Israeli Navy Takes Dignite/Al Karama in International Waters

Earlier today [July 19, 2011], the Israeli navy took control of the one boat from Freedom Flotilla II that had made it into international waters on their way to Gaza. The French-flagged boat - Dignite/Al Karama - carried 16 people from France, Canada, Greece, Sweden and Tunisia. They were stopped about 40 miles away from Gaza and after several hours the Israelis took control of the boat, bringing it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
 

There are no reports of any injuries and we have heard the passengers were being arrested. We do not yet know how long they will be detained or what will happen to the boat.

We urge you to contact the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC to call for the immediate release of these people.  

Most important, we must call on the Israeli government to end the siege and blockade of Gaza, and to treat the people of Palestine in compliance with international law!
 

Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC

• Ph: 202-364-5500
• F:   202-364-5423

 

Contact: 

• Dignite, Huwaida Arraf 
• 202-294-8813
• U.S. Boat to Gaza, Felice Gelman 
• 917-912-2597

Pillay opens UN Human Rights Office in Tunisia: OHCHR-Geneva

French, Arabic version: http://www.ohchr.org

It is a great pleasure and honour to be opening a UN human rights office for the first time in history in Tunisia.  

It is the first UN human rights office in any of the five North African countries bordering the Mediterranean. 

I would therefore like to thank the people and government of Tunisia for pioneering human rights in this region.

High Commissioners for Human Rights have been trying to set up an office in this region for years. Most countries were careful not to say an outright “No.” But none of them was remotely close to an outright “Yes,” until the people of Tunisia decided to radically alter the priorities.

All that changed in December and January, when the people of Tunisia said, in effect: “Enough. We deserve our rights, we want our rights and we are going to have our rights.”
 

The whole world watched with amazement and growing respect as Tunisians kept demanding your rights, refusing to be cowed by the repression, the arrests, the torture and all the injuries and tragic loss of life that occurred as Ben Ali’s regime fought unsuccessfully for its survival.


In the past three weeks, Tunisia has ratified no fewer than four extremely important treaties, including three in a single day: 

The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which make those two key human rights treaties much easier to monitor and enforce; and the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances. All three of these were ratified on 29 June.

A week earlier, on 24 June, Tunisia became the 116th state to ratify the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, and the first in North Africa. 

This represents a powerful commitment by the new authorities that no future serious violations of human rights will take place with impunity. Ratifying the Rome Statute is one of the best deterrents to serious crimes.

Tunisia is the first country in the Arab world to legally enshrine gender parity in the electoral rolls for the upcoming election.

Tunisia has become a common reference for all human rights defenders, as human dignity and human rights form the heart of the lesson delivered through Tunisia’s revolution. No clearer expression of that can be found than in the essential message of the Tunisian poet, Abū al-Qāsim al-Shābi:

“If, one day, a people desires to live, surely fate shall heed their call.  And their night will then begin to fade, and their chains break and fall.”

Olive trees are a potent symbol in all Mediterranean countries. They symbolize peace, and are renowned for their endurance. They can take as many as 20 years to bear fruit, but once established, they thrive in both fertile and stony ground. 

They survive hot summers and cold winters. Like human rights, they are virtually indestructible. Even when they are cut down, or burned, new shoots sprout from the roots. They can live for thousands of years. 

I therefore hope that the olive tree I am going to plant here today will reflect the advent of a new era of human rights and democracy in Tunisia. And that, 2,000 years from now both this tree and Tunisia can look back on 2011 as the magical year when it all began.
 

Thank you.


UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Navi Pillay

 

• Media requests, Rupert Colville
• +41 22 917 9767  rcolville@ohchr.org
•  
• Press officers Ravina Shamdasani 
• + 41 22 917 9310  
• rshamdasani@ohchr.org
•  
• Xabier Celaya  
• + 41 22 917 9383  
•  xcelaya@ohchr.org
   

Facebook
Twitter 

The Oslo Freedom Forum: Dawn of a New Arab World PT. II

Part I of the Oslo Freedom Forum is HERE

The 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum brought together dissidents and activists from around the world to share their stories.  All presentations from the 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum are now available via YouTube, including new videos from:

• ·  Chinese thinker and activist Yang Jianli on ‘The Myth of Han China.’
• ·  Liberian peace advocate Leymah Gbowee on how to ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell.’
• ·  Moroccan journalist Ahmed Benchemsi on his country’s journey ‘From Subtle Dictatorship to Subtle Revolution’
• ·  Egyptian-American analyst Mona Eltahawy on the ‘Evolution of Censorship’
• ·  Panel discussions: The Arab spring featuring bloggers and activists, complexities of foreign aid, examining the modern struggle for information and freedom of expression.

The 2009 and 2010 conferences are available, including speeches from:

• Elie Wiesel 
• Yoani Sánchez 
• Benjamin Skinner 
• Kasha Jacqueline 
• Lech Walesa

 

The Oslo Freedom Forum was founded to address today's most challenging humanitarian issues. Each year individuals from academia, advocacy, business, media, politics, social entrepreneurship, and technology collaborate on how best to make an impact on the world around us. 

Attention is drawn to issues that matter, inspire action, and shed light on the extraordinary work of innovators across the globe.

Share the talks from these remarkable individuals with friends, colleagues, and family. 

If you would like to interview any of the activists, coordinate an appointment:  hansa.bergwall@evins.com

  

Thor Halvorssen 

Founder, CEO Oslo Freedom Forum

Twitter @OsloFreedomFrm 

Facebook.

The 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum, will be held on May 7, 8, and 9.  

WBFO-FM 88.7 Wins 6 AP Awards, 2 PRNDI Awards

WBFO-FM 88.7, the University at Buffalo's National Public Radio affiliate, won six awards at the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association's annual awards banquet last month in Saratoga Springs.

The station captured three first-place and three special mentions honoring the work of the WBFO news team.

News director Eileen Buckley received first-place honors for the prestigious Art Athens award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting in 2010. 

Buckley is a three-time recipient of this award, also winning in 2002 and 2008 for her work at WBFO. In announcing the award this year, the judges said Buckley's "stories were well reported and produced. Excellent work." 

Arts and Cultural producer/reporter Joyce Kryszak won first place for Best Feature for "Family War Sacrifice," a report on a family who lost a loved one to the war in Iraq In announcing the award, the judges described Kryszak's work as "a dramatic, heartrending story. Well produced and presented." 

Kryszak has won many Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and New York Broadcasters Association awards throughout her more than 12 years at WBFO. 

Buckley and Kryszak were also honored with a first-place award for Best Continuing Coverage of the "Deadly City Grill Shootings" in downtown Buffalo in August 2010. 

The judges described their news reporting as "thorough, well-presented...interesting storytelling of an important, significant and unfolding event." 

  

Other Associated Press awards earned by WBFO include:

• -- Best Spot News Coverage: Special mention to Buckley for reporting on City Grill shootings
• -- Best Interview: Special mention to Buckley for her interview with gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino about his run-in with New York Post reporter Fred Dicker: "Paladino Bickers with Dicker"
• -- Best News Special/Documentary: Special mention to. Buckley for coverage of the Flight 3407 crash and tragedy "One Year Later" 

WBFO's news coverage also earned acclaim at the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) annual awards banquet held last month in Arlington, Va. PRNDI hosts the only national contest recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations.

The team of Buckley, Weekend Edition anchor Chris Jamele and news anchor Mark Scott won first place for "Breaking News" coverage of the City Grill shootings. 

WBFO News also received a second-place award for Buckley's spot news coverage of the shootings. 

The judges praised WBFO's coverage of the City Grill crimes as "a model for breaking news coverage: the reporter and anchor seamlessly coordinated coverage from the scene to convey the latest news." 

 

PRNDI is a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional development of public radio journalists.

Contact:

John DellaContrada

dellacon@buffalo.edu

716-645-4601

Susan Marie Public Relations

Think Twice Radio 

New York USA 2011