The Hague/Brussels December 8, 2011
Global Human Rights Defence(GHRD) together with MEP Cecilia Wikström and the ALDEGroup of the EU Parliament held its conference Protecting Minority Rights in South Asia at the EU Parliament inBrussels in celebration of international human rights day. Human rightsdefenders from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal addressed the situation intheir home countries to some 130 European representatives, MEPs, policymakers,NGOs and media.
Amongst the speakerswere Taslima Nasreen, Bangladeshiwriter in exile, winner of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize 1994, and Anuradha Koirala, awarded CNN Hero 2010for her work against human trafficking in Nepal.
GHRDpresented a joint manifesto on minorityrights in South Asia with specific recommendations to the Europeanauthorities, which was created during a three days regionalsymposium in India, Mumbai in November this year. It concluded that religious, ethnic, andsexual minorities remain amongst the most vulnerable groups in South Asia, asthey are subject to discrimination and human rights violations, includingdiscriminatory laws, land grabbing, attacks against places of worship,businesses and homes, physical and sexual assaults, forced conversions,killings and threats, which largely go unreported by national and internationalauthorities.
It alsoconcludes that it remains too difficult for civil society and local humanrights organizations in South Asia to access the EU institutions and calls foractions to bridge the gap between human rights defenders on the ground and theEU institutions.
CeciliaWikström, member of the European Parliament for the liberal group (ALDE)expressed her support for the manifesto and its goals. She has also tabled apriority written question to HR/VP Catherine Ashton asking for the creation ofa support unit within the new external action service to better involvegrassroots human rights defenders in the networks and activities of theExternal Action Service and European Institutions.
For further information please contact:
Jenny Lundström, human rights officer jlundstrom@ghrd.org Phone:+ 31 (0) 703 456 975 Website: www.ghrd.org
Daniel Sjöberg, parliamentary assistant to MEP Wikström daniel.sjoberg@europarl.europa.eu phone: +32 (0) 474 53 28 42
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GHRD is a non-governmental human rights organization based in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main focus is to document and report on human rights violations committed against ethnic, religious and social minorities in South Asia, and to provide platforms toaddress and promote their rights atinternational forums.
Cecilia Wikström is a member of the EuropeanParliament from Swedensince 2009 and member of the liberal group (ALDE). She is a full member of thelegal affairs committee and a substitute member of the committee on CivilLiberties, Justice and Home affairs.