Youth In Action: on the edge – inclusion across borders

by Karin Sternäng

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.

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.

The subjects discussed during the training course included the definition of exclusion, solutions to exclusion, identity issues, youth participation and identifying 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.

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 can expect over the next few years in regards to this award. 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 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. Azeri people are extremely friendly; they were all very helpful in situations where we were a bit lost or in need of help. Although Azerbaijan 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 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.

İçəri Şəhər. The "inner city"/old city of Baku

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.

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.

For more information on GHRD’s upcoming projects and training events check our website (www.ghrd.org) or contact our education department (education@ghrd.org).

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

Human Rights in Istanbul: how does civil society in Turkey compare with The Netherlands?

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 ‘Northwestern Conference on Human Rights’.

Turkey: a transcontinental border country between exotic and chaotic confusion and a democratic and organised Europe.

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 .

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’.

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.

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.

Additionally, 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 Syrian culture.

Walking down the main street of Istanbul, Istiklal Cadessi, the street seems hauntingly different today as photos of last year’s protests remind passers-by of the Gezi Park protests and the struggles for freedom of speech and democracy.

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. 

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.

Our visit coincided with local elections and the city’s infrastructure was a blank canvas for the masses of banners and posters. Several small rallys were also set up to disseminate 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Photo credits to Jess and other members of NUCHR.

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

MASTERMINDS OF A BETTER FUTURE: How can we trust 'Gross National Happiness' if it doesn't work where it was founded?

 by Rachel Dixon (University of Sussex, UK)

Ground-breaking?

Idealistic?

Impossible?

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: psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards. 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.

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. This contradiction typifies the two approaches generally taken to the analysis 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.

Under the GNH index, policies have been implemented with the aim of promoting both cultural diversity and 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 ‘driglam namzha’, 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.

Bhutanese people wearing the traditional clothes of Driglam Namzha

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.

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”. 

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

Youth In Action: Be innovators: Make a Social Change

by Ganna (a participant from Ukraine)


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.

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.

The project was designed as a training course based on non-formal education methods such as discussions, debates, presentations and workshops etc.

A very clear and precise image of a social enterprise was introduced to the participants by Jonathan Talbott from Talbott International presentations 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 Cordaid, a civil society organization which focuses on development within vulnerable regions and areas of conflict. In addition, a meeting with representatives from Enviu, an organization that focuses on co-creation and business-development, greatly contributed to the overall understanding of the idea of social entrepreneurship.

Participants also had a unique chance to meet social activists from the NGO Stitchting Mytikas. This NGO 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.

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 GHRD 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.

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. 

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

MASTERMINDS OF A BETTER FUTURE: 'Draw a red X on your hand’ Slavery still exists!

 by Olamide Aderinokun (University of Sussex, UK)

February 27^th marked the day where Freedom Fighters world-wide raised awareness of the movement ‘END IT: Shine a light on Slavery’.

“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.” End it movement 2014

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.

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.

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.  

Child trafficking in India

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, €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.

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. 

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.

‘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.

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.

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. 

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

Have human rights changed? Will they continue to change anything in this world? The debate will go on…….

by Kiran Wagle

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?

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^th 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.  

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 ‘The Endtimes of Human Rights’ 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. 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.

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 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.

Unlike the key speaker, the two respondents, Todd Landman (Professor of Government and Executive Dean of social science at the University of Essex) and Steve Crawshaw (Director of Secretary General’s office of AI), 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.

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.

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.

International Human Rights Day: A Time to Celebrate and Reflect

By Lucy Turner 

Empire State Building will turn blue in honor of Human Rights Watch 

on December 10, 2013. © 2013 Empire State Building

How will you celebrate Human Rights? December 10^th 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.

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^th 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.

Malala Yousafzau at Oval Office October 2013

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.

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.

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.

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

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. Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.