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	Civil Society Declaration for the Global Disability Summit 2022 by International Disability Alliance, CBM, agencies   Feb. 2022   Yesterday, representatives of civil society met during a Civil Society Forum, to support the implementation and monitoring of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   Collaboratively, we wish to convey the following Statement:   Since the first Global Disability Summit held in London 2018, the world has been hit by a devastating pandemic which has shone a spotlight on the inequalities and discrimination persons with disabilities face, leading to the loss of lives and the creation of additional and unnecessary barriers. COVID has been a "wake-up" call on the need for inclusion.   We have been here before. We know from the pandemic that the human rights of persons with disabilities were not realized. We lost brothers and sisters because of inadequate policies, systems and structures. We, like many others, were failed by our policy makers and political leaders.   The world we live in has immeasurably changed since London 2018. We are facing problems that require innovative solutions in partnership, guided by persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.   All of us have an opportunity a legal and ethical responsibility. No corner of the world should be immune from the principles of human rights.   Today, we call for measurable, ambitious, and lasting commitments. Commitments which will not just stay on paper. We call on all those participating at the Global Disability Summit to:   Promote the leadership of organizations of persons with disabilities in partnerships and actively seek such partnerships in order to accelerate commitments into change.   Collect and use appropriate, reliable and comparable data that is inclusive of the full diversity of disabilities. Build the capacity of all stakeholders to implement the CRPD.   Invest in OPDs in long-term plans and projects. Recognise the diversity of disability, through all life stages, and across the world. We are the World’s largest minority group and also the most diverse.   Protect children and adults, especially women, girls and young persons with disabilities from violence, exploitation and abuse.   Recognise the enabling role of assistive technology and invest in assistive technologies.   Promote Human Rights and combat Ableism. Prioritize Inclusive Health and vaccinations for all, in the South and the North, in order to attain the SDGs. Promote inclusive employment, inclusive education and skills.   * The number of people with disabilities is estimated to be around 15% of the world’s population, 1.2 billion people, and 80% live in low- and middle-income countries. Despite this, millions of people with disabilities still face stigma, discrimination, and barriers to full-participation in society. People with disabilities have also disproportionately been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Feb. 2022   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ remarks at the Global Disability Summit:   'It is my pleasure to join you for the opening of the second Global Disability Summit. My thanks to the International Disability Alliance and the Governments of Norway and Ghana for bringing us together.   We are meeting in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. COVID-19 intensified glaring inequalities — and produced new threats. Persons with disabilities are losing their lives at vastly higher rates due to persistent barriers in health systems.   When schools shut down, many students with disabilities are left without access to technology and assistive devices for effective remote learning. Workers with disabilities — who were already experiencing exclusion and marginalization — are often the first to lose their jobs and the last to be re-hired. Women and girls with disabilities — who were already experiencing double discrimination — are facing even higher risk of violence and abuse.   The last two years have painfully demonstrated the urgent need for all of us to work together to advance the rights of persons with disabilities around the world. In 2018, Governments and organizations came together to make ambitious global and national commitments to disability inclusion. This Summit provides an opportunity to reflect on those efforts and commit to do more. I see three priorities.   First, we need more disability-inclusive development. Persons with disabilities are often among the poorest and most disadvantaged members of the community. They must be at the front and centre of our efforts. We need to act decisively to realize and promote the rights of persons with disabilities in every corner of the world and in every facet of life.   Global inequalities reverberate at the local level. When developing countries are strangled financially, people with disabilities are among the first victims. That is why we need a reformed global financial system allowing far greater investments in disability inclusion to create accessible environments and opportunities everywhere.   Everyone, everywhere, must be free to go to school, to access health care, to start a family, have decent work and participate fully in all spheres of economic, social, cultural and political life.   Second, we need broader and deeper cooperation. We must take a whole-of-society approach to ensuring disability inclusion. Only by working together — across Governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector — can we effectively implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for persons with disabilities.   Third, we need the leadership of persons with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, and their representative organizations. The foundation of our cooperation must be based on active consultation with persons with disabilities in their full diversity and their full inclusion in decision-making processes. We must realize the powerful call of persons with disabilities: “Nothing about us, without us”.   Together, we are here to break barriers, shift mindsets and open doors. To make bold and credible commitments. And ultimately, to make sure every member of the human family has a chance to live their lives fully. Led by persons with disabilities, we can — and we will — forge partnerships; expand access to inclusive, quality education and decent work; ensure healthy lives; and create a more inclusive, just and sustainable world for all.   http://www.globaldisabilitysummit.org/ http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/content/discussion-paper-opd-engagement-launching-gds http://cbm-global.org/news/lessons-learned-from-partnerships http://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sgsm21143.doc.htm http://www.ipsnews.net/2022/02/fierce-urgency-required-include-children-disabilities-education-ecws-yasmine-sherif-says/ http://humanity-inclusion.org.uk/en/news/2022-global-disability-summit-hi-calls-for-more-inclusion   Nov. 2020   Catastrophic global failure to protect the rights of persons with disabilities highlighted in critical report - International Disability Alliance   A coalition of seven global disability rights organisations have today called for urgent action by States and the international community to halt the catastrophic failure to protect the lives, health, and rights of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.   The report entitled ‘Disability rights during the pandemic: A global report on findings of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor’ presents the findings from a rapid global survey of persons with disabilities and other stakeholders which took place between April and August of this year.   The organisations behind the study seek to “catalyse urgent action in the weeks and months to come,” as transmission rates continue to rise in many countries and persons with disabilities are again subjected to restrictions which have already had severe consequences.   The report analyses over 2,100 responses to the survey from 134 countries around the world. The vast majority of responses were from individuals with disabilities and their family members. Very few governments or independent monitoring institutions responded.   “The government announced the stay at home order and lockdown, but could not think of poor daily wage earners who are not getting even a meal a day. People are deprived of food and are in financial crisis and the government has not provided any benefits” A person with disabilities, Nepal   “People in institutions are not receiving adequate assistance or access to medical supplies. Staffing is insufficient and at dangerous levels” A female with disabilities, United States   “Children (with disabilities) and their parents are still in the street with no face masks, no social distancing. Their lives are in danger” Organisation of persons with disabilities, Nigeria   The report highlights four major themes from the survey data:   The egregious failure to protect the lives of persons with disabilities in residential institutions, which have become hotspots during the pandemic: Instead of prioritising emergency measures to reintegrate people into the community, respondents pointed out that many institutions have been locked down, with fatal consequences.   Widespread, rigid shutdowns that caused a dramatic breakdown in essential services in the community: Persons with disabilities could not access basic goods, including food, and supports such as personal assistance. Strict lockdown enforcement by police and security forces has sometimes led to tragic results, including the deaths of persons with disabilities.   Serious and multiple human rights violations against underrepresented populations of persons with disabilities: Women and girls have experienced a major uptick in gender based violence, children with disabilities have been denied access to online education, and homeless persons with disabilities have either been rounded up and detained or left to fend for themselves.   A concerning trend of denying basic and emergency healthcare, including discriminatory triage procedures: In some cases, persons with disabilities were directly denied access to treatment for COVID-19 because of their disability.   The over 3,000 testimonies collected by the survey provide ample evidence of widespread failures by States to adopt disability-inclusive responses. The testimonies point to a collective failure of leadership across many countries, regardless of their level of economic development.   Evidence included in the report is essential reading for law and policymakers, health and social care professionals, law enforcement, civil society, and others seeking to ensure that persons with disabilities are no longer sacrificed in efforts to contain the pandemic.   “From what I know, children in institutions are strictly confined, can no longer have contact with their families. They are really imprisoned while the providers bring the virus. Very important mental consequences” A person with disabilities, Belgium   “Irrespective of disabilities, persons on streets are picked up and put into shelters. These provide basic survival supports to all people housed there. This has great implications for persons with psychosocial disabilities, who have been experiencing homelessness but free and living at will on streets – to be institutionalized” Organisation of persons with disabilities, India   “We have been forgotten about” A female with disabilities, New Zealand   http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/catastrophic-global-failure-protect-rights-persons-disabilities-highlighted-critical-report http://www.cesr.org/confronting-covid-how-civil-society-responding-across-countries-rights-persons-disabilities http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/content/covid-19-and-disability-movement http://cbm-global.org/news/experiences-of-persons-with-disabilities-covid-19/ http://cbm-global.org/news/stakeholder-group-of-persons-with-disabilities-launches-new-brief/ http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/increasingly-consulted-not-yet-participating-ida-global-survey-report-participation http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/disability-data-advocacy-toolkit-better-information-better-policies   # World Health Organization: Over a billion people, about 15% of the world's population, have some form of disability. The number of people with disability are dramatically increasing. This is due to demographic trends and increases in chronic health conditions, among other causes. Almost everyone is likely to experience some form of disability ─ temporary or permanent ─ at some point in life. People with disability have less access to health care services and therefore experience unmet health care needs. If health services for people with disability exist, they are invariably of poor quality or under resourced. http://bit.ly/3g0Bifq   Sep. 2020   Why Covid-19 response and recovery plans can’t afford to forget people with disabilities, by Shikuku Obosi. (Bond, Sightsavers)   Sightsavers has received a stream of stories from people with visual impairment and other disabilities revealing that they are being forgotten in the Covid-19 response.   We know that the term “people with disabilities” covers a vast and diverse group of people, including myself. Some people with disabilities may be more at risk of getting Covid-19.   We also know that just under half of those aged over 60 – the age group most affected by Covid-19 – have a disability of some kind. And a lot of people who have had Covid-19 became at least temporarily disabled by it.   Leaving people with disabilities behind in Covid-19 responses is not an option. We sit at the very heart of the crisis. We are the most affected yet the least supported.   Exacerbating inequalities   Before Covid-19, people with disabilities around the world were already experiencing significant barriers to healthcare for various reasons. This crisis has exacerbated these pre-existing inequalities. If people with disabilities continue to be marginalised as they have always been, millions of people will be at risk.   Barriers to people with disabilities during the crisis include:   Not being given vital Covid-19 information in accessible formats. Preventative measures being inaccessible to people with disabilities, for instance, hand washing stations that are out of reach of wheelchair users. Being denied essential support, such as personal guides, due to social distancing requirements.   Being deprioritised in Covid-19 healthcare. People with disabilities have reported being unable to access testing, treatment and rehabilitation support.   Here in Kenya, the only disability-inclusive Covid-19 services available are operating in the main cities, such as Nairobi, and a handful of county-level hospitals. But many who have a disability in the remote parts of the country are not going to be able to come to the capital if they have the virus.   The government needs to ensure that people with disabilities, many of whom face economic hardship, need to be able to access these services where they are – at their nearest local health centre – and at no cost to them.   Across Kenya, social distancing and quarantine measures are disrupting the care many people with disabilities require. The need for prosthetics or a wheelchair does not stop because of Covid-19. Yet services to provide these have been reduced.   This is having huge ramifications for people – including myself – who are now struggling to leave the house, go to work or even live independently.   It is no surprise we are seeing a decline in good mental health among people with disabilities. But until we have expansive data, we will not be able to show how widespread these issues have become.   Access to Covid-19 care and other essential healthcare on an equal basis is vital to increasing the participation of people with disabilities in daily life, and to improve our overall wellbeing during this pandemic. So what is needed to make this happen?   First and foremost, we cannot forget the mantra “nothing about us without us”. Governments need to consult people with disabilities at all stages of the Covid-19 response, including in policy development, programme planning and implementation. This includes developing standalone, disability-specific budgets.   Ensure people with disabilities can stay safe and overcome the challenges of the pandemic in a dignified way. This includes providing public health information that people with a diverse range of disabilities can access and understand. Include people with disabilities in Covid-19 healthcare surveillance and disaggregated data collection.   Women and girls with disabilities are subject to intersecting forms of discrimination, while women and girls are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19. We need gender and disability-sensitive responses.   There is a particularly pressing need to address the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women with disabilities, whose struggle in this regard has become more urgent during the pandemic.   Include people with disabilities in the design of awareness-raising campaigns on gender-based violence and the misuse of drugs and alcohol – both of which are increasing due to Covid-19 restrictions.   Those who support people with disabilities must be provided with the protective equipment they need. Ensure assistive devices are visible and affordable for all who need them. Rehabilitation services must be included in emergency Covid-19 health plans.   In May, the UN released recommendations for making the Covid-19 response and recovery plans inclusive of people with disabilities. We all have a responsibility and an opportunity to influence countries as members of the UN to follow these guidelines.   Crucially, we must ensure the UN’s own Disability Inclusion Strategy results in the rights and needs of people with disabilities being recognised and met across the entire UN system, including within its emergency pandemic responses.   These issues cannot be put on the backburner. As the world continues to travail through this global crisis, we cannot forget the one billion people with disabilities who are facing the pandemic without the recognition or support they need.   http://www.bond.org.uk/news/2020/09/why-covid-19-response-and-recovery-plans-cant-afford-to-forget-people-with-disabilities   International Day of Persons with Disabilities (OHCHR)   Danlami Basharu, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:   "The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the precarious nature of the gains made in the past two decades by and for persons with disabilities. States must work to mitigate its immediate and short-term effects and also plan better for future crises to make sure that no one is left behind in reality.   One obvious learning from the past few months is the conspicuous lack of consultation with people with disabilities, their representative organisations and human rights defenders with disabilities, in shaping the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems that were wholly predictable were missed and this negatively affected both the legitimacy of immediate responses and their effectiveness."   Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities:   "The COVID-19 pandemic highlights that protection, response and recovery efforts will not be effective unless everyone is equally valued and included. Only through the adoption of a human rights approach will we achieve equitable, sustainable and resilient societies. This includes, among others, the recognition of education as an essential element to empower persons with disabilities and to integrate them into their communities socially and politically.   Innovation is needed to replace fragile support systems with an assurance of continuity during crises. The future cannot be like the past, and that is what 'building back better' should be all about."   María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility:   "Another obvious learning has to do with improving the accessibility and availability of relevant information and communications to those most at risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also experienced the extreme fragility of support systems for persons with disabilities, as well as other community support services.   The multidimensional poverty and marginalization caused was obvious: extreme isolation, lack of access to basic services, including food and medicine, an enhanced risk of violence against women and girls with disabilities in the home, and even homelessness. It had a disproportionate impact on women and girls with disabilities and on older persons with disabilities."   June 2020   Statement on COVID-19 and the human rights of persons with disabilities   The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expresses its grave concern at the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities.   The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has not been comprehensively implemented by States Parties. It has starkly exposed the heightened vulnerability and risks to persons with disabilities that is underpinned by entrenched discrimination and inequality.   Persons with disabilities are often wrongly perceived to be inherently vulnerable, when it is attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers that result in situations of vulnerability. While many persons with disabilities have health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19, pre-existing discrimination and inequality means that persons with disabilities are one of the most excluded groups in terms of health prevention and response actions and economic and social support measures, and among the hardest hit in terms of transmission risk and actual fatalities.   The COVID-19 pandemic highlights that protection, response and recovery efforts will not be effective unless everyone is equally valued and included. Critical and urgent action is required to ensure that those most at risk, including persons with disabilities are explicitly included in public emergency planning and health response and recovery efforts.   The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities outlines the normative legal standards to address discrimination and inequality, and these standards need to be integral to COVID-19 protection, response and recovery measures.   A human rights approach is critical to response and recovery efforts not only in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to ensure that States take action now to build equitable, sustainable and resilient societies that have the mechanisms to prevent and respond rapidly to future public health emergencies and to ensure that ‘no-one is left behind’. http://bit.ly/3mD2vaw   http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/disability/srdisabilities/pages/srdisabilitiesindex.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx   May 2020   A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19. (UN News)   The global crisis of COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing the extent of exclusion and highlighting that work on disability inclusion is imperative. People with disabilities - over one billion people - are one of the most excluded groups in our society and are among the hardest hit in this crisis in terms of fatalities.   Even under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are less likely to access health care, education, employment and to participate in the community. They are more likely to live in poverty, experience higher rates of violence, neglect and abuse, and are among the most marginalized in any crisis-affected community. COVID-19 has further compounded this situation, disproportionately impacting persons with disabilities both directly and indirectly.   An integrated approach is required to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind in COVID-19 response and recovery. It calls for placing them at the centre of the response, participating as agents of planning and implementation. All COVID-19 related action must prohibit any form of discrimination based on disability and take into consideration the intersections of gender and age, among other factors. This is necessary effectively and efficiently to address and prevent barriers that may arise during response and recovery.   Disability inclusion will result in a COVID-19 response and recovery that better serves everyone, more fully suppressing the virus, as well as building back better. It will provide for more agile systems capable of responding to complex situations, reaching the furthest behind first.   This Policy Brief highlights the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities and in doing so, outlines key actions and recommendations to make the response and recovery inclusive of persons with disabilities. While the brief contains specific recommendations focusing on key sectors, it identifies four overarching areas of action that are applicable for all.   Ensure mainstreaming of disability in all COVID-19 response and recovery together with targeted actions. A combination of mainstream and disability-specific measures are necessary to ensure systematic inclusion of persons with disabilities.   Ensure accessibility of information, facilities, services and programmes in the COVID-19 response and recovery. Accessibility is fundamental to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the immediate health and socio-economic response to COVID-19.   If public health information, the built environment, communications and technologies, and goods and services are not accessible, people with disabilities cannot take necessary decisions, live independently and isolate or quarantine safely, or access health and public services on an equal basis with others.   Ensure meaningful consultation with and active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in all stages of the COVID-19 response and recovery. Persons with disabilities have important contributions to make in tackling the crisis and building the future.   Many persons with disabilities have experience of thriving in situations of isolation and alternate working arrangements that can offer models for navigating the current situation. Perspectives and lived experiences of disability contribute to creativity, new approaches and innovative solutions to challenges.   Establish accountability mechanisms to ensure disability inclusion in the COVID-19 response. Ensure inclusive investments to support disability-inclusive outcomes. Governments, donors, UN agencies and other actors need to establish mechanisms to monitor investments to ensure it is reaching persons with disabilities. Disaggregating data by disability is key to ensure accountability.   Inclusion of persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 response and recovery is a vital part of achieving the pledge to leave no one behind, and a critical test of the global commitments of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Agenda for Humanity and the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy. It is also central to the UN's commitment to achieve transformative and lasting change on disability inclusion.   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/policy-brief-disability-inclusive-response-covid-19-may-2020   * Disability Rights International and allied agencies launch COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Dashboard   Since 20 April 2020, through a global survey, the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) has been gathering data to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning persons with disabilities in the context of the pandemic. Today June 2nd, the initiative reaches a new milestone with the launch of the COVID-19 DRM Dashboard that allows the public to explore the survey's preliminary results.   The Dashboard highlights the voices of persons with disabilities and provides a vivid picture of the extent to which countries have responded to the specific impacts of the virus on persons with disabilities. With over 1,600 responses already received from more than 120 countries worldwide, the information shows a failure by many States to adopt disability-inclusive responses to the pandemic and guarantee protections for fundamental rights to life, health, safety, information and support as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).   http://www.driadvocacy.org/covid19-drm-dashboard-launch/ http://www.covid-drm.org/
	UN Rights office decries closing down of Memorial Human Rights Centre by OHCHR, UN News, agencies Russia   Jan. 2023   UN experts today expressed alarm over the escalating crackdown against civil society by Russian authorities after the decision by the Moscow city court this week to liquidate Moscow Helsinki Group, a prominent human rights organisation.   “The authorities must immediately halt all acts of repression, judicial harassment and intimidation against civil society organisations, human rights defenders and media outlets and respect their rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and of expression,” the experts said.   They saw the decision, based on the referral of the Ministry of Justice, to forcibly dissolve one of the oldest and most prominent human rights groups in the country as the latest example of clampdown on human rights organisations in Russia.   In the recent past, several human rights organisations have been similarly liquidated, including the International Memorial and Human Rights Centre Memorial (known as the Memorial).   “The decision to dissolve Moscow Helsinki Group illustrates again that Russian authorities continue to disregard their obligations under international human rights law to respect the right to freedom of association. The allegations raised by authorities in these proceedings appear to be disproportionate and punish the organisation for its legitimate human rights work,” the experts said.   “Such acts of reprisal, harassment and intimidation foster a climate of fear, preventing civil society organisations, human rights defenders and media outlets from exercising their rights freely and safely.”   The UN experts noted that over the past decade, the erosion of the rule of law, human rights protection and democracy has continued at an alarming pace in Russia. Despite repeated calls from UN human rights experts and the international community to end restrictive measures, authorities have increased their crackdown on civic space, making it extremely difficult and dangerous for human rights defenders and civil society organisations to carry out their legitimate work.   “Russian authorities must end their campaign to silence dissenting voices,” the experts said.   They urged Russia to stop stigmatising civil society actors and human rights defenders as ‘foreign agents’ and end their harassment, criminalisation and imprisonment, the forced dissolution of human rights organisations, and severe restrictions on the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association.   “Their work is essential to ensure accountability for victims of human rights violations in Russia and promote rule of law and democracy in the country.”   The experts said they would continue to monitor the situation of civic space in the country and to advise the authorities on their human rights obligations.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/01/russia-un-experts-alarmed-escalation-crackdown-civil-society   19 Nov. 2021   Press briefing notes on Russia, by Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Liz Throssell   We are concerned that legal action is under way in Russia seeking to close down Memorial, among the country's most respected human rights groups.   Earlier this month, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Moscow Prosecutor's Office filed lawsuits calling for the dissolution of the Memorial Human Rights Centre and the International Memorial Society, for reiterated alleged breaches of Russia's "foreign agents" laws. These new proceedings are reportedly based on previous breaches of the laws found against Memorial, including failure to mark published materials with the "foreign agent" label. Court hearings on the lawsuits are due to begin on 23 and 25 November.   The "foreign agents" law was adopted in 2012, requiring all non-governmental organisations that receive foreign funding to register as "foreign agents". At the time, the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay voiced deep concern that laws were being passed that restricted civil society space. UN human rights treaty bodies have raised similar concerns about the law and its implementation.   The authorities use the "foreign agents" designation, widely understood in the Russian context to be stigmatizing, to label what they assert are foreign-funded organisations engaging in "political activities".   Since 2012, the law has been repeatedly modified and has been used against civil society and media organisations, journalists and individual human rights defenders and bloggers, among others. As a result, many organizations have been repeatedly audited and heavily fined for the slightest regulatory violation, with some forced into liquidation.   We urge the Russian authorities to abolish the "foreign agents" law or substantially amend it so it is in line with the country's human rights obligations.   We also call on the Russian Government to uphold the fundamental freedoms of opinion and expression and of association and to allow diversity in ideas, criticism and dissent.   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/russia-authorities-move-to-close-memorial-one-of-the-countrys-most-respected-human-rights-groups/ http://www.osce.org/odihr/509498 http://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/keeping-memory-alive-the-vital-work-of-russias-memorial-organisation-is-under-threat/   Aug. 2022   UN experts condemn Israeli suppression of Palestinian human rights organisations. (OHCHR)   UN experts have criticised Israel’s escalating attacks against Palestinian civil society in the occupied West Bank, after the Israeli army broke into the offices of seven Palestinian human rights and humanitarian groups operating in Ramallah and shut them down last week.   “These actions amount to severe suppression of human rights defenders and are illegal and unacceptable,” the experts said, encouraging UN member states to take effective measures afforded by international law to put an end to these abuses.   In a dawn raid on 18 August, Israeli forces caused extensive damage to property and issued military orders imposing the closure of the seven Palestinian human rights groups’ offices. These actions follow Israel’s earlier designations and declarations of these organisations as “terrorist” and “unlawful”.   “These designations and declarations are illegitimate and unjustifiable and no concrete and credible evidence substantiating Israel’s allegations has ever been provided,” said the experts, who made the same observations in April 2022.   On 18 and 21 August, the Israeli security service Shin Bet interrogated the directors of three of the seven organisations, Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, Al-Haq and Defence for Children-Palestine. The experts noted with particular concern the alleged threats made by Shin Bet against them, including as reported in a public statement regarding Al-Haq’s director Shawan Jabarin.   “The Israeli government has taken multiple measures to undermine civil society organisations, restricting and repressing the legitimate activities of human rights defenders, which also has a disproportionate impact on women human rights defenders,” the experts said.   “The result is serious infringements of the rights to freedom of association, opinion and expression and the right to participate in public and cultural affairs, which Israel is fully obliged to fulfill, respect and protect," the experts said. "Civil society is what is left to the Palestinians for their minimum protection. Shrinking this vital space and resource is illegal and immoral.”   The UN experts said information presented by Israel to justify its decision to blacklist human rights groups as terror organisations had failed to convince donor governments and international organisations. The experts noted that a review of Al Haq by the Anti-Fraud Office of the European Union (EU) confirmed that “no suspicions of irregularities and/or fraud affecting EU funds” had been found.   The experts called on the EU, all five permanent members of the Security Council, and all member states to take concrete measures to protect the Palestinian organizations and staff whose offices were raided and closed.   “Such protection depends on Israel revoking once and for all its designations and declarations of these organisations as “terrorist” and “unlawful”, the experts said. “The EU and its member states in particular must urgently use their leverage to stop these aggressive attacks on civil society, in line with their commitments and obligations to protect human rights defenders and civic space.”   “Once again, it is clear that statements condemning and regretting Israel’s unlawful measures are not sufficient – it is time that words are followed by swift and determined action by the international community to put diplomatic pressure on Israel to restore the rule of law, justice and human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory," the experts said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/un-experts-condemn-israeli-suppression-palestinian-human-rights http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/international-community-must-condemn-israeli-raids-and-and-closures-of-palestinian-civil-society-organisations/
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