BIRN BiH at Civil Rights Defenders’ Days in Stockholm

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BIRN BiH’s Operations Manager Amila Nezirovic participated in the Civil Rights Defenders’ Days conference in Stockholm from April 2-5, an event held under the banner ‘Empowering Human Rights Defenders at Risk’. 

Civil Right Defendors logo

Three hundred and eighty experts in media, security and human rights from more than 32 countries gathered at the event to discuss the latest developments from some of the world’s most repressive regions.  

Nezirovic took an active part in workshops called ‘Getting Your Message Through’, led by Ruben Brunsveld, and ‘Technology for Human Rights Documentation and Reporting’, led by Dmitri Vitaliev.

Among the guest lecturers were Shin Donghyuk, a defector from North Korea who recounted a moving story about his escape from the Camp 14 detention centre.

“The panel discussions and presentations were very inspirational and useful for many of us who are dealing with different aspects of human rights protection at work and in daily life. I am sure that networking with different participants will be of great support to BIRN’s further work in this field,” said Nezirovic.

At the event, Civil Rights Defenders issued the first batch of GPS bracelets intended to protect activists from kidnapping by alerting CRD headquarters, nearby activists and social media. The initiative was named the ‘Natalia Project’, after the tragic death of Russian human rights defender Nataliya Estemirova in 2009.

At the same event, Natasa Kandic, founder of Humanitarian Law Centre in Serbia, was awarded the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award for her persistent work on documenting war crimes and serious human rights abuses in the former Yugoslavia. 

More information about the event is available at www.civilrightsdefenders.org.