Derechos Humanos / Human Rights

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has issued the fourth in its series of Practical Guides for Civil Society, focusing this edition on Human Rights Funds, Grants and Fellowships. The guide aims to assist prospective applicants by briefly describing the menu of funding sources, grants and fellowships administered by or with the participation the OHCHR. The guide is available in a variety of languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish.

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Geneva, Oct. 2 (DP.net).

Sixty-three countries sponsored the landmark human rights resolution on "The Rights of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association," the result of a drawing to an end a hard-fought campaign by civil society groups. The resolution calls upon States to ensure the rights of individuals to assembly and association by taking all necessary measures to abide by obligations under international human rights law. Most importantly, the resolution also calls for the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur to monitor and study trends, developments, and challenges in relation to the exercise of these rights, and to make recommendations on ways and means to ensure the promotion and protection of these rights. Among other duties, the Special Rapporteur will report on violations and discrimination, as well as threats or use of violence, harassment, persecution, intimidation, or reprisals directed at persons exercising these rights.

The resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council establishes the mandate of a Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and extended the mandates of the Working Group on arbitrary detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia. The Council also adopted a statement on religious intolerance.

With regard to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Council decided to appoint, for a period of three years, a Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

[ Full text of the Resolution ]
[ More about the resolution ]
[ Other perspectives ]

A Catholic Relief Services (CRS) project in Lakes State, South Sudan, is uplifting farmers in the area with seeds, farming tools and training. The support is designed to bring resilience to people facing ongoing conflict and food insecurity.

Monica Ajak Meen, a mother of three and a member of a farming group, says: "Before the support, we had a lot of challenges. CRS helped us. They gave us knowledge. We didn't practice proper cultivation methods, but CRS taught us. They gave us ox-ploughs, which have given us freedom tu cultivate on a large scale. One person can cultivate 20 acres. When we cultivate enough, we can sell produce to generate income and have some for our own consumption. Life is easier."

The group also faced storage issues. "We used to have problems storing our produce, but CRS helped with storage facilities," and she added: "We received tarps and used them to make storage and sacks to store peanuts, which we didn't have before, and we love it.

The project provided seeds and tools to 400 farmers in 16 farming groups like Monica's and linked them to better markets where they can sell their produce at higher prices for increased profits.