tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59855337023486027352024-03-05T15:10:53.562+01:00GHRD's Human Rights BlogGHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-48871432087923271382016-02-04T14:36:00.003+01:002016-02-04T14:38:12.153+01:00Erasmus+: Equality for All<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) hosted a 6 day project between the 14<sup>th</sup>
November and 21<sup>st</sup> November 2015, called “Equality for All”. In “the city of Peace and Justice", The
Hague, 24 young people from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Romania,
Spain, Ukraine and The Netherlands came together to participate in the mobility
of youth workers project. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4dRytVfoMFZ9CQ7i5g46WQb-iUzeDmQuDKVfkH9dKFw-tN5nf2IV97i9UJHmGfIWrR5QQ5BfokmNJFammfCvRwAXZDOlMJJPO4cp0-FdGizT4E6Z7FmDahgXXGSbTpHZcBo65fd7Gxcq/s1600/12248836_10153712671014705_1874919718_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4dRytVfoMFZ9CQ7i5g46WQb-iUzeDmQuDKVfkH9dKFw-tN5nf2IV97i9UJHmGfIWrR5QQ5BfokmNJFammfCvRwAXZDOlMJJPO4cp0-FdGizT4E6Z7FmDahgXXGSbTpHZcBo65fd7Gxcq/s400/12248836_10153712671014705_1874919718_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Behind the
name, “Equality for All”, stands the purpose to increase the capacity of youth
workers and leaders in developing effective rights-based advocacy strategies
for their organisations. The theme this time was </span>Young people from the
LGBT Community and the challenges they face in their home countries.The overall goals of the project were:</div>
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<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">to
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">increase the capacity building
of youth workers in developing a rights-based advocacy strategy for their
organisations, with particular focus on issues faced by LGBT youth</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">to explore possible partnerships to
organise future projects focusing on improving the quality of youth work in
promoting and protecting LGBT rights under Erasmus+ umbrella.</span></li>
</ol>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0W7g11Ai3wt6pAi7lFY3hwt1oqCQ01xC6tzmHYzMYkpsXZ1xmZtzpEms2r1A2PZfHQlT1jPnu-s009H7XTGprvL-dDtEiQsUzqGUz8wkyjqCnIrIkfAzmT9362WC2ZP-WzzOOX8Azt5D/s1600/12295366_10153121323426695_806400303120635683_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0W7g11Ai3wt6pAi7lFY3hwt1oqCQ01xC6tzmHYzMYkpsXZ1xmZtzpEms2r1A2PZfHQlT1jPnu-s009H7XTGprvL-dDtEiQsUzqGUz8wkyjqCnIrIkfAzmT9362WC2ZP-WzzOOX8Azt5D/s320/12295366_10153121323426695_806400303120635683_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Presenting
and discussing the LGBT situation in Romania</span></i></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 16.8667px;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><i>
</i></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB">To reach
the objectives the organisers put together a list of activities are based on
methods of non-formal learning. These activities included: group discussions,
role plays, debates, round table with guest speakers, thematic evenings, case
studies, presentations and workshops. During these activities the</span>
participants had a chance to receive trainings from some of the leading LGBT
organisations, human rights defenders and other stakeholders in the Netherlands
such as: COC Haaglanden, Gale Education, University of Amsterdam, Leiden
University and Utrecht University.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAocydkg10ZxWGQO2iA5qIZUCmLxbyzu6fXZ-5QKaEIGdQ_T_JlDReNMXGWGjT7p48sMk33qmrqorQpwpx7tq25wreu2RQ81R7XVM_rZ6qTct4jujAN3UpZLj8t4E4MaLXs-84N8ljJRo4/s1600/12234971_1009946672403295_3471519016828880356_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAocydkg10ZxWGQO2iA5qIZUCmLxbyzu6fXZ-5QKaEIGdQ_T_JlDReNMXGWGjT7p48sMk33qmrqorQpwpx7tq25wreu2RQ81R7XVM_rZ6qTct4jujAN3UpZLj8t4E4MaLXs-84N8ljJRo4/s320/12234971_1009946672403295_3471519016828880356_n.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Skype roundtable with leading human rights
defenders<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Developing
an effective advocacy strategy enables youth workers to influence policy makers
and other relevant stakeholders in order to fulfil the rights of LGBT youth,
which was reflected in the core topics of the trainings: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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<ol>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Identification and analysis of
problems</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Mapping of stakeholders</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Creating advocacy action plan</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Choosing
method to advocate</span></li>
</ol>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmrD_hkAEVQbyF5J_nfSn7euC2cM4tMI7v3K9QlzmwEosByMIRSzpd-DLvm55o9NCEdGwytI0F4IL9s_uzNpgGGuminzIlicpq6CuQXMZr3VRBcHWQtuQqim9_1pW_vkoxCH-q2FSriTp/s1600/12248139_10153719575879705_309597183457409934_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmrD_hkAEVQbyF5J_nfSn7euC2cM4tMI7v3K9QlzmwEosByMIRSzpd-DLvm55o9NCEdGwytI0F4IL9s_uzNpgGGuminzIlicpq6CuQXMZr3VRBcHWQtuQqim9_1pW_vkoxCH-q2FSriTp/s400/12248139_10153719575879705_309597183457409934_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Presentation given by GALE Education </span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Furthermore,
during the workshop sessions covered various topics such as: international
human rights instruments and mechanisms (such as UN’s human rights mechanisms) and
LGBT education and anti-discrimination measurements in schools. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVzuS1gCNU2j48dbU7xuix6KiGI3qqjgv-lypNcESh743hjrlPpIcuTYrLw-ionv5Gf3gb9y8qG4wUuhZNf-ymLQSl1i4DTX3zUXc67h_LWeqm23Wn5hkK_cS2O1DVpeshL4e6U-oCmD4/s1600/12294876_10153121316276695_207825931920106987_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVzuS1gCNU2j48dbU7xuix6KiGI3qqjgv-lypNcESh743hjrlPpIcuTYrLw-ionv5Gf3gb9y8qG4wUuhZNf-ymLQSl1i4DTX3zUXc67h_LWeqm23Wn5hkK_cS2O1DVpeshL4e6U-oCmD4/s320/12294876_10153121316276695_207825931920106987_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gathering ideas for educating children in
schools about the LGBT rights and anti-discrimination measures </span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The
proposed working methods and sharing of best practices allowed the participants
to not only learn more on advocacy strategies but about the tools that are adopted
by leading LGBT organisations in The Netherlands and human rights defenders
from different countries. And of course there was room for intercultural
evenings where participants could learn about different cultures while having a
nice chat in a more unofficial environment.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6FaAPMtTVeDn7hgLUZ9yMsHcXS6EAIpEorTiO13tzasUviTfBNJqhdnYXsijV8rHGQ0h9DAlfS52seRbXlgXXFUoazJgxFHRmVA6w35xbp7XPnbKoSnMLN5X6AZBE-UxCOOQskWDE6iz/s1600/12244708_10153719574264705_4965400952525156993_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6FaAPMtTVeDn7hgLUZ9yMsHcXS6EAIpEorTiO13tzasUviTfBNJqhdnYXsijV8rHGQ0h9DAlfS52seRbXlgXXFUoazJgxFHRmVA6w35xbp7XPnbKoSnMLN5X6AZBE-UxCOOQskWDE6iz/s400/12244708_10153719574264705_4965400952525156993_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<i>Participants enjoying
snacks during the Intercultural evening</i><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-462669222908093132016-01-26T15:54:00.002+01:002016-01-26T16:34:04.092+01:00A look back at the Human Rights situation in Bangladesh <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">“</span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/shirinebad183794.html?src=t_human_rights" title="view quote"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Human rights is a universal standard. It is a
component of every religion and every civilization.</span></a><span style="background: white;">”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/shirin_ebadi.html" title="view author"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Shirin Ebadi</span></a><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">Bangladesh lies between India and Myanmar
in South Asia. It is a country with a vibrant society and a parliamentary
democracy. The country’s population is around 158 million<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">There are many fundamental aspects that
define a state, such as: the country’s economic and political situation or as
in this opinion piece will discuss the human right situation. As the quote in
the beginning of the article states: “Human rights is a universal standard”.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">The work of local civil society organisations
is essential in human rights documentation as they are the frontline workers
who advocate for promotion of human rights and they shed light to the stories
of the victims and survivors. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">As an example, for the past couple of years
the <i>Ain O Salish Kendra</i> (a legal aid
and human rights organisation, hereinafter: ASK) has held an annual press
conferences where they shared the main results of their annual reports on the
human rights situation in Bangladesh. </span><span lang="EN-GB">I base this
analysis on information taken from ASK’s documentation of newspaper articles
and their own sources reflecting human rights violations and articles reporting
on the earlier mentioned press conferences.
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">This year one of the news articles said
that the human rights situation has worsened in 2015. The question immediately
rises: Compared to what? 2014? Or is there a bigger picture which allows us to
look back for years?</span><span lang="EN-GB"> <span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">Between 2013 and 2015, several articles
highlighted different areas of human rights which showed that every year another
field showed dramatic changes. Based on their report in 2015, there were several
areas where there were significant deterioration, for example: repression on
religious minorities, freedom of expression, violence against women and
political violence. I would like to highlight the following areas: <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Violence against women and children is showing a growing tendency,
especially in the field of sexual harassments. From 2014 to 2015 there was almost
a 40% growth in the cases of domestic violence. It is also important to me</span>ntion
that acid attacks (ca. 35 cases) were highlighted during the press conference
in 2015.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In terms of communal violence there are great differences from year
to year. In 2013, there were 278 houses attacked, burnt or destroyed and then
next year the number of similar cases 761. However, in 2015 there was a significant
decrease in the number of reported cases down to 104.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Based on available numbers it is clear that there are serious human
rights violations which need to be addressed. <span style="background: white;">The
local human rights organisations like ASK work hard to gather information and
data that can be presented for the general public and organisations on a
national and/or international while also advocating for the improvement of the
human rights situation.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">Below you can find a table which includes
data gathered from articles and ASK’s HR monitoring reports.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.5pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 15.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Political Clashes</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">848 <a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">664 <a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.0pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">865<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 65.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 65.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.5pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Communal violence<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 65.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Houses: 278<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Businesses: 208<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Temples: 495 <a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 65.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Houses: 761 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Businesses: 193<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Temples: 247<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 65.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.0pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Houses:
104<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Businesses:
N/A<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Temples:
213<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.5pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Violence against journalist<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Assaults/
Harassments: 342<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Assaults/
Harassments: 239<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.0pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Assaults/
Harassments: 244<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.5pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Violence Against Women<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Rapes: 812<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 87<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Domestic
Violence: 385<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Sexual
Harassment: 182<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Acid attacks: 44<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Rapes: 707<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 68<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Domestic
Violence: 488<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Sexual
Harassment: 146<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Acid attacks: 48<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.0pt;" valign="top" width="156"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Rapes: 846<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn17" name="_ednref17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths: 60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Domestic
Violence: 373<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn18" name="_ednref18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Sexual
Harassment: 205<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn19" name="_ednref19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[xix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Acid attacks:
35<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.5pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Forced disappearances<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 1.75in;" valign="top" width="168"><div style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 15.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">53<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn20" name="_ednref20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">88<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn21" name="_ednref21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">55<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn22" name="_ednref22" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Deaths in jail custody<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">60<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn23" name="_ednref23" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">29<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn24" name="_ednref24" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">69<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn25" name="_ednref25" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Mob beatings (Deaths)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">127<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn26" name="_ednref26" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">127<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn27" name="_ednref27" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">135<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_edn28" name="_ednref28" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xxviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Sources:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/rights-situation-was-alarming-in-2013-4883">http://www.thedailystar.net/rights-situation-was-alarming-in-2013-4883</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/state-of-human-rights-alarming-57975">http://www.thedailystar.net/state-of-human-rights-alarming-57975</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/jan/02/bangladesh-human-rights-situation-worsened-2015">http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/jan/02/bangladesh-human-rights-situation-worsened-2015</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/">http://www.askbd.org/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/political-violence-january-31st-december-2013/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/political-violence-january-31st-december-2013/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2015/01/17/political-violence-2014/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2015/01/17/political-violence-2014/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/political-violence-january-december-2015/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/political-violence-january-december-2015/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/rights-situation-was-alarming-in-2013-4883"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.thedailystar.net/rights-situation-was-alarming-in-2013-4883</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/state-of-human-rights-alarming-57975"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.thedailystar.net/state-of-human-rights-alarming-57975</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/jan/02/bangladesh-human-rights-situation-worsened-2015"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/jan/02/bangladesh-human-rights-situation-worsened-2015</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/journalist-harassment-2013/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/journalist-harassment-2013/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2015/01/15/journalist-harassment-2014/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2015/01/15/journalist-harassment-2014/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/journalist-harassment-january-december-2015/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/journalist-harassment-january-december-2015/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref17" name="_edn17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/rape-january-december-2015/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/rape-january-december-2015/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/Interns%20folder/2016_Katalin%20Godony/ASK%20comparison%20report_26.01.2016%20last%20comments.docx#_ednref18" name="_edn18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/domestic-violence-january-december-2015/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.askbd.org/ask/2016/01/07/domestic-violence-january-december-2015/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-53941065830560966532015-12-23T15:46:00.003+01:002015-12-23T15:46:56.937+01:00Communication for Change<div style="text-align: justify;">
Between 13th and 19th of November 2015, the Global Human Rights Defence organised a training titled ‘Communications for Change’, a 6 days training for 21 youth workers from seven different countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine). The aims of the training were to develop a strong communication strategy for youth workers and their organisations; to explore possible future partnership between the participating organisations; to organize projects focusing on improving the quality of youth work; to improve the capacity of youth workers in social media, online fundraising, campaigns and marketing and to allow the them to share best practices with other youth workers.
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The training was an intensive six days presentations and workshops that mostly started at 10:00 to 19:00. It always consisted of presentations by trainers, workshops and role-playing. At the end of each day, the participants were divided into smaller groups for an evaluation session.
The project officially started on Sunday, 13 September 2015 with the introduction to the training week and the objectives of it and followed by team building games.
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<i>Communication Strategy training by GHRD project team</i><br />
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On the following day, the participants had on Communication Strategy that was presented by GHRD team, followed by workshop on Introduction to Communication and Advocacy by UNOY (The United Network of Young Peacebuilders).
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<i> Introduction to Communication and Advocacy workshop by UNOY </i><br />
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On the third day, the participants had a session on how to make a perfect pitch for their work and organisations. This session gave the opportunity to the participants to learn about guerrilla marketing through Elevator Pitch. The participants learned how to deliver the summary of their ideas to someone important (potential investors, clients, etc.) on an elevator ride, which approximately takes in thirty seconds to two minutes.
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<i>Brainstorming ideas </i><br />
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The following day, the workshop was presented by Enviu, a start-up company that focused on improving the quality of life of people in a sustainable way. This session gave the participants a practical insight into communication strategy in 5 stages, which are planning, preparation, implementation, evaluation and follow-up and decide the best way for each phase. In the end, every organisation had to present their own version of communications strategy for a project.
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<i>Team-building game in Mytikas</i><br />
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Next training was a visit to youth organisations who had successful approaches in working with young people through theatre and other creative means. For instance, one approach is to offer young people, who have dropped out of school, an alternative education through arts. The participants were engaged in a similar workshop which began with a team building game led by one of the coaches. The participants were also challenged to make a short play (approximately 5 minutes) with the topic on daily social problems, for example, school bullying.</div>
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The last day of the training was about storytelling through social media and online fundraising. These sessions were practical ones which included many discussions and practical examples on how to implement the learning outcomes directly to your work. </div>
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<i>In the Communication Museum</i><br />
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Apart from presentations and workshops, the participants also had the chance to visit the Communication Museum. The visit to the Communication Museum, for instance, was aimed to show to the participants the impact of communication on daily life. In this museum, the participants could enjoy designs, secret messages, expeditions, facts and a touch of nostalgia.
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<i>Ukrainian food and drink</i><br />
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One of the unique programmes of the ‘Communication for Change’ training was the Intercultural Evening. This programme gave the participants the opportunity to introduce typical drinks and food from their country and other items as well, such as pictures, music, typical clothing, etc.
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<i>Participants from Croatia with their cultural presentation
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<i> Serbian and Croatian desks</i><br />
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Participants from every country had to deliver a brief presentation about their countries and to explain drinks, food and items that they brought from home, followed by a food tasting. Participants from Croatia arranged a small interactive quiz; they gave souvenirs to people who could answer questions about their country.
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<i> GHRD team, Anna and Jasper, </i><br />
<i> were introducing typical Dutch snacks and sweets
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<i> Armenian desk </i><br />
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Furthermore, Ukrainian participants introduced their folk dance that was demonstrated together. As a host, GHRD team also had the chance to give a presentation about the Netherlands. They introduced typical Dutch snacks and sweets and also arranged a small quiz for the participants.
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-91095743339394261822015-09-09T12:43:00.002+02:002015-09-09T13:24:46.537+02:00Global Hands Erasmus+ training ‘’Integration through Action’’<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">I participated on behalf of Global Human Rights Defence in a
6-day training </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">for 25 youth workers </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">from eleven different European countries . The training entitled 'Integration through Action' was
organised by Global Hands at De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom. During the
training we were introduced to the concept of Social Rights in Europe as well
as issues of racism and stereotyping. The seminar stimulated us to develop key
skills related to these topics through non-formal education methods and we got
familiar with interactive methods to engage with young people across
Europe, especially those on the margins of society, who often find it difficult
to access their social rights. The seminar has given me valuable theoretical
and practical tools and insights in the topic, and it has truly been an
unforgettable experience.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">On the day of our arrival, the project was officially opened by Marco and Momodou, the facilitators during the week of training. The location, which looked like a trendy lounge, immediately ensured a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere for the ‘getting to know each other’-games.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">During the following days we created mind maps, posters and presentations on several topics in the field of integration, played instructive games related to stereotyping and prejudice and expanded our theoretical knowledge through lectures – all in a non-formal education setting.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">The intercultural evening proved the perfect opportunity to introduce Dutch cookies and sweets (the stroopwafels were a hit –of course) and a typical Dutch game: koekhappen. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">O</span><span style="text-align: justify;">ne of the highlights of the Erasmus+ training was the ‘local realities day’, during which we visited the Racial Equality Centre and a Gurdwara, a Sikh temple, in Leicester. It was truly special to experience a Sikh wedding ceremony.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbK0hB5FDp1LyjiJ79jdjdbVpbgG7OYTyyYPp64H85a5oZ4bRP8B4tgtxzkiNKFhdplNrywV_LP8CbluZUwboGX0ugmqwm7OlMwzorULbCITPx253SnwnO96ig8ABDz6CGTqT9-o_ksLx7/s320/Global+hands+8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 18.4px;">Each and every one of our group participated in the – sometimes heated – discussions we had on topics such as stereotyping, racism and integration. Even though we all live in the European Union, and may sometimes be neighboring countries, the issues we face differ significantly.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 18.4px; text-align: justify;">At the end of the training week, each group developed and designed their own project. Our masterpiece was entitled ‘Equality and Diversity’, and given our faces we were very proud of the team effort.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 18.4px; text-align: justify;">Despite the many cultural differences, we had one thing in common: our group loved to dance. Here we are practising an Angolan dance, which was definitely an interesting experience</span></td></tr>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-20732812471103267612015-06-03T11:41:00.000+02:002015-06-04T10:12:47.797+02:00The 10 most homophobic and transphobic quotes by politicians<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Global Human Rights Defence presents the
wall of shame</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">: an </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">exposé of 10 of
the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">most homophobic and transphobic quotes by
politicians from all over the world. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">These quotes are so shocking that it beggars belief they were
uttered at all, least of all by politicians!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1. “If
you come here, you'll see homosexuals from Europe and America are luring our
children into homosexuality by distributing cell phones and iPods and things
like this, and I can explain to you what I really want to do. To kill
every last gay person”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ugandan Member of Parliament David Mahati
expressed his thoughts in an interview with journalist and gay rights
activist </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sharlet_(writer)" title="Jeff Sharlet (writer)"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jeff Sharlet</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> in 2010. Mahati proposed the
country’s controversial anti-homosexuality law that criminalises homosexual
acts and introduces prison terms for those who do not report a homosexual. On
20 December 2013, the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed despite severe
resistance from the international community.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Link to trailer ‘’Call me Kuchu’’: </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/27391482">https://vimeo.com/27391482</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2. ‘’I
think that kind of disregard for the God-endowed natural rights of human being
is the archetype of all crimes against humanity. And I think we have an entire
elite faction that is now committed to committing such a crime against the
American people’’<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">American political activist and perennial
presidential candidate Alan Keyes equated gay marriage with crimes against
humanity. Salient detail: Keyes’ daughter Maya Marcel-Keyes was
fired as her father’s consultant and was left homeless after coming out as a
lesbian to her family. At the moment, Maya is a social and political activist
and involved in the gay rights movement in the United States.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">3. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Those
miserable people want Iran to recognize f*****"<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref3">[3]<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In his sermon, the Iranian Ayatollah
and member of the Assembly of Experts </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Movahedi Kermani focused, in unmistakable terms, attention on the
Western tolerance of homosexuality after a resolution was adopted by the
European Parliament to intensify contact between the EU and the Islamic
Republic of Iran. Kermani was seconded by the Commander-in-Chief of the
Basij morality militia Nagdi, who claimed that "the European Union is
worse than grazing livestock. They demand that we recognize homosexuality,
which is something even the beasts in the wilderness refuse to do to each
other."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">4. "If
two men have a right to marry, how can we deny the same right to two siblings?
Are we to authorise incest?"<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The rate of repellent and groundless
statements continues. This quote of UKIP MEP Roger Helmer is a fine example of
the stance of this right-wing political party from the United Kingdom.
UKIP’s leader Nigel Farage defended a parliamentary candidate who referred to
homosexuals as ‘’disgusting old poofters” by stating that you people are ‘’very
snobbish […] about condemning people, perhaps for the colloquial language we
use’’. Gay marriage seems to be a sensitive issue as two UKIP MPs
even had to resign after openly supporting gay marriage.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">5. "A
man such as myself can walk into the bathroom at LA Fitness while women are
taking showers, changing, and simply walk in there. If I feel like a woman that
day, I can be allowed to be in that locker room.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Republican
member of the Florida House of Representatives Frank Artiles in support of a
bill that would make it illegal for an individual of one biological sex to
enter a single-sex restroom or changing room designated for the opposite
sex—even if the individual self-identifies as a person who belongs there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">6. "Gay
sex is not natural and we cannot support something which is unnatural"<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref6">[6]<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the run up
to the Indian elections of 2014, President of the Hindu nationalist BJP Rajnath
Singh shed light on the party’s point of view on homosexuality. This was backed
by BJP’s spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who said ‘’we can’t bring Western
culture into our society and culture’’. Though, the party came up with an
unexpected place to spread their campaign message: the gay dating app Grindr.
Prime-Ministerial candidate Modi’s picture was visible on Grindr with the
encouraging message to vote BJP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">7. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> “Don’t
misunderstand me. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are
lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgender. We need to have profound
compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual
dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders.” <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref7">[7]<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Michele
Bachmann comments<i> </i>on homosexuality as a mental
disorder, speaking at EdWatch National Education Conference in 2004. She
is the<i> </i>founder of the US House of Representatives’ Tea Party
Caucus, belongs to a denomination of the Lutheran Church and has been
a foster parent to 23 children. In 2004, Michele Bachmann, then Minnesota State
Senator Bachmann, attempted to get an anti-gay marriage amendment on the
Minnesota ballot at a voter referendum to write discrimination directly into
her state’s constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">8. "Such
people are the curse of society and social garbage. They don't deserve to be
Muslim or Pakistani, and the support and protection announced by the US
administration for them is the worst social and cultural terrorism against
Pakistan"<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This was stated by the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami in
response to an event on gay rights that was hosted by the US embassy in
Pakistan. Just like Bangladesh, Pakistan outlaws gay sex. Despite this
institutional ban and clerics denouncing homosexuality as sinful behaviour,
underground parties for homosexuals and marriages of convenience between
same-sex partners are among the many surprises the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
offers.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">9. ‘’Homosexuality</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> is anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization. Homosexuals are not
welcome in the Gambia. If we catch you, you will regret why you are born. I
have buffalos from South Africa and Brazil and they never date each other. We
are ready to eat grass but we will not compromise on this. Allowing
homosexuality means allowing satanic rights. We will not allow gays here.’’<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is one of the many anti-gay
statements of Gambian president </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Yahya Jammeh. While calling for continued peace in Gambia, the
same country considers homosexuality a criminal offence and the President has
expressed his support for this law "If you are convicted of
homosexuality in this country, there will be no mercy for offenders."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">10. ‘’If
you take men and lock them in a house for five years and tell them to come up
with two children and they fail to do that, then we will chop off their heads.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref10">[10]<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">President
Mugabe of Zimbabwe – a country where homosexuality is declared illegal by law -
has his own way of emphasising that homosexuality will destroy our lineage. Adding
that ‘’Imagine this son born out of an African father, (US President Barrack)
Obama says if you want aid, you should accept the homosexuality practice. Aah,
we will never do that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">These 10
appalling and shameful statements from politicians around the world show there
is still significant opposition to providing equal rights to LGBT people.
Globally, the LGBT community faces a huge risk of marginalisation and violence.
At this moment homosexual activity is illegal and thereby punishable in 78
countries<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a>, which comes down to 78 countries too
many, according to Global Human Rights Defence.<span style="background: white;"> We
believe human </span>rights are universal and inalienable in nature and
apply to every single person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Even though this article can be considered a political wall of
shame, Global Human Rights Defence remains committed to provide equal
rights for lesbian, <i>gay</i>, bisexual, and transgender people. Do you
want to support our cause? Think of a positive quote to counterbalance the
previous ones and share, post or tweet it with #WallofLGBTpride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129422524"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129422524</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn2"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/keyes-marriage-equality-archetype-all-crimes-against-humanity"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/keyes-marriage-equality-archetype-all-crimes-against-humanity</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn3"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hossein-alizadeh/iran-homophobia-as-politi_b_5175596.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hossein-alizadeh/iran-homophobia-as-politi_b_5175596.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn4"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/dec/15/nigel-farage-ukip-anti-gay-groups"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/dec/15/nigel-farage-ukip-anti-gay-groups</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn5"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/transgender-bathroom-discrimination-bills"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/transgender-bathroom-discrimination-bills</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn6"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Homosexuality-not-natural-wont-back-it-BJP-chief/articleshow/27377472.cms"><span style="color: blue;">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Homosexuality-not-natural-wont-back-it-BJP-chief/articleshow/27377472.cms</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn7"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[7]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/michele-bachmanns-top-ten-anti-gay-quotes/politics/2011/06/02/21233"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/michele-bachmanns-top-ten-anti-gay-quotes/politics/2011/06/02/21233</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn8"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[8]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14010106"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14010106</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn9"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/yahya-jammeh-homosexuals-gambia_n_3000249.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/yahya-jammeh-homosexuals-gambia_n_3000249.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn10"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[10]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/07/25/mugabe-chides-homosexuals-again/"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/07/25/mugabe-chides-homosexuals-again/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn11"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[11]</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_SSHR_2014_Eng.pdf <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-47401902868785432382015-05-10T13:08:00.000+02:002015-05-10T15:47:05.890+02:00HOW TO RUIN DEMOCRACY<div class="MsoNormal">
Are <span style="background: white;">you at
your wit’s end when observing the contemporary geopolitical situation while
contemplating how people at power are able to willingly ruin democracy? Here is
the ultimate plan for disaster </span>and a nightmarish reality:</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>1. Have a political dynasty </b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Before diving into the required conduct of
actors to squash democracy, certain preconditions need to be met. The parties
in the political arena need to be based on dynastic leadership in which
succession is a rare occurrence. This ensures sluggish policy change and vested
interests which are firmly and resolutely defended if necessary. Historical
grievances, patronage and feudal ties are the cornerstones of politics, opposed
to a political agenda that addresses societal and economical challenges. This
lack of internal democracy ensures that critics do not receive a platform to
express their ideas while the constituencies have little influence. Thus, if political participation is meagre,</span> the first sign of an eroding democracy is visible.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>2. Hold elections without really voting</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Having established the preconditions, we
can continue with the actual behaviour of the different actors. Right before
the elections, opposition parties should publicly announce its boycott of the
elections and deploy violence in order to prevent people from voting. The
opposition boycott will lead to a historically low voter turnout and uncontested
parliamentary seats which, in turn, can be assigned to the government party. As
no parliamentary opposition exists, the government can rule the country as it
sees fit. Laws that lack scrutiny and democratic accountability are approved in
parliament leaving the door wide open for political tyranny. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>3. Deploy paramilitary forces </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The government should set up an elite paramilitary
force to combat terrorism while the critics should raise their concerns for the
need of such unit without even considering reforming the law enforcement and
judiciary. Over the years this paramilitary unit should become infamous for
killing people in self-defence, cross-fire or in custody. <span style="background: white;">The unit should continue </span>to<span style="background: white;"> carry out extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and
torture while enjoying impunity. The government should not make any attempt to
hold the unit accountable, especially when there are allegations that ruling
party members are using the unit as a death squad. Make sure that the unit continues to operate
with impunity even if their actions lead to systematic human rights violations
and abuse. <span style="color: #42210b;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>4. Create a culture of fear and impunity</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Those who have read the novel 1984 by
George Orwell remember the vivid fear of the protagonist for being under possible
surveillance by the Party or run the risk of being overheard by the Thought
Police. Indeed, a social order can be best controlled by fear. The ‘other’
should be afraid at all times. Without leaving explicit evidence, leaders of
the opposition parties should suddenly disappear. And if this is too subtle,
launch a vicious crackdown on the opposition. <span style="background: white;">Be
sure not to act in </span>accordance with any international human rights
standards or domestic law. Make sure the perpetrators are not brought to
justice. Democracy can only be destroyed when lawlessness is the order of the
day.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>5. Use violence to hold onto power</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The opposition must organise strikes,
traffic blockades and demonstrations in order to create overall disorder. Of
course, these measures have to take a violent turn at a certain point in order
to cause a significant disruptive effect and nationwide chaos. Thus, attack
those who refuse to honour the blockades and throw petrol bombs at any vehicle
that ignores the obstructions. The government should strike back at violence
with more violence by allowing excessive force to be used against political protesters
while their actions continue to cause civilian casualties and the ongoing
clashes leads to major economic loss. Both parties should not take
responsibility for the people who are injured or killed due to escalating political
violence.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>6. Attack vulnerable minorities </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A functioning democracy is the ultimate
system in which the basic and inalienable rights of minorities are guaranteed.
For a democracy to slowly crumble away, single out the religious and ethnic
minorities. Unlawfully destroy their houses, shops and places of worship and use violence as a means of deterrence if you suspect them of having voted for the
other party or not boycotting the elections like your party had called for. You
will not be held accountable as a culture of impunity is the ultimate source
for oppression and the slow decay of democracy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>7. Shrink space for civil society</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">In order to have a
functioning democracy, you need to have a functioning civil society. A strong
civil society can challenge the power of government and hold the government
accountable when they fail to meet their obligations to the public. To deteriorate
democracy, you need to push the civil society to the margins of democratic processes. Like some governments, start from
shrinking space for civil society. Use creative legal manoeuvres to weaken
their role in speaking out against social injustices and establishing political dialogue.
Pass laws that are vague and broad enough to increase limitations on freedoms of
expression, peaceful assembly and association. Use these laws to stifle dissent and harass
critics of the government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Do these 7 steps remind you of a terrifying
storyline <span style="background: white;">based on a dystopia happening in far future?
It is actually the present of various countries around the world, in particular
the present of Bangladesh where </span>political stalemate have cost the lives
of hundreds of people and led to systematic abuse of human rights<span style="background: white;">. The current situation goes further than ruining democracy, it ruins a society that gasps for its breath. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-71789703543008794912015-03-08T17:37:00.000+01:002015-03-10T10:05:38.539+01:0010 Inspirational Women Human Rights Defenders from South Asia<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on the
struggles women have and do face, and celebrate what women have achieved
against all adversity. We present 10 women who have fought; fought for their
rights, fought for the rights of other women, fought for the rights of others.
It is humbling to live in times where such women exist. For your determination,
we praise you. For your courage, we admire you. For your persistence, we thank
you.</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Safia (Warasta)
Amajan – Afghanistan<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0eJ0CYVWvXb1NVRXblKrEwVo3TOvHmIzOV65cYHT0FdSrSZoD8e1fU3LTe0AR8Ucqcg2NCWfyxThvr96Jm4_5dxiHsjBz8nFSmES3qyb31p9l5SOpRIOx35baVRXuRyPCZfJdwbmUJFP/s1600/safia_photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0eJ0CYVWvXb1NVRXblKrEwVo3TOvHmIzOV65cYHT0FdSrSZoD8e1fU3LTe0AR8Ucqcg2NCWfyxThvr96Jm4_5dxiHsjBz8nFSmES3qyb31p9l5SOpRIOx35baVRXuRyPCZfJdwbmUJFP/s1600/safia_photo+1.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remembered as a teacher and ‘true public servant’, Safia Amaja fought for women’s rights through education. During the Taliban’s fundamentalist rule, she was an outspoken critic of the Taliban and defied their ban on educating women: she memorised the Quran and secretly taught Islamic studies to young girls in Kandahar. After the Taliban fell, Amajan worked for the new Afghan government setting up the provincial department of women’s affairs. Her progress in this role eventually lead to her assassination by the Taliban.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taslima Nasreen - Bangladesh</span></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTv9UwBLMwpKnquRDNvb0W_EeLpsu00Vi56qZ3UvX6RcDeDrZyUdin3qumsW8MinJGJ4Cvm9OeFeb-okitEwDK3FSQs4S5ef3kXayhLjI2KDQ38SXeZW18RHhVcEcxYasy7yWmZEetk0w/s1600/taslima+nasreen_photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTv9UwBLMwpKnquRDNvb0W_EeLpsu00Vi56qZ3UvX6RcDeDrZyUdin3qumsW8MinJGJ4Cvm9OeFeb-okitEwDK3FSQs4S5ef3kXayhLjI2KDQ38SXeZW18RHhVcEcxYasy7yWmZEetk0w/s1600/taslima+nasreen_photo+2.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The eminent writer and intellectual, Taslima Nasreen, continues to support freedom of expression and thought, women’s equality, and secularism despite the call for her death by extremist groups and expulsion from her home country. She won a Bengali language literary award for her book Lajja (Shame), which was banned by the Government of Bangladesh, shed light on the unfair treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"When I write, I don't allow the feat of consequences to interfere with the writing process. I have in the past paid for my commitment to the truth and the way I live my life. I am prepared to pay more if I have to."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Asma Jahangir – Pakistan</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Asma
Jahangir is Pakistan’s leading human rights lawyer. She was involved in forming
the first law firm established by women in Pakistan, was the first female
president of the Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association, the United Nations Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Religion or Belief from August 2004 until July 2010 and a founding
member of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission. Jahangir’s work traverses the
advancing women’s rights in Pakistan, the <span style="background: white;">prevention
of persecution of religious minorities, and fighting extremism.</span></span><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunila Abeysekera – Sri Lanka</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKqQe5sj37oN4zPSHCZbStJiQnfPMCLItLljnAfNgrNn_EhcWfpTTp_ef-PSCxmKEUINm0ZoW-2b0oywqJJRYxs-goF15Q-9vcxe6_E_qBjSDtjSFgKveGWflZuVgR-i_rZ4j4Fhac9ke/s1600/Sunila_photo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKqQe5sj37oN4zPSHCZbStJiQnfPMCLItLljnAfNgrNn_EhcWfpTTp_ef-PSCxmKEUINm0ZoW-2b0oywqJJRYxs-goF15Q-9vcxe6_E_qBjSDtjSFgKveGWflZuVgR-i_rZ4j4Fhac9ke/s1600/Sunila_photo+3.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Sunila Abeysekera spent a lifetime fiercely advocating for
the victims of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, despite being brandished a
traitor for it and being forced to leave the country for safety at times. She
was also a staunch feminist who played a lead role in the global women’s rights
movement, including recognition of<span class="apple-converted-space"> "</span></span><i><span lang="EN-GB">women’s rights are
human rights"</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> at the 1993 UN World Conference
on Human Rights in Vienna. She was particularly forthright in fighting violence
against women and championing for sexual and reproductive rights.</span></span><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>“When
everyone is criticizing you, then you are doing the right thing.”</i></span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anuradha Koirala - Nepal </span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCsO7eqaagBnTEvtrcQJcpHqWHOu3p5W4CUgNP-M2pPHGI6YR0idZTBe-cBc0owbv8tuK2xNgoDXkClFmwiA73PpQfO6SgdJmmn6yAZ6TeDSnKqi5nh_oEzSLnxPc6HVOlHnV050UoLJ4/s1600/Anuradha_photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCsO7eqaagBnTEvtrcQJcpHqWHOu3p5W4CUgNP-M2pPHGI6YR0idZTBe-cBc0owbv8tuK2xNgoDXkClFmwiA73PpQfO6SgdJmmn6yAZ6TeDSnKqi5nh_oEzSLnxPc6HVOlHnV050UoLJ4/s1600/Anuradha_photo+5.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Having recovered 50,000 women from
human trafficking, Anuradha Koirala and her organisation Maiti Nepal, continue
to rehabilitate and empower women and girls traficcked and forced into sex work across the Indian border.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Khushi Kabir - Bangladesh</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLQ_UR_VdIIK0WSXtd6ToQkLW_Ihy0kJdUxzZZjytzduNep7RPV6WkZJaGfxDadLXW2MfMZypgnbbOYt6TtzcXuC_tuHz6k2bIh9R511JSVOZurKYnE1Wrr-hP4w_dTsw432GSk0kXl5p/s1600/KHUSHI-photo+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLQ_UR_VdIIK0WSXtd6ToQkLW_Ihy0kJdUxzZZjytzduNep7RPV6WkZJaGfxDadLXW2MfMZypgnbbOYt6TtzcXuC_tuHz6k2bIh9R511JSVOZurKYnE1Wrr-hP4w_dTsw432GSk0kXl5p/s1600/KHUSHI-photo+6.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">After the liberation of Bangladesh, Khushi Kabir became the
first women to work with marginalised women and men. She has tirelessly advocated
to improve the lives of the rural poor in Bangladesh, particularly women. She
was </span><span lang="EN-GB">nominated
for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“When
did I become a feminist? There are lots of moments in every woman’s life that
make her stand up for herself and her sisters, and there were many in mine. But
the first one that comes to mind is the day I was told I couldn’t take a seat
on the bus, simply because I was a woman.”</span></i><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Malala Yousafzai – Pakistan </span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T2rjjuId9ZDDfdTjlfjc3Y-xKFKp1P88zRbpL5RpFP-cmv9wvAl0xTKDEug19tMiu6cAaJzIXyAyRrOEQT6mee1ElbXz-K4TdD4ckIyb2Wzizr5q6gFZz8WHDw5NHsmMvjrHhkUqelfg/s1600/malala-yousafzai-+photo+2+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T2rjjuId9ZDDfdTjlfjc3Y-xKFKp1P88zRbpL5RpFP-cmv9wvAl0xTKDEug19tMiu6cAaJzIXyAyRrOEQT6mee1ElbXz-K4TdD4ckIyb2Wzizr5q6gFZz8WHDw5NHsmMvjrHhkUqelfg/s1600/malala-yousafzai-+photo+2+7.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As
a young women activist, Malala Yousafzai spoke out against the Taliban’s war on
education for women. Her words were such a threat that the Taliban attempted to
assassinate her. Her courage and determination to continue fighting for her
right to education on behalf of all women was recognised when she became the
youngest person, the first Pashtun, and the first Pakistani to win the Nobel
Peace Prize.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<i>"One
child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."</i></span><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Laxmi Narayan Tripathi - India</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUTrkKPJbEbrGJdBXf3a8PHXbaFk4biCIhxOCnDsICLBH8VuQ2CXdDWarPojN8AbozeLH8jYPB9q96jeaxA9YQghvshEBVILjzKWD7uxpvWC0uHzZQr1p5qeZa9WMS2jPlQphWbgq7S6d/s1600/Laxmi_Narayan_Tripathi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUTrkKPJbEbrGJdBXf3a8PHXbaFk4biCIhxOCnDsICLBH8VuQ2CXdDWarPojN8AbozeLH8jYPB9q96jeaxA9YQghvshEBVILjzKWD7uxpvWC0uHzZQr1p5qeZa9WMS2jPlQphWbgq7S6d/s1600/Laxmi_Narayan_Tripathi.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a prominent artist and LGBT
activist. She was the f</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); color: #111111; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">irst transgender woman to represent the Asia-Pacific
region in the UN General Assembly task force on HIV/AIDS while championing her
role as the ambassador to the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">“</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The recent landmark
decision by the Supreme Court recognizing a third gender is something positive
that is helping to protect the identity and rights of future generations of
hijras in India. I personally never thought this judgement would ever be made
in my lifetime, but we were fighting for it .”</span></i></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mangala Sharma – Bhutan</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7fhApY6cx8WmMmB97z8jGSVcwsqoFR31obWv_mQcjrgG0hLmtVvOmourmEARFDeOspWgUv4O26cE2M69tp8VS7gm3USeZeG-bgpZgkPZnj9NAZBKy3md8YLNN99RilFGDuhxUZ2BY1fA/s1600/magala+sharma+_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7fhApY6cx8WmMmB97z8jGSVcwsqoFR31obWv_mQcjrgG0hLmtVvOmourmEARFDeOspWgUv4O26cE2M69tp8VS7gm3USeZeG-bgpZgkPZnj9NAZBKy3md8YLNN99RilFGDuhxUZ2BY1fA/s1600/magala+sharma+_9.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">Speaking out
against the Bhutanese Government’s “one nation, one people” policy and
discrimination against ethnic minorities, Mangala Sharma was exiled from
Bhutan. She created </span><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">Bhutanese Refugees Aiding
Victims of Violence (BRAVVE) which </span><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">supports thousands of refugee women
from Bhutan who had been subjected to sexual violence and torture. She was the
first winner of the Ginetta Sagan Fund award in 1997 due to her work to protect
the rights of women and children in areas where human rights violations are
pervasive.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aneesa Ahmed - Maldives</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVy58vNRuw0R-0EtaGz90A7Ne0oQVqyNxWuZCDebt-c9pveui6yOFY1m6JiCJ9meSEFStIzVq7BfEbGBDQZzI8OooZ9Tpcsig-nS1aoYNSxHJO1fsHMNTs5R9OUp_gBQzGyz5PDHxDzW0/s1600/annesa+jamed_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVy58vNRuw0R-0EtaGz90A7Ne0oQVqyNxWuZCDebt-c9pveui6yOFY1m6JiCJ9meSEFStIzVq7BfEbGBDQZzI8OooZ9Tpcsig-nS1aoYNSxHJO1fsHMNTs5R9OUp_gBQzGyz5PDHxDzW0/s1600/annesa+jamed_10.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The former Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Maldives, Aneesa Ahmed brought to the surface the taboo subject of domestic violence. Since her governmental service, Ahmed is a strong advocate on ending gender-based discrimination and violence and the harms of female genital mutilation.</span></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-45364382592483230292015-01-27T13:13:00.003+01:002015-01-27T13:22:07.986+01:00Update: Kajal Bheel - January 26th, 2015<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">January 26th, 2015:</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Kajal
Bheel’s next hearing will be on the 11th of February. Global Human Rights
Defence calls for the return of Kajal to her parents. We await the judge’s
decision and will keep you updated on Kajal's 7th hearing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.ghrd.org/get-involved/petitions/save-kajal/the-case/"><span style="color: #eca52b; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.ghrd.org/get-involved/petitions/save-kajal/the-case/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-81388626192178756822014-12-11T11:44:00.002+01:002015-04-08T16:40:41.204+02:00Kajal Bheel and Forced Conversions in Pakistan<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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GHRD is currently working on the case of Kajal
Bheel. Kajal is a 12-year-old girl from the Sindh province in Pakistan. On the
21st of October this year, Kajal was home alone with her brother when the
perpetrators broke into the family house and abducted Kajal. Her uncle
witnessed the incident from across the street but could not intervene as the
perpetrators were carrying weapons.</div>
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Her parents later found out that their daughter
had been forcefully married to one of the perpetrators and tried to lodge a
First Investigation Report (FIR). However, the police were unwilling to help
them. The family was summoned to the court where man unknown to them handed
over a marriage certificate on which Kajal’s name had been changed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Child marriages and
forced conversions are illegal in Pakistan, and minors (people under the age of
18) are not allowed to marry. Because of this Kajal has been ordered by court
to take a medical exam to prove that she is 12 years old, despite having a
valid birth certificate. The medical exam stated she is 17 (which means she is
still a minor). <span lang="SV">Nevertheless, the judge has decided to
apply Sharia law instead of The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act and
according to Sharia law, a girl is considered to be an adult as soon as she
reaches puberty. </span>Therefore, the
court is claiming Kajal is an adult and there is no claim to a legal case, as
Kajal has given evidence in court that she wanted to marry the perpetrator. However,
there is reason to believe she was pressured to make this statement as the
perpetrator was present during the court session. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Kajal’s second court hearing was supposed to be
held on December 3rd. However, it was postponed as the judge felt he did not
want to deal with the case anymore. The following court hearing was supposed to
be held on December 9th. The court hearing was once again postponed until the
19th of December; during which two other similar cases on forced conversions
will also take place. At present, Kajal is still with her perpetrators.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Demonstrations and seminars have been held in
the Sindh province of Pakistan in order to stand up against forced conversions
and child marriages and raise awareness.
Tomorrow, December 10<sup>th</sup>, demonstrations will be held in Washington
D.C. on the same topic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have seen many similar cases like the one of
Kajal. It is very common for young girls to be the victim of abduction,
forceful marriages and religious conversions. The only way to stop this is to
put pressure on the national government and encourage them to take action
against forced conversions of young girls. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You can sign the
petition here: <span lang="SV"><a href="http://ghrd.org/get-involved/petitions/save-kajal/"><span lang="EN-US">http://ghrd.org/get-involved/petitions/save-kajal/</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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You can also follow
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<a href="http://ghrd.org/get-involved/petitions/save-kajal/savekajal/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7xzr3dmtv0G3_gpYfuFBW_kkcEggTYeC2Vu_Uy7eLPeDynhGM0SF4kUYRoLDVRk1KW2iskHW0nLb0ryhmmfdmQ9c9WUjYT6XgLqz0Oxjo_S4lXQEEfLQbEEl2xalbR2VkT1YCGecHtYI/s1600/10154252_10152622420297762_6965251189388784115_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-13485639620565259682014-12-10T14:37:00.002+01:002015-04-08T16:41:25.641+02:00Youth in Action: Power to You(th) training program by Anna Donath, Human Rights intern<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Between 30</span><sup style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
October and 4</span><sup style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> November I participated in a Power to You(th)
training course on Youth Empowerment, Employability and Entrepreneurship. The
training was organized for youth workers and youth leaders working directly
with young people. It took place in Beaufort, Luxemburg, a small village in the
beautiful region called “Little Switzerland” which is approximately 30km away from
Luxembourg City. The training was organized by the Luxembourg National Agency
and the 21 participants represented 15 different countries (Austria, Croatia,
Check Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Turkey</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Power to You(th)
aimed to provide youth workers and youth leaders with creative, adaptable tools
and the inspiration to facilitate youth empowerment and to promote </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">entrepreneurship
and employability</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> of young people.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> We
explored the tool of Youth Exchanges as part of the Erasmus+ programme to be
able to use it in our work to inspire and empower young people to actively
participate in society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Using </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">non-formal education methods and activities (such as outdoor
work, experiential learning, and theatre and community interaction), this
training aimed at creating an inspiring, active and creative space for the
development of new ideas and exploring possibilities for youth employability
and entrepreneurship by focusing on youth empowerment tools. It gave us, the
participants, the possibility to discover meaningful roles and develop
different tools in our work around youth projects.</span></div>
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We also had the
chance to explore – as the locals calls - the City (aka Luxembourg City). We
had an amazing walk through the city and thanks to the local participants we
learned a lot of the history and culture of Luxembourg. We also had a great
dinner there with the Luxembourg National Agency and were treated to the local
specialities.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">One of my favourite exercises and memory’s
is definitely when we spent a day on exploring the world of Erasmus+ and whether
it can </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">be used as a tool for supporting the empowerment
process and how youth workers and youth leaders can support young people in
this process of reflecting and recording and learning to harness their skills to
increase future employability (with the aim that we will be able to </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">create powerful activities
and projects with and for young people). To familiarize ourselves with the whole process of organizing/participating
in a Youth Exchange we received the most empowering task in the training. We were
randomly assigned groups, received a map
of the neighbouring forests, lunch bags and an exercise of coming up with an
imaginary person (complete with a detailed socio-economic description) and to take
that person with us for a small hiking tour.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During
the tour each group had to discuss each level of the process of a Youth
Exchange project (getting informed, applying, organizing, participating and
reflecting on a Youth Exchange project). We were walking in the most beautiful,
fairy tale like forest for 4 hours and created a whole story. Not just about
the imaginary person and her experiences, but we also created an imaginary
Youth Exchange program, with actual training plan, with the budget and its objectives.
But overall the hiking tour was more than a training exercise. The peaceful
environment, the beauty of the nature gave us new perspectives and provided a perfect
situation for self-reflection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Overall the training was a big success, not
only </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> did I gain
new knowledge, skills and experiences but also made new friends and
professional partners for future projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-966706531218380882014-12-08T11:42:00.002+01:002015-04-08T16:42:34.311+02:00GHRD Report: Youth in Action: Keep Active and Change your Life, Puente Genil, Spain by Syd Boyd, Communications Intern<div class="MsoNormal">
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In October 2014, I attended a week long
training for Youth in Action in Puente Genil, Spain. The training was called
“Keep Active and Change your Life” and was organised by the Spanish NGO
Camaleon Rojo. The aim of the course was to empower European youth by providing
greater understanding of the European job market, as well as methods to
approach the job-hunting process. The programme was attended by four groups
from different nationalities, the Italian team, the Austrian team, the Spanish
team, the Polish team, and last but not least, the Dutch Team. Drawing on the
resources compiled by teams from five countries, the trainee was provided with
a comprehensive understanding of the European job-market and was equipped with
skills to deal with the difficulties of securing a career in a difficult
economic time. It was a fantastic experience and I feel privileged to have
attended. I gained massive cultural experience and learned a lot during the
training, and had the opportunity to meet highly motivated and inspirational
people.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The training was intensive, starting every
day at 08.00 and ending every day at around 22.00. The training consisted of a lot of
role-playing and presenting. Main activities included, playing the Stereotypes
game, partaking in Cultural Evenings, doing Energizers, defending a point of
view, preparing an Interview and a CV, learning about news ways to present a CV
such as the Video Curriculum format, and creating a song based on our
experiences during the training. All team exercises were highly educational,
especially as they involved interacting with people from different cultures
with different mind-sets. I found I could deal with it quite well, and felt
that despite different cultural approaches, there were basic human similarities
that we could lock on to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Besides activities directly related to the
Youth in Action training, we were invited to participate in several cultural
outings. Of course, being with so many different cultures was a training in
itself, and we learned loads about the various cultures that were represented.
Cultural excursions were an important part of the trip. Our first excursion was
a visit to the town hall of Puente Genil, to meet with the Mayor. Local
journalists were present, and country group leaders were asked to speak about
the Youth in Action programme. It was nice to make the Puente Genil newspapers.
An excellent part of the trip was the visit to Cordoba, what a fantastic city.
It was about 28 degrees, and we spent the day sight-seeing. It was an amazing
experience. The city used to be an important part of the Muslim Caliphate, and
had impressive Muslim architecture. I was blown away by a mosque we visited,
which had been converted to a Christian church. I had never seen anything like
it. It was a bizarre mixture of Mosque and Church, with Christian paraphernalia
adorning three of the walls, the fourth wall was still covered in Muslim temple
art. The vast hall was like some ancient Middle Eastern prayer room, with sand
coloured columns a sprawling flagstone floor. The ceiling was very high, and
the whole thing looked like a massive desert cave, and very impressive. For the
rest of the afternoon we walked through the historic part of the town, as well
as the beautiful bridge leading out of Cordoba. A few of us spent a
considerable amount of time shopping for souvenirs. It seemed to be no obstacle
that pretty much every tourist shop was exactly the same, as we nipped into the
next tourist shop available after having just left the first.</div>
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In conclusion I found the whole experience
tremendously valuable. Meeting the people from the other countries and developing
a close relationship with them provided us all with a profound experience of
each other’s culture, as well as throwing light on our own culture, and the
things we do without thinking about them, as they are supposedly normal. The
training was interesting too, as it enabled me to unravel my thoughts about job
hunting, as well as passing on some information that had been very helpful to
me. The atmosphere was fantastic and reflected in the ongoing Facebook group,
which for two weeks after the training is still used as a contact point for
participants from all teams, and where all photos are uploaded and further
arrangements are made for meeting up in the participant countries. Everyone
made a great effort, and people who at the start of the week were having
difficulties with English improved in leaps and bounds. It was a pleasure to
see people’s confidence and expertise improve in such a short time. Public
speaking skills were greatly improved, as everyone was expected to get up in
front of the group and present various role playing activities. Initially, some
people were considered designated public speakers, but as the programme went
on, everyone gained confidence and the skill to present, and present well in
English no less. To some the experience was even life changing, as confidence
increased and new horizons were delineated. Whereas previously participants had
a fixed view of life and how it should be lived, now opportunities were
limitless, and not bound by past conditioning. In short, the Youth in Action
training programme contributed to the personal freedom of the participants, and
as such achieved a worthy goal. I was inspired by the other people I met, as
they were all outgoing, positive, and adventurous individuals, who had faced
and overcome various challenges in their lives, and had a wide array of skills
and pursuits. Certain characteristics I noticed in some of the participants I
will emulate, as I was deeply impressed by them. In short, it was a privilege
to have been able to attend the Youth in Action training.</div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-48972026017117226852014-10-23T12:22:00.002+02:002014-10-23T12:33:46.282+02:00Pakistan Hindu Seva Welfare Trust: Goals and Partnerships<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I am Sanjesh
Dhanja from Karachi, Pakistan. I am currently running an organization called
the Pakistan Hindu Seva Welfare Trust (PHS) which is based in Karachi. Pakistan
Hindu Seva is a non-political, secular, non-profit, non-discriminatory and
progressive humanitarian charity organization. PHS strives for the betterment of
deprived communities in Pakistan and also provides legal support for different
victims affected by human rights violations in all of Sindh. PHS focuses on the
rights of women and education of children which are affected to a high
extent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Minorities in
Pakistan are not enjoying their full rights, and are facing many problems.
Minorities in Pakistan are being treated as second class citizens. To date we,
minorities, are not free and are unable to enjoy our rights. As stated by the
founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah; <i><span style="color: #4f81bd; mso-themecolor: accent1;">“</span></i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent1;">You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you
are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State
of Pakistan ... You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has
nothing to do with the business of the State"</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4f81bd; mso-themecolor: accent1;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4f81bd; mso-themecolor: accent1;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US">Some of the major
problems Hindus in Pakistan facing are: discrimination within the community,
land grabbing, lack of education, lack of health facilities, water shortage,
unemployment, low wages, child labor, child marriage, bonded labor, rape cases, forced
conversion, the Blasphemy Act and demolition of temples.</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I belong to the Hindu
community. Being from a minority group in Pakistan and facing discrimination
has motivated me to initiate my own organization to work and fight for equal
rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">PHS has been
affiliated with Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) since 2012. GHRD has given
different trainings on development, communication, strategy planning, advocacy
and lobbying. These trainings have
empowered me and the employees of PHS. Positive changes are made on
documenting, reporting, reaching out to society, conducting fact findings and
lobbying for cases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I learnt to analyse, verify and monitor and follow up the cases which involve
human rights violations . I learnt to summarise case files for websites and
other publications, to write articles for the website, newsletters and how to
improve communication with international organizations. I learned to write
strategy plans, advocacy, lobby and legal assistance cases and a fundraising
strategy for my organization.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have learned many skills during my training which includes skills of
communication, fundraising, administration and writing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have shared my experience as a Pakistani Hindu with the GHRD team. I
have informed them of various social and economic issues that the Hindu
community face in Pakistani society. I talk about forced conversion,
discriminatory laws, bonded labour which are, among others, some of the most
urgent human right issues for Hindus in Pakistan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My goals were to explore my organization and community work through
learning at GHRD. It was great to learn from the GHRD team about communication
and reporting. I was given tasks for formulating strategic and fundraising
planning as I was unknown to all this and I learnt a lot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was good time with the GHRD team at Hague. It was nice to be a part of this training
where I learned a lot which remains helpful to me and my organization. I would
also like to say that I expect GHRD to create further opportunities for my
organization as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I would like to
thank GHRD for inviting me to their Head office in the Hague for this eminent
training. I will implement all my
learning from GHRD in PHS and continue to use these skills to enhance the
effectiveness of PHS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-29111786422906351712014-09-22T16:51:00.000+02:002015-04-08T16:42:26.458+02:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What does it mean to violate human rights? Do we know when our rights are violated? If you can answer these questions you probably
know that human rights are “<i>the rights a
person has simply because
he or she is a human being</i>”, which are embodied in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Officially, there is a universal consensus about them. Nevertheless, I sincerely doubt
whether this universal consensus is put into practice in the world we live in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">As rights
and values are defined and limited by cultural </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">perceptions and there is no universal culture which all
human beings identify with, denial of universal rights is frequent in our
modern multicultural society</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Even
though we might think that human rights violations do not occur in the
countries we live in, the reality is that no single country is left unaffected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Human rights violations
take many forms and are rampant
in developing countries, where government corruption is part of everyday life and
resources to fulfill the basic rights of the population are scarce. Extreme
poverty and insecurity are the common denominators, which make people even more
vulnerable. Without options and government protection, they are often treated as less than human beings. For
instance, endless human rights abuses in the form of mass atrocity
crimes are being perpetrated in countries such as the Central African Republic,
South Sudan, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo; prisons with inhuman conditions and strong repression
against freedom of expression have been reported in Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, China, Malaysia and in many
African countries; child labor is particularly common in Haiti and chronic
gender-based violence in India, where gang-rapes are frequent. Stoning and
religious intolerance have been found in the Middle East and in African
countries; cases of systematic torture and arbitrary detentions are committed
in countries from South-East Asia and Latin America, where the abuse of non-democratic powers also restricts
minorities’ rights; modern forms of slavery such as child marriage and bonded
labor are widespread, as well as terrorism; the list goes on and on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">However, we should not
make the mistake of believing that developed countries are free from all guilt.
Global interdependence has engendered human trafficking and human rights abuses
by powerful transnational corporations, which are characterized by forced labor
and sexual exploitation. And behind these cruel practices, there are always individual
perpetrators who authorize the
ordeal and ignore the most basic rights of the victims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But, <i>do human rights violations affect all of us
in the same way?</i> Definitely they do not. Since a victim from a developing
country is usually exposed to extremely cruel situations in their home regions,
accepting the offer of a “better job” abroad – usually in a developed country – is seen as the only escape. But the job is a
fantasy. On arrival in the destination country, isolated and with no knowledge
of the language, this person can be forced to work under appalling and
deplorable conditions; totally at the mercy of the traffickers. If they escape,
they usually end begging on the streets, homeless, where they risk dying
without anyone noticing their “absence”. On the other hand, a victim from a developed country can see her
social, economic and cultural rights limited or even reduced<a href="file:///Z:/COMMUNICATION/Social%20Media/Syd/Blog/Article%20-%20HR%20blog%20_%20GHRD%20_%2012%2009%2014.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>;
as a consequence, the present gap between rich and poor people becomes bigger. For
instance, this situation is occurring in some Western European countries where
the economic crisis has had a strong impact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Additionally, more and
more people have ended begging in the streets; torture of people who have
participated in demonstrations by authority forces is also an increasing tendency
concerning human rights violations in some developed countries that suffer from
the economic crisis; and discrimination based on skin color, gender, religion or
even for just being a “poor” person is increasing, which can even turn into violence or
aggression. Human rights
are alleged to be guaranteed by law, but despite the multitude of international
instruments, g<span style="background: white;">overnments are rarely
willing to ensure that those who profit from vulnerable people are punished;
and civil society remains passive towards such injustices.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Reflection on human
rights abuses from a global approach is therefore more necessary than ever. The
interdependent world we live in makes us all responsible for human rights violations
(when we buy products from companies that use forced labor; when we do not take
action against corruption and violence against women; or when we do not claim
for equal opportunities, to mention a few). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Even though it is very difficult to eradicate human rights violations, knowing
our rights is the first step. The second consists of attacking discrimination,
combating poverty, promoting respectful and tolerant education, and providing
access to justice for all. We need to ask ourselves what kind of world we live
in when we allow such outrageous practices to persist. We cannot deny the fact of
the human condition, which
encompasses both the unique and common features of every human being, making us
all equal on the face of the Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///Z:/COMMUNICATION/Social%20Media/Syd/Blog/Article%20-%20HR%20blog%20_%20GHRD%20_%2012%2009%2014.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9pt;">According to the United Nations, “</span><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9pt;">economic, social and cultural rights include the rights to
adequate food, to adequate housing, to education, to health, to social
security, to take part in cultural life, to water and sanitation, and to work”.</span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div>
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Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-19703667976622695832014-07-07T14:50:00.000+02:002014-12-24T11:48:15.599+01:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Youth in Action in Spain: Get Transnational!</b></div>
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At the end of June, GHRD’s European Volunter Service (EVS) volunteer, Barbara Mojzes attended a Youth in Action training programme in Spain, targeting
transnational youth initiatives within the new Erasmus+ Programme. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The training organized by Spanish
National Agency and took a place in Cercedilla; a picturesque Spanish village just a half an hour ride to Madrid. 24
participants representing various organisations from all around Europe, Turkey
and even Nigeria guaranteed the diversity of opinions and perspectives during
the whole week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>The priority of the seminar was
to promote European projects through transnational youth initiatives within the
framework of Erasmus+ Programme and to establishing platforms for people who
are interested in developing youth initiatives focusing on entrepreneurship.</div>
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Our trainers were experts on
non-formal education and working methods, as all of the training sessions
involved games, energizers, simulations and amusing exercises, which created a
positive and cheerful atmosphere for further fruitful cooperation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">In the very beginning of the
training, participants got an opportunity to present their organisations and
activities during the Project and NGO market. The session gave us an overview
of organisations’ focus areas and their capacities. Since the core aim of the
training programme was to establish transnational collaboration among various
NGOs and set up projects (transnational youth initiatives) that are suitable
for future realization.</span></div>
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One of my best memories is definitely
the international night organized during
the first evening we spent in Cercedilla. The aim of the night was to present
your own traditional cuisine. We had so much fun while tasting various (and
sometimes peculiar) foods and drinks from Latvia, Hungary, Czech Republic,
Croatia, Romania, UK, Spain, France, Turkey and the Netherlands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following four days of intensive
training and project management, we spent a pleasant afternoon in Madrid; the
amazing Spanish capital that never sleeps. The timing was perfect since we all
needed some rest and inspiration during
the last days of our great journey. So, we enjoyed the sightseeing led by local
hosts and delicious dinner as much as possible.</div>
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It was not always easy to work
with people with different cultural backgrounds and views, but I wanted to
cherish this multicultural environment to the fullest. I mean what a boring and dull world it would be without this incredible
diversity. Wouldn't you agree?<o:p></o:p><br />
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-72191708908010678062014-05-16T15:47:00.000+02:002014-12-24T11:47:44.656+01:00The Dalai Lama in Netherlands: Buddhist Teaching and Public Talk in Rotterdam<h3 style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">On 11th May, <span style="text-align: justify;">His Holiness the Dalai Lama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and one of the most powerful spiritual leaders of the world visited Rotterdam, GHRD's EVS volunteer and intern attended this event.</span></span></h3>
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<i><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Barbara Mojzes</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and one of the most
powerful spiritual leaders of the world gave a thought-provoking public lecture in Rotterdam in front of 11,000 people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BVGU0Y93bFDFmdtDMGYJl7LzojUxragpxPP8Nm-EjKRSNgu5mHYTTbKfxAggwWDZJSaka0oD5RCMaZ02qydrljX5Vd820j_qylffvUD0VR6mPCzQs0SsqKLen3MhUyyZ72HFWpe9R3sJ/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BVGU0Y93bFDFmdtDMGYJl7LzojUxragpxPP8Nm-EjKRSNgu5mHYTTbKfxAggwWDZJSaka0oD5RCMaZ02qydrljX5Vd820j_qylffvUD0VR6mPCzQs0SsqKLen3MhUyyZ72HFWpe9R3sJ/s1600/1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Photo: Jurjen Donkers</span></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
79-year old Dalai Lama, currently living in exile in India surprised the audience with his down to earth attitude,
spontaneity and great sense of humor. Wearing an orange baseball cap during his
teachings made the lecture even more
enjoyable and reminded us about how often we are concerned about improving our body instead
of improving our mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">As the head of a 500 year old religion, the Dalai Lama was not afraid to connect his
beliefs to more modern theories from Quantum Physics in relation to questions of
existence and the present time. For example, he spoke about a theory which came up with <span style="background: white;">the possibility that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">time</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>may not even exist</span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">.<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #545454;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;">This is because, he argued,
if the present moment we are living in turns into the past every
second, and in the same second, the future becomes the present, does the present
moment exist at all?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His
Holiness then explained the three principal aspects of the Path. These are
renunciation (the determination to be free), bodhichitta (the altruistic
aspiration for enlightenment) and wisdom. We all, “Dharma Friends, Spiritual
Brothers and Sisters” want happiness not suffering, but we need to know how
suffering and happiness come about. Suffering is always a result of our own
actions and the main reason or all the suffering in the world is ignorance,
due to the gap between appearance and reality. It is not technology, state governments
or weapons that are our biggest enemies, but our own selfish attitude and ignorant
minds.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Sara Fiorentini</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since
I started working for human rights protection, one of the main issues I have
had to face is that the more religious authorities influence the social and
political choices of a country, the less a real integration between different
communities is possible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">It
is undeniable, indeed, that religions have a great effect on society as well as
the opposite, in a dialectical relationship. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">I
have always believed that religions can find a common ground to
peacefully coexist and promote the protection of fundamental rights which
are recognized as intangible precepts. Nevertheless, if we do not contemplate
the possibility of creating a neutral structure that allows different religions to
express freely and to identify their common features, it seems impossible to
state the existence of these universal principles. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To
this end, I was highly inspired by the Dalai Lama’s speech about the
possibility to get a human rights-framework that allows different religions to
coexist in a peaceful way on the basis of secularism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
stated that every religion talks about love and compassion, as well as teaching self-discipline because it is fundamental to avoid impulsivity
and greed. Therefore, the only difference between religions rests on the way in which they promote love and compassion, that is to say that religions do not
contradict each other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
only way to gain a peaceful coexistence between religions is to build every
State’s rules on secular principles able to reflect the fundamental teaching of
love that every religion shares. According to this pattern, a tolerant society
is possible: a society which rests on moral ethics and promotes both individual
and communal values. A State should promote these principles by delegating
educational tasks to individuals, families and small communities that when working
together, have the capacity to build up a local, national and then
international idea of tolerance and mutual respect.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-15206222480435520602014-05-02T16:11:00.000+02:002014-09-22T17:13:09.769+02:00In the voice of: SAWERA<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">SAWERA
was introduced to GHRD by Front Line Defenders, an international
organization based in Ireland that was set up in
2001. The organization works to protect human rights defenders, like the staff
at SAWERA, who are at risk because of their peaceful and courageous work
for the human rights of others in their community. Front Line Defenders
provides this protection in many ways including providing security grants to
improve human rights defenders' physical protection and conducting security and
computer training to strengthen their physical and online security. See <a href="http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/">www.frontlinedefenders.org</a> for
more details.</span> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">GHRD was lucky enough to interview a member of SAWERA in order to learn more about their work. We thank them very much for their time and insightful answers!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;">- Please explain what SAWERA is and where you work?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA - </span>the Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas, <span style="font-family: inherit;">works to promote the equal status of women in the tribal society by helping to foster women's social and political rights. We try to improve the lives of the women in the region by promoting women's literacy and employment and educating people in an attempt to combat domestic violence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We work in the </span>Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, known more commonly as FATA, of Pakistan because w<span style="font-family: inherit;">hen the Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan in December 2001, the remaining militants retreated to the<b><i> </i></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">FATA in Pakistan in order to regroup. This area is located in northwestern Pakistan, just across the border with Afghanistan, and has a population of approximately 4.1 million. Here</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the militants challenged the fragile tribal governing system in place in the region and exercised their power and control by brutally targeting innocent civilians and thus diminishing the power of the existing governing system.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvP5d5d_Ft_11Z9Ya7j1A4-pQU_Ej8BhVRVOgVzC44dXiVOv11fn5CZynMyd9-5aKGnWUQoIbrlL6-skuO0MyHlbRL4TAVuBwXgEIbcZDZp07JbPhzHi2N292oyKzVj1YSND8fVM7YXwB/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvP5d5d_Ft_11Z9Ya7j1A4-pQU_Ej8BhVRVOgVzC44dXiVOv11fn5CZynMyd9-5aKGnWUQoIbrlL6-skuO0MyHlbRL4TAVuBwXgEIbcZDZp07JbPhzHi2N292oyKzVj1YSND8fVM7YXwB/s1600/map.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of Pakistan which highlights the FATA region in red</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Government of Pakistan tried to limit the Taliban with a military operation but it was unsuccessful and the militants were able to extend their activities and move towards the bigger cities located near the FATA. As a result, people began to leave their homes in the region and reside as displaced persons in the outskirts of the district. Civil servants, businessmen and humanitarian workers fled the area as incidents of kidnappings and targeted killings increased.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only did the militants reject the incumbent governing system by the tribes in the FATA, they also strongly denied women's rights in the region. Female teachers, doctors and health workers were shot and killed which served to scare women back into their homes. Educational and economic opportunities for women diminished to 0%, with women's involvement in decision making and dispute management processes becoming an unattainable dream. The society became increasingly male-dominated and women were viewed as secondary. This was the real inspiration and motivation for the founding of SAWERA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA began by organizing meetings with women on the importance of women's rights and education and went on to open a school to educate the girls whose schools had been destroyed by militants in the Khyber Agency district of the FATA.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;">- Please explain a bit more about the work SAWERA does?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
works to promote the equal status of women in this tribal society by helping to
foster women's social and political rights. We try to improve the lives of the
women in the region by promoting women's literacy and employment and educating
people in an attempt to combat domestic violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
began by organizing meetings with women on the importance of women's rights and
education and went on to open a school to educate the girls whose schools had
been destroyed by militants in the Khyber Agency district of the FATA.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763;">- And what is your role within the organisation?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I
work as the security </span>adviser<span style="font-family: inherit;"> for SAWERA. I manage the level of threat against
the organization and respond to any security incidents. My duties include
assessing an area from a security perspective before any SAWERA staff travel there. I do this by identifying and mitigating the risks and threats. I
design security protocols and procedures to provide protection for SAWERA
staff and I deliver safety and security training to protect them. Moreover, I
also manage responses to security incidents and deal with the media.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;">- Please tell us more about the people you work with?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We
work to help the female half of the population in this rigid, tribal society
where there is a strong militant hold. This half of the population have been
consistently ignored by tribal administrative authorities since the country was
founded in 1947 and since the 2001 influx of militants from Afghanistan, the
situation for women and children has become much worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
2008, under the control of militants, dozens of new sanctions against women
were introduced in the FATA region, for example they introduced the rule that
women were not allowed to go outside unless they were accompanied by a male
member of their family. If a woman was found to be breaking this rule she would
be severely punished. The Taliban groups based in the North and South
Waziristan districts of the FATA announced that women were not allowed to apply
for a CNIC card – the National Identity Card, which is compulsory for opening
bank accounts, applying for a passport and almost all substantial monetary
transactions, such as buying cars, land and other assets. They also insisted
that women wear the <i>burqa</i> (traditional scarf).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">- What do you think are the biggest challenges and problems that women face in FATA?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Violence
against women and honor killings are two burning issues for women in the
tribal region, coupled with the fact that the power to challenge these issues
lies with the leading male figures in society, to whom women are invisible.
There are no institutions or mechanisms for women to submit complaints about
their abusers. There are no women's courts in the tribal area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore,
before the war against terror in Afghanistan, the female literacy rate in the FATA
region was 3%. However, when the Taliban retreated from Afghanistan, and
entered the FATA, they started pushing their own agenda, demolishing many girl’s
schools, claiming that these schools were providing secular education. Then,
for fear of more demolitions and bomb blasts, the remaining schools for girls closed.
These factors combined to further reduce the levels of literacy and female
education in the region which is the third biggest challenge.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYrD-_fyOyS6ipceViek24Cj2av1U0aOGc4e7vtGNjmIuGb95AfL2qEcoDx_XhNvQRp-74hz9kWuZFiCaj2_5MHkY-UfFLU001yfAcDioHtHdodi8L9LFQdeNpH8s8cmwbI66LHxlRa5q/s1600/Play+for+peace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYrD-_fyOyS6ipceViek24Cj2av1U0aOGc4e7vtGNjmIuGb95AfL2qEcoDx_XhNvQRp-74hz9kWuZFiCaj2_5MHkY-UfFLU001yfAcDioHtHdodi8L9LFQdeNpH8s8cmwbI66LHxlRa5q/s1600/Play+for+peace.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SAWERA has worked hard to improve the lives of girls and women</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #073763;">- Please explain some of the innovative projects you have implemented</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
has implemented a wide range of programs in the FATA since its inception in
2004. <i><b>Women Protection Groups</b></i> were set up in an effort to protect women from violence,
harassment and to engage them in peace-building, non-violent activities. For the first time in the country's history, women and girls are being involved
in security mapping and peace-building initiatives. These groups identify
unsafe places within their communities and they subsequently go on to link-up
with government and non-government institutions for the provision of support on
the bases of their identified security issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
also implements an <i><b>Open Intervention Program</b></i> to build the capacity of
local community based organizations (CBOs) for women in the FATA. This program
incorporates diverse training events on the approaches to development in order
to enhance the capacity of CBOs in building an understanding about the
obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international
organizations and non-governmental organizations from realizing their
developmental goals. These trainings also enhance the CBOs strengths so that
they will achieve measurable and sustainable results. This project has
facilitated some 30 village-level CBOs to date, with many participants now
serving as social activists in their communities, facilitating ongoing
developments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA also provides IT (Information
Technology) training for women in the FATA. These trainings have provided the
participants with skills required for employment, and some have gone on to
secure jobs in government institutions, earning a source of income for their
families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">- What are the main issues that SAWERA faces?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
is operating programs in the FATA, one of the most dangerous regions in the
world for human rights work and in particular women's rights work.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In June 2012, Farida Afridi, one of the founders of SAWERA, told
journalists that she was receiving threatening messages from an anonymous
source. These messages told her to stop her work for women's rights and to stop
her open criticism of the Pakistani government, the Taliban militants and the
male-dominated structure of Pakistani society. In July 2012, whilst leaving her
house to go to work, Farida was shot once in the head and twice in the neck by
two men on a motorcycle. Later that day, she died in hospital. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Additionally, </span>in
2013, the SAWERA office was bombed, thankfully nobody was injured, but there
was a lot of structural damage to the infrastructure. The militants continue to
threaten us, demanding that we cease our work for women's empowerment and the
promotion of women's rights. The threats still exist, each and every day for
us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">- What do you think SAWERA needs in order to work more effectively?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Funding
is key. At present we are operating with limited resources and we do not have
adequate funds to provide financial support to victims of the violence. Ideally
we would like to have the resources to manage investigation visits within the
country as well as rest and respite visits out of the country for staff members
who are attacked or under severe stress. Additional funding would also be
useful to help us in relocating our office to a safer location so that the
space could have the dual-purpose of being an office and a safe-house for staff
and families in emergency situations. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">- Why do you think international support is important to an organisation like SAWERA?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">International
recognition acts as an encouragement to the staff of SAWERA. By recognizing the
importance of the work we are doing to promote women's rights the international
community gives us strength. It also serves to spread the news that such
marginalization and discrimination exists in the FATA and hopefully this can
lead to more support for these women. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Earlier
this year SAWERA won the 10<sup>th</sup> Front Line Defenders Award for Human
Rights Defenders at Risk. This was an international acknowledgement that
despite the risks and the losses we have faced, the international community is
aware of our work and recognizes our courage. It was also an opportunity to
<span style="font-family: inherit;">extend our global network and to meet with people who will further support the
work of SAWERA. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">SAWERA
has some global partners including Safe World For Women<b>, </b>Women’s WorldWide Web (W4) and Asian Girl Campaign, who all
highlight the importance of SAWERA's work globally. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;">- Where does SAWERA see itself in 5 years?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">It is our goal in SAWERA for the female literacy rate to be
increased by 50% in the coming five years. We also hope for peace in the
region, as once peace is restored both boys and girls will be able to go to
school safely and happily. As we continue to work to change people's attitudes
in the tribal society we hope that they will learn to accept the equal status
of women and be open to women's empowerment. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The strength of the women in the region will grow and this
will resolve some of the issues women are facing, allowing them to exercise
power in areas of decision making in the coming years. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, peace is of utmost importance for women in the
region to exist in an environment that will allow them to realize their rights. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><b>Photos courtesy of SAWERA</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></span></div>
GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-89670779394036240092014-04-25T15:05:00.002+02:002014-09-22T17:07:21.758+02:00Youth In Action: on the edge – inclusion across borders<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;">by Karin <span style="line-height: 115%;">Sternäng</span></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Earlier this month, GHRD’s
Human Rights Intern, Karin Sternäng visited Azerbaijan to learn more about
social inclusion as part of a Youth in Action Project.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The training
programme, 'on the edge - inclusion across borders' was organized by the European Intercultural Forum in cooperation with
a local organization from Azerbaijan called Bridge to the Future. 30 participants representing 24 youth and human rights organisations attended the event and came from a diverse range of countries including The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Latvia,
Spain, Italy, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Moldova. The aim of the training was to
raise the issue and awareness level of the social exclusion of young people.
This was done through non-formal methodology consisting of discussions,
workshops and role-plays. With so many different organizations present, the
training also served as an excellent platform to learn from each other’s
experiences and to form new partnerships.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidguiZQ0RBI-4aV7Eqm9e34eLoaNfeOw-KR6PVc9DfI6GPBveOxFByvkDnfKGkmpgZ8md0I14FtbRmSOV0KdD31srF37ym9hyEMx0ZHIfI2mer5bbVn5N6K9dg7HIp9jdSZ2R7LKENzebg/s1600/IMG_5998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidguiZQ0RBI-4aV7Eqm9e34eLoaNfeOw-KR6PVc9DfI6GPBveOxFByvkDnfKGkmpgZ8md0I14FtbRmSOV0KdD31srF37ym9hyEMx0ZHIfI2mer5bbVn5N6K9dg7HIp9jdSZ2R7LKENzebg/s1600/IMG_5998.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">The
subjects discussed during the training course included the
definition of exclusion, solutions to exclusion, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0.5in;">identity issues, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">youth participation and </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">identifying</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> the specific problems that youth in Europe experience in relation to exclusion. An
exciting aspect of the training was to see how the group developed throughout the week. Due to the fact that participants were from so many different
countries and backgrounds, it took us a while to reach a common ground where we
could understand each other, our common issues and interests and feel
comfortable as a group. By the end of the week however, we had developed a strong group
dynamic.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjbxQ8d5tzCqLpluK25aEwVQW1_h_mnd_gAQg0LEi70xWk6Yi0fXj9pn0t9zL96hEAEMBy3qh7bulsd9otJwKgGJXJjXXMpuN0CuEkHFO4K7fOifXXZkGMSH49xAl1i-gOTDAHZg1t38l/s1600/IMG_5991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjbxQ8d5tzCqLpluK25aEwVQW1_h_mnd_gAQg0LEi70xWk6Yi0fXj9pn0t9zL96hEAEMBy3qh7bulsd9otJwKgGJXJjXXMpuN0CuEkHFO4K7fOifXXZkGMSH49xAl1i-gOTDAHZg1t38l/s1600/IMG_5991.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0.5in;">On one of the training days we went on an excursion to the nearby city of Ganja, which has been awarded the European Youth Capital 2016. It was there we met with representatives from the European Youth Capital Committee and the Municipality who informed us about the application process of becoming a European Youth Capital and what Ganja </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0.5in;">can expect over the next few years in regards to this award. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">The training itself was set in the beautiful surroundings of the national park of Togana, which is located in the north west of Azerbaijan. This
peaceful venue was great for the training but unfortunately it was too disconnected from reality; if
it hadn’t have been for the great Azeri food they cooked us, we would not have known
we were in Azerbaijan! However, as I</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> had never been to the Caucasus
before nor to a country where the limitation of freedoms is so evident. My
travel partner and I had booked our flight so that we would have an extra 4
days to explore Azerbaijan on our own.</span><b style="line-height: 115%;"> </b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Azeri
people are extremely friendly; they were all very helpful in situations where
we were a bit lost or in need of help. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Although Azerbaijan</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is a wealthy, resource-rich country, this is not something you can understand
from walking through the streets as corruption is ever present in daily life. The
reality of the political and social situation in Azerbaijan serves as a bitter
truth to its people and </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">judging from the friends we made in Baku, sadly none of them feel hope that change will come or that they
could play a part in starting a social or political movement in the near future.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV9UoqPYRxs0aqvvcjSVj9zXeK3DiyyD8weohohGCp57DcavS3r8IY9UxCpSfbVWCzni6bb_QfZxo4JiwN9FNM2_iZzP3CFCjLy4nV5x7_bsALh5DRWiemrD9UaxXOyJNn8l9itOtcvZe/s1600/IMG_6119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV9UoqPYRxs0aqvvcjSVj9zXeK3DiyyD8weohohGCp57DcavS3r8IY9UxCpSfbVWCzni6bb_QfZxo4JiwN9FNM2_iZzP3CFCjLy4nV5x7_bsALh5DRWiemrD9UaxXOyJNn8l9itOtcvZe/s1600/IMG_6119.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #252525;">İçəri Şəhər. The </span></i><span style="color: #252525;">"inner
city"/old city of Baku</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, the training was successful in bringing awareness to the
problem of social exclusion. We were made aware of the many different
situations of exclusion that youth in our countries face on a daily basis and
what this in turn can lead to for the individuals and groups affected. Having
said that, the other participants and I felt that the discussion had stayed at
a very a-political level and that we still lacked a deeper level of analysis of
the problems.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the European Intercultural Forum and Bridge to the Future for the invitation, organizing the training and
for a great week in Azerbaijan.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">For more information on GHRD’s upcoming projects and </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">training events</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"> check our website (www.ghrd.org) or contact our education department (education@ghrd.org).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-63748640325630730502014-04-11T15:31:00.000+02:002014-09-22T17:08:00.696+02:00Human Rights in Istanbul: how does civil society in Turkey compare with The Netherlands?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Earlier this month, GHRD's Communications Intern, Jess Bailey, visited Istanbul to
learn more about human rights and minority rights issues affecting Turkey. She
attended this trip as part of Northwestern University’s student group ‘</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Northwestern
Conference on Human Rights<span class="apple-converted-space">’.</span></span></span></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m8tByWS73vezSRFR_2ZMNoX7oqvUI5Bhsvkox3gJFTaYtPleQxVSOYST-ceSWBfUdJVxpga7ftM0nbEIWC50gH81vSxBiJnb6dEwi0yxQnBWDeb6n-WFx2uNivpiUruI3OueOvLAqxNk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m8tByWS73vezSRFR_2ZMNoX7oqvUI5Bhsvkox3gJFTaYtPleQxVSOYST-ceSWBfUdJVxpga7ftM0nbEIWC50gH81vSxBiJnb6dEwi0yxQnBWDeb6n-WFx2uNivpiUruI3OueOvLAqxNk/s1600/1.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Turkey: a trans</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">continental border country between exotic and chaotic confusion
and a democratic and </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">organised Europe</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBVC7ZYzmlDKHBjMZ2dGN5uR2URix-haFGcFZO36x_wQ4lXxGqqSD5e457ri1vMacdDp4Qp8GBhThyd94-602fWcYLEc_IT3-LwjRjSLs5PCsd2630jP4BSIZdPb5UcEIT0g17-LFiW4h/s1600/2jackie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBVC7ZYzmlDKHBjMZ2dGN5uR2URix-haFGcFZO36x_wQ4lXxGqqSD5e457ri1vMacdDp4Qp8GBhThyd94-602fWcYLEc_IT3-LwjRjSLs5PCsd2630jP4BSIZdPb5UcEIT0g17-LFiW4h/s1600/2jackie.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Founded
in 1923, Turkey was born out of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s idea of a secular
nation, now ruled by the AKP for over 12 years, Turkey can be seen to be
regressing from this .</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0eeJf42KxOnkYhoxhXT0qOlkgFWZ2KDhJQqtTlhyplkqOlEL6tNtvH6JS-xnjufccV49cSPgWm6S5I_nF9ZINm0-U_8CamEsMWQyDQNFfvVhzjezrW0qA5q0xG9TfPMl3mx8FTv6Q-ze/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0eeJf42KxOnkYhoxhXT0qOlkgFWZ2KDhJQqtTlhyplkqOlEL6tNtvH6JS-xnjufccV49cSPgWm6S5I_nF9ZINm0-U_8CamEsMWQyDQNFfvVhzjezrW0qA5q0xG9TfPMl3mx8FTv6Q-ze/s1600/3.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shortly
before our arrival to Istanbul, Erdogan blocked twitter and whilst we were
there also banned access to YouTube. During our trip we visited TOG - Community Volunteers Organisation and spoke with the founder, Ibrahim
Betil, who earlier in the week quite eloquently tweeted ‘when the rules of
nature and technology combine, no one can turn off the tweet of the birds’.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP_zt43YUNdYYv23HSD7XDKsrdhxxWvm0fu9Y4ucblNXn2umC-tJCVFJDDH96nqNw37VCzwKE0EjvjTIUCS2Q60kzv96biml-AhmYv2bAEGZtRAL83hUpm2gM3HY9FNEZMj7D-QoxdJ91/s1600/4brooke+koc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP_zt43YUNdYYv23HSD7XDKsrdhxxWvm0fu9Y4ucblNXn2umC-tJCVFJDDH96nqNw37VCzwKE0EjvjTIUCS2Q60kzv96biml-AhmYv2bAEGZtRAL83hUpm2gM3HY9FNEZMj7D-QoxdJ91/s1600/4brooke+koc.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">During
the trip we also attended a day of lectures at Koc University to learn more about
Turkish civil society, migration patterns and the human rights issues
that affect the country. We specifically learnt about post-war emigration to Europe, the Kurdish Issue and the current Syrian crisis. We also spoke to students who participated in last year's protests.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9ZYrR5LA_X3s2OXGV8oFRW1n19JPPCjJyBLEiKSJAbLv-0fRtM7Q3a1G_DKwdKw4HBFxFLpXhANwjWwyruL_c4gUvYJpUzTJ-4GtvsC2g4FcuOFz6n3EbQBW3ibsUhiZ-y2BXhluWNP3/s1600/6+HCA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9ZYrR5LA_X3s2OXGV8oFRW1n19JPPCjJyBLEiKSJAbLv-0fRtM7Q3a1G_DKwdKw4HBFxFLpXhANwjWwyruL_c4gUvYJpUzTJ-4GtvsC2g4FcuOFz6n3EbQBW3ibsUhiZ-y2BXhluWNP3/s1600/6+HCA.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We also visited ‘Helsinki Citizens Assembly’ where we learnt about Turkey's geographical limitation to the 1951 Geneva Convention, which means that Turkey only accepts asylum seekers from Europe and asylum seekers from other countries must apply via UNHCR and are then resettled elsewhere if successful. HCA also spoke to us about the free legal assistance
they provide to failed asylum seekers who are stuck in limbo as well as the work they do with in regards to furthering the integration of the Kurdish
community.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZb8bwL9jNW1t2Uvgm8FpbnjCoFAIew924A-6BHBR26j0fxQBgHNdIn1xLMXOawr7aBJNfKHIcSFTh2JF0C6GqxwJzeSjgRV7FDgNNOW5Xe7JF5MwxAwDrQHhDXsOdFQqKiFGqMHNIsw-/s1600/6+hamish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZb8bwL9jNW1t2Uvgm8FpbnjCoFAIew924A-6BHBR26j0fxQBgHNdIn1xLMXOawr7aBJNfKHIcSFTh2JF0C6GqxwJzeSjgRV7FDgNNOW5Xe7JF5MwxAwDrQHhDXsOdFQqKiFGqMHNIsw-/s1600/6+hamish.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">Additionally</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, we visited a newly established civil society organisation called Hamisch and learnt
more about the Syrian conflict and their work which aims to connect Syrian
intellectuals in exile. This provided an interesting contrast to our current knowledge obtained from western media about Syria which is mostly related to the refugee crisis and not other parts of </span><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">Syrian</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> culture.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyg3xzFnZwFWIWwPXILKOq4UIxcvsTlxKWQtbnCfK88D0lTd5mYiSsq9O2jtDEL5WWfyalMV_iiHkTldUVCqZGA-ca13mImXC0Xw5rJnilOBll99PpjZbvA2lnwPjcHWslzdpU4NBEG5cM/s1600/5+pablo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyg3xzFnZwFWIWwPXILKOq4UIxcvsTlxKWQtbnCfK88D0lTd5mYiSsq9O2jtDEL5WWfyalMV_iiHkTldUVCqZGA-ca13mImXC0Xw5rJnilOBll99PpjZbvA2lnwPjcHWslzdpU4NBEG5cM/s1600/5+pablo3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Walking
down the main street of Istanbul, Istiklal Cadessi, t</span><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">he street seems hauntingly different today</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> as photos of last year’s
protests remind passers-by of the Gezi Park protests and the struggles for freedom of speech and democracy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU98ZWukOYmGZgKLxPHXN_mLHW9k16jOXumOJHsf6rXaRUy4G3E2WPD5ZNgsGD9KtlKX6lz-5HpwJ1lUfFeFLM8CgRK7Wc59OlFY8DOjVBoJuFjd9pYKmQZahIXm6MeQsDMZaaU1pobK_y/s1600/SAM_2709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU98ZWukOYmGZgKLxPHXN_mLHW9k16jOXumOJHsf6rXaRUy4G3E2WPD5ZNgsGD9KtlKX6lz-5HpwJ1lUfFeFLM8CgRK7Wc59OlFY8DOjVBoJuFjd9pYKmQZahIXm6MeQsDMZaaU1pobK_y/s1600/SAM_2709.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LGBT protesters were highly visible during
the Gezi Park protests which coincided with the 2013 Istanbul Gay Pride, making
it the largest Gay Pride ever held in Turkey and Eastern Europe. LGBT issues were also pushed forward politically through the Gezi protests and although the
government made attempts to cover-up all their artistic efforts, these stairs
remain a symbol of the underground LGBT community.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkpFwdjZlLm5aqfHbQ8njwmunJlebdMQ5OXFxP8Njho4IchS9-xomtRWSpXX_SKyv7atWPqAR7LGdyB6GzEEKELZxeanIHFK2z0sF2LbsnfUz2UiQ4id9SADYhw2GLHygoBsC-8pxUjsE/s1600/brooke1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkpFwdjZlLm5aqfHbQ8njwmunJlebdMQ5OXFxP8Njho4IchS9-xomtRWSpXX_SKyv7atWPqAR7LGdyB6GzEEKELZxeanIHFK2z0sF2LbsnfUz2UiQ4id9SADYhw2GLHygoBsC-8pxUjsE/s1600/brooke1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">A year on, small
protests continue to erupt on a frequent basis as the city remains concerned with rights to freedom of
expression, culture and access to the arts. This peaceful protest was concerned with the closure of art institutions was conducted peacefully using chants, music and dance.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95hwkUercU5beuAGPgp-Vc-xGyUjvf57rlB2O3ZZ-XR3azLWiWUdw5yadg2OW_jXjLgqX1NgAjvAbCkdBdw-VP_u_BPyXL3k9VHzd5Y5-C0BLFVSVsnzTLRBa4B3FVRq7Vc3ZpOi9TA_S/s1600/SAM_2753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95hwkUercU5beuAGPgp-Vc-xGyUjvf57rlB2O3ZZ-XR3azLWiWUdw5yadg2OW_jXjLgqX1NgAjvAbCkdBdw-VP_u_BPyXL3k9VHzd5Y5-C0BLFVSVsnzTLRBa4B3FVRq7Vc3ZpOi9TA_S/s1600/SAM_2753.JPG" height="400" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our
visit coincided with local elections and the city’s infrastructure was a blank
canvas for the masses of banners and </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">posters</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Several small rallys were also set up to </span><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">disseminate</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> party information and encourage people to vote. Many students from Koc University were flying back to their hometowns in order to participate in the voting process as this year, voting was assumed to be more important than ever.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxtKRTT-qfYt2wpV8r-BMKQjn1cR9667reHV7MB2DD0z9kh7S845uqESWSJgZ14MeelCEScAcY5PGHyZYPoVWCwO14A-HkBWCc-GeS5zz_-g7oQmVgZxqPEAa9tR_JgSrUDUHyQ04z95B/s1600/pablo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxtKRTT-qfYt2wpV8r-BMKQjn1cR9667reHV7MB2DD0z9kh7S845uqESWSJgZ14MeelCEScAcY5PGHyZYPoVWCwO14A-HkBWCc-GeS5zz_-g7oQmVgZxqPEAa9tR_JgSrUDUHyQ04z95B/s1600/pablo.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It became more and more clear as the week continued that the Turkish state is
putting a lot of money and attention into advancing the economy and this has often come at the
expense of minority communities and civil society.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8GlytkYrWIsmSMEutFEhkZudZP1FPDMaaz2aHQ7FSI2hOxvM6LFYZd86KS9QVKB02QWvh0AJgzYIkERHkpjz2Jcl3m2tKtzznDAGqlMmheJ1hyx4Iryi9y_Syu9Jng0P8qrdzorQ3X9b/s1600/pablo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8GlytkYrWIsmSMEutFEhkZudZP1FPDMaaz2aHQ7FSI2hOxvM6LFYZd86KS9QVKB02QWvh0AJgzYIkERHkpjz2Jcl3m2tKtzznDAGqlMmheJ1hyx4Iryi9y_Syu9Jng0P8qrdzorQ3X9b/s1600/pablo2.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It also became clear that there are many differences between Turkish civil society and Dutch civil society. For example, Turkish civil society is less developed than Dutch civil society and receives much less governmental support and funding, yet there are a higher number of minority and human rights abuses in Turkey.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ge0Mf2bn_ZE-C_CkDb5-DQFCw_q-oCx5LUToZS3MrvAmazP163zKTYF54IhxBviq4wVKVO3d_tMaDydZ6GDTJfjAXJm9L6qy1UDBQS4J3ClAZcyHKUJpWV-IR_A_i8Ijj9gb8td3_MvZ/s1600/SAM_2839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ge0Mf2bn_ZE-C_CkDb5-DQFCw_q-oCx5LUToZS3MrvAmazP163zKTYF54IhxBviq4wVKVO3d_tMaDydZ6GDTJfjAXJm9L6qy1UDBQS4J3ClAZcyHKUJpWV-IR_A_i8Ijj9gb8td3_MvZ/s1600/SAM_2839.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reflecting upon my week of NGO visits, it has become clear that the main human rights issues in Turkey relate historically to minority rights abuses. However, what seems to be an important issue in the current climate is that human rights abuses in Turkey are no longer just associated with minorities as the main human rights abuse of the moment, the lack of</span><span style="font-size: small;"> freedom of expression, affects the entire population. Although this is negative for all 74 million inhabitants of Turkey, it can only be seen to worsen the situation for minorities.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Photo credits to Jess and other members of NUCHR.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-75893586124699599102014-04-04T10:43:00.001+02:002014-09-22T17:09:32.338+02:00MASTERMINDS OF A BETTER FUTURE: How can we trust 'Gross National Happiness' if it doesn't work where it was founded? <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<h3>
<b style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> by Rachel Dixon <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(University of Sussex, UK)</span></b></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGv2cGkY_bpeh-Kl8sEfE5FMid6kRXjnTyONeBAO_aO6SdXaEGPd7vf8VylvP3OYX3uya7khyphenhyphenrX2BYHvYFJHQkboEN0FjKpdyLn5GFTu4RAgcYLKq9CuzyJn3ltsyWSPy39_9-TXZO6Cb/s1600/Bhutan_Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGv2cGkY_bpeh-Kl8sEfE5FMid6kRXjnTyONeBAO_aO6SdXaEGPd7vf8VylvP3OYX3uya7khyphenhyphenrX2BYHvYFJHQkboEN0FjKpdyLn5GFTu4RAgcYLKq9CuzyJn3ltsyWSPy39_9-TXZO6Cb/s1600/Bhutan_Map.png" height="224" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ground-breaking?</span></b></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Idealistic?</b></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Impossible?</span></b></span></span></span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The Gross National Happiness index (GNH),
conceived in Bhutan, is cited as an innovative and more ‘human’ alternative to
the Eurocentric school of poverty measures, which includes the more well-known and more frequently cited Human
Development Index, Multidimensional Poverty Index, Dollar a Day etc and on
first glance it is remarkable. The GNH aims to measure 9 domains that are said to
take a holistic approach to progress, development and policy making: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">psychological well-being, health, education,
time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community
vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">. This is what the development world dreams of, surely? A welcome
divergence from unrelenting reports of inequality, environmental destruction
and questionable governance, this approach has nevertheless fallen into a
familiar trap: the exclusion of a significant minority.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">A quick Google search will find that Bhutan
is chiefly categorised as a Buddhist nation with Dzongkha recognised as the
official national language. This of course, veils the true demography of a nation composed
of an estimated 25% Lhotshampa (Nepalese speaking Bhutanese Hindus) as well as
the 70% Mahayana Buddhists, which are the two largest ethnic groups in Bhutan,
the remaining population consisting of indigenous or migrant tribes.<span style="line-height: 12.266667366027832px;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">This contradiction typifies the two approaches generally taken to the
analysis </span><span lang="EN-GB">of the GNH: 1) the image of Bhutan - generally endorsed by
government officials as a nationalist, homogenous and culturally united
Buddhist state; and 2) a diverse, exclusionary and centralised state. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Under the GNH index, policies have been
implemented with the aim of promoting both cultural diversity <i>and </i>resilience. However, although GNH
comes with the idyllic promise of a thriving and accepting cultural and
religious environment, in reality the tangible actions taken by Bhutan have
almost solely upheld the Buddhist majority. Buddhist sites of worship have been
renovated (undoubtedly a positive step for a large proportion of Bhutanese
citizens) and the government has issued a decree requiring all citizens to observe <i>‘driglam namzha’</i>, the traditional dress,
values and etiquette of Bhutan. Certainly in the global context of an
increasingly homogenised, ‘western’ cultural outlook, the focus on the
resilience of tradition is attractive, almost enviable. The abolition of the
teaching of Nepali in schools and the denial of their freedom to practice their
own cultural customs thus begins the marginalization of the Lhotshampa community.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHqNfo4UZNbhEf9BvLEp2O4Ixg6FzcyoyQfHiWLYrRLDp-CZRAIavtvDDoIO05TW0lfF6ph96p2KkogG4ZtRGu0ZUhkQuNLLZh3-pexiCvVSGzURoyVNO-hpncdbH4S3dEp0j6icYefIV/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHqNfo4UZNbhEf9BvLEp2O4Ixg6FzcyoyQfHiWLYrRLDp-CZRAIavtvDDoIO05TW0lfF6ph96p2KkogG4ZtRGu0ZUhkQuNLLZh3-pexiCvVSGzURoyVNO-hpncdbH4S3dEp0j6icYefIV/s1600/images.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bhutanese people wearing the traditional clothes of Driglam Namzha</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The Bhutanese government’s “one nation, one
people” policy based on the traditions of the Northern, Buddhist Bhutanese,
arguably the product of its escape from colonisation and its status as a small,
isolated state surrounded by two powerful giants, India and China, has seen the
denial of the ability of vast segments of the population to enjoy their human rights.
A report by Amnesty International identified the arbitrary arrest, torture and
rape of the Lhotshampa Bhutanese, which spurred the flight of thousands to the
Nepalese border where many still reside in refugee camps. Discriminatory land
rights, marriage acts and limits on the freedom of assembly were just some
elements of legislation enacted in the light of the GNH index that led to this
migration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Over the past half century Bhutan has been
transformed into a thriving, unique society with much to be admired and
emulated by the rest of the world. The focus on happiness, wellbeing,
environmental awareness and health is an undeniably positive approach which one
could say needs to be adapted by European countries. However, if a similar
scheme were to be implemented elsewhere, the necessity to follow through on the
acceptance and encouragement of diversity and equality would be paramount and
inescapable. Although today, the Lhotshampa still largely reside in Nepalese refugee
camps and tensions continue to exist between the Lhotshampa and the Bhutanese
government, the new Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, may be taking
the first positive steps in a positive and inclusive direction. He is quoted
stating that “rather than talking about happiness, we want to work on reducing
the obstacles to happiness”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></div>
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-71893436634797186692014-03-13T15:43:00.000+01:002014-09-22T17:13:47.045+02:00Youth In Action: Be innovators: Make a Social Change<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">by Ganna (a participant from Ukraine)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">In January 2014, an “out of the box”
Youth in Action project entitled “Be innovators: Make a social change” was
organized by Global Human Rights Defence for 25 participants representing NGOs
from Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Romania, Armenia, Serbia and the
Netherlands.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKsCBJRTmDn2ZGTE5xvY2QOl9aJnCl65OddB4e91ndhxJj-YOTCytKcgQrp1x7BwmCjF1FiaU6LeGck62ztYkxcdlnuUdN09UVatUIp2bcWA7WRlkDo8zmLTt5io9lp7K6HrHgkS_qt-N/s1600/IMG_9870+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKsCBJRTmDn2ZGTE5xvY2QOl9aJnCl65OddB4e91ndhxJj-YOTCytKcgQrp1x7BwmCjF1FiaU6LeGck62ztYkxcdlnuUdN09UVatUIp2bcWA7WRlkDo8zmLTt5io9lp7K6HrHgkS_qt-N/s1600/IMG_9870+copy.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The main aim of this project was to
introduce the concept of social entrepreneurship as a means of sustainable and
independent functioning for an NGO working in the youth field or any other
field. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy-JYKCIimeP7xHQ6GNFJZdFL2Mf_00XYWEVYuMInZwqjKnxLycAnCsIiUUIhMWonFJdwVQh3wlhmUohFuvEYkP3zoqOkROKUO2_uzndHtPtAn9mwnjgS3xjhrAWzPaa4mHvC08t5CuPm/s1600/IMG_9771+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy-JYKCIimeP7xHQ6GNFJZdFL2Mf_00XYWEVYuMInZwqjKnxLycAnCsIiUUIhMWonFJdwVQh3wlhmUohFuvEYkP3zoqOkROKUO2_uzndHtPtAn9mwnjgS3xjhrAWzPaa4mHvC08t5CuPm/s1600/IMG_9771+copy.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The project was designed as a
training course based on non-formal education methods such as discussions,
debates, presentations and workshops etc.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A very clear and precise image of a
social enterprise was introduced to the participants by Jonathan Talbott from <b><u>Talbott International presentations</u></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> who outlined the main characteristics
of social entrepreneurship and stressed the differences between its use in non-profitable
and business activities. The introduction to the topic was then taken over by
Peter van Poortvliet who represented <b><u>Cordaid,</u></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> a civil
society organization which focuses on development within vulnerable regions and
areas of conflict. In addition, a meeting with representatives from <b><u>Enviu</u></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, an
organization that focuses on co-creation and business-development, greatly contributed
to the overall understanding of the idea of social entrepreneurship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Participants also had a unique chance
to meet social activists from the NGO <b><u>Stitchting Mytikas</u></b></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> This NGO</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> uses innovative approaches in their
work with youth and has conducted many interesting and comprehensive workshops
with organizations based in The Hague, The Netherlands that work with sexual
minorities, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7a0Vc25CEeDblLHebY5uc0gOgzvnE3ymrEa9Wy4y8c9Io4-F9LSoR54_lSF8IO6JmTBYU4k6DwVoQq2c4I_V9nVHXbdirx9oSSWpcNOtt89Yv4OJ9adpYTSptJiljxhE3ABeVdS102Ad/s1600/IMG_9708+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7a0Vc25CEeDblLHebY5uc0gOgzvnE3ymrEa9Wy4y8c9Io4-F9LSoR54_lSF8IO6JmTBYU4k6DwVoQq2c4I_V9nVHXbdirx9oSSWpcNOtt89Yv4OJ9adpYTSptJiljxhE3ABeVdS102Ad/s1600/IMG_9708+copy.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">During the event, it was not just
ideas of potential social enterprises that were discussed among participants.
The training course also brought forward innovative and creative approaches of design
thinking. The <b><u>GHRD </u></b>team also presented a workshop based on methodology obtained
from Stanford University which gave participants a thoughtful, step-by-step
explanation of how to design ideas in a unique and interesting manner.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The training course “Be innovators: Make
a social change” was seen as a turning point for many participants in their
perceptions of NGO functioning and further development. Innovative ideas were
taken back to the participant’s home countries and I believe one day in the
near future we will see outstanding activities from the NGOs who attended the
event. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_B-JIEXCvGMxpyiTr4zvAYQoPECeQPOcQj9z2VHj2FMo5afrbXHXr8_AQ8F2HOnjWSZxXYoI_nnnYga6zk82TATgtz2XCN9ohgd1LhaLwMQZZPj4kfeKr-cukImwTtgGzalq7YJ33EOE/s1600/IMG_9913+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_B-JIEXCvGMxpyiTr4zvAYQoPECeQPOcQj9z2VHj2FMo5afrbXHXr8_AQ8F2HOnjWSZxXYoI_nnnYga6zk82TATgtz2XCN9ohgd1LhaLwMQZZPj4kfeKr-cukImwTtgGzalq7YJ33EOE/s1600/IMG_9913+copy.jpg" height="104" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></div>
GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-14472454845219784512014-03-11T10:30:00.001+01:002014-09-22T17:08:41.886+02:00MASTERMINDS OF A BETTER FUTURE: 'Draw a red X on your hand’ Slavery still exists!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> by Olamide Aderinokun <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(University of Sussex, UK)</span></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February
27<sup>th</sup> marked the day where Freedom Fighters world-wide raised
awareness of the movement ‘END IT: Shine a light on Slavery’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">“Let’s be the generation to stand up for the 27 million men, women and
children trapped in slavery around the world today. In brothels, in factories,
in mines, on street corners, in homes, in the shadows, hidden.” </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">End it movement 2014<o:p></o:p></span></span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
term ‘slavery’ to many people, means an established practice which has been left
in the past and is related to the capture and transportation of minorities in
order to work in sugar plantations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However
this is not the reality, slavery still continues to exist and has manifested
itself in a variety of modern, less obvious forms. One of which is ‘human
trafficking’. There are many different forms of human trafficking, for example
forced labour (industrial, factory work etc.), bonded labour (forced labour in
order to repay a loan), domestic work (housekeepers, gardeners, cooks etc.)
,prostitution, child soldiers and forced begging. In many cases of human
trafficking, individuals are transported away from their hometowns which are
often rural and are forced to migrate to large cities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According
to the International Labour organisation (ILO), in 2012 there were around 11.7
million people enslaved in the Asia-Pacific region. This accounted for 56% of
enslaved people worldwide. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Child trafficking in India </u></b></span></span></h3>
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<u><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Reports
state that up to 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year worldwide.
This figure includes 200,000 children trafficked from India. Children
trafficked from India are often sold by their parents (sometimes for as little
as 1,000 rupees, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">€</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">12), or kidnapped. I came across an article in The Guardian written
in 2012 based on a young boy named Azam who was just seven when he was sold to
traffickers by his mother. When describing his experience, he said he “hated
every minute of the day.” Working 9am to 10pm everyday became torture for the 7
year old, yet he didn’t dare escape. Azam was promised to be paid for his work
but as the months went by he wasn’t given any money.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In
India, the problem of child trafficking is not confined to international
boundaries as many children are being trafficked within India, as was the case
with Azam. Regions such as New Delhi have more than 5,000 domestic work
placement agencies operating in a neighbourhood called Shakurpur (Basti). The
‘Global Slavery Index’ shows that trafficking patterns indicate that 90% of
human trafficking in India is domestic, with only 10% taking place across
national borders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nevertheless,
the high rates of human trafficking in India have made it into a destination
country for trafficked women, men and children from Nepal and Bangladesh. It is
estimated that between 100,000- 200,000 Nepali people are trafficked into India
each year, and by not having immigration control under the 1950 ‘Peace and
Friendship act’ it makes it even easier for people to migrate between the
countries. The states of southern India have become the most favoured
destinations for human traffickers to bring their ‘victims’ and according to
the India Times’ these states are home to more than half the number of human
trafficking cases reported across India.
Reports show on average, each of the three south Indian states (Tamil Nadu,
Andra Pradesh, Karnataka) reports over 300 human trafficking cases every year.
Tamil Nadu leads with 2,244 cases reported during the 2009-2012 period,
followed by Andra Pradesh with 2,157 cases. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Modern
day slavery’ in India continues to abuse many human rights, most obviously,
article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 which states that “No
one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.” Trafficking is a low priority in India and
judicial officials are insensitive to victim’s needs and mental state.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">The
principles behind ‘END IT’ is that by drawing a “red X” on our hand, it will raise
awareness among our society and force people to ask questions who may otherwise
be oblivious to modern day slavery. It will encourage discussions across the
globe and allow millions of people to stand up for the voiceless women, men and
children who have been tormented by modern day slavery. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Slavery
is not just an issue in India but it affects life in every society and culture
including our own. Human trafficking continues to exist around the world and by
getting involved in the ‘END IT’ movement we are raising awareness for those
trapped in the dark. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-TIjMeOKo18H1utXyeoxAwBHklbqjoNuosn61-ygyZLxjXrYyqjH6nuEX25ExLctxAjE5D7kRmAP3MYW1gDImHYnlg-TOKyed9CHaDu_-Qy9IUMUUH2f8uZgwEBb1u8dDwE8YHHMpUzx/s1600/slavery+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-TIjMeOKo18H1utXyeoxAwBHklbqjoNuosn61-ygyZLxjXrYyqjH6nuEX25ExLctxAjE5D7kRmAP3MYW1gDImHYnlg-TOKyed9CHaDu_-Qy9IUMUUH2f8uZgwEBb1u8dDwE8YHHMpUzx/s1600/slavery+2.jpeg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></span></div>
GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-5783438886722360072014-02-12T11:39:00.000+01:002014-09-22T17:09:46.343+02:00Have human rights changed? Will they continue to change anything in this world? The debate will go on…….<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>by Kiran Wagle</i></span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;">
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKXsBFdTNa1_K7QmTNQgTa6M2QlXnpZwaRqZWuh-J_aYnpqXb0QKcheXIH3ZIKjHbxf1UpiY1c2FLXawfmfGesxh186fZ9IcMwvbITktxyyjNUzpDszvccgPwUlEJshwDoubIntkM-sDM/s1600/kiran2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKXsBFdTNa1_K7QmTNQgTa6M2QlXnpZwaRqZWuh-J_aYnpqXb0QKcheXIH3ZIKjHbxf1UpiY1c2FLXawfmfGesxh186fZ9IcMwvbITktxyyjNUzpDszvccgPwUlEJshwDoubIntkM-sDM/s1600/kiran2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Has
there been any unified ‘international human rights movement’ in the world? Have
human rights changed anything in the world so far? Or will they change the
World as expected by ordinary people and organizations?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People
are skeptical about this and other issues regarding human rights around the
world. A debate between skepticism and optimism towards the role of Human
Rights took place in The Hague Institute for Global Justice, The Hague,
Netherlands on February 7<sup>th</sup> 2014. This timely and interesting
discussion was made possible by Amnesty International (AI) (Netherlands) and the
programme was the first of its kind in a seminar-series of AI initiated
Strategic Studies Project that started last spring. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This
seminar, entitled ‘Endtimes or Breakthrough: Human Rights in a Neo-Westphalian
World’ was highly thought-provoking and aimed to reiterate the changing perspectives
on human rights. Stephen Hopgood, author of ‘<i>The Endtimes of Human Rights</i>’ was the key speaker and presented
views as discussed in his book, published in 2013. Mr. Hopgood was very skeptical as to
whether ‘international human rights’ dealt with the different parts of the world
in an equal and similar manner</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">.
As an example, he said that local actors/people often believed that
international human rights movements make no change on the ground. However, human
rights are no longer marginal; they are globally practiced and mainstreamed.
Human Rights have become a high-profile global campaign, yet as time goes by, this
legacy (developed quickly from the 1970s) will come to an end, Mr. Hopgood argued.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlLLRFBVhLM2iTrM1mFDUu76GZiOo9VamsbVDIS3sU6NXu6Cq-8f6r2SpGpir1ZzDr9iT7-ZLMw57kjeIZLcbdQCS_2zgV-G-HgZ357qMzaCrIcDiM_vWl6INVw2xIcMFSnj2lAFooJ8m/s1600/kiran+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlLLRFBVhLM2iTrM1mFDUu76GZiOo9VamsbVDIS3sU6NXu6Cq-8f6r2SpGpir1ZzDr9iT7-ZLMw57kjeIZLcbdQCS_2zgV-G-HgZ357qMzaCrIcDiM_vWl6INVw2xIcMFSnj2lAFooJ8m/s1600/kiran+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He
further presented critiques and emphasized that the current international human
rights movement has created two different worlds; a ‘grassroots’ movement and a
‘top-down’ movement, thus he expects two major changes in the human rights
sector. The first is related to the multi-polarity of human rights. Mr. Hopgood
believed that the domination of the US and EU in human rights discourses will
end due to the strong presence of rapidly growing countries such as the</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and MINT countries (Mexico,
Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey). The second change is that human rights will include
a much more diverse system due to realization and need for space for different religions,
nationalities and traditional values. Additionally, Mr.Hopgood expressed
skepticism as to whether there has been any real international human rights movement
in the world and if anything has actually changed concretely.<br /> <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike
the key speaker, the two respondents, Todd Landman (<i>Professor of Government and Executive Dean of social science at the
University of Essex</i>) and Steve Crawshaw (<i>Director of Secretary General’s office of AI</i>), presented contrasting
optimistic views about human rights. They
said that the ‘human rights regime gives us the space to work’. Both disagreed with
Mr. Hopgood’s pessimism and said that although there are some challenges; there
are also several opportunities waiting to be uncovered in the human rights
sector.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The seminar was observed with 'new human rights skepticism and optimism'. It also highlihted the question, 'can we fix the worldwide problem in a global way?'. The debate will go on stimulating thoughts as to how changes will occur an to what extent the space in-between 'universality of human rights' will be broadened.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></span><br />
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GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-62209304013492936152013-12-10T15:01:00.000+01:002014-09-22T17:09:52.311+02:00International Human Rights Day: A Time to Celebrate and Reflect<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>By Lucy Turner</i> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfuwsImofc_eY9NIEuaouJbtihRovDjQCbSrMMKt9i6auMj2C-6x7N7cd8p6dEJmTSFg4ELoVxM0d98KLhyhici5a9bqThBNxRPXnujKvec143guN8SeMqq7EtkRUIuFyFDsthb8NnrW7/s1600/ESB_hrwblue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfuwsImofc_eY9NIEuaouJbtihRovDjQCbSrMMKt9i6auMj2C-6x7N7cd8p6dEJmTSFg4ELoVxM0d98KLhyhici5a9bqThBNxRPXnujKvec143guN8SeMqq7EtkRUIuFyFDsthb8NnrW7/s400/ESB_hrwblue.jpg" height="400" style="cursor: move;" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Empire State Building will turn blue in honor of Human Rights Watch </span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">on December
10, 2013. © 2013 Empire State Building</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">How will you celebrate Human Rights? December 10</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;">
is International Human Rights Day, when people around the world mark the General
Assembly’s adoption of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This
day gives us the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come in the pursuit
of human rights protection and promotion, but also invites us to contemplate
how far we have yet to go.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
year GHRD welcomed news from Bangladesh that Hijras are now a recognized
separate gender. Hijras, who are neither male nor female, from now on will be
considered as a separate gender in Bangladesh. After Malala Yousafzai spoke at
the United Nations this year on her 16<sup>th</sup> birthday about the power of
education, the world seemed to listen; Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif made a
breakthrough commitment that the country would double its education budget from
2% to 4% of its GDP by 2018 - an increase of approximately $4 billion. Nepal’s
introduction of a third gender classification for passports marked further
progress for LGBT rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9w4-PNsJjT9EDM8VzGjhOZvgQbne87bzu4dN6ZvU7_bKL9ykFpKyP0RvvMy3AOoIXgBpZetCp77-wrZWmJUBXyDOhbetN-Csaj8OWiUk1yiwo6nxKt_g3fSf7uJKNABDGbGewDvOUO1R/s1600/Malala_Yousafzai_at_Oval_Office_2013_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9w4-PNsJjT9EDM8VzGjhOZvgQbne87bzu4dN6ZvU7_bKL9ykFpKyP0RvvMy3AOoIXgBpZetCp77-wrZWmJUBXyDOhbetN-Csaj8OWiUk1yiwo6nxKt_g3fSf7uJKNABDGbGewDvOUO1R/s400/Malala_Yousafzai_at_Oval_Office_2013_cropped.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Malala Yousafzau at Oval Office October 2013</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And this year GHRD itself has had many achievements,
including establishing coalitions in Bangladesh and Pakistan to unite civil
society organizations, running a prominent European Lobby Tour in the European
Parliament, launching a successful crowd funding campaign, taking our
documentary ‘Pakistan: A Defining Moment’ on tour around the Netherlands,
amongst others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, whilst there have been several developments this year,
and GHRD personally has achieved many things, there remain numerous problems
for human rights defenders around the world. Our partners in Bangladesh, India
and Pakistan face regular threats of violence against themselves, their homes
and their families. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws continue to disproportionately
affect non-Muslims and minorities, and non-state violence in the form of mobs
and riots resulting from blasphemy allegations are common. In Bangladesh, despite
the 2009 and 2013 UPR sessions (during which the Bangladeshi government claimed
that most of Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord had been implemented)
recurring conflicts between ethnic and religious minority groups and “settlers”
from the majority Bengali community persist. Reports of arbitrary arrests,
torture and unlawful killings continue.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Around the world today people will contemplate human rights past,
present and future. Our partners in South Asia will be hosting events, whilst
we are holding events in the Netherlands. And there is cause for celebration:
much has changed since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in 1948, and much progress has been made, but there is far to go.
International Human Rights Day is for celebration, looking forward to a more
equitable world, and sharing messages of solidarity and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqhE-rCDIY_4hlXHZXb2oOAM-MyYYQrz7np_r6oHuJ_KWgszqTMvrsFTbt3uiBNltWI0LIaezf6l8dUDT9LrlHdf3xX_lMYDuVl0_Vmh_MsRQP0n-KgQzDxw7vYiI4c5anY3bWw7OrOsV/s1600/UNDHR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqhE-rCDIY_4hlXHZXb2oOAM-MyYYQrz7np_r6oHuJ_KWgszqTMvrsFTbt3uiBNltWI0LIaezf6l8dUDT9LrlHdf3xX_lMYDuVl0_Vmh_MsRQP0n-KgQzDxw7vYiI4c5anY3bWw7OrOsV/s400/UNDHR.jpg" height="396" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">December 1950 - United Nations International Nursery School, New York: Children of United Nations staff members looking at a poster of Universal declaration of Human Rights</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Article 1, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-59533401821798649242013-11-29T15:57:00.002+01:002014-09-22T17:10:29.935+02:00Human Rights Project in Armenia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Lucy Turner</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In October GHRD was a
partner in an exciting human rights project in Armenia, and I was sent to
represent them. The project was organized by the <a href="http://european-intercultural-forum.org/" target="_blank">European Intercultural Forum</a> for
27 participants from youth and human rights organizations Armenia, Germany,
Latvia, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, Poland, and Belarus. The aim
was to raise awareness of human rights issues in Europe and in Armenia, and to
build connections between civil society organizations in these countries. The
training itself was based on non-formal education methodology which includes
discussions, debates, workshops, role plays etc. The trip had three main
components; workshops and presentations, visits to organizations, and field
research. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kmH2K-UMrn7OZgZR7Xx4uu3UKrT-NHVa74Q_OmoEkvASUqUdn4rqcOTQB8xlWEAfjN3d4HO7KM0fMIlR4ptRHEMeuJXhH-as-qwXPMXhCwVEF6BtQ3ITNx2E6jDJczlGCZu8hL-ISgXI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kmH2K-UMrn7OZgZR7Xx4uu3UKrT-NHVa74Q_OmoEkvASUqUdn4rqcOTQB8xlWEAfjN3d4HO7KM0fMIlR4ptRHEMeuJXhH-as-qwXPMXhCwVEF6BtQ3ITNx2E6jDJczlGCZu8hL-ISgXI/s320/2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As many of us were not familiar with the human rights
situation in Armenia, the first two days were exegetical, providing ground
knowledge of the geopolitical history of Armenia. We also spent some time
identifying the human rights situations in our own countries, and then comparing
and contrasting our findings, and listened to a speaker from the <a href="http://hcav.am/old.php/language_eng/" target="_blank">Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor</a> outline the human rights violations in Armenia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main human rights issues in Armenia were identified as
follows:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• The
Military – 2 years military service is mandatory in Armenia for males 18-27
years. There is a history of institutionalized bullying and non-combat deaths
and disappearances. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• LGBTQIA –
although decriminalized in 2003 LGBTQIA people do not benefit from any
protection if their rights are systematically or institutionally violated. They
experience a lack of sexual health care, threats of violence, employment
discrimination, and a lack of legal protection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Women’s
Rights – domestic violence and honour killings are a major problem in the
country, alongside a lack of legal protection of women’s rights and inequality
in education and healthcare. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Freedom
of expression and the media – The media is criticized for its partisan
disposition on governmental issues. Attacks of journalists from non-state
sponsored media sources are frequent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Electoral
system – many people we spoke to expressed dissatisfaction and concerns about
the validity of elections. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1UExKeIxXMtE3d8aVdI1qJHOe42yx6il_V1GkYuYdM2tyTZz6mmeCxbhX6hq6C4ulCBACLDOn9J0r9-Ycp2qKQaooHo1UDc4laadhpBZ7_tKtRMYE3I3XNoZZ-wBJIXWdKoBZAGebFOb/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1UExKeIxXMtE3d8aVdI1qJHOe42yx6il_V1GkYuYdM2tyTZz6mmeCxbhX6hq6C4ulCBACLDOn9J0r9-Ycp2qKQaooHo1UDc4laadhpBZ7_tKtRMYE3I3XNoZZ-wBJIXWdKoBZAGebFOb/s320/1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using questions and
methodology that had been decided in previous workshops, in each of the cities
the participants interviewed members of the public about their perceptions of
human rights in Armenia. We found that typically members of the public had a
negative view either of the situation of human rights in Armenia or the
organizations that seek to protect and promote human rights in Armenia. Where
interviewees felt human rights <i>were</i>
respected in Armenia, anti-EU and Human Rights sentiment was high; there seemed
to be suspicion and mistrust of human rights organizations and human rights as
a concept. Very few people had an understanding of what human rights are, and
there was much confusion about social and political rights. People were often
preoccupied by the social and economic disadvantages affecting the country in a
post-Soviet Union climate, like an aging population, high unemployment and
mass-emigration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main focus of the trip was the visits to human rights
organizations in Gyumri, Vanadzor and Yerevan in Armenia. We met the main
managers of each of these organizations and attending presentations on their
work, the obstacles they face and their opportunities for the future. The
meetings were very interesting for GHRD, and it was interesting to hear the
experiences of these organizations. <a href="http://www.pinkarmenia.org/en/" target="_blank">Pink Armenia</a>, <a href="http://hcav.am/en/" target="_blank">Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzo</a>r and <a href="http://www.peacedialogue.am/" target="_blank">Peace Dialogue </a>were among the organisations visited. Many of the people working for these civil
society organizations had faced personal adversity and difficulties from their work,
and their motivation and commitment was inspiring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about our upcoming projects and training check our <a href="http://www.ghrd.org/home/" target="_blank">website </a>or contact our education department. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.</span><br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
GHRDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07699714882615254877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985533702348602735.post-82597843304571206862013-09-12T16:33:00.000+02:002013-11-29T16:14:19.661+01:00Introducing: Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h1 style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b> </span></h1>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is Blasphemy law?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are infamous within
human rights circles, many people understandably do not know what they are, how
they work, or whom they affect. Unfortunately these laws affect thousands of
people across Pakistan, impeding freedom of expression and religion, and, in
many cases, causing a threat to safety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5ltdnVIYaP2pYSzPvs10aZpNbNo_BPnOj5cKusZCcEwntLgvp7mD_x2fF7BgpLfzdzXf2qicwLOMi0l-a5CgzbMovmQCwi7otObva_cAR8FJXwLh-nG5bdxwuKX3elRQaAborUpeMBl7/s1600/19-HRFP+speaking+with+Christian+woman+Razia+Masih(resident+of++in+the+same+area).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5ltdnVIYaP2pYSzPvs10aZpNbNo_BPnOj5cKusZCcEwntLgvp7mD_x2fF7BgpLfzdzXf2qicwLOMi0l-a5CgzbMovmQCwi7otObva_cAR8FJXwLh-nG5bdxwuKX3elRQaAborUpeMBl7/s320/19-HRFP+speaking+with+Christian+woman+Razia+Masih(resident+of++in+the+same+area).jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The official name of Pakistan is the "Islamic
Republic of Pakistan", according to its constitution, and over 96% of its
167 million citizens (2008) are Muslims</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among countries with a Muslim majority,
Pakistan has the most restrictive anti-blasphemy laws. According to Article 2
of Pakistan’s constitution, Islam is the state religion, and by Article 31, it
is the country's responsibility to cultivate and protect the Islamic way of
life. This is the root of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ‘blasphemy laws’ comprise several sections of Pakistan’s
Criminal Code, and are particularly non-specific and potentially
all-encompassing: §298 criminalizes any action, gesture, word or sound committed
with ‘the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person’,
and § 295-A criminalizes ‘outraging religious feelings’. This broad scope makes
these laws very easy to abuse, and can be used in personal disputes and
vendettas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></b><br /></span>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does blasphemy law affect human rights?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Human Rights violations under the country’s abusive
blasphemy law continue, and have been reported in research from various human
rights organizations. In 2012 dozens of people were charged on new blasphemy
cases, and at least 16 people remained on death row for blasphemy convictions.
Another 20 served life sentences</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
Further to state sanctioned punishments and human rights violations, those
accused of blasphemy and their families are also subjected to harassment,
violence and stigmatization, and are at risk of being murdered by mobs or
vigilantes. In many cases the Pakistani authorities have failed to adequately
protect these vulnerable people, and even after acquittal persons accused of
blasphemy often have to leave Pakistan and go in to hiding</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
In addition to this, those accused are subject to immediate incarceration and
bail is often denied, in order to prevent the accused being attacked and
murdered</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iv]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: black;">From 1986 to 2007, Pakistan’s authorities charged
647 people with committing </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">blasphemy offences</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">[v]</span></span></sup></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
Most notably religious minorities are disproportionately affected; 50% of those
charged were non-Muslims, who represent only 3% of the national population</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">[vi]</span></span></sup></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>So
far no judicial execution for a blasphemy conviction has ever occurred in
Pakistan, but 20 people of those charged have been murdered<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[vii]</span></span></sup></span></a></sup></span>.
By 2010, the total number of people charged under these laws was around 1274</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">[viii]</span></span></sup></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
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</span><span style="color: black;">The key
concerns with Pakistan’s blasphemy laws as regards to human rights are:<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->No proof of intent is required,
and arguably would be nearly impossible to establish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->No evidence is required to be
presented following any accusations of blasphemy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->There are no penalties for
allegations found to be false.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Accused individuals are often
imprisoned without full investigation or proof and many spend years in
incarceration without trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The laws are abused by religious
extremists - a large number of accused individuals have been killed by various
societal actors taking the law into their own hands.</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ix]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who can be accused of Blasphemy? <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-KLS5FLA1k_p9whb8UBs2S-Bfau6fMc6Qe9JBn9M96X4uU0ulq9IEq8b4H5KsHrEJz7Uk0of21DHJm7aQs0hKpEzvbQ2ilHRZkQkzvxx6vhRdk1kLuo4eJlSoViKmT36devv_jZhK2R7/s1600/4-Naveed+Walter+speaking+with+Rimsha's+aunt+Ms.+Gulzari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-KLS5FLA1k_p9whb8UBs2S-Bfau6fMc6Qe9JBn9M96X4uU0ulq9IEq8b4H5KsHrEJz7Uk0of21DHJm7aQs0hKpEzvbQ2ilHRZkQkzvxx6vhRdk1kLuo4eJlSoViKmT36devv_jZhK2R7/s320/4-Naveed+Walter+speaking+with+Rimsha's+aunt+Ms.+Gulzari.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">In short, anyone can be accused. One of the focal
problems with Pakistan’s blasphemy law is that, because it is so general, it
can be easily abused: the groups of people most frequently accused of
contravening this law are often physically, economically, socially, or mentally
impaired, and vulnerable to abuse. For example, in July 2012, police arrested a
man who appeared to suffer from a mental disability for allegedly burning the
Quran. A mob organized by local clerics demanded that the man be handed to
them, attacked the police station, pulled the victim out, and burned him alive.</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[x]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">
Religious minorities are also susceptible to this persecution: in 2010 a
Christian from Punjab province, Aasia Bibi, became the first woman in the
country's history to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, and in 2012 she
remained in prison</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xi]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">On August 17<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> 2012, Islamabad police took
Rimsha Masih into custody, a 14-year-old Christian girl with a “significantly
lower mental age” from an economically deprived Islamabad suburb</span></span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
She was accused of burning pages of Quranic passages. A mob formed, demanding
that it be handed the girl so that it could kill her; Police had to fight back
the mob to prevent her murder. Threats against the local Christian community
forced around 400 families to flee their homes</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
The accuser, cleric Khalid Chishti, was arrested for fabricating evidence in an
attempt to rid the community of Christians. Rimsha Masih was released On
September 23<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>rd</sup>, police officials stating they had found no evidence
against her. She was given state protection at an undisclosed location, and in
2013 was granted permanent immigration status in Canada</span></span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiv]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who else does it affect?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Blasphemy laws do not only affect those accused of
blaspheming; judges, lawyers and police are also at risk of threats of
violence, intimidation and attacks when having dealt with a blasphemy
allegation</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xv]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
Similarly, anyone who publicly opposes or challenges blasphemy laws is likely
to face the same intimidation and violence. An accusation of blasphemy can also
precede rioting and demonstrations, during which many people can be injured</span><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_ednref16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvi]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="color: black;">.
Prominent figures like <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Salman Taseer</span> (the former governor of <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Punjab</span>)
and <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Shahbaz Bhatti</span> (the Federal Minister for
Minorities) have been assassinated for their opposition to the blasphemy laws.
In part because of this the civilian government in Pakistan has not changed the
laws, as they fear a response from the religious groups in Pakistan if they
propose an amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How is it progressing?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pakistan’s blasphemy law has also extended its reach to
the internet, with access to certain websites and search engines restricted or
blocked entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In May 2010, for
example, Pakistan <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">blocked
access to Facebook</span> because the website hosted a page
called ‘<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Everybody Draw Muhammad Day</span>’. Pakistan lifted the block
after Facebook prevented access to the page. In June 2010, Pakistan <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">blocked</span> seventeen websites for hosting content
that the authorities considered offensive to Muslims. At the same time,
Pakistan began to monitor the content of <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Google</span>, <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Yahoo</span>,
YouTube, <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Amazon</span>, <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">MSN</span>, <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Hotmail</span>, and <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bing</span><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What can I do?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">GHRD has worked with grassroots projects and small partner
organizations to promote and protect human rights in Pakistan. In 2013 GHRD
made a documentary entitled ‘Pakistan: A Defining Moment’, covering, amongst
other things, human rights violations resulting from the country’s blasphemy
laws. We are trying to take the documentary on tour around universities to
engage young people and encourage them to write to the UN Special Rapporteur on
Religious Freedom or Belief, pushing for further action and protection for
Pakistan’s religious minorities and human rights defenders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>But we need your help! Visit <a href="http://igg.me/at/adefiningmoment/x/4526302" target="_blank">our campaign</a></strong></span><span style="color: black;">, contribute whatever you can to this amazing project, share the campaign and
spread the word! Be a part of the solution for Pakistan.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://igg.me/at/adefiningmoment/x/4526302" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit our campaign!</span></strong></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
"Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers report of
Pakistan". Press Release. United Nations. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 27 June
2009.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
“World Report 2013: Events of 2012”. Human Rights Watch. United States of
America. 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><a href="http://dawn.com/2012/11/02/lahores-blasphemy-teacher-in-hiding/"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Lahore’s ‘blasphemy’ teacher in hiding'"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Dawn. 2 November 2012<span class="reference-accessdate"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">. Retrieved
24 November 2012</span></span></span><span class="citationweb"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">.</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/pakistan.pdf"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Annual Report of the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom May 2009"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Pakistan. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Commission_on_International_Religious_Freedom"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. May
2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/Around%20the%20World/Pakistan/christians_often_victims_under_p.htm"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Christians often victims under Pakistan's
blasphemy law"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. The
Evangelization Station. FIDES/CWNews. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vi]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibid</span></i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330081994?open&of=ENG-390"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Pakistan: Use and abuse of blasphemy laws"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. AI Index: ASA 33/008/1994. Amnesty
International. 27 July 1994. Retrieved 19 February 2010.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Siddiqi, Tabinda (19 Sep 2012). </span><a href="http://dawn.com/2012/09/19/timeline-accused-under-the-blasphemy-law/"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Timeline: Accused under the Blasphemy Law"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Dawn. Retrieved 7 November 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ix]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
GHRD/HRFP joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic
Review of Pakistan,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">14th
session of the Working Group on the UPR (22 October - 5 November 2012)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[x]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
“World Report 2013: Events of 2012”. Human Rights Watch. United States of
America. 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xi]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibid.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibid</span></i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibid</span></i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xiv]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/01/pakistan-girl-accused-blasphemy-canada<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/pakistan.pdf"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Annual Report of the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom May 2009"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Pakistan. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Commission_on_International_Religious_Freedom"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. May
2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The Associated Press (1 August
2009). </span><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/675167"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"6 Pakistani Christians die in riots with
Muslims"</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Toronto
Star. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://ghrdserver/Users$/education/Desktop/Introducing%20Blasphemy%20law.docx" name="_edn17" style="mso-endnote-id: edn17;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><sup><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[xvii]</span></span></sup></span><!--[endif]--></span></sup></span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> "Pakistan to monitor Google and
Yahoo for 'blasphemy'". BBC News. 25 June 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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