View previous stories
	Meaningful engagement with civil society is essential to ensure diverse voices are included by Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Joint OMCT-FIDH programme Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan   15 October 2015   New draft law threatens the independence and existence of NGOs in Kazakhstan, warns UN rights expert   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, today warned that Kazakhstan’s Bill amending the Law on Non-profit organizations “may not only compromise the independence of associations, but challenge their very existence.”   The draft law establishes an operator with the right to allocate both governmental and non-governmental grants, including grants from international organizations, diplomatic missions or international not-for-profit organizations, to non-governmental organizations.   “The possibility for a centralized Government’s operator to distribute all grants irrespective of sources, be it public or private funds, enables the authorities to arbitrarily limit resources and to control the entire not-for-profit sector,” Mr. Kiai cautioned. “By controlling the sources of funds, the draft law would limit associations’ functional autonomy and put their independence and existence at serious risk.”   “Access to financial resources is an integral and vital part of the right to freedom of association,” the expert underscored.   The new legislative amendments were adopted by the Senate on 8 October 2015. The text would now be with the Lower House of the Parliament for its final consideration and it may be adopted any time from now.   The draft law also bars associations receiving governmental grants from using more than 10 percent of their funding for administrative expenditures. “Other countries have adopted such laws in recent years and we now know, from experience, that this has had a devastating impact on civil society organizations,” the UN expert noted.   “Many were forced to stop their activities, leaving society deprived from these organizations’ essential contribution in the economic, cultural, political and social fields and devoid of important voices often representing the most marginalized.”   “By preventing associations to decide freely on their activities, such limitation questions the very meaning of freedom of association and, as experience shows, endangers the very existence of associations,” he said.   “The role of civil society in a country with significant democratic and economic development aspirations is crucial to achieve ambitious goals. A meaningful engagement with civil society is essential to ensure diverse voices are included in decision making process,” he added.   Mr. Kiai recalled the recommendations made at the end of his country visit to Kazakhstan earlier this year*. “While I commended the Government on certain measures aimed at favouring the inclusion of associations in the public debate, I also stressed the need for any amendments concerning access to funding not to jeopardize the independence of associations, which is one of the main attributes of freedom of association,” he said.   “In this regard, I reiterate my call to the authorities for the draft law to be repealed,” the Special Rapporteur concluded.   Mr. Kiai’s present appeal has been endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom or opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16608&LangID=E   16 June 2015   A Letter from Azerbaijan Jail, by Khadija Ismayilova.   Voicing concern over “a shrinking democratic space” in Azerbaijan as human rights defenders, journalists and Government critics are increasingly being deprived of their liberty, the United Nations rights office called on the authorities to galvanize efforts to safeguard the freedoms of expression and association in the country.   “These cases are indicative of a shrinking democratic space in Azerbaijan, where many civil society actors, journalists and lawyers fear reprisals or legal and administrative obstruction in carrying out their important work,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), said at a press briefing in Geneva.   He added that the closure of some media outlets and the denial of entry to certain journalists and international human rights organizations, especially ahead of the European Games in the capital, Baku, is “one symptom of a wider problem.”   “There is an urgent need to relax the legislative and administrative requirements concerning civil society organisations,” stressed Mr. Colville, adding that local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be allowed to monitor domestic trials on human rights as well as to cooperate with human rights mechanisms without fear of reprisals.   Urging the Government of Azerbaijan to ensure due process and to prevent any interference with defendants’ rights to counsel, OHCHR underscored the independence and accountability of administration of justice and its full respect for the international human rights obligations and commitments.   The UN human rights office called on the authorities to “to ensure respect for the rule of law and to urgently review all cases where people may have been deprived of their liberty for expressing dissenting views or otherwise exercising their fundamental rights.”   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51172#.VYDdAVKpWzl   11 June 2015   The eyes of the world are on my country, my beloved Azerbaijan, as it hosts the inaugural European Games, beginning on Friday. The tourists and athletes are enjoying the spectacle of the opening ceremony while the international public watches on television at home.   But I will not see the games. I don’t know what the weather is like or how bad the Baku traffic is. I have access to very little information of any kind. I am sitting in my cell in the Kurdakhani prison — my home for the past six months.   I am a journalist, in jail for my work exposing corruption at the highest levels of the Azerbaijani government. I have been targeted, along with dozens of other political prisoners — fellow journalists, human rights defenders, youth activists, politicians and others — for telling the truth about the situation in my country. Azerbaijan’s best and brightest have been locked up, tucked away for the European Games. They didn’t want you to see or hear us and our inconvenient truths.   The truth is that Azerbaijan is in the midst of a human rights crisis. Things have never been worse. As those at the top continue to profit from corruption, ordinary people are struggling to work, struggling to live, struggling for freedom. And we must struggle with them, for them.   I am carrying on my struggle here, from jail. My investigations into corruption continue, thanks to the help of dedicated colleagues. I have been punished for speaking out from jail, placed into solitary confinement, and prevented from seeing my family and lawyers. My notes have been seized from my cell. As I have said before, if this is the price to pay, it is worth it.   Today, I say to the international community: Do not let the government of Azerbaijan distract your attention from its record of corruption and abuse. Keep fighting for human rights, for those who are silenced. Keep fighting for right, and for good. Be loud, and be public. The people of Azerbaijan need to know that their rights are supported.   And please, don’t call just for my freedom; call for the release of all political prisoners. Stand up for freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. Stand up for human rights.   * The writer is an investigative journalist, detained since December in Azerbaijan. She is the recipient of the 2015 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Prize. The Sport for Rights campaign obtained this letter through intermediaries and submitted it to The New York Times via PEN American Center, a member of the campaign.   http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/statements/azerbaijan/2015/06/d23200/   * 25 May 2016   UNESCO welcomes Azerbaijan’s decision to free investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova.   The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has welcomed Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court decision to free an award-winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.   “Some three weeks after UNESCO awarded [Ms. Ismayilova] the prestigious UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, I welcome her release from prison as a major step for freedom of expression, due process and the rule of law in Azerbaijan,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in a press release.   “UNESCO’s commitment to stand by journalists around world is unwavering,” Ms. Bokova added.   Ms. Ismayilova, a freelance journalist and contributor to the Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe, was detained in December 2014. In September 2015, she was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment on charges relating to abuse of power and tax evasion.   “Our mandate to enhance the safety of journalists and fight impunity for crimes against them, to defend freedom of expression and media freedoms has never been so important. This requires the commitment of all actors and every Government,” Ms. Bokova said.   http://rsf.org/fr/actualites/azerbaidjan-khadija-ismailova-liberee Visit the related web page
	ITUC Global Rights Index names worst countries for workers by International Trade Union Confederation   June 2015   Human and trade union rights , Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights.   The Gulf States are among the world’s worst countries for workers’ rights, while workers under European austerity measures endured the starkest deterioration of standards, according to the 2015 Global Rights Index.   The ITUC rights index ranks 141 countries against 97 internationally recognised indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected, in law and in practice.   “Workers in the Gulf States where the draconian ‘kafala’ system is widespread endure many of the violations which make the Middle East and North Africa the world’s worst region for fundamental rights at work,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.   “But in a worrying trend, European workers have witnessed the starkest deterioration of their rights in the last 12 months due to widespread government-imposed austerity measures taking effect.”   The International Trade Union Confederation has been collecting data on the abuse of trade union rights around the world for more than 30 years. This is the second year the ITUC has presented its findings through the Global Rights Index, offering a snapshot for government and business to see how their laws and supply chains have deteriorated or improved in the last 12 months.   The ten worst countries for working people are Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and United Arab Emirates.   Other countries ranked lower but had worsening conditions this year in a clear negative trend for workers. These nations were Burundi, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Iran, Georgia, Russia, United Kingdom and Spain.   “Workers in Colombia and Guatemala have been murdered for trying to negotiate better working conditions, while in Qatar and Saudi Arabia migrants continue to endure forced labour and labour law exclusions which amount to modern slavery.   “In 73 of 141 countries, workers faced dismissals, suspensions, pay cuts and demotions for attempting to negotiate better working conditions, while in 84 countries employers adopted illegal strategies to deny or delay bargaining with representative trade unions.   “While a handful of countries have attained perfect scores compared to last year, there’s been an increase across the board in the number of countries where conditions have worsened, including nations such as Cameroon, Hungary, Spain and South Africa,” Ms Burrow said.   The reports key findings include:   Out of a total of 141 countries, the number where workers faced arbitrary arrest and detention increased from 35 to 44, and included countries such as Spain and Brazil.   In almost 60 per cent of countries, certain types of workers are excluded from their fundamental labour rights.   Unionists were murdered in 11 countries, one up from last year, including 22 deaths in Colombia alone.   Seventy per cent of countries have workers with no right to strike.   Two thirds of countries deny workers collective bargaining rights.   More than half of countries in the survey deny workers access to the rule of law.   In the past year, unions have reported violent crackdowns on peaceful protests in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Ukraine; in Qatar around 100 migrant workers striking against poverty wages were arrested last November, while in March this year a Filipino union organiser became the 18th case of extra-judicial killing since 2010.   “International labour standards prescribe access to fundamental rights for all workers,” Ms Burrow said. “Yet as corporate power and inequality grows internationally, these results show governments and employers in almost every country around the world must improve their treatment of workers and arrest the increase in workplace violations.”   * Access the report via the link below. Visit the related web page
	View more stories