Nobel Women's Initiative

Kampala (June 4, 2010)

The world is facing a critical moment in international justice - especially for women--according to Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai and Shirin Ebadi.  The two, along with Sudanese civil society and human rights activist, Suzanne Jambo, called for a global end to impunity at the first ever review of the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week in Uganda.

"To bring about peace, justice and reconciliation the world must punish perpetrators and hold them accountable.  The ICC brings hope to victims of the most horrific crimes the world has seen--and should serve as a model for states to strengthen their own justice systems," said Ebadi at a press conference in Kampala on Friday.  "This Review Conference is a critically important opportunity for states to reaffirm their commitment to global justice."

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Wangari Maathai warned that Kenya will again descend into violence during the next elections unless there is support for the work of the International Criminal Court.  Maathai made her comments at a Nairobi press conference on Monday.  She will be bringing this message to governments around the world at the first Review Conference of the International Criminal Court in Uganda, being held from May 31 to June 11.

So far, 110 countries have ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC-- including 30 in Africa.  Maathai noted that the ICC was born in the aftermath of some of the most horrific violence conflicts in the 1990s, including Rwanda and Liberia.

Read the full Media Release .

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-- For immediate release to media --

March 3, 2010, 10 am EST

International Tribunal on Burma Calls for End to Impunity of Military Regime

(New York)  Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams - along with human rights experts Dr. Heisoo Shin (Korea) and Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand) - today released the findings and recommendations developed during the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma held this week in New York City.  The quasi-legal event featured compelling testimony - the first ever - of 12 women from Burma who have suffered rape, torture, and other crimes at the hands of the military junta.  The event highlighted the egregious human rights crimes, including rape as a weapon of war, and called for policymakers to demand a last resort: the International Criminal Court.

"Women should no longer be invisible when crimes are committed against them with impunity," said Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.  "The history of violence and oppression of women in Burma is long and sordid--and must come to an end."      

A few of the women who testified are colleagues of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition, still under house arrest and a prisoner of General Than Shwe.  Than Shwe is the war criminal who has reigned terror over the people of Burma for decades.  World leaders have rallied in support of her freedom countless times since her Nobel Peace Prize award in 1991, passing UN resolutions almost annually and demanding the release of her and other political prisoners.  But these cries have fallen on deaf ears, with the international community failing to hold General Shwe and his cronies criminally responsible.  The resulting impunity has given the ruling generals of Burma even more license to escalate their power and continue to inflict violence on the people of Burma.

"We live in a globalized world, which means that Burma cannot do whatever it wants to its people within its own walls," said Shirin Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.  "Globalization is effective when it helps bring an end to injustice.  The international community cannot stand by and let other countries to use their sovereignty to commit atrocities against their own people."

The purpose of the Tribunal was to spotlight the oppression of women of Burma in order to encourage policymakers and political leaders to take specific action now.  The women Nobel Laureates have joined with the Women's League of Burma to highlight the systemic use of rape and other forms of violence against ethnic women in Burma.  The Women's League of Burma is an umbrella organization comprising thirteen women's organizations of different ethnic backgrounds in Burma. 

The women who testified now live in Thailand, Bangladesh, the US and Canada and traveled to New York to tell their personal stories and those of their families.  Their stories include a range of horrific human rights violations and crimes.  Testimony was organized into three categories:  violence against women (rape, sexual violence, trafficking), civil and political violations (torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, harassment), and social, economic and cultural violations (forced labor, portering, relocation).  Violence against women in Burma is often ethnically motivated, particularly minority groups such as the Karen who have been brutally persecuted by the military regim

The following are the recommendations of the Tribunal:


Recommendations to the international community, particularly the United Nations:

*Urge States to take collective action to ensure the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, and 1889 guaranteeing women's full participation in post-conflict reconstruction, and freedom from all forms of sexual violence.
*Strongly urge the UN Security Council to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court.
*Call upon United Nations member States to fulfill their obligations to exercise universal jurisdiction and to prosecute through their national tribunals perpetrators of the crimes against the civilian population of Burma, including women.
*Ask United Nations agencies with a presence in Burma to increase their work in promoting and protecting human rights.
*Call upon the United Nations Security Council to take effective measures against state authorities on the basis of the responsibility of the state to protect its people from egregious human rights violations (Responsibility to Protect Doctrine).
*Urge the United Nations system to take measures to ensure that the Burmese authorities comply with international human rights standards and international humanitarian law.


Recommendations to Burma's military regime:

*Stop all forms of violence against women. "End the intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, torture, and degrading treatment against women [and all] political prisoners; [and] respect and adhere to the principles and norms of the international [criminal and] human rights standards, particularly Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women..."
*Stop attacks and persecution against ethnic nationalities and groups.
*Release immediately and unconditionally all political prisoners.
*Grant access to United Nations agencies and non-governmental humanitarian groups to ensure that women, in particular, are assisted effectively.
*Provide access to and cooperate with United Nations agencies and human rights organizations to monitor human rights within Burma.
*Ratify all human rights treaties, including ICCPR and ICESCR, and implement them effectively.
*Abide by rules of customary international law, such as the prohibitions against torture, slavery, and violence against women and children.
*Ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, reform and implement domestic legislation accordingly.
*Establish an effective process for dialogue between different stakeholders including democracy groups, ethnic minorities/nationalities, and concerned authorities with emphasis on women's participation in the pursuit of democracy.
*Revise the constitution, particularly the amnesty provisions, and other national laws in an inclusive and participatory manner, engaging all stakeholders including women, to ensure consistency with international legal obligations and human rights standards.
*Establish effective judicial mechanisms and other processes to establish accountability and provide adequate remedies for international crimes and human rights violations to end impunity.
*Build human-centered national development plans and processes that respond to women's human rights bearing in mind the special needs of rural women, and allocate national resources fairly and equitably for this purpose.

Recommendations to the Asia-Pacific region (including ASEAN, bilateral and other channels):
 
*Call upon ASEAN through its Summit of Heads of Government to impel Burma to apply effective and time-limited measures to comply with the ASEAN Charter and international legal obligations and human rights standards.
*Invite the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission to submit thematic reports covering particular issues related to Burma.
*Bearing in mind the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and various declarations on children's rights in the region, to which Burma has subscribed, support the establishment of the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, including consideration of the situation in Burma.
*Call upon the various partners of ASEAN and other regional bodies and states engaging with Burma to influence constructive changes in the country.
*Prohibit trade with Burma involving goods produced through forced labor, as well as oil, gas, and electricity generated as a result of forced relocations. 
*Take effective cross-border measures to prevent and punish human trafficking, in particular that of women and children, and to offer gender and child sensitive measures to protect and assist those victimized by trafficking.
*Respect the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, protect them from violence, abuse, and exploitation, and forced repatriation, which violates the international principle of non-refoulement, and ensure the application of basic standards of international law.


For more information, and to arrange interviews, please contact us:
*Rachel Vincent: Mobile: + 1-613-276-9030, rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org
*Kimberley MacKenzie: +1-908-342-0160, kmackenzie@nobelwomensinitiative.org
*Kieran Bergmann: +1-613-569-8400 ext. 115, kbergmann@nobelwomensinitiative.or
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Read the full text of the press release with findings and recommendations here.

-- For immediate release to media --

March 3, 2010, 10 am EST

International Tribunal on Burma Calls for End to Impunity of Military Regime

(New York)  Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams - along with human rights experts Dr. Heisoo Shin (Korea) and Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand) - today released the findings and recommendations developed during the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma held this week in New York City.  The quasi-legal event featured compelling testimony - the first ever - of 12 women from Burma who have suffered rape, torture, and other crimes at the hands of the military junta.  The event highlighted the egregious human rights crimes, including rape as a weapon of war, and called for policymakers to demand a last resort: the International Criminal Court.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
-For Immediate Release-

Fourteen Nobel Laureates sent an an open letter to Iranian President Ahmadi Nejad today, condemning Iran's intimidation of Shirin Ebadi and other Iranian activists. The letter was signed by Wangari Maathai, Jody Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, F.W. de Klerk, and 9 other Nobel Peace Laureates. The letter warns Ahmadi Nejad's government that the crackdown on opposition will not end the demands for human rights.

Excerpt: "We know this strategy will not succeed.  Thousands of Iranians will continue to express their ideas about how they want to live and what they believe Iran should look like and we, along with the rest of the world, will continue to support them.  We urge you to halt the policies of intimidation and harassment of Iranian citizens exercising their rights. It is long past time to listen to and work with the people of Iran instead of violently suppressing them."

The full text of the letter and list of signatories appears below.

For more information contact:

Rachel Vincent
Manager of Media and Communications
Nobel Women's Initiative
Mobile: +1.613.276.9030

Kimberley MacKenzie
Program Associate, Advocacy & Communications
Phone: +1.613.569.8400 x 114
Fax: +1.613.241.7550
kmackenzie@nobelwomensinitiative.org

---

Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad
President, Islamic Republic of Iran
Pasteur Avenue
Tehran, Iran 13168-43311

21 January 2010


To President Ahmadi Nejad:

We are deeply distressed to learn of the recent actions taken against our sister Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi.  We urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release all funds belonging to Dr. Ebadi and her husband and stop the harassment of Dr. Ebadi and her family.

Dr. Ebadi has been the target of a long campaign of intimidation.  In the past, her home has been vandalized, her offices have been searched and shut down and her documents and computer seized.  Dr. Ebadi has been denied access to her bank accounts and denied her pension payments.  She has received death threats and her family members have been threatened as well. Her husband has also had assets frozen and confiscated and has been assaulted and detained.  Most recently, her sister Dr. Nooshin Ebadi was arrested and detained.

Although the foreign ministry has implied that the assets have been frozen because of a tax dispute, Dr. Ebadi has stated that the confiscation of her property is in breach of the law of the Islamic republic.  The claim from the government for taxes on the Nobel Peace Prize money has been presented only recently, many years after her receipt of the funds.  The fact that Dr. Ebadi’s assets were frozen by an order from the Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, rather than tax authorities, and the blocking of her husband’s assets and accounts, further undermines the credibility of the claim that this is a tax dispute.  Any genuine dispute about taxes should be resolved by the proper procedures and authorities, not by security forces through such unlawful and extrajudicial methods. 

In 2003, Dr. Ebadi was the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize and her honor brought honor to the Iranian people.  Dr. Ebadi advocates on behalf of Iranian political activists, religious and ethnic minorities, and women and children through peaceful means.  The continued attempts to intimidate her and stop her work are not only futile, they color your regime as unjust and unreasonable.

These recent actions against Dr. Ebadi appear to be part of an intensifying strategy to silence civil society and human-rights defenders.  This has included the harassment, arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution of human rights activists, violent reactions to peaceful protests and a crackdown on Internet access and press freedom.  We have recently learned of the arrest of more than sixteen women human rights activists and the imposition of the death sentence on five other human rights activists.

We know this strategy will not succeed.  Thousands of Iranians will continue to express their ideas about how they want to live and what they believe Iran should look like and we, along with the rest of the world, will continue to support them.  We urge you to halt the policies of intimidation and harassment of Iranian citizens exercising their rights. It is long past time to listen to and work with the people of Iran instead of violently suppressing them.

We respectfully await a response to our concerns and requests.

Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize (1976)

Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Prize (1976)   

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize (1984)

Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize (1986)

His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize (1989)

Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Prize (1992)

F.W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize (1993)

President José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize (1996)

Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize (1997)

John Hume, Nobel Peace Prize (1998)

David Trimble, Nobel Peace Prize (1998)

Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize (2003)

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize (2004)



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On Thursday December 31st 2009 the people of Gaza remembered the beginning of Operation Cast Lead - the 22 day assault during which 1400 people were killed and some 5000 injured by the Israeli military. The crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli government are remembered not only by the people of Gaza and by Palestine, but by millions around the world who were shocked and disgusted by this act of barbarity.

 

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Family of Human Rights Defenders

Just days before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is expected to issue a landmark ruling condemning the State of Mexico in the "Campo Algodonero" case of three women murdered in Ciudad Juarez (Gonzalez et al. vs. Mexico), family members of two leading women's rights activists in Juarez have also been murdered.

The Nobel Women's Initiative condemns these violent acts--intended to intimidate and silence women who are human rights defenders fighting for justice in the cases of hundreds of women murdered in Juarez--and calls upon the Mexican government to end violence against human rights defenders and their families.

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December 3, 2009

-- For Immediate Release --

Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Betty Williams

World leaders will shortly gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a post-Kyoto 'climate deal'. Except for cynics who say otherwise, a binding agreement is possible. It's essential for the small-scale woman farmer in Africa, whose children are hungry and whose family has lived through yet another severe drought; the Inuit communities in Canada, who are watching the Arctic ice cap melt and their livelihoods disappear; the people of the Maldives, who are facing rising seas that could engulf much of their country by 2050; and families in California, Spain or Portugal, who are challenged by erratic and destructive wildfires.

In Copenhagen, negotiators have the opportunity to craft a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal.

Read the full text of the statement.      Watch the video.

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November 24, 2009

--For Immediate Release--

More than 175 human rights and feminist leaders--including three Nobel Peace Prize winners and leaders of national and international women's organizations-- sent an Open Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, urging her to condemn widespread violations of women's human rights in Honduras.  Read the full text of the letter.

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Release political prisoners in Burma: Nobel Peace Laureates call for ‘real change’ in lead up to elections

--New Delhi, India, October 29, 2009.

Nobel Peace Laureates—Jody Williams (USA) and Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland)—today called for governments in the region to use the upcoming elections in Burma to push the military junta of Burma harder on democratic rights.

"The Burmese in exile—like the Tibetans in exile—are building real democracy," said Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her efforts to ban landmines. "The people of Burma, who have suffered for so long, deserve nothing less."

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