PRESS RELEASE from the Women’s Front of Norway

The 20nd of June the Pro Senter, a national competence centre on prostitution, released a report on violence against women in prostitution.

The following is the press release from the Women’s Front of Norway about the report. The press release was sent to Norwegian media. But due to many requests from abroad, we have now translated the press release.

PRESS RELEASE

The Pro Senter’s report on the law against buying of sex has reached the front-page of the tabloids in Norway and abroad. The tabloid Dagbladet, Oslo, says that violence against women in prostitution has increased after the law against the buying of sex was passed. The city councillor in Oslo has stated to the press that she wants the law the law to be abolished, due to this report.

The Women’s Front reacts strongly against the city councillor who wants to make it legal for men to buy sex. The city councillor should know that men’s violence against women in prostitution is an integral part of the misogyny they perpetrate by buying women.

Men’s violence against women in prostitution has always been widespread regardless if prostitution has been criminalized or legalized. We have had the law against buying of sex for three years. Criminalizing of buyers is one of several means, and the law in it self is no magic wand. Men’s violence against women in prostitution cannot be abolished by magic; we demand more action, among other things increased action from the police.

The city councillor cannot trust the report from the Pro Senter. The Pro Senter has admitted that the statistical foundation of the report is very questionable. The leader of the Pro Senter, Bjørg Norli, has admitted that the statistical material in the report do not give any foundation for claiming that violence has increased; on the contrary it is possible that the opposite is correct; violence may have decreased. The Swedish law against buying of sex was evaluated after ten years 1999 – 2010, this evaluation does not show any increase in violence against women in prostitution.

The report, with its faulty statement on increased violence against women in prostitution and the conclusion of the city councillor to abolish the law, have already reached international media. The Women’s Front has received questions from several organisations working on the issue of having a similar law passed in their respective countries. In France the work has reached the stage where a proposal for a law is made and the political parties agree. When the French media now writes about the report and the city councillor’s comments they give a completely wrong picture of the actual situation in Norway after the law was passed. The fact that the Pro Senter has been criticised for it’s report on violence on women in prostitution and has admitted the faulty conclusion has not reached the media abroad in a similar way.

To remind us all; the law against the buying of sex makes men responsible for creating and increasing a demand whereby more women will be prostituted. To change this is not done in three years.

Agnete Strøm Torill Nustad

The Women’s Front

agnetest@online.no tornusta@online.no

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URGENT APPEAL - For Ms. Mansoureh Behkish of Mourning Mothers of Iran - Summoned to Prison

URGENT APPEAL - For Ms. Mansoureh Behkish of Mourning Mothers of Iran - Summoned to Prison

January 18, 2013 - The Observatory has been informed by the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) about the summoning of Ms. Mansoureh Behkish, a supporter of the “Mothers of Park Laleh” (the “Mourning Mothers” of Iran)[1], also known for fighting against the death penalty, to serve a prison sentence.

According to the information received, Ms. Mansoureh Behkish has been summoned by the Shahid Moqaddas Sentences Implementation Bureau to report herself to Evin prison in Tehran by January 29, 2013, at the latest where she will serve her sentence to six months in prison for “spreading propaganda against the system” (See background information attached).

The Observatory is deeply concerned about the summoning of Ms. Behkish, as it is arbitrary and clearly aims at sanctioning her legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory therefore calls upon the Iranian authorities to refrain from detaining Ms. Behkish as well as to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders presently detained in Iran, and more generally to put an end to all forms of harassment against them.

URGENT APPEAL ://www.fidh.org/Imminent-arbitrary-detention-of-Ms-12771

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The African Network of Women Shelters Call to Action

The African Network of Women Shelters (ANWS)

Kigali Call to Action

We, the members of the African Network of Women Shelters (ANWS) Steering Committee and partners 

from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya,  Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe;

Recognizing the outcomes of 1stand 2ndConferences of the Global Network of Women Shelters (GNWS) 

held in Edmonton-Canada in September 2008 and Washington DC–USA in February 2012;

Observing that violence against women (VAW) remains one of the major challenges in Africa and 

globally; 

We welcome  the 57thSession of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and States’ 

consideration to address the challenge under the theme  “Elimination and Prevention of All Forms of 

Violence Against Women and Girls”;We also affirm the Statement of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Africa at the forthcoming 57thSession of the Commission on the Status of Women;

We note the following:

Violence against women is a major obstacle to women attaining equality, development and peace, and 

prevents women from enjoying their human rights and fundamental freedoms and a life of dignity free 

from oppression. Many women want to escape the violence and find refuge and safety because their 

homes or communities are unsafe. But the vast majority cannot find refuge and safety. They may seek 

safety and peace by going to safe spaces, such as shelters, refuges, women’s centers, or transition 

homes, to seek peace and safety. In these spaces, women and their children who have had violence 

perpetrated upon them could find refuge, compassion, resources, and assistance. 

Women’s centers and safe spaces, where they exist in Africa, provide life saving services to  women 

fleeing violence, often working in dangerous places with minimal support, resources and protection. 

Cultural barriers often inhibit these centers from operating openly and this means that victims often 

face a lifetime of discrimination, stigmatization, poverty, and increased risk of further victimization.

As set out in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993, Member States asserted that 

“gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation…are incompatible with the

dignity and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated.”  Since then, States have reaffirmed 

their commitment to ending violence against women through the adoption of the Declaration on the 

Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW). Others include the Beijing Platform for Action, the 

agreed conclusions of the 42ndand 51st sessions of the CSW, and UN Security Council resolutions 1325, 

1820, 1888, 1889, and 1960, and UN Security Council Resolutions 1261, 1379 and 1612 on children in armed conflict.

In Africa, States have committed to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 

the Rights of Women in Africa, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Great 

Lakes Region Protocol on the Suppression and Prevention of Sexual Violence Against Women and 

Children.

Despite these commitments, violence against women and children persists as a widespread and 

pervasive human rights violation.  States have clear and concrete obligations under their constitutions 

and international commitments they have signed and ratified to prevent such violence, prosecute and 

punish perpetrators, and provide redress and relief to victims and survivors of violence. In addition 

states that have not ratified also have a moral obligation to sign and ratify all treaties and protocols 

geared towards ending violence against women and girls.

We emphasize the lack and/or inadequate provision of women’s centers and safe spaces in States across 

Africa. The African Network of Women Shelters therefore calls on African governments to:

 enact and implement policies and legislation to establish and support shelters and safe spaces 

for women and girls in Africa;

 strengthen political will and invest and allocate funds for survivors of violence to guarantee 

service provision and access safe spaces and refuges. We note the importance of women driven 

shelters and safe spaces in women survivors’ confidence building, and thus the need for their 

support with appropriate infrastructure to offer holistic interventions with prevention on GBV 

and women empowerment programs.

 We call on governments to maintain accountability and transparency in State reconstruction by 

including women's needs and priorities, women's human rights including access to justice, and 

representation and participation in peace processes.

 We call on governments and civil society to provide confidential and secure domestic and sexual 

violence interventions and provision of specialist services that meet the needs of a diversity of 

women, including the disabled, elderly and refugees, who are currently underserved by existing 

services. 

 We call on governments, civil society and aid agencies to: 

o strengthen policies and decrees and their facilitation as related to VAW and genderbased violence,

o ensure the policies are fundamental in initiating and sustaining women’s centres and safe spaces, 

o are holistic, integrated and include community level awareness raising programmes done in a rights-based, gender and culturally sensitive manner, and

o integrate gender-based violence in school curricula as a means of primary prevention.

 We encourage Governments to put in place mechanisms to coordinate and harmonize service 

provision by various Government departments and civil society organizations in health, education, economic development and other social services. This should include monitoring and 

evaluation

 We urge governments, civil society and aid agencies to focus on strengthening and supporting 

women-to-women shelter exchange learning, documentation, collection and  management of 

data which is essential for providing improved holistic responses.

Done in Kigali on this 5th day of December 2012.

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RIZANA NAFEEK AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA

SRI LANKAN AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA
After exhausting all of her appeals, Rizana Nafeek is at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia for a crime she allegedly committed while under the age of 18.
Aged only 17 years at the time, Sri Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafeek was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering an infant in her care. On 16 June 2007, she was sentenced to death by a court in Dawadmi, a town west of the capital Riyadh. The sentence was subsequently upheld by the Court of Cassation and sent for ratification by the Supreme Judicial Council. However, it was sent back to the lower court for further clarification.
The case went back and forth until on or around 25 October 2010, when the Supreme Court in Riyadh upheld the death sentence. The case was then sent to the King for ratification of the death sentence. Recent media reports indicate that the family of the infant who died have refused to pardon her and her execution is now imminent. Rizana Nafeek had no access to lawyers either during her pre-trial interrogation or at her first trial. She initially “confessed” to the murder during interrogation, but has since retracted this account. Rizana Nafeek says she was forced to make the “confession” under duress following a physical assault. The man who translated her statement was not an officially recognized translator and it appears that he may not have been able to adequately translate between Tamil and Arabic. He has since left Saudi Arabia.
The passport Rizana Nafeek used to enter Saudi Arabia in May 2005 gives her date of birth as February 1982, buther birth certificate states she was born six years later, making her 17-years-old at the time of the infant’s death. According to Amnesty International’s information, she was not allowed to present her birth certificate or other evidence of her age to the court, which relied instead on her passport and so considered her to be 23 years old atthe time of the offence.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

ν Urging the King of Saudi Arabia to prevent the execution of Rizana Nafeek, who is believed to have been under18 at the time of the crime for which she has been convicted;
ν Calling on the King to commute her death sentence, particularly given Saudi Arabia’s obligations as a state
party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and taking into account the uncertainty over Rizana Nafeek’sage;
ν Reminding the authorities that they should act in accordance with international law, particularly Article 37 of theConvention of the Rights of the Child, and end the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 18 FEBRUARY 2013 TO:
King and Prime Minister
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior)
+966 1 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of the Interior
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed
bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Ministry of the Interior, P.O. Box 2933,
Airport Road, Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +966 1 403 3125 (please keep
trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness

And copies to:
Governor of Riyadh Province
His Royal Highness Prince Sattam bin
Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Riyadh, Riyadh Province
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +966 141 10470

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which expressly prohibits the execution of juvenile offenders – those convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. However, Saudi Arabia does execute juvenile offenders in breach of their obligations under the CRC.
In Saudi Arabia there have been disturbing patterns of discrimination against vulnerable individuals. Many of those executed over the past years were foreign nationals, mostly migrant workers from poor and developing countries. In 2012 Amnesty International has recorded the execution of at least 79 people of which 27 were foreign nationals. In 2011 at least 82 executions took place, including 28 foreign nationals, more than triple the figure of 27 for 2010 including 5 foreign nationals. In 2009, at least 69 people are known to have been executed, including 19 foreign nationals, in 2008 at least 102, including almost 40 foreign nationals, and in 2007 at least 158, including 76 foreign nationals.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of “confessions” obtained under duress and/or deception.
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention against Torture, which prohibits the use of evidence extracted under torture or other ill-treatment. Article 15 states: "Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as vidence that the statement was made."
In a report published in 2008 on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International highlighted the extensive use of the death penalty as well as the disproportionately high number of executions of foreign nationals from developing
countries. For further information please see Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index: MDE
23/027/2008), 14
October 2008: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/mde23/027/2008
The Supreme Court began to function in February 2009 as the final court of appeal. This is part of a new court system introduced by the 2007 Law of the Judiciary. The Court of Cassation, which used to handle appeals, has since been replaced by courts of appeal. The Supreme Judicial Council continues to exist and has been allocated responsibilities such as the supervision of the organization of the Judiciary, including the appointment, promotion and disciplining of judges. For more information regarding the judicial reforms, please see Saudi Arabia: Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index:
MDE 23/027/2008), 14 October 2008 (see above).





Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the fourth update of UA 175/07. Further information:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/026/2007, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/006/2008 and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/012/2010/en

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URGENT ACTION : Nasrin Sotoudeh lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

URGENT ACTION

lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

Following an intervention by parliamentarians, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh ended her 49-day long hunger strike on 4 December 2012 after the travel ban on her 13-year old daughter was lifted by Iran’s judiciary. Her health is frail due to her prolonged hunger strike and she needs specialized medical care. Amnesty International is calling for her immediate and unconditional release.

Prisoner of conscience Nasrin Sotoudeh, ended her 49-day hunger strike after judicial authorities agreed to meet her demand to lift a travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter. Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, and a number of women’s rights activists met with parliamentarians regarding her case. Emerging parliamentary concern, expressed following this meeting, appears to have prompted judicial officials to lift the restriction. A member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has also stated that a number of parliamentarians plan to visit Evin Prison.

On 2 December, Reza Khandan reported that Nasrin Sotoudeh’s health had deteriorated and that she was suffering from loss of vision, dizziness, unsteadiness and low blood pressure. It is unclear whether she has access to a diet appropriate to someone coming off a prolonged hunger strike.

Please write immediately in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:

Urging Iranian parliamentarians to take action to secure the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, reminding them that imprisonment for peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression or work as a lawyer is contrary to Iranian and international law, and calls into question respect for the rule of law in Iran;

Urging them to obtain assurances from prison officials that Nasrin Sotoudeh is being given full access to the specialized medical treatment required for those who have not had food for prolonged periods, including access to independent doctors of her choice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 JANUARY 2013 TO:

Speaker of Parliament

Ali Larijani

Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami

Baharestan Square

Tehran

Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: a.larijani@parliran.ir

Fax: +98 21 3355 6408

Salutation: Your Excellency

Leader of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: info_leader@leader.ir

Salutation: Your Excellency

Twitter: #Iran leader @khamenei_ir

And copies to:

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani

[care of] Public relations Office

Number 4, 2 Azizi Street

Vali Asr Ave, above Pasteur Street intersection

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: info@dadiran.ir (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) or info_leader@leader.ir Salutation: Your Excellency 

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the sixth update of UA 197/10. Further information:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/067/2012/en

URGENT ACTION

lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The judicial order to lift the travel ban on Nasrin Sotoudeh’s daughter followed months of campaigning at both national and international levels. At the same time that Iranian MPs raised concerns with judicial officials in Iran, on 4 December, Navi Pillay, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her concern about Nasrin Sotoudeh, urging the Government of Iran to promptly release her along with all other activists who have been arrested and imprisoned for their peaceful human rights activism in Iran. Amnesty International urges Iranian parliamentarians to continue to fulfil their responsibilities to uphold the human rights of their constituents whether through amending national legislation and policies or at an individual level.

Nasrin Sotoudeh started a hunger strike on the morning of 17 October 2012 in protest at the authorities’ denial of her repeated requests to have face-to-face visits with her 13-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. She was transferred to Evin Prison’s clinic on 26 November and was told that she must have checkups there every day as her blood pressure was very low. According to her husband, Reza Khandan, she drank only salt-water and sugar-water since the start of her hunger strike. Nasrin Sotoudeh was transferred to solitary confinement in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, on 4 November, in what appeared to be a punitive measure. On 15 November, Reza Khandan reported that when he tried to visit her in Section 209, the authorities told him she was not there, though they had previously told him that she had been transferred there from the General Ward. Nasrin Sotoudeh’s whereabouts were unknown until she was transferred back to the General Ward on 21 November.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was restricted to family visits in a "cabin" (behind a glass screen) after the prison authorities discovered she had been writing a defence for her upcoming court hearing on a piece of tissue paper. She has not been allowed to make phone calls for the past year. On 12 November Nasrin Sotoudeh was allowed to have a face-to-face visit with her children. The meeting lasted only a few minutes and was in the presence of the prison guards. Reza Khandan was not allowed to meet her. Nasrin Sotoudeh told her family that she would continue her hunger strike until the authorities lift the travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter. In July 2012, Reza Khandan and their daughter received an order informing them that they were banned from travelling; this appears to have resulted from a case that had been opened against them.

On 9 January 2011, Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court for “spreading propaganda against the system” and “acting against national security”, including membership of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)..Nasrin Sotoudeh's sentence was later reduced to six years on appeal. She has denied all charges against her, including membership of the CHRD. She was also banned from practising law and travelling for 20 years, reduced to 10 years on appeal. Since her arrest on 4 September 2010, Nasrin Sotoudeh has been detained in Evin Prison, including a lengthy period in solitary confinement. Her health has been weakened by three previous hunger strikes in protest against her arrest and detention conditions. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that lawyers must be allowed to carry out their work “without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” In addition, it affirms the right of lawyers to freedom of expression, also provided for in Article 19 of the ICCPR, which includes “the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights”.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on 26 October 2012, along with fellow Iranian Ja’far Panahi – a world-renowned film director – who is himself facing a six-year prison sentence and is banned from film-making, for his peaceful criticism of the Iranian authorities.

Names: Nasrin Sotoudeh (f), Reza Khandan (m)

Gender m/f: both �

Further information on UA: 197/10 Index: MDE 13/073/2012 Issue Date: 7 December 2012

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MY VOICE COUNTS!

MY VOICE COUNTS! - 2012 Human Rights Day



Dear Friends,

Greetings from IWRAW Asia Pacific!

It is the 10th of December once again and we would like to wish you all a Happy Human Rights Day!

The theme this year - My Voice Counts –reminds us about the guarantees in the UDHR on freedom of speech, thought, belief and the right to participate in public life and impact policy and decision making. It acknowledges and respects each individual’s voice and helps us to remember that it is about the person no matter our differences and that there are those of us whose voices are silenced or ignored because we lack the political power to make ourselves heard.

Yet it implies so much more in terms of vision: it speaks towards a world of inclusion, diversity, respect for difference of opinion, free and open social debates, right to collective action and the recognition of the legitimate role of CSOs and NGOs in public policy and social change towards equality, non-discrimination, justice and peace, the right to take part in politics and hold office.

In the past year, we have seen numerous attempts to silence women’s voices, including the heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring story of Malala, a young girl nearly killed for expressing her right and the rights of young girls to education. For women, marginalisation and exclusion from representation and decision-making, spells danger and risk to their individual freedoms and collective rights. Examples have shown that exclusion of gender perspectives and obstacles to women’s participation in public and civic roles negatively impact democratic principles, good governance and rule of law. Women’s demands for equality in the family and in the workplace, and struggles to end domestic violence and sexual harassment at the workplace, recognition of the separate reality of women, need to be heard and acted upon by governments, society and private actors.

To pursue gender equality, it is important to ground and socialise the culture of international human rights norms, including an appreciation for the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination established by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The ability to articulate these will strengthen their demands for equality, justice and recognition as a cohesive, political constituency; grounded ideologically in principles of democracy, peace, respect for rights and being knowledgeable in the practice of citizen governance.

We can celebrate the fact that CEDAW nears universal ratification with 187 ratifications, and further ratifications of its optional protocol (OPCEDAW). The CEDAW state dialogue process and the OPCEDAW mechanism is a way for women’s voices to be heard by their states and supported by the global standards practices of the member states of CEDAW articulated by the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and challenges states to prioritise and act in compliance with international law to address violations to women’s human rights.

64 years ago, this day would have been celebrated very differently. But today, we are lucky to have successes that we can commemorate. It is a good time for all of us to reflect on the good and the bad and continuously challenge ourselves to think of creative and innovative rights-based approaches to achieve our human rights goals to have a better future together.

In the coming year IWRAW Asia Pacific will undertake efforts to strengthen women’s voices in public policy and decision making through specific projects including one to strengthen the voices of young feminists in Asia Pacific, supported by the UN Women Gender Equality Fund.

There is still a lot of work to be done so let’s continue as a global women’s movement, seeking to make governments, families, business more accountable in ensuring promotion, protection and realisation of human rights
On this day, IWRAW Asia Pacific congratulates and thanks courageous men and women who have fought and are still fighting for the right to express our thoughts and feelings about the world and who fight for the rights and freedoms inherent in our shared humanity. We raise our voices in support of this struggle – We are WOMEN and Our VOICES COUNT!



Warm wishes,

The IWRAW Asia Pacific team

10 December 2012

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Applications Now Available to 7th Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability

We are very excited to announce that we will be hosting our 7^th Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) in August, 2013. As you know, WILD will bring together approximately 30 women leaders with disabilities from 30 different countries to strengthen leadership capacity, create new visions and build international networks of support for inclusive international development programming.

The deadline to apply is January 13, 2013. WILD is a very competitive program and we receive a very large number of applications for limited spaces. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to apply early. Also, applications for WILD 2013 will be available in Spanish, French and English (NOTE: Spanish and French applications will be available on December 3).

Applications are now available online. Please share the link to the following webpage with your networks, colleagues, friends and allies: www.miusa.org/exchange/currentprogs/wild/wild13/wild2013

Thank you for disseminating far and wide so that we can recruit the next generation of “WILD” women!

In solidarity,

Susan Dunn
Executive Assistant to the CEO/ Project Specialist
Mobility International USA
132 E. Broadway, Suite 343
Eugene, OR 97401
Tel/tty: +1 (541) 343-1284 ext. 17
Fax: +1 (541) 343-6812
Email: sdunn@miusa.org
Skype: suz.miusa
website: www.miusa.org

Celebrating 31 years of empowering people with disabilities to achieve their human rights through international exchange and international development.

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Defend the Rights of Saudi Arabian Women

Target: Prince Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud, Saudi Arabian Minister of Interior

Goal: Stop the electronic tracking of women

Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive. They are not allowed to travel alone unless they have the express permission of a male guardian. The oppression of Saudi Arabian women has now gone a step further—they are being electronically monitored, tracked so they cannot move across borders without a man knowing. Under the new program, men receive alerts on their phones if a woman under their official custody leaves the country.
For decades the Saudi government has systematically been revoking and violating the human and civil rights of the nation’s women. Men have had to sign off when a woman leaves the nation for some time now, but it is only recently that the repressive monarchy has begun actually tracking the movements of women. This move has been condemned on social networking websites but that has not deterred the Saudi government.
Hopes were high when a moderate was named as the head of the country’s religious police, but progress has been slow and the electronic tracking of women is a step backwards. Already barred from moving freely, forced to wear all black in public, and held back from jobs, this tracking measure represents a new low.
These are human beings, not property; they should not be managed, traded, and tracked. Let the Saudi government know that it is time to move forward. This is a disgusting violation of human rights and it must be stopped.

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 02:11

Defend the Rights of Saudi Arabian Women
BY MARK GOODMAN

Sign the Petition here

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Fight against Female Genital Mutilation wins UN backing

Fight against Female Genital Mutilation wins UN backing

The adoption today of a resolution against female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee is a major boost to civil society organizations fighting for an end to the abusive practice, Amnesty International said.

This is the first time the Assembly’s Third Committee, which addresses social, humanitarian and human rights issues, has adopted a resolution on FGM – the cutting of a girl’s genitalia clitoris often without anaesthetic in conditions that risk potentially fatal infection.

“FGM is an indictment of us all – that a girl or young woman can be held down and mutilated is a violation of her human rights and – shockingly – an estimated three million girls are at risk each year,” said José Luis Díaz, Amnesty International’s UN representative in New York.

“Vitally, this UN resolution places FGM in a human rights framework and calls for a holistic approach, stressing as it does the importance of empowerment of women, promotion and protection of sexual and reproductive health and breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence.”

FGM is commonplace in 28 countries in Africa as well as in Yemen, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia and in certain ethnic groups in South America.

However it is an issue of worldwide concern. Women and girls in diaspora communities can be at risk of being subjected to FGM.

Amnesty International sees the UN resolution as a reminder to governments that they need to develop national action plans, beyond laws, and ensure that they are well-resourced and monitored, in order to raise awareness.

The resolution makes clear too that this is something that must involve all those affected – including men and boys – if we are to finally end this practice.

“It is important to highlight that FGM is a gender-based and child-specific persecution and the UNHCR – the UN refugee agency - has established that a girl or woman seeking asylum because she has been compelled to undergo, or is likely to be subjected to FGM, can qualify for refugee status,” said Díaz. Protection of refugee women at risk of having undergone FGM must be integrated into the overall strategy for protection.

The resolution makes concrete recommendations for prevention of FGM, for protecting girls at risk, ending impunity and provision of support services to those suffering from the lifelong consequences. Amnesty International urges governments to implement these recommendations urgently.

The resolution on FGM adopted by the Assembly’s Third Committee is expected to be endorsed by the General Assembly Plenary in December. Although not legally binding, UN General Assembly resolutions carry considerable moral and political weight.

Notes for Editors:

AI calls for the protection of women’s rights and in particular the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women across the world.

The END FGM European Campaign has developed a strategy providing recommendations to the European Union on concrete steps to end FGM. Read the strategy here:

http://www.endfgm.eu/content/assets/END_FGM_Final_Strategy.pdf

For more information follow this link here www.endfgm.eu

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE

26 November 2012

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We express our disappointment in the decision of the ASEAN leaders

STATEMENT ON THE ADOPTION OF THE ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION

21 November 2012

ASEAN Heads of State and Government

c/o ASEAN Secretariat

International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific)[1] wishes to express its disappointment in the decision of the ASEAN leaders to proceed with the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration on 18 November 2012 despite the numerous calls to postpone the adoption by civil society groups and other stakeholders.

The current version of the Declaration falls short of its vision and mission as the overarching instrument to “establish a framework for human rights cooperation in the region and contribute to the ASEAN community building process”, due to its restrictive content and the process by which it was created.

• Procedurally,

o the expediency in adoption, lack of transparency, and meaningful civil society participation has substantively limited the vision and scope of the Declaration as an overarching standard setting instrument for all stakeholders in the region.

• Substantively,

o the overall approach adopted by the Declaration, provides ASEAN member states an expedient to continue the denial and violations of rights under the protective shroud of culture and traditions of the region which are patriarchal and anachronistic standards that will continue to negatively impact women’s human rights in ASEAN. This is clearly embodied in the numerous articles of the general principles which places limitations rather than to promote and protect the full recognition and enjoyment of human rights by all in ASEAN;

o the Declaration, despite affirming its commitment to uphold international human rights principles and standards has allowed for limitations such as “balancing rights” with regional and national contexts and laws. This in the current political context of ASEAN, as well as the weak institutional climate for promotion and protection of human rights nationally, allows the member states to interpret the provisions in ways which may undermine their international commitments;

o continuing to limit the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms to meet the principle of “just requirements”, including on the basis of “public morality”[2], further demonstrates the lack of true commitment by the ASEAN member states to the duty to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of the peoples of ASEAN. The Declaration fails to provide the measures and mechanisms to ensure appropriate checks and balances to interpret “just requirements” at the national level. Further, historically the notion of public morality has been used to deny and violate women’s human rights to sexual autonomy and bodily integrity.

As an organisation committed to the realisation of human rights of women, we are extremely concerned by the absence of these key elements, as well as inclusion of provisions which negate the full recognition of human rights, both in the process of drafting and adopting the Declaration itself and in the substance of its content.

In line with the mission to promote and protect human rights, democracy, fundamental freedom, rule of law and good governance, we urge the “People-oriented” ASEAN to ensure progressive interpretation and implementation of the Declaration in accordance to the spirit and commitments of internationally agreed principles and standard on human rights. The women of ASEAN demand the recognition and enjoyment of allhuman rights and fundamental freedoms unfettered and unrestricted by unnecessary justifications premised on traditional, patriarchal and anachronistic standards and interpretations which are embodied in the adopted Declaration.

It should be noted that all Member States of ASEAN are parties to the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and is thereby obligated to ensure the recognition and promotion of women’s and children’s human rights and continue to uphold the principles of universality, non-discrimination and substantive equality of all peoples of ASEAN.

We, as a women’s human rights group, together with other stakeholders, will continue to monitor and demand for the full accountability of the ASEAN member states in fulfilling its obligations to the peoples of ASEAN without in any way undermining its obligations under international human rights laws. We want the guarantee of a regional Declaration which will withstand national, regional and international scrutiny in upholding universal principles of human rights.

Yours sincerely,

Audrey Lee

Officer in Charge

International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
10-2, Jalan Bangsar Utama 9
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2282 2255
Fax: (603) 2283 2552
Email: iwraw-ap@iwraw-ap.org / iwraw_ap@yahoo.com / iwrawap1993@gmail.com

Website: http://www.iwraw-ap.org

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[1] IWRAW Asia Pacific is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic Social Council of the United Nations and has national partners in all 11 Southeast Asia countries. It facilitates and monitors the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an international treaty ratified by all member states of ASEAN. In collaboration with APWLD, it initiated the formation of the Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN, with a membership of over 50 women’s groups in the region.

[2] The statement of the Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN on the issue of public morality is fully supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific.

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Please take action to Nasrin Sotoudeh, and distribute this appeal widely to your networks

What a relief ...
Nasrin after 49 days broke her hungerstrike ..
let's hope she'll recover soonest and regain her strength; she'll need it

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been on a hunger strike since the morning of 17 October. She was transferred to solitary confinement in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, on 4 November 2012. However, since yesterday her whereabouts are unknown. Amnesty International is seriously concerned about her safety.

On 15 November, Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, reported that when he tried to visit her he was told by the authorities that she was not in Section 209. That is while the Evin Prison authorities had previously informed him that she had been transferred from the general ward to Section 209. According to Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, the authorities at both the general ward and Section 209 of Evin Prison deny that she is being detained there.

On 12 November Nasrin Sotoudeh was allowed to have a face-to-fase visitation with her children. The meeting which lasted only a few minutes was in the presence of the prison guards. Reza Khandan was not allowed to meet her.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a six-year prison sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, started a hunger strike on the morning of 17 October 2012 in protest at the authorities’ denial of her repeated requests to have face-to-face visitations with her 13-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Nasrin Sotoudeh’s health, which has already weakened as a result of her previous hunger strikes, has deteriorated further. She was transferred to Evin Prison’s clinic on 22 October.

Nasrin Sotoudeh has told her family that she will continue her hunger strike until the authorities’ pressure on her family is lifted, in particular the travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter. In July 2012, Reza Khandan and their daughter received an order informing them that they were banned from travelling; this appears to have resulted from a case that had been opened against them. Reza Khandan has been subjected to harassment, including an overnight detention in Evin Prison in January 2011 for his advocacy on his wife’s behalf.


RECOMMENDED ACTION:

-Call on Iranian authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Nasrin Sotoudeh and ensure that she is granted immediate and regular access to a doctor, her family and her lawyer, including regular visits by her children, allowing them physical contact with her;
-Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, imprisoned solely for her peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression and association, including her work as a lawyer;
-Remind them that the harassment and arrest of family members of prisoners, solely in order to stop their public campaigning, amounts to reprisals that violate Iran’s obligations as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to uphold freedom of expression.

APPEALS TO:
1. Please send an SMS text message to the Tehran Prison Authority’s SMS service, on +98 3000 5061

2. Please send an SMS text message to the Head of Investigation and Complaint Response Administration (R’ais-e Edareh Bazresi va Pasokhgouy’ie be Shekayat) service, on +98 093 7289 2013; you may need to ‘drop’ the zero following the country code of +98

3. Please send an email to the Head of Investigation and Complaint Response Administration at bazresi.kol@gmail.com

4. Please send emails to:

Leader of the IslamicRepublic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
Email: info@dadiran.ir (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) or info_leader@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights
Mohammad Javad Larijani
High Council for Human Rights
Email: info@humanrights-iran.ir
(subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
Salutation: Your Excellency


5. Please tweet appeals to @ALarijani, Ardeshir Larijani, Head of Iran’s parliament; and the President of Iran, on @Iran_President and @President_Iran, and the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei on @khamenei_ir

6. Fax to the General Prosecutor’s office: fax: +98 213391 9920

Please also send appeals to the diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY

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