Archive: Society | Human rights Human rights
Czech Republic to provide aid to devastated Texan town
The Czech Republic will provide aid to the Texan town of West, which has
been devastated by a massive explosion at a local fertiliser plant. The
country’s ambassador to the US has arrived in the town, which has a very
strong Czech heritage, and says the Czech government will help rebuild the
community. More assistance for West should also come from the north
Moravian towns whose inhabitants settled in the town more than a century
ago. More
AI launches Europe-wide campaign to end discrimination against Roma
Marking International Roma Day on Monday, Amnesty International has just
launched a Europe-wide campaign entitled Human Rights Here, Roma Rights
Now. It aims to end persisting discrimination and segregation that an
estimated six million Roma face in many European countries, including the
Czech Republic. Mark Martin, the head of Amnesty International’s Czech
branch, explains what the campaign hopes to achieve. More
Václav Havel award for human rights founded in Prague
The Václav Havel award for human rights has been established in Prague in
memory of the late Czech president, dissident playwright and human rights
advocate. The prize, which will reward activities in defence of human
rights around the world, will be first handed out this autumn by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe along with the Václav
Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation. More
Whites only South African town focus of fascinating One World film
Orania, which has been shown at this year’s One World film festival of
human rights documentaries, is a fascinating portrait of a controversial
purely white town founded in 1991 by a group of Afrikaners averse to
post-apartheid South Africa’s “rainbow nation”. Two decades later,
Orania now has a population of around 1,000, and even its own currency. More
OW doc Beyond Wriezen delivers gripping portrait of post-prison lives of three young Germans
Beyond Wriezen, a gripping portrayal of three troubled young men as they
attempt – with varying degrees of success – to build new lives after
being released from a prison near Berlin, is among the 14 films in
competition at the One World festival of human rights documentaries, which
is currently running in Prague. I discussed the idea behind Beyond Wriezen
with its Dutch director Daniel Abma, who in the past was a counsellor at
Wriezen. More
Helle Faber – Russia’s Nashi like Hitler Youth, says producer of Putin’s Kiss
Helle Faber’s production company Made in Copenhagen has been behind a
string of documentary films that have made an impact far beyond the borders
of her native Denmark. The producer has just been in Prague for the One
World festival of human rights documentaries, giving workshops for local
filmmakers at the East Doc Forum sidebar and introducing her company’s
Putin’s Kiss, an excellent documentary that maps the fate of a leading
member of Russia’s pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi. More
Plight of gay Palestinians hiding out in Israel subject of OW film The Invisible Men
At the start of The Invisible Men, which is being shown at the One World
festival of human rights documentaries in Prague, a gay Palestinian named
Louie describes how his father – on discovering his sexual orientation
– brutally attacked him, slashing his face open with a knife. Louie has
moved to Israel where he is relatively safe (and even wears a Star of David
to blend in), but he faces great uncertainty every day. Prior to a
screening, the film’s Israeli director Yariv Mozer outlined the
predicament of such “invisible men”. More
OW doc Sofia’s Last Ambulance captures dedication of medics in face of failing system
The award-winning film Sofia’s Last Ambulance, which is now screening at
the One World festival of human rights documentaries, records the
experiences of an ambulance crew in the Bulgarian capital over two years,
capturing moments of high human drama against the backdrop of a barely
functioning system. Travelling with the medics were two filmmakers,
director Ilian Melev and soundman Tom Kirk. The latter, who is a guest at
the festival, told me it had often been an intense experience. More
One World opener Bravehearts maps year in life of Norwegian students shaken by Breivik attacks
Bravehearts, which opened the One World festival of human rights
documentaries in Prague on Monday night, follows politically engaged
Norwegian students preparing for student elections. However, midway through
filming Norway suffered a terrible tragedy, when Anders Behring Breivik
shot dead 69 people at a Labour Party youth camp after setting off a bomb
in Oslo. One of the film’s protagonists was there. More
Council of Europe urges Czech Republic to improve the lot of people with mental disabilities
The Council of Europe last week released a report criticizing the Czech
Republic for the way it treats people with mental disabilities. The
criticism targeting the living conditions and rights of this most
vulnerable segment of the population is not the first of its kind. The
Czech authorities have previously come under fire for using caged beds in
mental institutions. On a fact-finding visit to the Czech Republic, Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks went further,
arguing that many of the patients in mental institutions could be living a
more dignified life outside of these walls. More
+1
+10
