), Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, led a panel discussion on authoritarianism and fighting oppression alongside Ensaf Haidar, wife of the jailed Saudi liberal blogger and 2016 LI Prize for Freedom Laureate Raif Badawi, who shared the story of her husband's struggle. The Geneva Summit Courage Award, which was jointly awarded by all of the Summit’s coalition partners, including LI and IFLRY, was presented to the Venezuelan political prisoners Antonio Ledezma, mayor of Caracas and Leopoldo Lopez, leader of the political party Primero Justicia, for their courage to fight the regime of President Maduro in Venezuela.
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LI HRC AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IMPRISONED FOR THINKING
LI HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
4TH Annual LI HRC Meeting
Under the theme Imprisoned for Thinking, the Liberal International Human Rights Committee met at the headquarters of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva for a fourth consecutive year, focusing its debates on the principle of freedom of expression. The meeting, co-hosted by the International Federation of Liberal Youth and the Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC - LI cooperating organisation) with the support of the ALDE Party (LI cooperating Organisation), aimed at offering a powerful fight back for freedom in light of the decline of civil and political rights in many parts of the world, including an increased number of journalists behind bars, more prisoners of conscience and liberal politicians being harassed and threatened in their daily work.
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In their welcoming remarks LI President Dr. Juli Minoves cautioned that "the norm of liberal democracy is eroding in international affairs", while Caroline Green (IFLRY) emphasized that "enabling the youth voice at the UNHRC is crucial for the sustainability of a liberal future."
Ten months after his release from a 438 day prison sentence for doing his job, international journalist Mohamed Fahmy used his participation at the LI Human Rights Committee meeting to call for the establishment of a United Nations Special Rapporteur for Journalists’ Safety.
The first panel debated the criminalisation of political activity and featured the Director of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation Olga Tikhomirova alongside LI HRC Member and Africa Liberal Network (ALN) Vice-President Medard Mulangala.
The panel also discussed the politicised oppression of the media in Turkey, where opposition journalist and founding member of the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) Yavuz Baydar, shared his personal experience with regards to the harsh crackdown on freedom of expression by the government of President Erdogan.
In her presentation, Tikhomirova launched a call towards the international community to be firm with President Putin and condone the ongoing crackdown on dissent by the Russian regime as an unacceptable practice. Mulangala, on the other hand, stressed that while the volatile political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Congo has received some support from the international community, there is an urgent need for a national dialogue. "Liberal International should continue to raise awareness to make our case better known in the international arena" he concluded. Chair of LI Human Rights Committee and LI Vice-President on the Bureau, Markus Löning, emphasised the need to provide support for political movements that want to improve democratic transition as "there is an obligation for those who have privilege to support those who don't when it comes to human rights." The second panel saw lively debates around the (ab)use of the media by illiberal governments. OSCE – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative for Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, identified "a shrinking space for civil society", warning that "silencing people of opposing opinions is not new.
LI VP on the Bureau and Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Kishwer Falkner (Liberal Democrats, UK), moderated the session reminding those present that "if we are silent when the press wants to tell us something then we might as well be all silent." The discussions were furthered during the working lunch session which was opened by LI HRC Member and SILC Information Officer Åsa Nilsson-Söderström and saw a bilateral briefing by Spela Kosic, a Human Rights Expert with the Slovenian Permanent Representation to the United Nations. Kosic gave an overview of the working mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and the work of the Slovenian Representation to the United Nations on the issue of political prisoners.
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31ST SESSION Written Statement on the Deterioration of the State of Democracy and the Rule of Law around the World The written statement to the 31st Session UNHRC Session was submitted jointly by Liberal International and the International Federation of Liberal Youth and called on all permanent UN member states to prevent further democratic backsliding around the world. Bringing the ever-deteriorating state of democratic governance and the rule of law in Burundi, China, Cambodia, Cuba, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, and Venezuela before the attention of the world’s human rights body, the statement built on previous calls for action and policies adopted by the respective memberships of LI and IFLRY. Among the many cases of political rights' violations mentioned, the statement called for the immediate release of Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the liberal opposition in Malaysia and founder of the People’s Justice Party (PKR, Malaysia), the cessation of the ongoing violence being incited by President Nkurunziza in Burundi and the organisation of free and fair elections in Nicaragua. In the conclusion of the statement LI committed for its member parties to continue to fight against totalitarian and communist regimes and seek the promotion and advancement of liberal democracies around the world in line with Liberal International’s underpinning Oxford Manifesto and the ongoing reflection on the challenges to liberalism in the 21st Century. The full statement can be accessed by clicking here.
Oral Statement on the Humanitarian Crisis in Burundi Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of Liberal International, LI HRC member and ALN Vice-President Medard Mulangala warned of the quickly escalating humanitarian crisis in Burundi and called on the global human rights body to provide peace-keeping support in order to restore peace and security in the country. Further Mulangala stressed that the mediator of the Burundian conflict, the Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, must do everything in his power to commit the political protagonists without reservation (civil and armed movements) to engage as soon as possible in a frank, sincere and inclusive dialogue to find sustainable solutions for the restoration of democracy, peace and harmonious development in Burundi. The full statement can be accessed by clicking here.
“We call on all UN voices to exert all of their diplomatic, logistical and financial influence for the rapid deployment of peace-keeping troops to Burundi. The African and international community cannot, and must not, sit by and allow for more violence to take place.” Medard Mulangala LI HRC Member and ALN VP
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32ND SESSION
33RD SESSION
Written Statement Denouncing Gender Based Violence
Written Statement on Zanzibar Political Turmoil
The written statement submitted to the 32nd UNHRC Session launched a call for action against gender-based violence by urging the international human rights community to develop indicators and collect systematic data on the prevalence, forms and impact of violence against women in politics and raise awareness of the global impact of the issue as a serious violation of international norms and national laws regarding democracy, human rights and gender equality.
The written statement submitted to the 33rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council called on the international community to increase the pressure on the Tanzanian government so that it ceases the exponential human rights abuses and suppression of political and civil rights on the island.
The call referenced LI's ongoing fight to promote and advance women's rights including efforts to draw attention to the need to globalize the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women along with committing liberal parliamentarians in government and opposition to take a stand in their parliaments and urge their governments to speak up and assert that violence is not the cost for women’s political engagement. The full statement can be accessed by clicking here.
The statement came in the aftermath of the widespread abuses against the opposition, civil society and pro-democracy activists, which had been on-going since the unconstitutional annulment of the general elections in the country. Detailing the political witch-hunt, LI's position on the issue before the UNHRC committed liberal parliamentarians in government and in opposition across the world to take a firm stand in their parliaments and speak up against the indecent treatments of opposition leaders and supporters in Zanzibar. The full statement can be accessed by clicking on the link here.
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Oral Statement Denouncing Gender-Based Violence Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council, LI HRC Member Åsa Nilsson-Söderström of the Swedish International Liberal Centre, called on the UNHRC to recognise that violence should not be the cost for women participating in politics and to take measures to prevent sometimes life-threatening acts. Supporting the National Democratic Institute’s #NotTheCost campaign, established by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright seeking to promote awareness of violence against women in politics, Ms. Söderström recalled numerous recent incidents in which female politicians have been attacked. On behalf of LI, Söderström called on the UNHRC to include prevention and elimination of violence against women in politics as a key policy issue and to develop a set of standardized and comparable indicators measuring the prevalence, nature and impact of violence against women in in politics. The full statement can be accessed by clicking on the link here.
“Acts of violence against politically active women are a clear violation of international human rights norms. This behaviour reinforces traditional stereotypes and roles given to women by using domination and control to exclude them from politics and deny their full civil and political rights. Facing violence should not and cannot be the 'cost' that women pay for being in politics.” Asa Nilsson-Söderström LI HRC Member
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LI HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 5TH EDITION
6TH EDITION
How to foster the next generation of female political leaders and entrepreneurs? This was the central question posed by LI HRC Chair and LI VP Markus Lรถning, as he introduced the fifth edition of LI Human Rights Bulletin, which saw contributions from top international liberal parliamentarians and NGO experts.
The sixth edition of Liberal International's quarterly Human Rights Bulletin cracked open the debate surrounding the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle ten years after it was fist adopted by the international community. It featured an exclusive interview with the formerly imprisoned Al-Jazeera journalist and founder of the Fahmy Foundation for Free Speech, Mohamed Fahmy and an op-ed article by one of the leading academics in the field, Dr. Alex Bellamy, Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for RtoP at the University of Queensland (Australia).
Drawing on the expertise of Nurul Izzah Anwar MP, Member of Parliament from the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), Birgitta Ohlsson MP, Former Minister for European Affairs (Folkpartiet Liberalerna, Sweden) and Sandra Pepera, Director for Gender, Women and Democracy for National Democratic Institute, the fifth edition discussed the importance of international cooperation in tackling violence against women and the value of education as the starting point for giving women the freedom to shape their own future. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
In an op-ed co-authored by LI President, Dr. Juli Minoves, Fahmy appealed to liberals in government and in opposition to safeguard journalists and the right to freedom of expression around the world, while calling on the United Nations to create the position of a Special Representative for the Safety of Journalists. Dr. Bellamy on the other hand stressed that RtoP was always meant to be a challenge but exposing the gap between rhetoric and reality is a first step towards closing the gap. The last section included a short video from the LI Human Rights Committee meeting commemorating the ten year anniversary of the RtoP principle with commentary from two key participants in the debate: Angela Patnode from the International Coalition for RtoP and Jonas Claes from the United States Institute of Peace. The full edition can be accessed by clicking here.
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LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM The annual Prize for Freedom is Liberal International’s highest recognition and has been awarded each year since 1985 to an individual who is seen as having made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of Human Rights and Political Freedom around the world. The 2016 LI Prize for Freedom Laureate was Raif Badawi, a Saudi liberal blogger currently serving a jail sentence on the charge of “insulting Islam through electronic channels” imposed on him for daring to express his opinion on the separation of religion and state. He was sentenced to seven years in prison back in 2012 and 600 lashes and then resentenced to a further 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison along with a fine. In the presence of special guests from four regions of the world, Ensaf Haidar, Badawi’s wife and President of the Raif Badawi Foundation, received the award on his behalf at a special ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels. Awarding the Prize of behalf of LI, Chair of LI Human Rights Committee and LI Vice-President Markus Loening, expressed gratitude for the work the Raif Badawi Foundation is doing to give hope to others that each one of us can stand up and make a difference.
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Criticizing the regime of Saudi Arabia he further said: "It tells us something about the regime in Saudi Arabia. It should also tell us something about our relations with them. Too many countries including my own [Germany] have too friendly relations with a regime which commits crimes against humanity. This Prize for Freedom goes to this courageous man who hasn’t seen his wife and children for a year now.” Former Member of the Canadian Parliament and legal counsel for Raif Badawi, Dr. Irwin Cotler (Liberal Party of Canada), spoke of the importance of the prize for furthering Badawi's cause saying: “I commend Liberal International for awarding its Prize for Freedom to Raif Badawi, who has displayed great courage in standing up for freedom and human rights. It is particularly poignant that the Prize is being awarded the week of UN Human Rights Day – highlighting the struggle for fundamental rights that finds expression both in the case and cause of Raif Badawi and the work of Liberal International.”
“The fact that Raif Badawi has been awarded this esteemed prize is in itself a reminder of Raif's own liberal message: the message of respect for the human being as an individual and his/her right to freedom and to live freely without fear or oppression: no matter the gender, religion, sect or ideology. This prize is saying to [Raif] and to every freedom fighter in the MENA region, and to everyone who is dreaming of democratic change, that theirs is a legitimate human dream!” Ensaf Haidar Wife of Raif Badawi | President of the Raif Badawi Foundation
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Gratitude speech for 2016 Liberal International Prize for Freedom Ensaf Haidar, Wife of Raif Badawi Director and Co-Founder of the Raif Badawi Foundation
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't how to express my gratitude to you for choosing my husband, the writer and prisoner Raif Badawi, for the very highly esteemed Prize for Freedom of Liberal International. His appointment for this prize confirms two specific facts: Firstly, that Raif Badawi who is living through his fourth year of imprisonment and kept apart from his 3 children, far away from his family, has not committed any crime but he simply wanted to exercise his right to freedom of speech. He wanted to express his opinion. Not to hurt anyone or encourage criminal acts. All he wanted and still wants is a peaceful transition in his country. He wanted reforms in his country and he announced that publicly hoping that the government will listen. His hopes were destroyed. As his family we are left to live with this disappointment, every day and every hour since his detention in July 2012. Secondly, the fact that Raif Badawi, has been awarded this esteemed prize, is in itself a reminder of Raif's own liberal message: the message of respect for the human being as an individual and her or his right to freedom and to live freely without fear or oppression : no matter the gender, religion, sect or ideology. Please allow me to share with you part of an article he wrote and published in May 2012 under the name: ‘Liberalism is the Defender of Belief.’ Liberalism as an ideology provides every guarantee for individual freedoms and protects the freedom of expressing one's religion without imposing it on society. Further, liberalism doesn't force any individual or group to worship a belief by force, or guilt-tripping. Victories of freedoms belong to all human kind and there is no stepping back from them. A liberal state is a secular one without being an antagonistic one. But the liberal state will guarantee the right of each citizen to worship freely without discrimination, even when it comes to a religion of a majority.
Ladies and gentlemen, Raif Badawi is a peaceful intellectual, who strongly believes in the freedom of people without political or religious oppression. He has become a symbol for everyone in the Middle East and North Africa who wants to peacefully change society and who are working for their freedom of opinion and speech. What he was calling for was not a call for revolution. All he asked for was to deepen the conviction of that change and make it possible in his beloved country. Today, as we speak, Raif is detained in prison. His family is suffering from enormous psychological challenges knowing he has been sentenced for 10 years in prison. I hoped that he would be standing here to receive your eminent prize; it didn't happen to my deepest disappointment. But nominating him as the winner of the 2016 Liberal International Prize for Freedom furthers Raif Badawi’s cause. This prize is saying to him and to every freedom fighter in the MENA region, and to everyone who is dreaming of democratic change, that theirs is a legitimate human dream. They are not standing alone in the face of oppression. For in humanity we stand united. Ladies and gentlemen, You have truly honored us with this esteemed prize and I want, on behalf of Raif and his family, to thank you for campaigning for the release of Raif. I thank you from the depths of my heart.
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