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A decree has been issued in Honduras which allows authorities to clamp down on child rights activists. The move mirrors similar oppressive government practices recently documented in other parts of the world. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said it was “deeply concerned” over the executive decree 011-2009 adopted by the de facto authorities in Honduras, through which fundamental rights have been restricted, such as personal liberty and freedom of association. Honduras has been suspended from participating in the Organisation of American States (OAS) – the parent organisation of the Inter-American human rights system – following a coup d'etat which ousted president Manuel Zelaya on 28 June 2009. Human rights defenders named as being at risk, include four child rights advocates: - Tomás Andino Mencía, child rights advocate The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has requested that Honduras adopt precautionary measures (what are these?) to ensure the right to life and personal integrity of human rights defenders, journalists, relatives of Zelaya, and international observers. These measures include providing information on the whereabouts of detained or missing persons and immediately releasing those detained arbitrarily. The suspension of Honduras’ right to participate in the OAS does not alter the country’s obligations as a signatory to both the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Commission has reiterated its request, made on 30 June 2009, to conduct a visit to Honduras to investigate the human rights situation in the country following the coup d’état. For more details and updates on the situation in Honduras, go here Global scourge But activists in Honduras are not the only ones to suffer from repressive government action. Earlier this month, it was reported that police in Nigeria, claiming to be donors, burst into the offices of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network Centre (CRARN) in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, and arrested two staff members. They were also said to have beaten several children present and, before leaving, fired bullets into the bedroom of the organisation's founder “as a warning.” It was thought that the reason was because the work of CRARN, and the children they care for, was shown on UK Channel 4’s Dispatches Programme on ‘Saving Africa’s Witch Children’ in November 2008. The programme highlighted the role that Mrs Helen Ukpabio, self-proclaimed pastor, evangelist and founder of the Liberty Gospel Foundation Church in Nigeria, and film production company, Liberty Films, have played in spreading the myth of child witchcraft. Gary Foxcroft, Programme Director of the UK-based NGO Stepping Stones Nigeria, and partner of CRARN, said: “We will not be intimidated in our fight to protect the rights of vulnerable children and ensure that children are no longer labeled as witches. We know that the truth is on our side”. Azerbaijan Meanwhile, also earlier this month in Azerbaijan, Human Rights House Network condemned the unlawful detention of Emin Milli, Coordinator of Alumni Network (AN) Youth Organization and leader of ANTV Online TV, and one of OL Youth Organization’s coordinators, well-known video-blogger Adnan Hajizade. The detainees were beaten by men in a restaurant for “talking about politics”, and the activities of youth organisations related to the internet. When they reported the attack to police, they were detained and denied access to a lawyer. Jordan In May, Human Rights Watch reported that laws in Jordan consider to violate rights to association. Newly proposed amendments to the 2008 Law of Societies do not rectify major deficiencies that violate the right to free association, in particular children's right to associate. The current law prohibits associations from pursuing any "political objectives" and activities that violate "public order." Both terms are overly broad and invite governmental abuse. The law also discriminates against non-Muslim religious organisations, by restricting the activities they are allowed to engage in, and excludes non-Jordanians and children from establishing associations in Jordan, in violation of the country's international treaty obligations. The 2009 proposed amendments would ease the process of establishing an association by describing more clearly the duties of the registrar of associations, but they continue to grant the government ultimate political control to decide whether an association can incorporate. The inclusion of a right to challenge such denials judicially provides inadequate redress, since the law includes no criteria for denying permission and the government could act lawfully by denying permission without reason. Ethiopia In January 2009, the Ethiopian Parliament adopted a potentially repressive new law which could criminalise the child rights activities of both foreign and domestic non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Charities and Societies Proclamation law (CSO law) is designed to strictly control and monitor civil society in an atmosphere of intolerance of the work of human rights defenders and civil society organisations. Previous drafts of the CSO law imposed strict government controls and harsh criminal penalties on NGOs. China Human Rights Watch reports that the Chinese government's closure of a Beijing-based legal aid and research organisation and disbarment of 53 Beijing lawyers marks a sharp intensification of official efforts to silence China's human rights defenders. OCI is a unique organisation in China, combining groundbreaking research on officially "sensitive" subjects with legal services for groups and individuals stymied by China's politicised legal system. OCI's research has included a recent report exploring the origins of the unrest in Tibet in March 2008. That report criticised the Chinese government's policies in the region. The organisation's legal activism has included representing parents seeking government compensation for children poisoned through the melamine contamination scandal exposed in late 2008. [Sources: Human Rights Watch, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International]
- Edward Yeferí Lobo Sánchez, child rights advocate
- Guillermo de Jesús Mayen Jiménez, child rights advocate and member of the political party Unión Democrática
- Matilde Durón Ochoa, child rights advocate