ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

HUMAN COMMITTEE TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNITING LIBERALS IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS 03 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW 04 PRIORITY WORKING AREAS 05 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 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, , 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 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 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 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 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 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 . 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, ). I don’t think that we will be able also to tackle the challenges with fundamentalism.” Abir Al-Sahlani Member of LI Human Rights Committee | Former Member of Parliament

“What we see now with ISIS and Al-Qaeda is that they are extreme manifestation of prevalent views. Theological views that need to be changed but that change has to come from within. It cannot be from non-Muslims, it must be from Muslims calling from that change. The Islamic tradition has the intellectual resources to bring about a liberal Islam, a progressive Islam. The challenge that we have now is that we don’t have enough individuals that are smart enough, and those individuals are not supported enough. Those are the two challenges that we have now.” Sponsors to the event included the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF, LI Cooperating Adam Deen Organisation), the ALDE Party (LI Cooperating Organisation) and ALDE Group (LI Director Quilliam Foundation Full-member). 08 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

LGBT RIGHTS

Providing support to pro-LGBTI movements around the world and promoting and advancing LGBTI Rights in general is a key objective for LI Human Rights Committee and its LGBTI Rights Working Group. As such LI is uniquely positioned to serve as a link between liberal political parties and LGBTI organisations strengthening the global LGBTI political and social context. LI AT IDAHO 2016 FORUM

Ellen Trane Nørby, the Danish Minister for Children, Education and (, Denmark) hosted the 2016 International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – IDAHO Forum in Copenhagen (Denmark) gathering a number of European ministers, politicians and representatives from various organisations and institutions.

“The IDAHO Forum is an important part of the struggle to break down the taboos regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, to stop discrimination and harassment and to strengthen cooperation across Europe” Ellen Trane Nørby Minister for Children, Education and Gender Equality | Venstre (Denmark)

The Forum’s debates focused on LGBTI-conditions at the workplace and social acceptance of LGBTI-people in ethnic minority communities. The Danish liberal Minister identified these themes as “areas where the personal freedom to be with the one you want and freely choose your partner is under pressure.” She said that “the struggle is needed” as throughout Europe “too many LGBTI-people are still excluded from equal participation in the society.” ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 09

Speaking on behalf of EU’s governing body – the European Commission, Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality (ANO, Czech Republic), WOMEN’S RIGHTS presented a list of actions to advance LGBTI Equality. “This list is the Commission's com- mitment to work concretely on increasing the social acceptance of all our citizens and on reducing homophobia and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation" she said. LI JOINS NDI #NOTTHECOST CAMPAIGN Commissioner Jourová expressed the Commission's commitment to continue working on the adoption of the Equal Treatment Directive which envisages full protection of the Taking steps to build a coalition in support of its campaign to globalise the Council of rights of LGBTI people in the area of goods and services. Europe Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women, Liberal International partnered with the National Democratic Institute (NDI - LI cooperating Liberal International Secretary General Emil Kirjas addressed the Forum by sharing his organisation) to end violence against women in politics. personal experiences as member of the LGBTI community in terms of social acceptance. He also presented the important work that Liberal International and liberals across the LI President Dr. Juli Minoves made the announcement during his speech at the NDI's world are doing in promoting an end of LGBTI discrimination. “This is not a struggle about #NotTheCost Conference, which took place in New York City on the margin of the 60th some special rights. Our work is to end any form of discrimination in the society and in session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW). front of the law,” said Kirjas. Emphasising the achievements in Africa in cooperation with the Africa Liberal Network (LI cooperating organisation) he appealed for close cooperation between political parties and civil societies in order to achieve “a real change”. “In many societies majority of the people are unaware of the essence of the problem,” he said, before adding that the broad cooperation should focus on “touching the hearts of the people, in order to change”. "As liberals our message has always been clear: All Ministers present signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, committing to all violence against women must stop. fight against homophobia and transphobia. The signatories recognize that LGBT people We at Liberal International wholeheartedly join the #NotTheCost are an asset to society, that LGBT inclusion is good for the economy, that international campaign and see it as a natural extension of our own campaign cooperation is beneficial, but that there is still work to be done. to extend the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women beyond the borders of Europe" LGBT relationships Dr. Juli Minoves

are illegal in 74 countries Liberal International President 33% 13 Countries it is punishable by death 17 Countries bans are in place to prohibit “propaganda” 40 Countries there is a “gay panic” clause to use as a defence for crimes such as assault or murder 10 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

LI LAUNCHES NDI #NOTTHECOST CAMPAIGN TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

Gathering liberal Members of Parliament (MPs) representing 13 countries during the 135th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), parliamentarians from LI member parties united in a call for action on the issue of stopping violence against women in politics.

Hosted in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute, the meeting featured a presentation on NDI's #NottheCost campaign along with a workshop where MPs were encouraged to share their own personal experiences with the issue in an effort to comprise a long-term liberal strategy for fighting back. LI Human Rights Committee member and International Network of Liberal Women (INLW) Vice President, Khadija El Morabit, addressed the event alongside Dr. Minoves In her welcoming remarks the Head of LI Human Rights Programme, Tamara Dancheva, sharing her experiences as a female liberal politician and entrepreneur from Morocco. said: "For Liberal International, IPU is a valuable platform where we can help coordinate and project a common liberal voice on leading human rights causes including promotion The closing remarks were delivered by the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister Justin and advancement of women's rights. Prevention and elimination of all forms of violence Trudeau (Liberal Party of ), Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, who highlighted Canada's against women, including women in politics, is a leading cause for LI and its Human Rights commitment to serve as the world's leader in gender equality. Committee which is why we are proud to have partnered with NDI on this occasion."

In a bilateral meeting with NDI Chairwoman and former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Welcoming remarks were also delivered by the Permanent Observer of IPU to the United Albright, Dr. Minoves committed Liberal International to support NDI's work and to lead Nations, Paddy Torsney, who stressed on the importance of education and training in global efforts in the promotion and advancement of women's rights. order to change the societal environment in which female political candidates operate. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 11

LI AND NDI ADVANCE #NOTTHECOST Flahaux shared the positive experience from Belgium where recent governments have been led by women but stressed that 40% of women in in the country still face a threat CAMPAIGN AT 197TH LI EXECUTIVE of sexual or verbal harassment or abuse.

COMMITTEE MEETING Participants agreed that visibility of such crimes is crucial for prevention and elimination of violence, including in politics, and that zero tolerance policies are needed within political parties In partnership with the National Democratic Institute, LI Human Rights Committee held and organisations in order to put a stop to both mansplaining and harassment against women. a panel discussion on stopping violence against women in politics in line with NDI's #NotTheCost campaign, which focused on formulating concrete policy recommendations TH for liberal parties on the issue. The meeting was chaired by LI Deputy President and LI DELEGATION AT 60 SESSION OF Premier of Cape Town Helen Zille (Democratic Alliance, ) and featured a UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON presentation on the campaign by NDI Resident Director for Morocco Jane Hurtig. LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament Abir Al-Sahlani (Centerpartiet, Sweden), THE STATUS OF WOMEN (UNCSW) Member of Parliament Jean-Jacques Flahaux MP (Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium) and Fouzia El-Bayed MP (Union Constitutionelle, Morocco) all shared powerful personal Contribution to the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women testimonies with the issue describing the challenges and threats women in politics face. (UNCSW), the only United Nations organ solely responsible for promoting gender equality and advancement of women worldwide, is key for the work of the LI Human Recalling her experience as a female Member of Parliament in Iraq, Al-Sahlani said: "In Rights Committee and its specifically designated Working Group on Women’s Rights. Iraq, women were considered the weakest link in society and were targeted in public life on a regular basis. As a Member of the Iraqi Parliament I was on the hit list of Al Qaida for 2016 marked the most active contribution of Liberal International to the work of UNCSW daring to accuse them on public TV for harassing women who don’t wear the hijab.” to date with the LI Human Rights Committee co-organizing two separate side events and holding a number of bilateral meetings making the case for the globalization of the El Bayed discussed at length the legislation on the issue of prevention and elimination of Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against violence against women in Morocco presenting her work as member of several Arab Women before a diverse group of UN diplomats and NGO representatives. networks which fight gender-based violence. 12 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

The liberal delegation to the 60th UNCSW Session consisted of LI President Dr. Juli LI SIDE EVENTS AT 60TH SESSION Minoves, INLW Board Members Khadija El Morabit (Morocco), Maysing Yang (Democratic Progressive Party, ), Lysbeth Valkenburg-Lely (Netherlands) and Head of LI Human OF UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION Rights Programme Tamara Dancheva (Bulgaria/UK). ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (UNCSW) The delegation met with the Icelandic Ambassador to the United Nations Einar Gunnarsson Under the theme Ending Violence against Women and Girls and in cooperation with the to discuss concrete actions LI and INLW can undertake to support the efforts of the Icelandic International Network of Liberal Women and LI partner UN Watch, LI Human Rights liberal government to promote the objectives of a new Icelandic initiative: the Barbershop Committee brought together a diverse number of liberal politicians, NGO representatives, Conference rallying male leaders in support of women's rights. and diplomats to discuss the challenges which remain to end gender-based violence and promote and advance women’s rights globally. The event served to highlight the problems A bilateral meeting was also held with the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for that remain but also best practices and opportunities for improvements by different Human Rights His Excellency Ivan Simonovic who expressed firm support for the work of stakeholders. The panellists recommended a number of ideas in terms of how to build a LI Human Rights Committee. Possible areas for cooperation identified were the UN Free strong response to the on-going challenges to women rights’ violations and women’s and Equal Campaign on LGBTI Rights, the universal abolition of the death penalty and empowerment around the world along with practical steps needed to remove discrimination establishing a minimum threshold of values which any future UN Secretary General in law and practice towards women. Speakers among others were LI HRC Member and should uphold. INLW Vice-President Khadija El Morabit, and Mu Sochua MP, the President of the Women Caucus of the Council of Asian Liberal and Democrats.

Under the theme From Legislation under the Istanbul Convention to Implementation: Addressing Violence against Women with Different Approaches and at Different Levels, the “Liberal International has a role to play in fighting modern day second LI HRC event was organized together with the International Network of Liberal challenges to human rights and we are pleased to identify so Women, UN Watch and Rutgers and it featured Member of Parliament Fouzia El Bayed many areas where our common objectives meet.” (Union Constitutionnelle, Morocco), the President of the Women’s Forum of the Liberal Democratic Party of Macedonia Juliana Nikolova (LDP, Macedonia), Member of Parliament Ivan Simonovic UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Patricia Olamendi (Nueva Allianza, Mexico) and Jeroen Lorist, technical advisor under the Prevention+ Project at Rutgers. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 13

RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT

Building on a record of the strong cooperation established with the Office of the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, an LI delegation led by LI President Dr. Juli Minoves met with His Excellency Ivan Simonovic to discuss common areas of Issues which were debated at length included the importance of providing legal protection work, from eradicating the death penalty to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle. for all women, equal access to education and involving men in the battle to end violence against women on all levels be it individual, family, group, institutional or legislative. Dr. Minoves used the opportunity to congratulate H.E. Simonovic on his appointment as the new UN Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect and pledged to work together Speaking of the importance of regional legal instruments, Olamendi coined the to raise the global awareness about the principle and other common objectives under the Inter-American Convention as crucial in ending violence against women in Latin America framework of LI Human Rights Programme. but underlined that an international instrument such as a globalized Istanbul Convention is necessary in order to make a real difference in the future. Highlighting some of the key goals for his upcoming mandate, the new UN Special Advisor explained that he would like to focus on the operational aspect of his work with As Member of the Arab Women Parliamentarians Network of Equality, El Bayed informed the regular briefings on country situations to the UN Security Council. "There are big challenges audience that due to a Constitutional change all laws in Morocco have now gradually been to preventing human rights violations at the moment but I believe that the newly introduced adapted to conform to the Istanbul Convention and there is now a commission, led by her, Kigali principles on the protection of civilians are a step in the right direction," he concluded. to prepare a similar document for the Arab world together with 17 other Arab countries. LI Vice-President Baroness Kishwer Falkner inquired into the possibility of conducting a Closing the session, Lorist presented a short movie on the impact of men on the respect UN study on hypothetical cases of RtoP implementation as to assess the challenges and for women’s rights as prepared by Rutgers and underlined the importance of institutions opportunities better which was echoed by CALD Chairperson Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren. and non-profit organisations in the fight for gender equality.

“There is no excuse for my country not to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention. I will go on campaigning to this end, because violence against women and girls and domestic violence should fall under an international legally binding instrument.” Juliana Nikolova Liberal Democratic Party of Macedonia 14 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

THE GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

For a third year in a row Liberal International co-hosted the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, which saw some of the bravest human rights defenders and activists from around the world come together and testify about the grievous abuses they had suffered in the hands of the world’s most notorious authoritarian regimes.

Addressing the opening of the Summit at the United Nations Human Rights Council, LI HRC Member and ALDE Party Vice-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP (Movement for Rights and Freedom, Bulgaria) cautioned of the emergence of a new trend called monocracy. “There is no doubt that we meet at a critical time in the history of human rights characterized by the new rise of monocracy. Nowadays there are many countries which violate or do not even THE recognise fundamental human rights like , freedom of thought, freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. I would remind these regimes and their leaders that human rights cannot be taken away for any reason as they are a given” he said. GENEVA Representing the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY, LI full-member), which was one of the co-hosts of the Summit alongside LI, the President of the Young Liberals of Canada, Justin Kaiser, spoke at length of the greater sense of political participation among young people and reminded that they have an obligation to protect human rights.

SUMMIT Immediate Past President of the Parliamentary Assemble of the Council of Europe (PACE) Anne Brasseur (Democratic Party, Luxembourg) delivered the keynote speech on the occasion of the presentation of the Geneva Summit’s Women’s Rights Award. She stressed that human rights, democracy and the do not know and should never know any FOR borders and commended the recipients of the award for their courage, conviction and determination to protect the rights of women who had been targeted by the Daesh regime.

Addressing the laureates, Vian Dakhil, the only female Yazidi Member of the Iraqi Parliament HUMAN and Professor Dr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan, psychologist and international expert in transcultural psychiatry and traumatology, Brasseur stressed on the significance of their struggle for RIGHTS human rights. ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 15

“This award is not only a small recognition for the tremendous work you are doing but should also be and must be a reminder to us all that we have to be your spokespersons in order to help stop this on-going violation of the most fundamental human rights of the most vulnerable population.” Anne Brasseur Immediate Past President of PACE | Democratic Party, Luxembourg

Dr. (LPC, Canada), Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, led a panel discussion on authoritarianism and fighting oppression alongside , wife of the jailed Saudi liberal blogger and 2016 LI Prize for Freedom Laureate Raif Badawi, who shared the story of her husband's struggle.

The Geneva Summit Courage Award, which was jointly awarded by all of the Summit’s coalition partners, including LI and IFLRY, was presented to the Venezuelan political prisoners Antonio Ledezma, mayor of Caracas and Leopoldo Lopez, leader of the political party Primero Justicia, for their courage to fight the regime of President Maduro in . 16 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

LI HRC AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IMPRISONED FOR THINKING 4TH Annual LI HRC Meeting

Under the theme Imprisoned for Thinking, the Liberal International Human Rights Committee met at the headquarters of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva LI HUMAN for a fourth consecutive year, focusing its debates on the principle of freedom of expression. The meeting, co-hosted by the International Federation of Liberal Youth and the Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC - LI cooperating organisation) with the support of the ALDE Party (LI cooperating Organisation), aimed at offering a powerful fight back for RIGHTS freedom in light of the decline of civil and political rights in many parts of the world, including an increased number of journalists behind bars, more prisoners of conscience COMMITTEE and liberal politicians being harassed and threatened in their daily work. AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 17

In their welcoming remarks LI President Dr. Juli Minoves cautioned that "the norm of Ten months after his release from a 438 day prison sentence for doing his job, international is eroding in international affairs", while Caroline Green (IFLRY) journalist Mohamed Fahmy used his participation at the LI Human Rights Committee emphasized that "enabling the youth voice at the UNHRC is crucial for the sustainability meeting to call for the establishment of a United Nations Special Rapporteur for Journalists’ of a liberal future." Safety.

The first panel debated the criminalisation of political activity and featured the Director The panel also discussed the politicised oppression of the media in Turkey, where of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation Olga Tikhomirova alongside LI HRC Member and Africa opposition journalist and founding member of the Platform for Independent Journalism Liberal Network (ALN) Vice-President Medard Mulangala. (P24) Yavuz Baydar, shared his personal experience with regards to the harsh crackdown on freedom of expression by the government of President Erdogan. In her presentation, Tikhomirova launched a call towards the international community to be firm with President Putin and condone the ongoing crackdown on dissent by the LI VP on the Bureau and Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Kishwer Falkner Russian regime as an unacceptable practice. Mulangala, on the other hand, stressed that (Liberal Democrats, UK), moderated the session reminding those present that "if we are while the volatile political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the silent when the press wants to tell us something then we might as well be all silent." Republic of Congo has received some support from the international community, there is an urgent need for a national dialogue. "Liberal International should continue to raise The discussions were furthered during the working lunch session which was opened by LI awareness to make our case better known in the international arena" he concluded. HRC Member and SILC Information Officer Åsa Nilsson-Söderström and saw a bilateral briefing by Spela Kosic, a Human Rights Expert with the Slovenian Permanent Representation Chair of LI Human Rights Committee and LI Vice-President on the Bureau, Markus to the United Nations. Kosic gave an overview of the working mechanisms of the Human Löning, emphasised the need to provide support for political movements that want to Rights Council and the work of the Slovenian Representation to the United Nations on the improve democratic transition as "there is an obligation for those who have privilege to issue of political prisoners. support those who don't when it comes to human rights."

The second panel saw lively debates around the (ab)use of the media by illiberal governments. OSCE – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative for Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, identified "a shrinking space for civil society", warning that "silencing people of opposing opinions is not new. 18 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

31ST SESSION

Written Statement on the Deterioration of the State Oral Statement on the Humanitarian Crisis in Burundi of Democracy and the Rule of Law around the World Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of Liberal International, LI HRC member and ALN Vice-President Medard Mulangala warned of the quickly escalating The written statement to the 31st Session UNHRC Session was submitted jointly by Liberal humanitarian crisis in Burundi and called on the global human rights body to provide International and the International Federation of Liberal Youth and called on all permanent peace-keeping support in order to restore peace and security in the country. UN member states to prevent further democratic backsliding around the world.

Further Mulangala stressed that the mediator of the Burundian conflict, the Ugandan Bringing the ever-deteriorating state of democratic governance and the rule of law in President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, must do everything in his power to commit the political Burundi, , , , Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, protagonists without reservation (civil and armed movements) to engage as soon as Malaysia, , Nicaragua, Russia, and Venezuela before the attention of the world’s possible in a frank, sincere and inclusive dialogue to find sustainable solutions for the human rights body, the statement built on previous calls for action and policies adopted restoration of democracy, peace and harmonious development in Burundi. by the respective memberships of LI and IFLRY.

The full statement can be accessed by clicking here. Among the many cases of political rights' violations mentioned, the statement called for the immediate release of Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the liberal opposition in Malaysia and founder of the People’s Justice Party (PKR, Malaysia), the cessation of the ongoing violence being incited by President Nkurunziza in Burundi and the organisation of free and fair elections in Nicaragua.

In the conclusion of the statement LI committed for its member parties to continue to fight “We call on all UN voices to exert all of their diplomatic, logistical against totalitarian and communist regimes and seek the promotion and advancement of and financial influence for the rapid deployment of peace-keeping liberal democracies around the world in line with Liberal International’s underpinning Oxford troops to Burundi. The African and international community cannot, Manifesto and the ongoing reflection on the challenges to in the 21st Century. and must not, sit by and allow for more violence to take place.” The full statement can be accessed by clicking here. Medard Mulangala LI HRC Member and ALN VP ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 19

32ND SESSION 33RD SESSION

Written Statement Denouncing Gender Based Violence Written Statement on Zanzibar Political Turmoil

The written statement submitted to the 32nd UNHRC Session launched a call for action The written statement submitted to the 33rd Session of the United Nations Human against gender-based violence by urging the international human rights community to Rights Council called on the international community to increase the pressure on the develop indicators and collect systematic data on the prevalence, forms and impact of Tanzanian government so that it ceases the exponential human rights abuses and violence against women in politics and raise awareness of the global impact of the issue suppression of political and civil rights on the island. as a serious violation of international norms and national laws regarding democracy, human rights and gender equality. The statement came in the aftermath of the widespread abuses against the opposition, civil society and pro-democracy activists, which had been on-going since the unconstitutional The call referenced LI's ongoing fight to promote and advance women's rights including annulment of the general elections in the country. efforts to draw attention to the need to globalize the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women along with committing Detailing the political witch-hunt, LI's position on the issue before the UNHRC committed liberal parliamentarians in government and opposition to take a stand in their parliaments liberal parliamentarians in government and in opposition across the world to take a firm and urge their governments to speak up and assert that violence is not the cost for women’s stand in their parliaments and speak up against the indecent treatments of opposition political engagement. leaders and supporters in Zanzibar.

The full statement can be accessed by clicking here. The full statement can be accessed by clicking on the link here. 20 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

Oral Statement Denouncing Gender-Based Violence

Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council, LI HRC Member Åsa Nilsson-Söderström of the Swedish International Liberal Centre, called on the UNHRC to recognise that violence should not be the cost for women participating in politics and to take measures to prevent sometimes life-threatening acts.

Supporting the National Democratic Institute’s #NotTheCost campaign, established by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright seeking to promote awareness of violence against women in politics, Ms. Söderström recalled numerous recent incidents in which female politicians have been attacked.

On behalf of LI, Söderström called on the UNHRC to include prevention and elimination of violence against women in politics as a key policy issue and to develop a set of standardized and comparable indicators measuring the prevalence, nature and impact of violence against women in in politics. The full statement can be accessed by clicking on the link here. LI

“Acts of violence against politically active women are a clear violation of international human rights norms. This behaviour HUMAN reinforces traditional stereotypes and roles given to women by using domination and control to exclude them from politics and deny their full civil and political rights. Facing violence should RIGHTS not and cannot be the 'cost' that women pay for being in politics.” Asa Nilsson-Söderström LI HRC Member BULLETIN ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 21

LI HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 5TH EDITION 6TH EDITION

How to foster the next generation of female political leaders and entrepreneurs? This was The sixth edition of Liberal International's quarterly Human Rights Bulletin cracked open the central question posed by LI HRC Chair and LI VP Markus Löning, as he introduced the the debate surrounding the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle ten years after it was fifth edition of LI Human Rights Bulletin, which saw contributions from top international fist adopted by the international community. It featured an exclusive interview with the liberal parliamentarians and NGO experts. formerly imprisoned Al-Jazeera journalist and founder of the Fahmy Foundation for Free Speech, Mohamed Fahmy and an op-ed article by one of the leading academics in the Drawing on the expertise of Nurul Izzah Anwar MP, Member of Parliament from the field, Dr. Alex Bellamy, Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for RtoP at the University of People's Justice Party (Malaysia), Birgitta Ohlsson MP, Former Minister for European Queensland (Australia). Affairs (Folkpartiet Liberalerna, Sweden) and Sandra Pepera, Director for Gender, Women and Democracy for National Democratic Institute, the fifth edition discussed In an op-ed co-authored by LI President, Dr. Juli Minoves, Fahmy appealed to liberals in the importance of international cooperation in tackling violence against women and the government and in opposition to safeguard journalists and the right to freedom of value of education as the starting point for giving women the freedom to shape their own expression around the world, while calling on the United Nations to create the position of future. a Special Representative for the Safety of Journalists.

The full version can be accessed by clicking here. Dr. Bellamy on the other hand stressed that RtoP was always meant to be a challenge but exposing the gap between rhetoric and reality is a first step towards closing the gap.

The last section included a short video from the LI Human Rights Committee meeting commemorating the ten year anniversary of the RtoP principle with commentary from two key participants in the debate: Angela Patnode from the International Coalition for RtoP and Jonas Claes from the United States Institute of Peace.

The full edition can be accessed by clicking here. 22 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM

The annual Prize for Freedom is Liberal International’s highest recognition and has been awarded each year since 1985 to an individual who is seen as having made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of Human Rights and around the world.

The 2016 LI Prize for Freedom Laureate was Raif Badawi, a Saudi liberal blogger currently serving a jail sentence on the charge of “insulting Islam through electronic channels” imposed on him for daring to express his opinion on the separation of religion and state. He was sentenced to seven years in prison back in 2012 and 600 lashes and then resentenced to a further 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison along with a fine.

In the presence of special guests from four regions of the world, Ensaf Haidar, Badawi’s wife and President of the Raif Badawi Foundation, received the award on his behalf at a special ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Awarding the Prize of behalf of LI, Chair of LI Human Rights Committee and LI Vice-President Markus Loening, expressed gratitude for the work the Raif Badawi Foundation is doing to give hope to others that each one of us can stand up and make a difference.

LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM ANNUAL REPORT 2O16 | 23

Criticizing the regime of he further said: "It tells us something about the regime in Saudi Arabia. It should also tell us something about our relations with them. Too many countries including my own [Germany] have too friendly relations with a regime which commits crimes against humanity. This Prize for Freedom goes to this courageous man who hasn’t seen his wife and children for a year now.”

Former Member of the Canadian Parliament and legal counsel for Raif Badawi, Dr. Irwin Cotler (), spoke of the importance of the prize for furthering Badawi's cause saying: “I commend Liberal International for awarding its Prize for Freedom to Raif Badawi, who has displayed great courage in standing up for freedom and human rights. It is particularly poignant that the Prize is being awarded the week of UN Human Rights Day – highlighting the struggle for fundamental rights that finds expression both in the case and cause of Raif Badawi and the work of Liberal International.”

“The fact that Raif Badawi has been awarded this esteemed prize is in itself a reminder of Raif's own liberal message: the message of respect for the human being as an individual and his/her right to freedom and to live freely without fear or oppression: no matter the gender, religion, sect or ideology. This prize is saying to [Raif] and to every freedom fighter in the MENA region, and to everyone who is dreaming of democratic change, that theirs is a legitimate human dream!” Ensaf Haidar Wife of Raif Badawi | President of the Raif Badawi Foundation 24 | ANNUAL REPORT 2O16

Gratitude speech for 2016 Liberal International Prize for Freedom Ensaf Haidar, Wife of Raif Badawi Director and Co-Founder of the Raif Badawi Foundation

Ladies and gentlemen, Ladies and gentlemen, I don't how to express my gratitude to you for choosing my husband, the writer and Raif Badawi is a peaceful intellectual, who strongly believes in the freedom of people prisoner Raif Badawi, for the very highly esteemed Prize for Freedom of Liberal International. without political or religious oppression. He has become a symbol for everyone in the Middle East and North Africa who wants to peacefully change society and who are work- His appointment for this prize confirms two specific facts: ing for their freedom of opinion and speech. Firstly, that Raif Badawi who is living through his fourth year of imprisonment and kept apart from his 3 children, far away from his family, has not committed any crime but he What he was calling for was not a call for revolution. All he asked for was to deepen the simply wanted to exercise his right to freedom of speech. He wanted to express his conviction of that change and make it possible in his beloved country. opinion. Not to hurt anyone or encourage criminal acts. All he wanted and still wants is a peaceful transition in his country. He wanted reforms in his country and he announced Today, as we speak, Raif is detained in prison. His family is suffering from enormous that publicly hoping that the government will listen. His hopes were destroyed. As his psychological challenges knowing he has been sentenced for 10 years in prison. family we are left to live with this disappointment, every day and every hour since his detention in July 2012. I hoped that he would be standing here to receive your eminent prize; it didn't happen to my deepest disappointment. But nominating him as the winner of the 2016 Liberal Secondly, the fact that Raif Badawi, has been awarded this esteemed prize, is in itself a International Prize for Freedom furthers Raif Badawi’s cause. reminder of Raif's own liberal message: the message of respect for the human being as an individual and her or his right to freedom and to live freely without fear or oppression This prize is saying to him and to every freedom fighter in the MENA region, and to : no matter the gender, religion, sect or ideology. everyone who is dreaming of democratic change, that theirs is a legitimate human dream. They are not standing alone in the face of oppression. For in humanity we stand Please allow me to share with you part of an article he wrote and published in May 2012 united. under the name: ‘Liberalism is the Defender of Belief.’ Ladies and gentlemen, Liberalism as an ideology provides every guarantee for individual freedoms and protects You have truly honored us with this esteemed prize and I want, on behalf of Raif and his the freedom of expressing one's religion without imposing it on society. Further, liberalism family, to thank you for campaigning for the release of Raif. doesn't force any individual or group to worship a belief by force, or guilt-tripping. I thank you from the depths of my heart.

Victories of freedoms belong to all human kind and there is no stepping back from them. A liberal state is a secular one without being an antagonistic one. But the liberal state will guarantee the right of each citizen to worship freely without discrimination, even when it comes to a religion of a majority. Liberal International 1 Whitehall Place London SW1A 2HD [email protected]

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