Publication- Statements - other
Press releases you will find on the page: Calendar
Interview with Marion Böker, April 16, 2021, by Gisa Bodenstein, hpd.de: on the occasion of the start of the investigation by the Mannheim and Kassel public prosecutor's offices against an opponent of abortion. In mid-February 2021, the Institute for Weltanschauungsrecht (ifw) filed a criminal complaint against Klaus Günter Annen on suspicion of insult and sedition. Annen is the operator of the websites "abtreiber.com" and "babykaust.de", on which he describes doctors who carry out abortions as "contract killers" and describes abortions as a form of aggravation of the Holocaust. The interviews were conducted with some co-plaintiffs.
Translation
Hedy Epstein: „Remembrance is not enough“ (in German), Translated by Marion Böker, Muenster (Unrast Verlag), 1999
15. August 1924 - 26. May 2016; My mentor. My friend. In Memoriam: STAY HUMAN
DURBAN calls for NAP against racism: WCAR-Review & Follow ups
UN World Conference against Racism, Radical Discrimination, Xenophobia and related Intolerance (WCAR Durban, 2001)
In April 2009 the Durban review conference (DRC) took place in Geneva at the UN OHCHR. See the outcome document:
http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/
In 2008 Germany released a National Action Plan Against Racism. NGOs and experts found it very week, without clear benchmarks for the few measures and rare finances for measures.
End of August 2007 the UN-Preparatory-Committee on the DURBAN review conference in 2009 was hosted in Geneva. Different from the PrepCom 2000 and 2001 and Durban now there was only a low participation of NGOs, even if important decisions on the format of the review conference about the obstacles and progress and result in the member states like e.g. Germany had been on the agenda.
A few German NGOs especially from the HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM participated in 2001 in Durban. At the moment they are not very active on behalf of Durban. The process to draft a NAP with the participation of NGOs as it was agreed between Government and NGOs then was stopped. So, still Germany is in duty to implement all tasks of the WCAR-Durban Programme of Action, a NAP and all its consequences.
Read the Statement of Portugal on behalf of the European Union about how they wish to plan the Durban review conference which should be 3 day 'high-level-meeting' and 'avoid the format of a new World Conference' and be hold in New York 'in the framework of the General Assembly'.
'High-level-meetings' often are very restricted to NGO participation and only a few NGOs worldwide are active with the GA. NGOs have to very aware and informed about the further planning process to have access.
WCAR Document, Durban 2001
The International Centre Anti Racism Europe (ICARE) provides continuously information on the WCAR-Follow-Up process as well on racism and anti-racist activities in Europe from the NGO perspective. A mailing list offers regular reports from ICARE activists on UN, EU, OSZE or other level meetings on Durban or combating racism, but as well short interactive discussions, exchanges or all kind of call for papers.
www.icare.to/
The mutual roof organisation of many NGOs CONGO informs at
www.ngocongo.org
The official webpage of the UN-High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) informs at
www.ohchr.org
The German Foreign Office does not yet provide information on the recent committee meeting or planning process for 2009. The following Link leads to the final WCAR- Document of Durban in German and documents of the later OSCE-Conference Against Racism 2004:
www.auswärtiges-amt.de
'Slow March towards Gender Balance' troubles the Commissioner for Human Rights on the Council of Europe
"[20/08(07- updated 29/08/07] The distribution of power between men and women is still very unequal. This was the underlying motivation for a milestone recommendation by the Council of Europe four years ago. The Committee of Ministers agreed on action for "balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making". The idea was to open the door for women into positions of power. The time has come to start assessing the results. (...)".
Read the whole Viewpoint of Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe:
"The slow march towards gender balance in politics"
The source of the Viewpoint as well the Recommendation on the issue of 2003 in English, French and Russian is the following webpage of the COEs Commissioner for Human Rights:
www.coe.int
Gender Budgeting in Europe and Germany
In Germany national ministries still resist to implement - Feasibility study (2007) is not taken into account.
In 2007 the Federal Republic of Germany wrote in the 6st state report to the UN-CEDAW-Comittee that they have problems with the English terminology and that nobody can understand Gender Budgeting and Mainstreaming - until today nor the Fed. Ministry for Women's, Seniors, Family and Youth Affairs (The National Machinery of the Advancement of Women) nor the other ministries actively and openly transparent implement Gender Mainstreaming and Budgeting- Germany wastes time for implementation of these modern administrative instruments for effective quality controlling of gender equality -
The UN-CEDAW-Comittee urged the German Government in it's Concluding observations 2/2009 to return to the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming und Budgeting and give capacity trainig to the change agents in the administration so that they can implement. The resistance of the implementation of these international binding instruments (PFA Beijing, Beijing+5, EU-directives) was called a violation of the convention (CEDAW) by the country rapporteur Cees Flinterman during the 43rd session of CEDAW in 2/2009.