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I. What is the Arab Commission for Human Rights?
The
Arab Commission for Human Rights is an
independent non-governmental
organization dedicated to the protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout
the Arab world. Without
any political affiliation, the Arab Commission
for Human Rights is guided in its work by the
principles established in, most notably, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESC), the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
and all other international human rights
instruments.
Founded
on January 17, 1998, by a group of 15 human
rights advocates from different Arab countries,
the Arab Commission for Human Rights is a
pan-Arab human rights organization with a
focused regional mandate on the promotion of the
human rights culture, defense of fundamental
freedoms, and protection of all human rights
victims in the Arab world irrespective of
belief, political conviction, sex, religion, or
color. The
Arab Commission for Human Rights is open to all
Arab citizens who have a serious dedication to
the furtherance of human rights principles and
who can prove serious devotion to human rights
advocacy work without any political
affiliation. The
Arab Commission for Human Rights is meant to be
clearly away from any political involvement of
any kind, and has every intention to remain so.
The
Arab Commission for Human Rights main priority
in all its work is clearly outlined in a firm
stance against all violations of human rights
and fundamental freedoms throughout the Arab
world. Members
of the Arab Commission for Human Rights are Arab
and non-Arab individuals who come form across
the Arab world and are all known for their
serious commitment to the furtherance of human
rights. Serious
consideration is given to any request of
affiliation or membership in the Arab Commission
for Human Rights and is only approved after
careful examination to the satisfaction of all
concerned that a new member has something to
offer the Arab Commission for Human Rights in
its work away from any political involvement of
any kind.
The
Arab Commission for Human Rights is operated by
its Board of Directors which is composed of the
following human rights advocates:
· Doctor
Violette Daguerre (Lebanon), President
· Counsellor
Nejib Hosni (Tunisia)
· Dr
Mohamed Sayed Said (Egypt), Adviser
· Doctor
Moncef Marzouki (Tunisia),
· Khalil
Abu Shammaleh (Palestine)
· Counsellor
Bechir Essid (Tunisia)
· Mr.
Saad Abdel Rahman (Saudi Arabia)
· Counsellor
Soufian Shouiter (Algeria)
· Izzat
Mroua (Lebanon)
· Cousellor
Mostafa al-Hassan (Egypt)
· Mr.Naser
al-Ghazali (Syria),
· Mr.
Omar Mistiri (Tunisia),
· Abderrahim
Sabir(Morocco)
· Zeyna
Larbi, (Syria),
· Doctor
Haytham Manna (Syria)
Two
thirds of the Arab Commission for Human Rights’
members live in the Arab world while the rest
live in Europe. The
Arab Commission for Human Rights has been
granted the right to work as an independent
non-governmental organization in France in
accordance with the French Law of Associations
(known as Law of 1901) and is planning to open
two other offices in the Mashraq and Maghreb
Arab countries in the near future. The
Arab Commission for Human Rights has, since its
creation on 17 January 1998, established
a network of national, regional and
international contacts and is proud of its firm
working relationship with nearly fifty
non-governmental organizations in the Arab
countries and the world.
II. Why
was the Arab Commission for Human Rights
founded?
It
is a universally acknowledged fact that Arab
countries are increasingly witnessing marked
drawbacks in human rights and fundamental
freedoms since the Gulf War. Such
drawbacks eradicated any sense of optimism that
was left after the fall of the Berlin Wall and
that was even deepened by a general political
failure on the regional level. In the meantime,
the relationships between Arab governments and
their citizens were becoming increasingly
suppressive; while the legal and operational
situations of human rights advocates in at least
eight Arab countries have certainly deteriorated
during the 1990s, little or no noticeable
achievements were made by other human rights
advocates in many other Arab countries.
On the other hand, there was no signs that any
improvements are taking place on the human
rights front either. Human
rights violations continued to be on the rise
due to civil wars, foreign occupation,
sanctions, economic crisis and political
disorders as well as daily attacks on the
people's freedoms and rights due to the unfair
administration of society by the state(s). Such
a difficult situation in which the Arab human
rights movement found itself has resulted in
several problems, both structural and
operational, both of which has affected its work
and formation. Among
the most notable results are the following:
1- An
unbalanced growth of the human rights movement
in different countries in the Arab region. In
some countries, however, a large number of human
rights organizations do exist while other
countries might not have any recognizable form
within which similar organizations may work. A
situation as such has dictated a more dynamic
attitude towards regional activism which should
create a healthy atmosphere for organizations to
grow, so that their work can cover other
countries particularly the ones where the
message is not deliverable yet. It
also requires a secure coverage with which human
rights violations can be faced and protection
for human rights violations’ victims can be
secured, as much as practically possible,
through viable means with a regional approach.
2- Many
of the 'North' and international organizations
are affected by a western vision which
concentrates its efforts on the problems of
arbitrary detention, judicial supervision,
enforced disappearances, and torture. Such
vision neglects economic, social and cultural
rights as well as many other essential rights to
the existence of a human being. Such
a situation necessitates that a comparison which
is based on an indivisible and a wholesome
approach toward all
human rights in the Arab world as a whole is
maintained.
3- Different
chauvinistic, religious extremist forms of repli
sur soi began
to exist in a way which demands a regional
movement in this part of the world in order to retrieve
trust in the human values via conceptual and
responsible defense of the universal values of
human rights.
4- A
clear gap between the human cultural product and
the daily activities does exist which requires
more involvement for think tanks in the work
that is being done, and for the human rights
advocates themselves to take a larger part in
the cultural fight for enlightenment.
5- Poor
communication and exchange of expertise among
the Arab human rights advocates do exist. It
is now necessary to begin a new trend of work
which should include the nature of studies and
field work that are being conducted, cooperation
among Arab organizations and establishing links
between the South and the North on the one hand
and between the regional and international
entities on the other hand.
It
is true to argue that our generation is facing
difficult circumstances and is suffering from
the mix up between political activism and human
rights advocacy. We have thus never seen clearly
the nature of the relationship among the three
powers nor the differences between a national
front and a non-governmental organization
either. The
human rights movement in the Arab world has,
before it reached the age of maturity, quickly
moved towards fast institutionalization which
added the question of funding to its many
problems.
Many human rights
advocates in the Arab world have therefore
chosen professionalism as a way to continue
their work particularly since the components of
a civil society were rather weak and the fact
that cadres were often exhausted too soon. Whether
we like it or not, such problems do affect the
movement, its aims, its future and its belonging
to the society. This
consequently requires more commitment and a
deeper approach in facing the objective and
subjective problems of the human rights sphere
in the Arab world. It
also is of an equal importance to avoid falling
in trap-like situations where the absence of
cooperation and coordination of work can create
unhealthy competitive relationships.
III. The
Aims of the Arab Commission for Human Rights
After
many discussions which began in the Summer of
1997 among human rights advocates from seven
Arab countries in which the above problems were
addressed and analyzed, a meeting took place on
17 January 1998 after which the birth of the
Arab Commission of Human Rights was declared. The
aims of the Arab Commission for Human Rights
include the following priorities:
1. Conducting
studies based on field missions on social,
economic and cultural rights, and on civil and
political rights in all the Arab countries.
2. Evaluating
the consequences of economic sanctions and their
impact on human rights in this part of the
world. Based
on such evaluation, an international document is
to be prepared which can if adopted, protect the
nations of the world form such a collective
punishment.
3. More
research and studies work will be devoted to the
rights of vulnerable groups such as women,
children, displaced persons refugees, and
foreign workers (particularly in the Gulf and in
Europe).
4. Study
state violence and the phenomenon of
socially-rooted violence, and critically address
the arguments presented in defense of
authoritarian states and repressive state
security and intelligence services. It
is planned that at least one study this year
will be dedicated to this issue.
5. Taking
part in publishing a book on torture in the Arab
world in the twentieth century which is planned
to be available by the 10th of
December 1998 to mark the 50th Anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6. Building
bridges between NGOs of the South and those in
the North, Arab and non-Arab, and working
towards reinforcing inter-Arab cooperation
through joint activities and partnerships.
7. Employ
the use of modern communication methods among
the human rights advocates and organizations to
achieve a wider outreach scope for information.
In 6 years, the
ACHR published about 60 books, reports and
studies, organized about 40 training, seminars
and conferences and realized missions in most of
the Arab Countries.
Contact Person
Dr. Violette Daguerre
President
E-Mail: achr@noos.fr
http://www.achr.nu/
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