On the 24th of April, the ISHR held its International Council that convened section heads from different countries on six continents. The meeting occurred in Bonn, the city hosting the ISHR Secretariat. The Council meeting was preceded by the annual meeting of the German Section of the ISHR. In the International Council, members presented their country reports. We highlight some of the presentations made by the members:

Albania section

The Albania section has a track record of working on several human rights projects and is currently implementing major projects that captured the attention of the Council members. The Reconciliation of families affected by Blood Revenge. This project aims at stopping the dangerous custom where people revenge for the murder of a family member by seeking the death of another.

The Albania section is also a member of the Alliance of Anti-Corruption in Albania Margarita Kola, the section head, and her team who include laws, advocate for tougher laws to tackle corruption. The lawyers in the section use their expertise to undertake advocacy and sensitisation of different communities on the legal regime of anti-corruption in the country. The lawyers also present petitions to parliament for legal reform.

The Section is motivated by the Philosophy that they can do a lot of things even with small resources given the strategy is clear.

The other project being undertaken now is legal and human rights education for young people. This is premised on the belief that a strong citizenry begins with conscientious young people. The history of Albania has been checkered by the history of dictatorship and it is therefore imperative that young people have the culture of pushing back against tyranny and standing up for rights.

Lithuania

The ISHR Community in Lithuania is key in providing humanitarian assistance and technical support to refugees from Belarus and Ukraine. The section has helped improve relations between Ukrainian and Belarusian refugees in Lithuania which had not been well in refugee-hosting areas. Olga Karatch, a Belarusian refugee in Lithuania, expressed commitment by the section to continue promoting the rights of refugees and is not relenting in fighting for rights in Belarus even though she is in exile.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3xJ6I4U1RwY

Azerbaijani section

The Azerbaijani section of ISHR is working in prisons to monitor the treatment and conditions of inmates. Through a helpline, the prisoners call to seek legal, psychological and technical assistance. They also use this opportunity to alert the ISHR of any violations of their rights in prison. The section plays a vital role in visiting prisoners who do not have relatives or friends to visit them. The team offers them emotional support and listens to their needs. During the Covid-19 lockdown in the country, ISHR Azerbaijani was instrumental in advocating for the rights of inmates to be visited by their family members. Dr Saadat Bananyarli is the section head.

Through the legal network of ISHR section Azerbaijani, lawyers provide legal representation to those who cannot afford the cost of legal representation. Many people have regained their freedom under this project and others have had their cases fast-tracked due to the efforts of the legal team from ISHR. The section is currently pursuing the release of 29 political prisoners.

Furthermore, the Azerbaijani section is working with different women’s organisations in the country to combat the high prevalence of early marriages. According to UN Women, 11 % of girls are married off in Azerbaijan before they reach their 18th birthday. Other reports fear that the number could be higher because of the limited documentation of early marriages. However, due to the efforts of activists including the ISHR-Azerbaijan, the laws have been made stricter and their enforcement has improved.

Nevertheless, the Civil Society landscape faces some major challenges in Azerbaijan, the key among them is the strict law on NGOs. According to the ‘NGO Law,’ an entity cannot receive foreign funding or donations unless the foreign funder is registered in Azerbaijan. This has limited much of the work of CSOs in the country including the work of ISHR.

Kenya section

The report was presented by Wanjeri Nderu the new president of ISHR Kenya replacing Bishop Joseph Kimani who served the section with tremendous dedication. Wanjeri noted that the section is dedicated to fighting graft in Kenya, pursuing justice for male victims of rape, women’s rights, and civil and political rights.

In her report, Wanjeri noted that the freedom of expression and association are strained in Kenya from activists facing constant arbitrary arrests and disappearance, to insurmountable hurdles in registering organisations. According to Wanjeri, the National Intelligence Service has blocked some activists from registering CSOs by refusing to give them the required clearance.

Human Rights Defenders are often faced with made-up charges of terrorism. The government uses the terror scare in the country to blackmail HRDs. This is an affront to the civic space in Kenya. In her report, she paid tribute to some of the colleague HRDs that have been killed under unclear circumstances; Caroline Mwaka, Elizabeth Ibrahim, and Joanna Stutchbury. It is noteworthy that women play a vital role in the defence of Human Rights in Kenya and other countries. These are however disproportionately affected by violations while they do their work. ISHR Kenya is committed to supporting women HRDs in their work.

See more of the ISHR Kenya project:

Mali section

The Mali Section was created in 2007 and implements projects in the area of human rights defence in Mali. Dr Moumouni Guindo is the section head.

The section has over the years been pivotal in defending the rights of children against exploitation in Malian towns and cities. According to Moumouni, adults put children on the streets to beg and extort money from passers-by on their behalf. At the end of the day, these children take back the money to the adults. Children who collect less are often mistreated. With support from Partners, ISHR Mali produced a film detailing the ordeal of the street children in Mali. The film highlighted the plight of the children and caused some reform in Mali.

The Mali section is also involved in activities that help children to go to formal schools owned by the government instead of those owned by extremist groups where they would be radicalized. Mali is a hot spot for many fundamentalist groups that have since set up schools and training facilities to train young people and youth in terrorism. Moumouni stated that ISHR-Mali is committed to further defending human rights.

Armenia

Bela Shikaryan the section head of ISHR Armenia presented the report from her section. The report highlighted the tremendous work being done by the section to monitor court processes of specifically vulnerable people in both Ukraine and Armenia. The section has monitored over 100 court proceedings within the space of two years. This monitoring entails tracking the due process of the court to ensure that the rights of the accused persons are given the utmost respect.

Members of ISHR Armenia in a monitoring training session

Moldova

Members of ISHR Moldova with some Ukranian children

Dr. Liubov Nemcinova the section head of Moldova in making the country report reminded members of the increasing refugee crisis in the country and called for further support from the International Community. According to the UNHCR, Moldova has received over 718,657 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war with over 100,000 of them seeking to remain in the country. The numbers are high for the small European country of about 2.6 million people.

The ISHR section of Moldova provides shelter to accommodate some refugees and provides them with psycho-socio support and essential items to use in their daily life. The section further continues to use its social media channels to bring to the attention of the world the refugee situation in Moldova.

Members of ISHR Moldova with some Ukranian children

Iraq Section

The Iraq section report was delivered by Krmanji Othman the ISHR Iraq section leader. Othman gave an account of the work that the Iraq section is doing including; Humanitarian aid to refugees in Iraq, support to prisoners, and empowerment of girls among others.

The recent history of Iraq has greatly made the country vulnerable to extremist groups and poverty. The extremist groups have in the past abducted girls and boys whom they seek to draft into their fold. ISHR Iraq provides psycho-socio support to the former prisoners of such groups including former prisoners of ISIS. Many of those supported are girls. Members of the section provide skilling sessions in the area of Information technology and other essential fields to prepare former prisoners for reintegration into communities.

Although faced with many challenges in the country, the Iraq section is committed to improving the lives of many and the ISHR Global community is profoundly proud of that work.

Uganda Section

In her statements to the International Council, Dr. Josephine Ndagire underscored the work the Uganda section is doing about the arbitrary arrests of political and civil rights activists in Uganda. Josephine stated that following the 2021 election in which President Museveni sought to extend his stay in power, many political opponents were arbitrarily arrested and many killed. The Uganda section has documented a number of those violations and in liaison with other stakeholders, seeks justice on their behalf.

The International Council meeting provides the members with an opportunity to understand the varied contexts within which each section works. It is also a moment of global solidarity for human rights.