Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Swedish: Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete, Sida) is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing countries.
Sida also affirms respect of human rights, democracy and gender equality proclaimed by Universal Declaration of Human Rights on their missions, and together with "Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law" of Lund University, Sida gave an aide for "Equal State and Human Rights of Women in Southeast Asia" by Asia Pacific Forum held from 9 May and 3 June 2011.
Sida is also informed by the Yogyakarta Principles in Action the working for the rights for LGBTI and Swedish government mandated an "Action plan for Sida's work on sexual orientation and gender identity in international development cooperation 2007-2009". And the evaluation of the 2007-2009 action plan demonstrates the significant work done in many countries on LGBTI issues, including dialogue with civil society, other donors, and governments; inclusion in country strategies; and programme initiatives. As well as directly funding a number of LGBTI groups, Sida headquarters has actively promoted LGBTI issues in its networking with other donors and international stakeholders, and by giving radio and TV interviews, writing a newspaper article, participating in and arranging seminars at pride festivals and the World Outgames, and including LGBTI rights in newly adopted policies.[2]
In 2010, a single inter-mechanisms website[2] was created, gathering all relevant public information on the activities of the different human rights defenders’ protection mandate-holders aims at increasing the visibility of the documentation produced by the mechanisms – press releases, studies, reports, statements, etc., as well as of their actions (country visits, institutional events, trials observed).
Keck and Sikkink write from a context before the universal availability of information technology and at this point the main actors are the States.[6] The boomerang pattern, argued by Keck and Sikkink, is a model of advocacy where a State A causes “blockage” by not protecting or violating rights. Non-state actors provide other non-state actors from a State B with information about the blockage and those non-state actors inform State B. State B places pressure on State A and/or has intergovernmental organizations place pressure on State A to change its policies.[7]
In order to facilitate transnational advocacy networks, the network needs to have common values and principles, access to information and be able to effectively use that information, believe their efforts will cause change and effectively frame their values.[8] Information use is historically very important to human rights organizations. Human rights methodology is considered “promoting change by promoting facts.”[9] By using facts, state and non-state actors can use that viable information to pressure human rights violators.
Human rights advocacy networks focus on either countries or issues by targeting particular audiences in order to gain support.[8] To gain audience support human rights organizations need to cultivate relationships through networking, have access to resources and maintain an institutional structure.[10]
Activists commonly use four tactics in their advocacy efforts: 1) Information politics provides comprehensive and useful information on an issue that otherwise might not be heard from sources who otherwise might be overlooked; 2) Symbolic politics uses powerful symbolic events as a way to increase awareness surrounding an issue; 3) Leverage politics utilizes material leverage (examples such as goods, money, or votes), moral leverage (the "mobilization of shame") or both in order to gain influence over more powerful actors; 4) Accountability politics holds those who make commitments to a cause accountable for their actions or lack thereof.[11]
Due to information technology and its ability to provide an abundance of information, there are fewer to no costs for group forming.[13] Coordination is now much easier for human rights organizations to track human rights violators and use the information to advocate for those in need.
One effect is that it is harder for governments to block information they do not want their citizens to obtain. The increase in technology makes it nearly impossible for information not to penetrate everyone around the globe making it easier for human rights organizations to monitor and ensure rights are being protected.
In addition, the fact that the Internet provides a platform for easy group forming, the use of an institutional organization is not essential. With social networking sites and blogs, any individual can perpetuate collective action with the right tools and audience. The need for a hierarchy is diminishing with the great abundance of information available.[13]
Objectives
Broadly speaking, Protection International's objective is "to contribute to ensuring fulfilment of national and international obligations[b] for the protection of human rights defenders – people who, individually or together with others, take action to promote or protect human rights". Concretely it focuses itself on two goals :
While it put the emphasis on the improvement of human rights defenders abilities regarding the handling of security, protection and psychosocial training, both for themselves and the beneficiaries of their work, PI's Global Protection programme also focuses itself on political action and advocacy, in order that the national and international authorities and other key actors involved in protection issues enforce their obligations in terms of human rights defenders protection.
Sida also affirms respect of human rights, democracy and gender equality proclaimed by Universal Declaration of Human Rights on their missions, and together with "Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law" of Lund University, Sida gave an aide for "Equal State and Human Rights of Women in Southeast Asia" by Asia Pacific Forum held from 9 May and 3 June 2011.
Sida is also informed by the Yogyakarta Principles in Action the working for the rights for LGBTI and Swedish government mandated an "Action plan for Sida's work on sexual orientation and gender identity in international development cooperation 2007-2009". And the evaluation of the 2007-2009 action plan demonstrates the significant work done in many countries on LGBTI issues, including dialogue with civil society, other donors, and governments; inclusion in country strategies; and programme initiatives. As well as directly funding a number of LGBTI groups, Sida headquarters has actively promoted LGBTI issues in its networking with other donors and international stakeholders, and by giving radio and TV interviews, writing a newspaper article, participating in and arranging seminars at pride festivals and the World Outgames, and including LGBTI rights in newly adopted policies.[2]
Yogyakarta Principles in Action
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yogyakarta Principles in Action is a movement for activists and human rights defenders to promote human rights, especially those of LGBTI around the Yogyakarta Principles, supported by ARC International, Hivos and Dreilinden Gesellschaft für gemeinnütziges Privatkapitel, Germany.
They published the "Activist's Guide" on the Yogyakarta Principles in
August 2010 and also provided translations of the Yogyakarta Principles
in languages which are not official languages of the United Nations,
including Catalan, Dutch, Euskara (Basque), Filipino, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Nepali, Persian, Portuguese, Sinhala, Slovak and Tamil.[1]
On 28 February 2011, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission held a meeting to celebrate the launch of the Yogyakarta Principles accompanying "Activist's Guide".[2] And on 4 July 2011, Philippine LGBT groups celebrate the Yogyakarta Principles with the "Activist's Guide".[3]
Protection International
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protection International (PI) is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders
(HRDs). Its stated mission is to enhance the security and the
protection of "threatened civil society actors with non-violent means,
especially those who fight for their legitimate rights and for the
rights of others as they are guaranteed by the international humanitarian law and the human rights conventions".[2]
Protection International began its activities in 1998 as the former European Office of Peace Brigades International
(PBI-BEO) and is headquartered in Brussels. Working on the principle
that "human rights defenders are one of the main actors fighting against
impunity in the name of justice",[3] PI runs field projects in several countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Nepal, Thailand, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras) and conflict-stricken zones such as the East and Horn of Africa in collaboration with local partner organisations.
It provides human rights defenders (i.e. trade unionists, journalists, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals
defenders, members of anti-corruption organizations, etc.) with
training, knowledge and tools, such as the Protection Manual for Human
Rights Defenders ",[4] to develop protection measures into their work and enable them "to defend all human rights".[2] Protection International also aims at mobilising the national and international community (parliaments, governments, the United Nations, the media and public opinion).
Protection mechanisms
Following the adoption of the declaration on human rights defenders in 1998, a number of initiatives were taken, both at the international and regional level, to increase the protection of defenders and contribute to the full implementation of the Declaration. In this context, the following mechanisms were established:- The mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders (2000)
- The mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on human rights defenders (2004)
- The Human Rights Defenders Unit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2001)
- The European Union Guidelines on human rights defenders (2004)
In 2010, a single inter-mechanisms website[2] was created, gathering all relevant public information on the activities of the different human rights defenders’ protection mandate-holders aims at increasing the visibility of the documentation produced by the mechanisms – press releases, studies, reports, statements, etc., as well as of their actions (country visits, institutional events, trials observed).
Awards for human rights defenders
- The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1998.
- The Martin Ennals Award, a collaboration of several human rights NGOs. Martin Ennals was a renowned human rights defender and secretary general of Amnesty International. Its secretariat is located at the OMCT office in Geneva.[3] The awardee of the Martin Ennals Award is granted at least 20,000 Swiss Francs (about 20,000 US dollars) to be used for further work in the field of human rights.
- The human rights defender award is the highest award of Human Rights Watch
- The Human Rights Defenders Tulip was established by the Netherlands government in 2008.
- Imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China"
- The Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was established in 2005 to 'honour the work of a human rights defender who, through non-violent work, is courageously making an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others.'[4]
Transnational Advocacy Networks and Human Rights
Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, in “Activists Beyond Borders” define transnational advocacy networks as “…networks of activists, distinguishable largely by the centrality of principled ideas or values in motivating their formation.”[5] This definition can be seen in many human rights organizations.Keck and Sikkink write from a context before the universal availability of information technology and at this point the main actors are the States.[6] The boomerang pattern, argued by Keck and Sikkink, is a model of advocacy where a State A causes “blockage” by not protecting or violating rights. Non-state actors provide other non-state actors from a State B with information about the blockage and those non-state actors inform State B. State B places pressure on State A and/or has intergovernmental organizations place pressure on State A to change its policies.[7]
In order to facilitate transnational advocacy networks, the network needs to have common values and principles, access to information and be able to effectively use that information, believe their efforts will cause change and effectively frame their values.[8] Information use is historically very important to human rights organizations. Human rights methodology is considered “promoting change by promoting facts.”[9] By using facts, state and non-state actors can use that viable information to pressure human rights violators.
Human rights advocacy networks focus on either countries or issues by targeting particular audiences in order to gain support.[8] To gain audience support human rights organizations need to cultivate relationships through networking, have access to resources and maintain an institutional structure.[10]
Activists commonly use four tactics in their advocacy efforts: 1) Information politics provides comprehensive and useful information on an issue that otherwise might not be heard from sources who otherwise might be overlooked; 2) Symbolic politics uses powerful symbolic events as a way to increase awareness surrounding an issue; 3) Leverage politics utilizes material leverage (examples such as goods, money, or votes), moral leverage (the "mobilization of shame") or both in order to gain influence over more powerful actors; 4) Accountability politics holds those who make commitments to a cause accountable for their actions or lack thereof.[11]
Information Technology and Human Rights Networked Advocacy
The widespread availability of the internet, mobile telephones, and related communications technologies enabling users to overcome the transaction costs of collective action has begun to change the previous models of advocacy.[12]Due to information technology and its ability to provide an abundance of information, there are fewer to no costs for group forming.[13] Coordination is now much easier for human rights organizations to track human rights violators and use the information to advocate for those in need.
One effect is that it is harder for governments to block information they do not want their citizens to obtain. The increase in technology makes it nearly impossible for information not to penetrate everyone around the globe making it easier for human rights organizations to monitor and ensure rights are being protected.
In addition, the fact that the Internet provides a platform for easy group forming, the use of an institutional organization is not essential. With social networking sites and blogs, any individual can perpetuate collective action with the right tools and audience. The need for a hierarchy is diminishing with the great abundance of information available.[13]
Electronic Mapping
Electronic mapping is a newly developed tool using electronic networks and satellite imagery and tracking. Examples include tactical mapping, crisis mapping and geo-mapping. Tactical mapping has been primarily used in tracking human rights abuses by providing visualization of the tracking and implementation monitoring.[14]Objectives
Broadly speaking, Protection International's objective is "to contribute to ensuring fulfilment of national and international obligations[b] for the protection of human rights defenders – people who, individually or together with others, take action to promote or protect human rights". Concretely it focuses itself on two goals :
- To promote wider knowledge, improved decision-making and increase the effective use of field protection strategies for and by the main stakeholders in protection.[b]
- To directly support the work of all stakeholders in the effective use of field protection.
While it put the emphasis on the improvement of human rights defenders abilities regarding the handling of security, protection and psychosocial training, both for themselves and the beneficiaries of their work, PI's Global Protection programme also focuses itself on political action and advocacy, in order that the national and international authorities and other key actors involved in protection issues enforce their obligations in terms of human rights defenders protection.
Protection International's Work
According to the Annual Report 2008 foreword, Protection International's role is not "to replace governments"[10] in their responsibilities to protect human right's defenders but well to "advise defenders on improving their security by following tried-and-tested procedures" and to complement the work done by other NGOs and international institutions in this field. Therefore, PI covers a wide range of activities :
- Protection Capacity Building and Training through analysing the risks faced by HRDs in various contexts, managing their security and transferring knowledge and tools
- Protection research : publication of manuals and informations to develop best practices
- Advocacy : dissemination of information among key actors in human rights issues [b], organization of debates and involvement of media, parliaments and trade unions, acting as an alarm to local authorities when they tend to forget their international obligations and commitments on HRDs protection
- Video Advocacy : production of testimonies and portraits of HRDS, showing their working environments, work experience (threats and challenges faced, achievements reached)
- Setting-up of Protection Desks that will be used as local centres in collaboration with partner networks and organisations.
- Managing www.protectionline.org, a project website providing informations, documents, publications, press releases and promoting urgent actions for the protection of HRD.
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