Human Rights Without Frontiers
Formation | 2001 |
---|---|
Legal status | Non-profit Association |
Purpose | Advocacy of democracy, the rule of law, social justice, and human rights |
Location | |
Director
|
Willy Fautré |
Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) is a non-governmental organization, registered since 2001 as an association without lucrative purpose in Belgium, that «seeks to shape European and international policy in ways that strengthen democracy, uphold the rule of law and protect human rights globally[1]».
Contents
History
Created in Brussels in 2001, Human Rights Without Frontiers International (HRWF Int’l) is a non-profit association that seeks to shape European and international policy in ways that strengthen democracy, uphold the rule of law and protect human rights globally. The organisation is composed of a number of national branches in Belgium, Bhutan, Chad, Hong Kong, Nepal and the United States and works with associated member organisations in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Iraq, Kenya, Japan, Moldova, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia and South Korea.
Since its inception, the association’s executive director has been Willy Fautré, a long-standing human rights activist and member of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS).
Human Rights Without Frontiers International
According to its official website (http://www.hrwf.eu) (the archived site http://www.hrwf.org is also available), the NGO's main activities consist of research, field missions, analysis and monitoring of a wide range of human rights concerns in various countries of Europe, Asia and Africa. An international network of correspondents provides the organization with first-hand information on human rights violations. HRWF Int'l focuses particularly on human rights issues such as freedom of religion or belief, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation, ethnic and linguistic minorities as well as human rights infringements in China, North Korea, Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East.[1]
The foundation for the organization's advocacy is the body of international covenants and treaties that obligates its signatories to the respect of fundamental rights and freedoms. Among those instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and legal precedents set by decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. HRWF International carries out its advocacy mainly through EU institutions, the United Nations, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).[1]
Publications
The association HRWF International publishes daily electronic newsletters, consisting of reports by HRWF Int'l correspondents or newspaper articles:[2]
- Human Rights in the World
- Freedom of Religion or Belief
- Trafficking in Human Beings
- Religion, LGBT People and Human Rights
- Women's Rights and Gender Equality
- Linguistic Diversity and Minorities
These news are aggregated by theme and country on its official website.[2]
A World Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief is published annually as well as an annual listing of those who have been imprisoned for reasons of religion or belief.[3]
Research papers are sometimes written by the organization in English to be published in academic journals or on the website :
- Handbook of Advocacy for Indigenous Status (2004)
- Overview of UN Mechanisms Related to Indigenous Peoples (2004)
- Campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia (2009)
- Religious Intolerance in Turkey (2010)
- The history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgium (2010)
- Christians in Bahrain (2012)
- ECHR – Jurisprudence on Some Sect/Cult Issues Within the Framework on Freedom of Religion or Belief (2013)
- Freedom of Religion or Belief in Tunisia and Egypt – Beyond the Arab Spring Revolutions (2013)
- Hindu Extremist Movements and their Impact on Religious Minorities (2014)
- Religious Freedom: Moldova in the Dock (2016)
- Islamic Minorities, A New Challenge to Religious Freedom (2016)
Other general policy and advocacy papers are prepared, to be presented at conferences or to official bodies such as the OSCE :
- Intersectionality of Freedom of Religion or Belief and Women’s Rights: The “Burqa Issue” in the EU (2012)
- Baltic States: Citizenship and Language Rights of Russian-speaking Minorities (2014)
- Freedom of Religion or Belief and Gender Issues Attempting to Bridge the Gaps (2015)
- Armenia: Judicial system under fire (2015)
- Japan: Abduction and deprivation of freedom for the purpose of forceful religious de-conversion