a n n u a l
r e p o r t
2015
Liberal International Human Rights Committeee
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LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL is the world federation of over 100 liberal and progressive democratic political parties. It was founded in 1947 to strengthen liberal ideas against totalitarianism and communism. It has become the pre-eminent network for promoting liberalism, human rights, the rule of law, social justice, a market economy and free trade. Liberal International is the only political international with a human rights committee that actively contributes to the working mechanisms of the United Nations through its UN ECOSOC consultative status. Search for ‘Liberal International’ on:
Or simply visit us at liberal-international.org
Table of Contents Foreword.................................................................................4 Committee Overview..........................................................5 Priority Areas of Work..........................................................6 Freedom of Belief...........................................................7 LGBT Rights.....................................................................8 Women’s Rights...........................................................10 Responsibility to Protect..........................................12 Geneva Summit for Human Rights...............................16 Human Rights Council......................................................18 Annual Parliamentarians Meeting.........................19 Participation at 28-30th Sessions...........................20 LI Human Rights Bulletin.................................................22 LI Prize for Freedom...........................................................23
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Building a global coalition for freedom A belief in fundamental human rights is intrinsic to all liberals; our belief in these basic values – liberty, equality, the rule of law to name but three, define us. But if we wish to make human rights universal we must find ways to convince leaders beyond our own political family. Throughout the calendar year 2015, the Liberal International Human Rights Committee has been expanding its influence and finding new partners to spread our human rights ambitions. Throughout its numerous and varied activities in 2015, the LI HRC marked a number of successes within and beyond the field of international politics: with our quarterly LI Human Rights Bulletin we are communicating liberal values on human rights issues to a wider audience than ever before while our hosting of the first liberal debate on the future of the responsibility to protect principle, following its inception 10 years ago, drew multi-national and multi-latereral representation, helping to find new partners to better promote universal human rights. Liberals have been vocal and present in taking on the biggest threats to human rights, wherever they might occur. In Dakar, Senegal Liberal International convened a panel on the rise of religious extremism in Africa, within the fringes of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Pacific, Africa and Caribbean (ALDE PAC) conference, paving the way for this timely topic to be foregrounded in LI’s future work. . Alongside this, LI has championed global human rights issues by strengthening strategic partnerships with the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, with the robust participation of liberals in contributing to the work of these institutions.
Liberals have been vocal and present in taking on the biggest threats to human rights, wherever they might occur.
LI has been at the forefront of global voices in developing international dialogue on, and calling for, the globalization of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women while the worldwide LGBTI movement has received sustained support through the exponential work of our LGBTI Working Group. The LI Human Rights Committee has a bright future and twinned with this, liberals around the world can be proud and assured that, as the Committee prepares to begin a second mandate, authoritarians, despots, and oppressors of people cannot rest easy; liberals around the world, united by a fundamental belief in freedom, will not rest. As we prepare to welcome a new committee in 2016, I would like to thank my colleagues for their dedication to unveiling and challenging those who stifle liberty and look forward to working with the same determination and purpose with an even larger cadre of human rights defenders. Yours sincerely
Markus Löning
Vice-President on the Bureau of Liberal International Chairman of LI Human Rights Committee
Committee Overview The 193rd LI Executive Committee held in Hong Kong in November 2014 renewed the mandate of the LI Human Rights Committee for a second three year period (2015-2017) which saw an increase in both its membership and priority work areas. In total, 13 representatives from 11 countries, across 5 continents were selected to deliver on the Committee’s newly ratified priorities which include the promotion and advancement of Women’s Rights, LGBTI rights, Responsibility to Protect Principle and Freedom of Belief. Further to this, the LI Bureau had re-confirmed Frank Van Dalen as the Chairman of the LI LGBTI Rights Working Group (VVD, LI full-member) and had selected Dr. Ketty Chen as the Chairwoman of the LI Women Rights Working Group (DPP, LI full-member). More information about the new committee and its work along with the biography of all Committee members can be found on the LI website.
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PRIORITY WORK AREAS
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Freedom of Belief In partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF - LI cooperating organisation) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group in the European Parliament (ALDE Group - LI full-member), Liberal International hosted a fringe event on forming robust liberal strategies to counter the rise of religious extremism in Africa. The discussions focused on tackling youth radicalisation, promoting inter-faith dialogue and balancing the role of cultural values. Key questions were posed to understand the truths and myths behind the notion of tolerance and recognition, vis-a-vis the respect for religious pluralism and the right not to believe along with the feasibility of regulating hate speech.
The event was chaired by the Head of LI Human Rights Programme Tamara Dancheva and featured as speakers the Parliamentary Leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party Mamadou Diagne Fada MP (PDS - LI full-member), the South African Deputy Shadow Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Santosh Kalyan MP (DA - LI full-member) and the International Officer of the Senegalese Movement of Patriots for Development Dr. Mamadou Diallo (MPD Liggey).
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SOFIA PRIDE EVENT Speaking at the 8th Annual Sofia Pride Event (held on 26-27 June), the largestever LGBT Pride gathering in Bulgaria, Frank van Dalen delivered the keynote speech to the event under the title Winning or Losing: Global LGBTI politics and developments. Predicting that Bulgaria will eventually join the growing list of countries with legalised same-sex marriage, he praised the recent progress of same-sex marriage in Ireland, Greenland, and the United States and noted the victory for liberal values in a number of other countries across the globe.
“Liberal values
LGBTI Rights
are key for LGBTI people
Liberal International lends support to the global pride movement Providing support for the Global Pride Movement is a primary objective of Liberal International LGBTI Working Group. As the only political federation with a Human Rights Committee and, further, a dedicated working group fighting to promote and advance LGBTI Rights around the world, LI is uniquely positioned to provide political support towards LGBTIs’ decriminalization. Helping to build visibility for people of same sex orientation in hostile environments is an important step in achieving this goal, which is why the Chairman of the Group, Mr Frank Van Dalen, undertook to support several Gay Pride Events across the globe in the year 2015.
BELGRADE PRIDE EVENT Since Belgrade Pride’s inception in 2010, the mission of the event has been to increase awareness to LGBTI issues in Serbia through the organization of various debates, which bring together activists and policy analysts, as well as representatives from different non-governmental organizations and international institutions. The Pride Event for 2015 centred on the theme My Rights, My Demands and was held on 20th of September.
Frank van Dalen delivered statements as part of an international panel on the future of LGBTI marriage and non-discrimination laws in Serbia stressing the importance of the progress made so far. He said: “Social acceptance regarding LGBTI’s in Serbia is slowly moving into the right direction. From the fight whether a pride can be held, the focus will slowly shift in same-sex marriage laws, non-discrimination and social acceptance.”
“Social acceptance regarding LGBTI’s in Serbia is slowly moving into the right direction” The Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Serbia (LI member), Cedomir Jovanovic, members of LDP’s Human Rights Council Jelena Dubovi and Marko Zecevic, and Mats Nordstrom (Folkpartiet Liberalerna - LI full-member) were also present at the event, standing in solidarity with the Belgrade Pride participants.
to build a safe, inclusive future”
LI Launches LGBTQI Strategies for member parties In a key-note address delivered during an international seminar on LGBTI Rights organized by the Liberal Gay and Lesbian Network of Germany, Chair of LI LGBTI Working Group, Frank Van Dalen, introduced a document outlining key LGBTIQ strategies for liberal parties across the world (please see table below). The main focus for the discussions was the active participation of Liberal International in the lobby for better safeguards at the World Bank, in order to secure the position of LGBTI people in homophobic and criminalised environments and create a more LGBTI-friendly world. “Whereas LGBTI organisations are fighting to improve the situation for LGBTI people around the world, no other political ideology other than liberalism actually embraces the fight for individual freedom, non-discrimination and the rule of law protecting people. For liberals, there are
Alongside the Bulgarian Member of Parliament and International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY - LI full member) Vice-President, Stanislav Anastassov (Movement for Rights and Freeedom - LI full-member), the Chairman of LI LGBTI Rights Working Group participated in a discussion on discrimination and hatecrimes against LGBTI people in Bulgaria.
This was the first seminar in a series of seminars aimed at delivering a global liberal diversity agenda. Future seminars might focus on issues such as refugees, education, health, family, liberal cooperation, relations with the private sector as well as the role of the market economy and party strategies. The seminar was attended by participants from 15 countries from around the world and it was held in the Theodor Heuss Academy of FNF in Gummersbach. The Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC - LI cooperating organisation) co-hosted the event, having supported the participation of delegates from across Eastern Europe.
sIX CORNERSTONES FOR LIBERAL / LGBTIQ STRATEGIES
Frank Van Dalen
An international conference highlighting the #JustLikeYou campaign sponsored by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF - LI-cooperating organisation) was held within the framework of the Pride Event. The FNF campaign aimed at improving LGBTI visibility within the Bulgarian community by encourgaing submission of creative video messages by European citizens ending with the slogan “Just Like You.”
many good reasons to have homosexuality decriminalized and social acceptance stimulated” emphasized Van Dalen. The World Bank estimates that the cost of homophobia in India alone is nearly 31 billion dollars.
TRAINING
> Our own representatives and members > Help other liberal parties develop a LGBTIQ agenda
CAMPAIGNING
> Make the community within liberal parties visible > Within our own parties to set the agenda
SUPPORTING
> The LGBTIQ movements > Companies that speak up on LGBTIQ issues
LOBBYING
> Our networks for positive change > Our own governments to create the level playingfield
BUILDING
> Create infrastructure to accomodate change > Keep building the liberal LGBTIQ network
CELEBRATING
> Our successes and praise our heroes > Our national successes
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LI AT 59TH SESSION OF UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 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 central to the work of the LI Human Rights Committee and its designated Working Group on Women’s Rights. For the second year in a row Liberal International, in cooperation with the International Network of Liberal Women (INLW - LI full-member), took an active role at UNCSW.
“The Istanbul Convention aims to improve the lives of millions of people.”
Women’s Rights Campaign on the Globalization of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women The Istanbul Convention, also known as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, is a convention created by the Council of Europe. Adopted in 2011, it was signed by 41 member states of the Council of Europe but has only been ratified by 21 of these nations. The Istanbul Convention is the most far-reaching international treaty to tackle violence against women and domestic violence. This not only includes women but also men, children, and the elderly. The convention focuses on preventing, protecting, prosecuting, and monitoring. Many countries in Europe (and around the world) do not currently have comprehensive policies to protect against these crimes. The Istanbul Convention creates a standard for nations to measure their efforts in tackling all forms of violence against women.. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Beijing Platform for Action, LI launched the Istanbul Convention Campaign with the goal bringing global awareness to, and raising the importance of, the Convention by making it known to as many liberal politicians as possible, who are then empowered to disseminate the message to their colleagues
and respective governments. Described by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile MlamboNgcuka, as “the most comprehensive international legally binding instrument on violence against women and domestic violence”, the Istanbul Convention aims to improve the lives of millions of people, including women, men, children, and the elderly. It is therefore the belief of Liberal International that because of its holistic approach to defeating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention should become a global legal instrument. Following the establishment of LI’s Working Group on Women’s Rights, the campaign has become the preeminent campaign for the LI Human Rights Committee and has now expanded into its own online platform with a specifically designated social media strategy under the hashtag #1in10neveragain. Official partners of the campaign include: the International Network of Liberal Women and the Africa Liberal Network, under the patronage of former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Anne Brasseur MP.
On behalf of both organisations, CSW received a written statement, which called on all United Nations member states to adopt national legislative measures on ending violence against women and girls. The statement was part of a wider campaign undertaken by LI Human Rights Committee which called for the globalization of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (see above) with the goal of realising a stronger international legislative framework for women’s empowerment and gender equality. Further, teaming up with UN Watch, LI co-hosted a women’s rights debate within the side-lines of the 59th UNCSW Session. The panel featured Viktoria Saxby, Policy Advisor on Women’s Rights for Centerpartiet (LI full-member - Sweden), Yaya Fanta Kaba Fofana, Director for Gender Equality in the Ivorian Ministry for Family, Women and Children from RDR (LI full-member _ Cote d’Ivoire). The discussion highlighted the necessary steps that liberals and international organisations around the world could take to overcome the current challenges to gender equality. he Istanbul Convention, also known as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, is a convention created by the Council of Europe. Adopted in 2011, it was signed by 41 member states of the Council of Europe but has only been ratified by 21 of these nations. The Istanbul Convention is the most far-reaching international tFollowing the establishment of LI’s Working Group on Women’s Rights, the campaign has become the preeminent campaign for the LI Human Rights Committee and has now expanded into its own online platform with a specifically designated social media strategy under the hashtag #1in10neveragain.
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which increased the population by 13%. Nowadays, a half of population in Lebanon is Syrian, and 86% of them are obliged to have deprived life. This situation led the security issue in the country, where 26% of prisoners in Lebanon are Syrian nationals. Mr. Habib, introducing the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan drafted in 2015, called for the inclusive discussion on economy, politics and security that both the country and refugees could be benefitted when we promote RtoP. Another country report was shared by Mr. Anatoliy Grytsenko (Ukraine’s former Minister of Defence) on Ukraine, where Russia has intervened in name of RtoP. Consequently, Ukraine has now come to
Responsibility to Protect Ten years on from the adoption of Responsibility to Protect by the UN Ten years after the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principles by the member states of the United Nations World Summit, Liberal International brought together politicians, academics, and diplomats to debate and identify whether the doctrine can survive or evolve under the strains and stresses encountered by RtoP in international relations today. Together with its partners Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe Group (ALDE - LI full member) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF - LI cooperating organisation), Liberal International convened the meeting in the European Parliament in Brussels, having been received the previous evening at the headquarters of Open VLD (LI full member) by LI Past President, Ms. Annemie Neyts. The meeting was conducted over three distinct sessions.
OPENING REMARK Mr. Markus LöningLöning (LI Vice-President on the Bureau; LIHRC Chairman ; ALDE Party Vice-President; FDP - Germany) opened the meeting by expressing a positive perspective of RtoP; it enables international community to work against the inhumane activities, which used to be regarded as a domestic issue. However, he continued, despite the outstanding concept
focusing on individuals, the world has seen the faulty implementation and the potential of abuse of RtoP. As liberals, we should work on and improve the system as liberals, he concluded.
IS RtoP DEAD? SYRIA, UKRAINE & BEYOND The first panel, chaired by Ms. Annemie Neyts (LI Past President; Open VLD - Belgium), discussed the ongoing events regarding
“Difference cannot cause security risks.” Khodr Habib RtoP. In her remarks, Ms Neyts recalled the initial steps undertaken by Liberal International to promote RtoP as part of the global work of the international liberal family. It was under her presidency that LI initiated a study visit to Sudan and adopted the resolution on RtoP. As a Member of Parliament in Lebanon, Mr. Khodr Habib (Future Movement - Lebanon) presented the country-specific issue with concrete figures. In Lebanon, approximately 150 million refugees have entered the country since March 2011,
“RtoP is a principle, not a tactic.” Angela Patnode
the point of no return, Mr. Grytsenko said. The country is now under the pressure to run elections in the occupied territories, which Western countries mistakenly thought to be an effective prevention of the crisis in Ukraine. However, as an anti-corruption actor working against money laundering, he found it crucial to resolve internal corruptions amongst Ukrainian MPs, while these voices are often dismissed and Western countries show hesitation to impose sanctions on them. He concluded the presentation by emphasising the implementation of Minsk Agreement, which was supported by Germany, France and even Russia. Mr. Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP (ALDE Party Vice-President; MRF - Bulgaria) warned the interventionism could turn into
the imperialism. In order to avoid the abuse of RtoP, universal responsibility to protect should always be prioritised and promoted internationally, he said. To accomplish that, he found education the key factor. “R2P is not dead, considering the case of Libya. However we have super-national issues and we have to work together to resolve ‘our’ problems on time. The Security Council needs enormous reforms to be more democratic, and have moral obligation for human rights protection” said Kyuchyuk. Despite some criticisms, RtoP has been implemented in Syria, Ms. Angela Patnode (International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect - USA) clarified, presenting examples, such as 10 resolutions to investigate the situation and warnings from international organisations including Russia and China. In addition, accepting refugees to the country is also the implementation of RtoP, she continued. Surely RtoP is facing some challenges; indifference to the past examples and unclear rules forcing its application to be always selective. Yet, she also introduced positive facts about the norm; states have shown an increasing willingness to implement RtoP; cross party parliamentary groups on atrocity prevention have been formed in countries such as UK; UN General Assembly has also continued to participate in national dialogs on RtoP. Furthermore, we have enjoyed the increase of NGOs and civil societies actively working on the issue.
DISCUSSION The discussion session initially focused on the possible solution on the crisis in Syria. Ms. Patnode and Mr. Habib both agreed that the military cannot provide solutions, but humanitarian assistance can. Ms. Khadija el-Morabit (INLW VicePresident - Morocco) presented the speech of UN Human Rights Commissioner, urging for Syrian force to provide a path to citizens with a support from international community.
On Ukraine, Mr. Petras Austrevicius MEP (ALDE Group - Lithuania) pointed out that intervention had failed before landing, due to the internal corruption amongst local MPs. Mr. Frank van Dalen (VVD - The Netherlands) questioned the possible next step, in the current poor media coverage on the issue.
“RtoP is alive and it will always be alive.” Ilhan Kyuchyuk
To reply, Mr. Grytsenko called for the support of Western regions to prevent the corruption. He also mentioned the faulty attempt of Westerners to impose “Stay calm and don’t provoke” policy, which led the current disorder. He put a strong emphasis on the implementation of Minsk Agreement, which is believed to apply universally. Challenges of RtoP were also put on the table. Mr. Jonas Claes (Centre for Applied Research on Conflict - USA) brought forward 2 major issues concerning RtoP; the implementation has a doublestandard, as media measure the consistency of RtoP by military intervention; protections is ideal, but difficult due to the lack of justification for mobilising the resources to the field of no conflicts and the immeasurable nature of the success of prevention. Conversely, the case of Macedonia presented by Mr. Emil Kirjas (LI Secretary General - Macedonia) was a positive example of conflict prevention, where apart of the military security component the international community assisted the political parties and civil society to engage in dialogue among different political actors, ethnicities and religions.
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In addition, as Mr. Manfred Eisenbach (LI Treasurer; LI German Group - Germany) pointed out, the implementation of RtoP consists of the change of regime, which non-democratic countries—such as Russia and China—hate to see occurring, However, RtoP is not dead, considering the successful case of Libya, Mr. Kyuchyuk said. He requested the enormous reform in UN Security Council to seek moral obligation for human rights, which was supported by the current attempt of international community drafting ACT, the code of conduct that imposes the limitation on the use of veto for some humanitarian agenda, which was introduced by Ms. Patnode. .
Working Lunch: Advancing RtoP within the Framework of LI HRC To open the lunch session, Mr. Hans van Baalen MEP (ALDE Party President; LI President of Honour; VVD - The Netherlands) emphasised LI’s strength based on its wide international reach. Ms. Anneli Jäätteenmäki (ALDE Group; Keskusta Finland) noted the importance of RtoP insisting that in implementation, states should respect and follow international law. Mr. Austrevicius, praising the participation of LI to the international discussion on RtoP, emphasised the on-going cases such as the task forces in Kosovo and the drone attacks in Syria. The host of the event, Mr. LöningLöning urged for real action, concluding that there is a credibility gap, which necessitates that the liberals be proactive.
The Future of RtoP: Beyond The Transatlantic Cooperation Mr. Celito Arlegue (Executive Director, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats - Philippines) opened the second panel as a chair, offering a positive progress report on Asia. He assured that Asia develops supporting environment to promote RtoP; the 3 pillars of Association
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of South‐East Asian Nations (ASEAN)— political security, economy and social contract—are correlated to the RtoP principle. ASEAN, he noted, now has a Human Rights Committee. The first speaker of the panel, Her Excellency Natalie Sabanadze (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Georgia to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union) put an emphasis on the principle of RtoP; it is a doctrine about good intentions on international crisis and about both national and international responsibility. Russia rhetorically used RtoP on intervention in Georgia, so in Ukraine, she pointed out, warning the possibility of abuse of the norm. One of the challenges of RtoP lays in its limited delusion. Yet, conceptually RtoP is less contentious, she continued. The bigger challenges are in operation, for instance the difficulty of crisis resolution; we cannot surely tell the end of the mission. We are also not yet sure if it is
“We need to... engage in both practical and theoretical aspects of the norm.” H.E. Natalie Sabanadze
applied consistently or merely reserved for the Global South— it could raise the moral problems. The lack of consensus and the weak authority of the UN Security Council are partly responsible for this lesser integrity, she pointed out. An additional issue raised was the choice of the “right authority” as a replacement of the faulty regime.
Mr. Jonas Claes firstly proposed one of the ways to strengthen RtoP: to reflect the right expectations. He also emphasised RtoP does not equate to military intervention, but it is about preventing coercive activities. It is most importantly a political tool, which enables international
“Promotion of horizontal equality is important for preventing genocide” Jonas Claes community to seek the next step upon the rise of atrocities. It is also a moral tool to consider appropriate behaviours. Conversely, RtoP does not aim to make a new law, and it does not tell a government what to do as a tactical tool, he explained. For the future of RtoP to make actual contributions, he urged the importance of cooperation; EU-US cooperation is necessary on assessment, as well as the private sector which also has valuable information; the relationship between the EU and regional organisations on the field is critical for the operation; institutional development and cooperation are also vital.
DISCUSSION In response to the proposal of Mr. Claes, Ms. Annemie Neyts questioned whether the US truly cares about the EU perspective on issues concerning RtoP. By way of reply, Mr. Claes brought up the example of the roundtable discussion between the US Institution of Peace and the EU at Brussels. He then repeated the EU-regional organisations relationship as a fundamental key to move the situations forward.
Mr. Arlegue also showed the favour of more inclusive implementation/ promotion of RtoP. However, H.E. Sabanadze warned the conceptual problem of excessive outsourcing to the local activists. The discussion also agreed on the comparative studies of the past regarding RtoP, which was proposed by Mr. Richard Moore (LI Patron; Liberal Democrats - UK). The foundation of knowledge about events of intervention—both good and bad—can resolve the lack of historical understandings of the causes of conflicts, he stated. H.E. Sabanadze pointed out a recent flourishment of academic interest in RtoP. Mr. Claes noted the study and discussion should be systematic. Yet, we still need to consider what we could call as a goal of the intervention. Also discussed was the potential actions to be taken by liberal politicians. H.E. Sabanadze recalled the RtoP discussion in 2005, where the topics had been different from what we are facing now. Thus, she insisted, we must keep discussing as challenges occur, so that we can minimise the possibility of misuse and abuse. The both speakers concluded by calling for the further understanding, discussions and engagement to solve the problems associated with RtoP.
CONCLUDING REMARK Lord John Alderdice (LI President of Honour; LibDems, UK) offered a summary of the discussion in a concluding speech, underlining that RtoP is moral obligations. Yet, it has become synonymous with military intervention, he warned. Furthermore, some NGOs have acted in capitalistic ways, so as political opportunists. The plague of violence is a public health matter, which should be resolved.
“RtoP is a responsibility to protect human beings regardless of which side of the border they are” Lord John Alderdice As one of the solutions, he proposed the cooperative activities of liberals, NGOs, businesses, philanthropists and academics to build the early conflict warning system. 10 years is not enough for a principle to be implied, he continued. Therefore LI has a responsibility to promulgate RtoP and establish a behavioural principle.
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LI HRC AT GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS In partnership with UN Watch and 18 other NGOs For the third consecutive year, Liberal International, together with its partner UN Watch and 18 other NGOs, co-hosted the pre-eminent human rights event in Geneva -the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Chair of LI’s Human Rights Committee (HRC) and VicePresident on the Bureau, Markus Löning, delivered the Summit’s opening remarks, which brought together victims and dissidents to shine a global spotlight on countries where human rights were regularly abused. Vice-President Löning drew attention to the role civil society must play in combatting human rights violations and elaborated on the responsibilities of civil society actors fighting to promote and advance human rights. “Civil society is about bringing issues to the table and reminding governments of their duty…their duty to protect the human rights of each and every one of their citizens. We are here to remind them of their task”, said Löning. Speaking of the future of liberal democracy, LI HRC Member Fouzia El Bayed MP shared her experience as a female liberal parliamentarian working to address a variety of women’s rights issues in Morocco. “The role of women is strong…Morocco is moving forward on a liberal and democratic path…we are reforming the legal system and we can use the constitution to deepen our democracy” she said.
Iranian Journalist Masih Alinejad was presented with the Summit’s inaugural Women’s Rights Award for empowering women in Iran. Ms. Alinejad became a target of the Iranian regime when she launched the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom, which encourages Iranian women to post photographs of themselves without the mandatory hijab (head scarf ). Accepting the award Alinejad said: “I didn’t come here only to get the award but to get attention for this issue of hijab and oppression of women in Iran.” The 2015 Geneva Summit Courage Award was bestowed on the jailed Saudi liberal blogger, Raif Badawi, who is also LI’s 2015 Prize for Freedom laureate, for demanding basic human rights in the face of cruel penalties. Accepting the award on his behalf via a video link was the wife of Badawi who said: “This prize bears a clear message to the Saudi regime: that the continued incarceration of Raif is a mark of shame.” Liberals from across the world have been long involved in efforts to release Badawi most recently passing a resolution in the European Parliament condemning his unjust detention. The Summit also featured video messages from Dr. Irwin Cotler MP, of LI full member Liberal Party (Canada) and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
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LI HRC AT UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL The participation of the LI Human Rights Committee in the work of the UN Human Rights Council included a submission of 3 written statements and 1 oral statement along with the organisation of a side-event on the advancement of human rights in an age of disruption.
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Meeting of Liberal Human Rights Parliamentarians at United Nations Human Rights Council Liberal parliamentarians and members of Liberal International’s Human Rights Committee (LI HRC) - spanning 19 countries and 5 regions of the world - convened for a third consecutive year at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Geneva, to debate the advancement of human rights in an age of disruption. Discussions were grounded in the causes and consequences of internal displacement of people, the role of secularism in society, as well as debates on the prevention and elimination of violence against women in international human rights law. In his opening remarks LI President, Dr. Juli Minoves, emphasised the importance of the annual meeting as a way of “gathering liberal decision makers in order to strengthen the spread of global governance and sensible human rights policies around the world.” Chairman of LI HRC and vice-president on the LI Bureau,
Markus LöningLöning, reminded delegates that liberals from across the globe need to work together in order to fight extremism and terrorism, emphasising that LI can serve as a global network where ideas and best practices in human rights policy-making can be exchanged. In his keynote speech to the meeting, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights of Internally Displaced People, Dr. Chaloka Beyani, asserted that liberal parties should push to consolidate democratic gains from 1990s. “Liberal political parties are key to liberal democracies around the world… at the very heart of the concept of human rights sits tolerance, respect and individual liberties to which liberalism is central.” The first panel debate saw LI HRC members Tamara Van Ark MP (VVD, LI full-member) and Boris Van Der Ham (D66, LI full-member) elaborate on the need to build and strengthen democratic institutions and civil society as a way of preventing conflict-driven migration. President of the People’s Justice Party (PKR - LI member), Dr. Wan Azizah MP, affirmed her view of a moral responsibility of Malaysia towards the on-going refugee crisis in the South-East Asian waters.
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LI HRC Member and Member of the European Parliament, llhan Kyuchyuk (MRF - LI full member), steered the question and answer session in a debate on religious prosecution as a driving force behind the displacement of people. During the working lunch session on the role of LI HRC in the daily work of liberal parliamentarians, Mr. Kyuchyuk made practical proposals for the advancement of the Human Rights Committee including sponsor the next LI Human Rights Committee meeting on the premises of the European Parliament. The second panel debate, co-hosted by the International Network of Liberal Women (INLW - LI full-member), looked at the current gaps in international women’s rights law and presented the views from Lebanon, Guinea and Andorra featuring Mrs. Assiatou Bah MP (UFDG - LI full-member), Mr. Khodr Habib (Future Movement - LI full-member) and Judith Pallares MP (Liberal Party of Andorra - LI full-member).
“Liberal political parties are key to liberal democracies around the world.” Chaloka Beyani,
The delegation was welcomed to Geneva with an evening reception at the Bulgarian Mission to the United Nations, hosted by Permanent Representative His Excellency Ivan Piperkov. The meetings concluded with a bilateral meeting between the delegates and the forced labour branch of the International Labour Organisation. This was the first official meeting of the LI Human Committee meeting following the
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selection of its entirely new composition of serving members by the 193rd Meeting of the LI Executive Committee in Hong Kong in November 2014. The event was co-sponsored with the generous support of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group (ALDE Group) in the European Parliament (LI full-member).
28th Session: Written Statement on the Protection of Human Rights in Areas of Conflict The written statement to the 28th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council paid particular attention to the ever-growing number of human rights violations stressing on the need to strengthen the global response to atrocity crimes. Given the death toll and the number of displaced refugees caused by the Syrian conflict, LI called on the United Nations to attempt a political solution offering protection and participation of all Syrian groups in the future democratic political solution for Syria, based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The statement also expressed LI deep concerns for the insufficient protection of Human Rights for Syrian refugees and for the failure of the international community to resolve the on-going civil war and humanitarian crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic. The statement concluded with LI’s commitment for liberal parliamentarians from around the world, whether in government or opposition, to continue to work towards the strengthening of international democratic standards and human rights principles as to tackle atrocities and crimes against humanity and to continue to advocate for additional financial funding by the international community in order to secure much needed humanitarian assistance. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
29th Session: Written Statement on the Deterioration of the State of Political and Civil Rights around the World
30th session: Written Statement on Responsibility to Protect Ten Years on: Strengthening the Global Approach to the Prevention and Elimination of Mass Atrocities
The written statement to the 29th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council highlighted the recent intensification of the persecution and prosecution of pro-democracy activists and political and civil rights defenders in Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Macedonia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
The written statement to the 30th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council paid particular attention to the need to strengthen the global approach to the prevention and elimination of mass atrocities in an age when armed conflicts and violent extremists’ attacks on basic human rights and freedoms are on the rise.
“Deep concerns for the insufficient protection of Human Rights for Syrian Refugees.” In line with the proposed “Mandela Rules” which contain a number of practical elements, providing detainees with increased protection from torture and other ill-treatment, LI called on the United Nations to establish a special procedure mandate focusing specifically on the issue of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
With this written statement Liberal International called on the United Nations to develop a rapid-response mechanism for addressing urgent humanitarian crises and armed conflicts including but not limited to a corps of military officers available for deployment in cases of authorised intervention under a Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) UN Security Council resolution. The statement also underlined the commitment of LI for its Human Rights Committee to continue to work towards the mobilisation of global support for the application of the RtoP principle as a core priority of its human rights policy development activities. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
Oral Statement Denouncing PoliticallyMotivated Jail Sentence against Anwar Ibrahim Addressing the highest international human rights body on behalf of LI, Phillip Bennion, Chair of LI British Group (LI fullmember), slammed the Malaysian Courts for their politically motivated ruling against the leader of the Malaysian liberal opposition Anwar Ibrahim saying: “When an opposition figure of the highest calibre is hounded for decades with unfounded accusations for crimes that should not even exist, there is something very wrong with the system and with those in power. […] There is a clear collusion of government attempts to silence and neutralize Anwar Ibrahim and a court system that has been happy to oblige. “ Bennion reiterated LI’s on-going support and called for Anwar’s immediate release. Anwar, who is founder of the People’s Justice Party (LI member), has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for allegedly violating the country’s sodomy laws. A link to the video recording on the intervention can be found by clicking here.
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FOURTH EDITION The Fourth Edition focused on the promotion and advancement of LGBTI rights with contributors from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Writing about the landmark human rights manifesto for Africa, adopted in 2014 by member parties of LI cooperating organisation, Africa Liberal Network (ALN), ALN Vice-President Rosemary Machua of the Kenyan liberals, ODM (LI member), emphasised the importance of having a “human rights framework for Africa, by Africans”. Addressing the political challenges associated with supporting minority groups in conservative societies, the Director of the Department for Women’s Rights in the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan (DPP - LI full member), Dr. Ching-Yi Lin, spoke of her party’s unwavering commitment to LGBTI communities, changing social attitudes and, eventually, being able to bring about tangible changes in government. In addition, in a video message the Mexico-based government advisor, Enrique Torre Molina, offered insights and practical advice for overcoming the challenges and standing up for minority groups in countries around the world. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR FREEDOM
HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN
Photo courtesy of UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
SECOND EDITION
THIRD EDITION
The Second Edition of Liberal International’s Human Rights Bulletin was published in March and it centred on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle. It brought together expert parliamentarians to examine liberal answers to questions of humanitarian crises and post-conflict reconciliation.
The Third Edition had as its main focus the on-going dilemma for liberals around the world as to reconciling between freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression.
It included two expert opinions: Former Foreign Minister of Canada Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, from the Liberal Party of Canada (LI full member) and the Presidential Secretary of the Philippines, Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon from the Liberal Party of the Philippines (LI full member). In a video message LI HRC Member Fouzia El Bayed - Member of the Moroccan Parliament (Union Constitutionnelle - LI full-member) discussed prison reform in Morocco and the importance of the abolition of the death penalty in the country. The remainder of the Bulletin reviewed the exciting start to the year (2015) that the LI Human Rights Committee members had enjoyed highlighting some of the best achievements to date. The full version of the edition can be accessed by clicking here.
It featured expert commentary from the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Belief, His Excellency Heiner Bielefeldt, and the Former National Director of the Canadian Human Rights League, Dr. Karen Mock, which debated the promotion of inter-faith dialogue alongside the right not to believe, and the urgency of confronting fundamentalism with liberal ideas and actions. Furthermore, it included an exclusive video from Ensaf Haidar, the wife of the jailed liberal Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, calling for freedom of belief as she elaborated on Raif’s struggle to bring liberal values to Saudi Arabia and around the world. The full version can be accessed by clicking here.
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 2015 LI Prize for Freedom was awarded to LI President of Honour Lord John Alderdice for his decades-long commitment to peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts at a ceremony held during LI 194th LI Executive Committee Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. Lord Alderdice - whose distinguished career has taken him from being a key negotiator of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, Convenor of Liberal Democrats (LI full member) in the House of Lords, and President of Liberal International, was recently appointed as a Director of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at the University of Oxford. Previous laureates of the Prize for Freedom have come from across the world and have included, Helen Suzman, Aung San Suu Kyi, President Mary Robinson, President Vaclav Havel, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and President Corazon Aquino. The first recipient in 1985 was former Argentinian President, Raul Alfonsin for his various contributions to peace in South America. The nomination for the 2015 Prize for Freedom came from the German Group of Liberal International which cited “Lord Alderdice’s contribution to negotiating the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and his participation in peace missions around the world….work which continues particularly through his Directorship of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict, based at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford”.
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