TAG: HR defenders

Defending LGBT rights in South Asia: Stories of Survival and Justice

Six countries in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have established a national human rights institution (NHRI), all of which include complaint mechanisms. The establishment of these NHRIs has provided LGBT people with access to complaints mechanisms that can help resolve human rights violations these marginalised communities often face. However, several […]

Sexual Politics Round-up in 2016

As 2017 begins, SPW highlights the main events and trends as well as tensions and challenges traversing sexual politics worldwide. January In January, the Zika virus epidemics stormed the headlines, as Brazilian babies affected by Zika congenital syndrome prompted a global alarm. Even though Zika had been previously detected in other countries, the Brazilian epidemic […]

Reflections on Authoring the Chapter on Young Women for the 2016 Arab Human Development Report

After a long delay, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has finally published its latest Arab Human Development Report, ADHR 2016: Youth and the Prospects for Development in a Changing Reality. In this text, we would like to share our misgivings with the final product—more specifically the chapter we were involved with as authors, as […]

Sexual Politics in late October and November 2016

November began with a resounding shift in global politics: Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. As the reactions flooded through the world media, SPW has developed a preliminary view on what this may imply for sexual politics in the US and beyond and compiled a series of articles written by a wide […]

The Sexual Politics in September and early October 2016

Last month a large number of events took place across the globe to mark September 28th as the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal abortion. Of particular relevance was the massive women’s strike in Poland to protest against a new bill aimed at completely banning abortion. Its immediate effect was the […]

To build feminist futures, suspend judgment!

As feminist thinkers and activists, we must tackle not only the systemic discrimination embedded in the world outside, but the often unconscious or invisible biases that we ourselves have internalized. Part 1. The booth from which CREA’s Suspend Judgment was launched at the 13th Annual AWID Forum in Bahia, Brazil. September 8 – 11, […]

Vitit Muntarbhorn: new UN investigator to protect LGBT

The UN Human Rights Council has nominated its first independent investigator aimed at protecting people in regard to sexual orientation and gender idendity across the world from violence and discrimination. Vitit Muntarbhorn will have a three-year mandate to investigate abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. Mr Muntarbhorn is an international law […]

Key Trends and Tensions in sexual politics: a commentary

It also seemed to me that the general mood of pessimism came from the fact that most of the meeting’s participants were not digital natives, not exactly the ”globalized children”. This meant – again, with notable exceptions – that we still saw activism and policy advocacy

Sexual politics in July 2016

Between July 12th and 15th, right before the Durban International AIDS Conference, SPW organized a seminar in Umhlanga, the Northern District of the City. Thirty four researchers and activists from the Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe discussed key trends in sexual politics at regional and country levels as well as in specific domains […]

IACHR Welcomes Creation of LGBTI Core Group at the OAS

Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the recent creation of the Core Group on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Persons (LGBTI) of the Organization of American States (OAS). The group is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, and Uruguay. The […]

Feminist Activist and Woman Human Rights Defender Mozn Hassan Banned from Travel

The Passport Administration at Cairo International Airport banned this morning feminist activist and woman human rights defender (WHRD) Mozn Hassan from traveling during completion of her departure procedures from Cairo to Beirut, and she was informed verbally that the travel ban had been issued by the Egyptian General Prosecutor based on the request of the investigative judge.

Severe Financial Crisis of the IACHR Leads to Suspension of Hearings and Imminent Layoff of Nearly Half its Staff

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is going through a severe financial crisis that will have serious consequences on its ability to fulfill its mandate and carry out its basic functions. The Commission deeply regrets having to report that on July 31, 2016, the contracts of 40 percent of its personnel […]