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November 22, 2011

UN Calls for Access for Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran

Originally published by United4Iran. The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee today adopted a resolution (PDF) calling on the Iranian Government to allow unfettered access to the country by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, to investigate violations taking place in the country. The resolution also calls on Iran to release all arbitrarily detained individuals held for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and expression, including leading opposition figures, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
November 19, 2011

“One Has to Do All One Can for Human Rights”

Antonia Bertschinger tells us of her work at the Swiss section of Amnesty International. She tells us how she came to be involved with human rights work. Bertschinger came to the work via her interest in Afghanistan. She studied Persian in university and worked in the Kabul Museum in Switzerland. "I loved working there because it helped me learn so much about Afghanistan. This did some awareness raising for me to learn what it’s like to live in a country where all the rights are violated, especially women’s rights, and which had such a long war, and so many other disasters. She ended up working in the Foreign Ministry in Iran rather than win Afghanistan, however. It was there that she met so many people working to build a better society and for the protection of human rights. Bertschinger asks of her own home in Europe, "How can we ever forget that human rights and the rule of law are the basis of our good life?"
November 19, 2011

The Accidental Leader Questions for Amsterdam50

Eric Asp, pastor at Amsterdam50, discusses the struggles of unexpected leadership in the answers to questions from Arseh Sevom. " When the founder of the project first left, I was asked, together with another young leader from the church, to step into the role of Pastor-In-Training (learning on the job). We really felt like just a couple of hacks, figuring things out as we went along (which has since become a strong part of our organization's identity). We got a lot of support from others..."
November 9, 2011

Contributors

Amal Hamidallah-van Hees (A Letter to an Iranian Woman from Her Arab Friend) is the director of Bridging the Gulf Foundation for human security in the […]
November 1, 2011

Civil Society Cookbook

Click here to read the complete post.Arseh Sevom is launching a new project: the Civil Society Cookbook. We are talking to civil society actors from around the world to learn more about what makes them successful, how they approach challenges, and the obstacles faced along the way.We would like to hear from you too. You can fill out our questionnaire or contact us and make an appointment for an interview.