Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World مبادرة مشتركة ل حماية المدافعين عن حقوق اﻹنسان للمرأة في العالم العربي JOINT INITIATIVE FOR PROTECTION OF WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE ARAB WORLD 1 PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL NETHERLANDS/ VROUWEN VOOR VREDE Project: Inez de Boer, Emmie Mesdag, Anne van Kesteloo Webpage in Arabic: Thea Vermeiren, Yasmin Haidar Report and interviews: Joke Oranje Survey: Fenna Flietstra and Florian Brekelmans Research and translations: Rama Noman Facilitation in Egypt and Sudan: Hibaaq Osman and Mekka Abdelgabar Supported by the Dutch NAP 1325 Fund 17-01-2016 [email protected] Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World مبادرة مشتركة ل حماية المدافعين عن حقوق اﻹنسان للمرأة في العالم العربي Table of Contents 1. PART ONE: THE JOINT INITIATIVE PROJECT ................................................................................................... 5 1.1 THE NEED FOR THE PROJECT ................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 PARTNERS IN THE JOINT INITIATIVE ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................................................. 6 1.4 CONCLUSIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD ............................................................................................................................ 10 2. PART TWO: IMPRESSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 THE REGIONAL SITUATION................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 EGYPT ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 SUDAN...................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 YEMEN ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.5 SYRIA ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 2.6 LIBYA ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.7 SUMMARY AND COMMON FEATURES ................................................................................................................................... 21 3. PART THREE: SAFETY ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................ 24 3.1 QUOTES FROM WHRDS IN THE ARAB REGION ................................................................................................................. 24 3.2 A FEMINIST TYPOLOGY OF RISKS ......................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 SUMMARY ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 4. PART FOUR: PROTECTIVE MEASURES ............................................................................................................ 33 4.1 PERSONAL RESILIENCE ......................................................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 STRATEGIES FOR ORGANISATIONAL SAFETY ...................................................................................................................... 35 4.3 THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS IN PROTECTION .................................................................................. 40 5. EPILOGUE .................................................................................................................................................................. 45 2 ANNEX I SURVEY ............................................................................................................................................................... 48 ANNEX II REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................... 53 Supported by the Dutch NAP 1325 Fund 17-01-2016 [email protected] Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World مبادرة مشتركة ل حماية المدافعين عن حقوق اﻹنسان للمرأة في العالم العربي Glossary WHRD’s Women Human Rights Defenders CSW UN Committee on the State of Women UNSC UN Security Council UNSCR 1325 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 LAS League of Arab States SAF Sisters' Arab Forum for Human Rights SOFA Status of Forces Agreement SIHA Strategic Initiative of Women in the Horn of Africa 3 Supported by the Dutch NAP 1325 Fund 17-01-2016 [email protected] Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World مبادرة مشتركة ل حماية المدافعين عن حقوق اﻹنسان للمرأة في العالم العربي DEAR READER, The Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab world started in September 2015 and is planned to be rounded up in March 2016. This report is edited before the end of the project and will still be used during the last phase. It serves different purposes. To facilitate the reading, the report has been divided into four parts, each with its own purpose. The first part is a progress review on the Joint Initiative project; this review is made before the end of the project and will be completed later on, when the project is finished. It ends with a recommen- dation on the main issues for follow up. The second part is a descriptive introduction to the work and situation of women human rights defenders in 9 countries in the Arab world through a few examples and stories. The purpose of this descriptive chapter is to honour their values and courage and draw a varied and realistic impression of their work and situation. The countries included are Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Libya, and the regional level. It ends with a summary in which a typology of the organisations and the elements of a common style in the Arab region are explored. The third part is a qualitative and quantitative risk assessment for women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab region. The assessment is made from a feminist perspective. The main concepts are drawn from meetings with partners in the Netherlands and from Latin American studies on the issue. 4 Priority is given to the practical safety issues discussed more frequently among Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab region. The chapter ends with a grid of main risks and suggestions for mitigation and further research to be done. The fourth part presents an inventory of protection measures that increase the safety of Women Human Rights Defenders. It contains mainly quotes from the survey and from the interviews. The concepts of personal resilience and organizational safety are introduced. Chapter 4.2 ends with a grid of protections needs and suggestions on measures. Then, the opinions on the different roles that international mechanisms for protection can play are reviewed. An executive summary is not provided, but the report ends with a personal epilogue, in which the consultant explains her own learning process and answers the questions why and how it is relevant to support Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab world. The general conclusions and recommendations are to be found in these 2 pages. A list of references and the text of the survey are attached as annexes. Thank you Fenna, Florian, Rana, Emmie, Hibaaq, Mekka and Anne, for your continuous practical and moral support. And thank you Rosien, Emma and Inez, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this inspiring project. Ermelo, January 15 2016 Joke Oranje Supported by the Dutch NAP 1325 Fund 17-01-2016 [email protected] Joint Initiative for Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World مبادرة مشتركة ل حماية المدافعين عن حقوق اﻹنسان للمرأة في العالم العربي 1. PART ONE: THE JOINT INITIATIVE PROJECT الفصل 1 - الخلفية و المنهجية المستخدمة في هذا التحقيق Women leaders in the Arab world are increasingly active in the public sphere, challenging society to stand up for democracy, transparency and respect for specific rights that are denied; they participate in peace building activities such as mediation and peace agreements; they are leaders of civil society organisations and Women’s organisations. These are risky activities, especially in cases where women are not accepted to act in the public sphere. From earlier reports and studies we learn that there is a need for strategies and policies to better protect them. While protection programmes for Latin American Women Human Rights Defenders have been developed in the last two decades, the