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AWID took to Geneva this June to participate in the 35th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).   The HRC is the key intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.

A short poem to remember an honour WHRDs and activists who are no longer with us.

The WHRD IC is deeply concerned about the recent detention of eight Turkish human rights defenders and two IT trainers and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. Among those who were detained from a human rights workshop are prominent members of the women’s rights movement, which is a clear attempt to destabilize and demoralize women who engage in legitimate and important activism to defend and promote human rights.

The WHRD-IC calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Ebtisam Al-Saegh, and the end to the harassment, intimidation, violence and threats towards her and her family. We ask the Bahraini authorities to end their campaign against all human rights defenders.

With the global surge to the right and the attacks on civic space, many hope that powerful corporations can be allies for the civil society. Among them, the panelists of  “The Business Case for Civic Space”, a public event organized by CIVICUS, on 14 June 2017, in the headquarters of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The panelists included high level UN leadership and a Microsoft representative.

During #Canada150, Naomi reflects on her 2015 open letter to Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould, calling for the centering of sex workers’ voices and experiences.

Sandisiwe comes from a lineage of Black queer South African artists, who have documented the joy, pain, and beauty of their communities. In a national context where they face femicides and the targeted rape of lesbians, self-exploration is tantamount to resistance. Here, Sandisiwe describes her foray into visual activism, her aspirations, and ongoing book project.

Women Human Rights Defenders are at the forefront of rights struggles. WHRDs are targeted because of our work, including for what we do, the fact that we do it, and the identities we carry.

On 24 May 2017, the divisional court in Ankara overturned a conviction for sexual assault of human rights defender, Kemal Ördek. Instead the three perpetrators were sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment for the charge of ‘aggravated burglary.’ The man previously convicted and sentenced for the sexual assault was acquitted.

The strong organization of lesbian activists across Argentina achieved Higui’s release pending trial. Higui, an Argentine lesbian, was imprisoned for fatally wounding one of her attackers while trying to avoid being gang raped by a group of ten men.