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ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TABLE OF CONTENTS UNITING LIBERALS IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS 03 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW 04 PRIORITY WORKING AREAS 05 FREEDOM OF BELIEF 05 LGBT RIGHTS 08 WOMEN’S RIGHTS 09 RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT 13 THE GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 14 LI HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 16 IMPRISONED FOR THINKING 16 31ST SESSION 18 32ND SESSION 19 LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL 33RD SESSION 19 LI HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 20 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE 5TH EDITION 21 6TH EDITION 21 ANNUAL LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM 22 REPORT Published by Liberal International with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF). The FNF's funds originate from a grant by the German Foreign Office, resulting from a decision of the Bundestag. The views expressed in this publication are 2O16 those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 03 UNITING LIBERALS IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS Promotion and advancement of human rights lies at the heart of the liberal agenda. The belief in individual rights, liberty, and equality forms the very basis of every liberal policy and during these turbulent times of fast-rising populism and far right extremism it has never been more important to unite the liberal voice in the defence of human rights. Throughout the calendar year 2016, the Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LI HRC) took the lead on a number of issues not least on ending violence against women in politics and promoting freedom of belief by reaching out to new partners and reinvigorating the cooperation with existing ones. From bringing together a number of liberal parliamentarians at the Inter-Parliamentary Union to debate the elimination of gender-based violence to engaging in discussions on anti-radicalization with the Mayor of the Molenbeek municipality in Brussels, 2016 proved to be a year of great success showing the value of mutual support in our global liberal network. In Geneva, members of the Human Rights Committee assembled at the United Nations Human Rights Council to discuss liberal solutions to the growing authoritarianism around the world and the ever declining freedom of the media. Participants were able to engage with a number of former political prisoners and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Representative on Freedom of the Media reaffirming Liberal International as a leading voice on fundamental freedoms among the political internationals. The LI Human Rights Committee has continued to grow and has seen the highest and most diverse group of members join its ranks with more women than men for the first time. At the same time the Africa Liberal Network has strengthened its human rights profile becoming an invaluable partner to the work of the Committee with African liberals comprising one third of all LI HRC members. As we look to establish a strong front against human rights abuses around the world and strengthen Liberal International’s position as a key international actor on the human rights scene, I would like to offer my sincere “The belief in individual rights, liberty, gratitude to my colleagues for their selfless devotion and support to the work of the Committee. I very much look forward to and equality forms the very basis of our continued work and the possibility for future engagement with established and new human rights allies. every liberal policy and during these turbulent times of fast-rising Yours sincerely, populism and far right extremism it has never been more important to unite the liberal voice in the defence Markus Löning Vice-President on the Bureau of Liberal International of human rights.” Chairman of LI Human Rights Committee 04 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW Over the course of 2016, the LI Human Rights Committee has shown a consistent growth in terms of diversity in its membership and priority work areas. The 196th LI Executive Committee in Tblisi, Georgia saw the election of 24 representatives from 16 countries across 3 continents who vowed to deliver on the Committee’s newly ratified priorities which included the promotion and advancement of Women’s Rights, LGBTI rights, the Responsibility to Protect Principle and Freedom of Belief. Full information about the new committee including the biography of all Committee members can be found on the LI website. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 05 FREEDOM OF BELIEF Gathering a diverse set of Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LIHRC) members, liberal politicians and representatives from across the civil society sector at the European Parliament in Brussels, the LI Human Rights Committee met to discuss Freedom of Belief in an Era of Radicalization. The first part of the event was hosted by the Mayor of Molenbeek (a municipality of Brussels), Francoise Schepmans (Mouvement Reformatuer, Belgium), at the Cultural Center of Molenbeek alongside Jo De Ro, Member of Parliament (Open VLD, Belgium) and Olivier Vanderhaeghen, a local Radicalisation Prevention PRIORITY Officer. Chaired by Boris Van Der Ham, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament (Democrats 66, Netherlands), the debate focused on the challenges of combatting WORKING radicalization and on the prevention of stigmatization of religious minorities. In his welcoming remarks LI HRC Chair and LI VP on the Bureau Markus Loening explained that it is important to debunk the myth of Molenbeek which is currently considered as a hot bed for terrorism in Brussels while at the same time prevent AREAS Muslim residents of the municipality from being discriminated on a daily basis. 06 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 Addressing the issue of integration, Mayor Schepmans explained that Belgium has been an Vanderhaeghen echoed De Ro’s conclusions by stressing that radicalization prevention immigration land for a long time but integration has not been prioritised and this is a could only be achieved through a multi-disciplinary approach. Religion, as he argued, was challenge which needs to be addressed by both the federal government and municipalities. not the main driver of radicalization but rather social isolation, emotional fragility and a sense of not belonging to the community along with a lack of equal opportunities for young people. In this sense it is very much an identity/ideological problem. He further added that a lot of prevention work usually takes place with the family in order to reinforce the emotional link between the radicalised person and his/her relatives so that re-integration and social insertion in the society can be achieved. Capacity building and “I am proud that Liberal International has come here to Molenbeek creating an environment with free and open speech is crucial for such success. in the Maison de Culture, in the centre of the commune, to have an The second part of the event was hosted by LI HRC Member and Member of the European exchange with me as a Mayor but also with key educational social Parliament Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Movement for Rights and Freedom, Bulgaria) at the European actors in order to really understand the situation of Molenbeek. Parliament where speakers included Dr. Solomon Passy, Former Foreign Minister of This exchange of expertise and experience enables us to move Bulgaria, Abir Al-Sahlani, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament (Centerpartiet, forward with very precise ideas in the fight against radicalization.” Sweden), Sophie In't Veld, Deputy Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament (Democrats 66, Netherlands) and Adam Deen, Managing Director at the Quilliam Foundation. Mayor Francois Schepmans Molenbeek Municipality, Brussels De Ro on the other hand explained that a specialist on religious affairs has to be incorporated into the integration work in order for it to be effective whereas Vanderhaeghen stressed that religion is not the main driver of radicalisation but it is rather an ideological/identity problem stemming from social isolation and emotional fragility. “Radicalization needs a multi-disciplinary approach as it doesn't take place in the mosque but rather in the public space. The emotional link Al-Sahlani spoke at length about the need for democratization in the Middle East in order between the radicalised person and his/her family needs to be to address the underlying cause of fundamentalism which in turn breathes extremism re-enforced so that re-integration and social insertion in the society while In't Veld insisted on removing class justice in order to prevent radicalization. can be achieved” Jo De Ro Dr. Passy enriched the discussions by presenting a perspective on the need to manage Member of Parliament (Open VLD, Belgium) migration while Deen focused on the lack of tolerance created by extremism which in turn manifests into violence. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 07 The concluding remarks of the debate were delivered by LI Past President Annemie Neyts (Open VLD, Belgium) who emphasized that radicalization has become a "container phrase" as we don't know what it means and therefore we need to invest in understanding “As long as we have dictatorships in the Middle East we will also the triggers of the problem. have fundamentalists because there is lack of hope. The feeling of being insignificant and as little as human being can be feeling in a The event also saw an evening reception hosted by Former ALDE Party President Sir dictatorship, actually is the best ever ground for that fundamentalist Graham Watson at the Permanent Mission of Gibraltar, a working lunch hosted by LI approach to Islam. Without a political change in the Middle East, President of Honour Hans Van Baalen MEP and the awarding of 2016 LI Prize for Freedom without democratisation, without involving all citizens, without to the jailed Saudi liberal blogger Raif Badawi (please refer to the Section on LI prize for Freedom in this report for more information having true liberal values, who are for everyone in the Middle East, ).
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