With at least ten rural workers and leaders killed in 2019 and increased violence against human rights defenders, fuelled by hate speech from the highest levels, there seems to be little to celebrate in the State of Para on Human Rights Day 2019. This 9 December, Front Line Defenders Protection Coordinator, Ivi Oliveira, accompanied one of our partners in Brazil at the reception ceremony of the Medal Paulo Frota by the Legislative Assembly of Para (ALEPA), which recognised individuals and organisations for their work in defence of human rights in the state.
Today is a national holiday in the United States. Schools, banks, and government buildings are all closed to commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus to a land he thought was India. In fact, 1492 marked the year Columbus "discovered" a land already home to almost 20 million indigenous peoples.
Since that day, indigenous communities of the continent have suffered centuries of persecution, massacre, disease, and systemic violations of their rights to land.
Azimjan Askarov is a Kyrgyz HRD working against corruption and for civil and political rights in the country, including for the ethnic minority Uzbek population. He was arrested during the violent clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, though he had long been targeted by the authorities because of his human rights work. Read more about his persecution on his case history page. Masha Chichtchenkova is Front Line Defenders Protection Coo
On 22 September 2016, human rights defenders Svetlana Gannushkina (Russian Federation) and Mozn Hassan (Egypt) were awarded The Right Livelihood Award. The other two recipients were The White Helmets (a volunteer rescue group in Syria) and Turkey's independent "Cumhuriyet" newspaper.
Front Line Defenders is extremely saddened and would like to express its deep condolences for the sudden death of renowned human rights defender from the Philippines, Mr. Max de Mesa, on 28 September 2016.
On 27 September 2009, human rights defender Adolfo Ich Chamán was brutally killed. Seven years later, his wife Angélica Choc is still struggling for justice.
Yolanda Barranco Hernández will never forget the morning of 18 May 2013. It started with a loud noise. Seven men carrying heavy weapons broke down the door of her house. They were looking for her husband, Damián Gallardo Martínez. They didn't present any warrant. They said they were there to arrest him and they took him away.
In light of unprecedented attacks on human rights defenders, Andrew Anderson of Front Line Defenders argues for increased direct support to human rights defenders working at the local and national levels, flexibility in funding, and a greater focus on core, multi-year support.
Between 4-5 September the leaders of 19 of the world’s largest economies and representatives from the European Union meet in Hangzhou in eastern China to discuss global financial stability and international economic policy. It is the first time that China is hosting a G20 Summit and it is another opportunity for it to announce its arrival on the world stage. Millions of dollars are being spent to ensure the city is picture-postcard perfect for the arrival of the dignitaries.
For more than five months, she has been demanding the Mexican authorities find her husband Fidencio Gómez Sántiz. She wants him back, and alive. So far, her demands have been met with silence.
Sebastiana Pérez Hernández is a 45-year-old woman and is the mother of two children. She speaks the indigenous language tzeltal and lives in the village of Las Perlas, in the municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas. She is a member of the grassroots organisation Frente Nacional de Lucha por el Socialismo (FNLS).
