newsletter No Peace Without Justice, I-2014

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January 2014
Editor-in-Chief: Nicola Giovannini
Managing Editor: Alessandro Manno

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 Highlights




The “No Peace Without Justice Human Rights Award” 2014
 


We are delighted to share the news that the “No Peace Without Justice Human Rights Award” will be held on 3 March 2014in Rome, at the Sala Zuccari of the Italian Senate of the Republic, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sergio Stanzani, President of No Peace Without Justice and of the Radical Party, who recently passed away.
 
The Award aims to support those fighting in Italy and around the world for the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. The Award provides political recognition, and does not have a monetary value. It will be awarded in two categories: one for activities carried out in Italy and one for activities carried out at the international level.
The selection of the Laureate in each Award category will be made by the Prize Jury, composed of leading figures in the promotion of human rights and representatives of the institutional bodies involved.
Applications are open until 7 February 2014 through our website www.npwj.org .
Therefore, we renew the invitation to nominate those people who you think are making an outstanding contribution to protect and promote human rights and whose work would benefit from the political recognition the NPWJ Human Rights Award will bring.
Read more

 

 










Syria: SIJ and NPWJ mark the first anniversary of the Queiq River massacre with a ceremony in Istanbul
 


On 29 January 2014, the Syrian Institute for Justice (SIJ) and No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) held a ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, to mark the first anniversary of the Queiq River massacre that took place near Aleppo in Northern Syria between January and March last year. Panellists of the commemoration, which was chaired by Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, Secretary-General of NPWJ, included: Nabil Al Halabi, Human Rights  lawyer and manager of Life Organization, from Lebanon; Yousef Houran, Lawyer, Investigator and co-founder of SIJ, from Aleppo; Abdulkader Mandou, Human Rights Attorney, Investigator and co-founder of SIJ, from Aleppo.
 
“Over the year citizens of Syria have witnessed many massacres and many atrocities. Today we commemorate one of them which is in some ways special, special in a way that the massacre was not a single massacre but was prolonged, sustained, systematic killing of civilians who were abducted at check-points of the regime and who over a number of weeks day by day were killed as part of massive and systematic attacks. And the Queiq River speaks about that atrocity by delivering dead bodies,” Niccolò Figà-Talamanca said in a press conference held in İstanbul.
This event is the first of a series of commemorative events that will culminate with the public presentation of the report “When the river speaks”, elaborated by SIJ.
Read more

 

 










Tunisian Constitution: a milestone for the country of the Jasmine revolution
 


On Sunday 26 January, the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly adopted a new Constitution. This is a milestone for Tunisia and for the history of the Arab region, strengthening the voices of those who are advocating for democracy in other countries in the region. The last month of negotiations has been hectic, inside and outside the Constituent Assembly. The constitutional process, which was initially supposed to be concluded by 23 October 2012, has lasted longer than anybody expected.
 
The negotiations have witnessed some critical moments of the Tunisian history. The escalation of political violence culminated in the assassinations of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in February and July 2013 respectively, prompted strong demonstrations against the Government and created two profound political crises that stopped everything in the country, including constitutional drafting. However, members of the Government, the opposition and the Constituent Assembly were able to overcome the stalemate and to find an agreement on the way forward, which in itself demonstrates the remarkable resources of Tunisians.
In the past weeks, many have rightly praised the draft text that emerged from the Constitutional talks as one of the most advanced in the Arab world in particular in respect of the fact that it rejected Sharia as a source of law. The Tunisian Constitution recognises rights and freedoms more than other constitutional texts in the region; nonetheless, while many universal human rights are now enshrined in the text, a number of these provisions clearly show that it was a difficult compromise.
Read more

 

* Greta Barbone is Senior Associate and former Tunisia Project Coordinator of NPWJ.

 










Bahraini opposition leaders meet in Brussels and call for international support to stop repression and promote meaningful political reform
 


On 22 January 2014, as part of a week-long tour of major European Cities, a Bahraini Delegation of opposition leaders visited Brussels for a series of meetings with EU institutions and human rights organisations, organised with the support of No Peace Without Justice. The visit aimed at drawing attention to the current situation in Bahrain and also to work with international partners in efforts to consolidate a serious and meaningful dialogue process that can lead to genuine democratic reform.  The delegation included Radhi Al-Mosawi, Secretary General of "Waad " Society (National Democratic Action Society), Abdulnabi Salman, Secretary General of Al-Minbar Society (Democratic Progressive Tribune), Abduljalil Khalil, Resigned MP and former Head of Al Wefaq Parliamentary Bloc and Ali Alaswad, Resigned MP of Al Wefaq.
 

On this occasion, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) hosted a roundtable discussion to discuss the current situation and prospects for the future of the country. The meeting, which was hosted by Niccolo' Figa'-Talamanca, NPWJ Secretary-General, in NPWJ Brussels office, saw the participation of representatives from Human Rights Watch, FIDH, Carnegie Europe, Partnership for Democratic Change International (PDCI), Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF). The Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, in cooperation with NPWJ, also hosted a special meeting which was chaired by MEP Ana Gomes and attended by representatives of all political groups.

Read more

 

 




 NPWJ events



Libya: NPWJ raises awareness and promotes participation for the Transitional Justice law
 


NPWJ convened a colloquium about the recently approved Transitional Justice law on 16 January in Tripoli within its broader program on Transitional Justice (TJ) in Libya. More than 30 participants, including local activists, journalists, students, representatives of the international community, engaged in an open and vibrant discussion on the TJ law and the establishment of the Fact Finding and Reconciliation Commission (the Commission), which will be in charge of collecting information on severe and systematic human rights violations.
 
On 21 January 2014, NPWJ, in collaboration with the Right Direction Organization for Human Rights (RDOHR), one of its local partners in Libya, also convened a meeting on the role and capacities of Libyan tribes in solving internal conflicts and its relevance in the country’s ongoing transition process.
These meetings formed part of the series of colloquiums that NPWJ has organised regularly since the launch of the Libya program, providing an occasion to generate constructive discussion within civil society and the legal community.
Read more

 

 










A safe digital way to Transitional Justice: NPWJ Concludes Training on Digital Security for Syrian Human Rights Activists
 


After three years of war and violence in Syria, most of the western media outlets and international organisations documenting the ongoing violations and crimes, use reports from Syrian citizen journalists and activists as their main source of information. Already threatened by bombs and bullets, abductions and torture, these activists also need to protect themselves from regime forces and extremist groups that recognise danger to them from these extraordinary documentation efforts. In this context, the digital security is essential, for those who are working on the ground and those who are collecting and preserving sensitive data abroad.
 
Against this background, NPWJ held the “Digital Security Training - digital resistance” on 14 16 January 2014 in the city of Gaziantep, Southern Turkey, where a number of International NGOs and International Organisations have been based since the start of the Syrian crisis. The training aimed to introduce participants to different techniques and strategies to safeguard digital communications, including encryption, safe document storage and the management of sensitive data.
The training was organised with the Local Administration Council Unit (LACU), a branch of the Syrian National Council (SNC), the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), the Kirkayak Art Center (KSM) and Front Line Defenders. Participants in the course included officers from the Media Centers of Syrian Local Councils based inside Syria and, activists reporting and collecting data about the ongoing violence from the Violations Documentation Center (VDC) and other representatives of informal associations and NGOs working inside the country.
Read more

 

 




 NPWJ on Radio Radicale




Have Breakfast with No Peace Without Justice
 


No Peace Without Justice and Radio Radicale, the foremost Italian nationwide all-news radio, have an ongoing partnership to provide news and information on our activities to a broad Italian audience. This partnership features an in-depth weekly program on NPWJ’s current campaigns and activities. The program is broadcast in Italian every Friday morning immediately before the main news summary.

The last episodes have focused on issues related to MENA Democracy. Gianluca Eramo, NPWJ MENA Coordinator, presented an overview on recent developments that took place in Syria, including possible diplomatic perspectives, while Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, NPWJ Secretary General, presented a detailed analysis of the results of Geneva II. Gianluca Eramo has also talked about Bahrain, focusing on the political situation in the country and the meeting, which took place in Brussels, with representatives of the opposition of the Bahraini regime. From Gaziantep and Tripoli, Giacomo Cuscunà and Stefano Moschini presented the recent activities related to the projects carried out by NPWJ respectively on Syria and Libya, while Greta Barbone, NPWJ Senior Associate, commented on the approval of the Tunisian Constitution. Finally, Giulia Schiavoni presented the NPWJ Human Rights Award 2014 and its ceremony to be held on 3 March 2014 in Rome.

 

Listen to the episodes

 




 NPWJ press releases







The “No Peace Without Justice Human Rights Award” 2014
Rome, 30 January 2014

Syria: SIJ and NPWJ mark the first anniversary of the Queiq River massacre with a ceremony in Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey, 29 January 2014

Tunisian Constitution: a milestone for the country of the Jasmine revolution
Greta Barbone*, Brussels-Rome, 27 January 2014

Geneva II Conference on Syria: accountability and justice for violations must be put on centre stage
Brussels-Rome, 23 January 2014

Bahraini opposition leaders meet in Brussels and call for international support to stop repression and promote meaningful political reform
Brussels, 22 January 2014

Libya: NPWJ convenes a colloquium on the role of tribes in conflict-solving
Tripoli, 21 January 2014

Libya: NPWJ raises awareness and promotes participation for the Transitional Justice law
Tripoli, 16 January 2014

A safe digital way to Transitional Justice: NPWJ Concludes Training on Digital Security for Syrian Human Rights Activists
Gaziantep, Turkey, 16 January 2014

Sierra Leone: NPWJ welcomes the organisation of a Regional Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty
Brussels, 14 January 2014

Bahrain: NPWJ and NRPTT commend South Korea for suspending tear gas supplies
Brussels-Rome, 10 January 2014

Kenya: NPWJ welcomes nomination of Linah Kilimo as head of the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board
Brussels, 9 January 2014

Libya: NPWJ organises capacity-building training for Libyan Human Rights Council
Tripoli, Libya, 9 January 2014

Tunisia: NPWJ calls on the Tunisian National Assembly to strengthen further human rights provisions
Brussels-Rome, 8 January 2014

ICC: NPWJ welcomes Czech Republic’s adoption of Rome Statute implementing legislation
Brussels, 7 January 2014




 NPWJ in the news




Queiq river massacre in Syria commemorated in İstanbul
Lamiya Adilgizi & Julia Nho, Today's Zaman (Istanbul), 29 January 2014

Those who’ve fled Syria want only one result from Geneva, an end to Assad’s rule
By Roy Gutman (McClatchy Foreign Staff), Star Telegram, 29 January 2014

Young people in Tobruk find out more about transitional justice
Libya Herald, 19 December 2013

International, Bahraini NGOs call on Bahrain to drop all charges against Khalil Almarzooq
Ahlul Bayt News Agency, 14 December 2013

Syria: Victims of conventional weapons on the rise
Lorenzo Trombetta, ANSAMED, 11 December 2013

Siria: sempre piu' vittime con armi convenzionali
By Lorenzo Trombetta, ANSAmed, 7 December 2013

Siria: sempre più vittime con armi convenzionali
By Ticinoline, 7 December 2013




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