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| Hassan Shire Sheikh Executive Director EHAHRDP |
Kambala:
Marking the commencement of support from the European Commission under the
global fund of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, the
Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRD-Net) today officially
launches a 3-year programme totalling 1.8 million Euros to promote a safe legal
and working environment for human rights defenders (HRD) across Africa.
“The tireless and innovative work done at utual support and reinforcement,” said
Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson of PAHRD-Net and Executive Director of the
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP). Today’s
launch marks the fruition of a process set off in 1998 at the Johannesburg
All-Africa Human Rights Defenders Conference and renewed in 2009 at the
Johannesburg +10 Conference in Kampala where the need for such a protection
programme was discussed.
As stated in European Union Guidelines on Human Rights
Defenders, “the EU acknowledges that the activities of human
rights defenders have over the years become more widely recognised. They have
increasingly come to ensure greater protection for the victims of violations.
However, this progress has been achieved at a high price: the defenders
themselves have increasingly become targets of attacks and their rights are
violated in many countries. The EU believes it is important to ensure the
safety of human rights defenders and protect their rights.”
The secretariat of PAHRD-Net hosted by EHAHRDP
coordinates the implementation of the programme with the ultimate objective of
improving the quality, capacity and consistency of protection support available
to the most-at-risk HRDs across the continent. PAHRD-Net brings together the
five sub-regional human rights defenders networks in Africa (the Central
African HRD Network, the East and Horn of Africa HRD Network, the North Africa
HRD Network represented through the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies,
the Southern Africa HRD Network hosted by the International Commission for
Jurists and the West African HRD Network) to meet the protection needs of human
rights defenders and especially to address the needs of the five groups of
most-at-risk HRDs: journalists fighting to end impunity and corruption, women
human rights defenders, defenders working on issues of sexual orientation and
gender identity, HRDs working under oppressive regimes or in
armed/post-conflict areas, and HRDs engaging with the resource extraction
industries.
Human rights defenders are individuals working
alone or through organizations under the goal of promoting respect for
universal human rights norms. Frequently HRDs come into conflict with the
entrenched local power structures of state and non-state actors through their
activism. This conflict can put in jeopardy the security of the HRD and their
work and family networks. HRDs are often the victims of harassment, threats,
assault, injury, and death across Africa, and many are forced into exile, a
move which may effectively end their advocacy for human rights. The
consolidation and growth of protection mechanisms within the sub-regions will
improve the responses available to mitigate these threats and develop HRDs’
ability to manage their own security effectively.
Participants at today’s launch event include
representatives of the five sub-regional HRD member networks, members of the
PAHRD-Net Steering Committee, the EU Ambassador to Uganda, the EU Delegation to
the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, HRDs who have benefited from the
EHAHRDP protection programme, and other members of the diplomatic and NGO
community in Uganda.
For further information please contact:
Hassan Shire Sheikh – Chairperson, Pan African
Human Rights Defenders Network: Tel +256-772-753-753, or executive@defenddefenders.org
Joseph Bikanda – Coordinator, Pan African Human
Rights Defenders Network: Tel +256-312-202133, +256-312-265825, or panafrica@defenddefenders.org
Rachel Nicholson – Advocacy Officer, East and
Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project: Tel +256-312-265-824,
+256-778-921274, or advocacy@defenddefenders.org
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