fered from mental illnesses. In addition, the type
of bullets (expanding, hollow point bullets) used in
these interventions were banned during wartime
under international law because it was considered
that they caused great injury and unnecessary suffering. There is also the issue of mass surveillance
of the general public by governmental agencies contravening laws relating to freedom of expression and
privacy.
Our work in Sweden.
Civil Rights Defenders’ advocacy work targets the
National Police, the government and the opposition
parties and aims to bring about immediate change
regarding the use of force, the use of expanding ammunition, and how persons suffering from mental
illnesses are treated.
Our organisation also aims to ensure that the Roma
community and other minorities have complete access to their rights. Civil Rights Defenders demands
from the Swedish government to take far-reaching
measures to eliminate the principle structures in society, which lead to discrimination against the Roma.
We continue to empower such marginalised groups
and lobby on their behalf through dialogue, seminars,
debates and open criticism of government policies.
In November 2013 Civil Rights Defenders organised a seminar with representatives from the Roma
community, governmental ministries and civil
society to openly discuss the discrimination that
plagues the Roma in Sweden today. Such seminars
continue to bring the issue of Roma marginalisation
into mainstream debate.
It is important for Civil Rights Defenders to fight
human rights abuses on our home turf to have a
greater understanding of the human rights violations that take place all over the world.
Highlights of 2013.
Roma Rights: In November 2013 Civil Rights
Defenders organised a seminar with representatives
from the Roma community, governmental minist
ries and civil society to openly discuss the discrimination that plagues the Roma today in Sweden.
Such seminars continue to bring the issue of Roma
marginalisation into mainstream debate.
Police use of Force: Civil Rights Defenders continues in its campaign to the National Police,
government and opposition parties in order to bring
about immediate change regarding the use of force,
ammunition and how persons suffering from mental
illnesses are treated.
East and Horn of Africa
The governments in many of the countries in East
and Horn of Africa are often the worst perpetrators
of injustice against human rights groups and their
followers, actively failing to commit to the democratic process. Freedom of media, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association and assembly, and access to information and Internet is
extremely limited. Suspension of national news
papers and government crackdowns on journalists
are frequent while political violence before, during,
and after elections is commonplace especially
against minority groups.
The criminalisation, punishment, and stigmatisation of the LGBT community are of great concern
with the situation continuing to deteriorate espe-
Burmese human rights lawyers inspired in Serbia organised by Civil Rights Defenders.
Working directly with local human rights defenders,
we strive to monitor the human rights landscape and
ensure relevant support to key defenders.
cially in Uganda. In 2009 legislation was introduced
in Ethiopia restricting civil society groups to operate freely in the country while Kenya is considering similar measures. Ethiopia also implemented a
restrictive “anti-terrorism” legislation that gave the
government a sweeping power to criminalise dissent. Human rights defenders in Somalia continue
to face repeated violent attack at the hands of political and non-state actors.
The region comprises the following countries:
Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda,
Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Local civil society organisations in many of the
countries are underdeveloped, severely restricted
or non-existent. Civil Rights Defenders is in the
process of establishing a presence in the region
and looking into different ways to empower human
rights defenders and marginalised groups through
capacity building, training, networking and support.
The work we do in the East and
Horn of Africa.
In 2013 Civil Rights Defenders provided training
in operational security, human rights reporting and
documenting to numerous activists throughout the
region. At the training sessions we encouraged networking opportunities as many human rights acti
vists often work in the same area and can provide
valuable advice and support to each other.
15
Highlights of 2013.
Many of the participants had little resources or
awareness when it came to how to protect their data
and how to effectively advocate. After the trainings they felt that they had a new confidence in
their work and that the trainings could be readiy
l
applied in their every day job as human rights defenders. The bringing together of activists from
several countries in the region also facilitated the
sharing of knowledge and experience which led to
the creation of new ideas, projects and international
cooperation.
Western Balkans
The Western Balkans has made significant progress
regarding its human rights record in recent years,
especially in bringing the legal frameworks for the
protect