Project
PROJECT PROTECTION
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Amount Funded
196,420 EUROProject Duration
01 Sep 2019 - 31 Mar 2021 -
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Partners
Tournons La Page
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Established in 1992, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits Humains (AEDH) is a non-governmental civil society organisation committed to the defense of the rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other founding texts. These are for example the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José), and the International Convention against Torture.
Tournons La Page (TLP) is an international movement, composed of more than 200 African human rights organisations united in nine country coalitions (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Niger, Guinea, DRC, Chad) in coordination with European allies. The movement aims to promote democratic alternation by non-violent means (advocacy, capacity building, defense of members,citizen mobilisation, among others).
AEDH and TLP are joining forces to implement the project PROTECTION.
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Organisation
Established in 1992, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits Humains (AEDH) is a non-governmental civil society organisation committed to the defense of the rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other founding texts. These are for example the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José), and the International Convention against Torture.
Tournons La Page (TLP) is an international movement, composed of more than 200 African human rights organisations united in nine country coalitions (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Niger, Guinea, DRC, Chad) in coordination with European allies. The movement aims to promote democratic alternation by non-violent means (advocacy, capacity building, defense of members,citizen mobilisation, among others).
AEDH and TLP are joining forces to implement the project PROTECTION.
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Project
Tournons La Page # TLP (Let’s Turn the Page, in English) is an international citizen movement that works to promote democratic change in Africa. TLP is currently composed of more than 250 civil society structures, grouped into eight country coalitions: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Chad. It is a non-partisan and peaceful alliance of human rights organisations, youth movements, trade unions, faith-based organizations, intellectuals, artists, etc.
Since 2014, all national coalitions members of TLP have been victims of increasing violent repression: threats, intimidation, denigration, judicial harassment, improper arrests, arbitrary detention, physical and psychological violence, and enforced disappearances. It is in this context that it is necessary and urgent to ensure and increase the effectiveness of risk mitigation mechanisms and to strengthen the protection and emergency protocols for human rights activists on the frontlines. That is why the PROTECTION Project is both preventive and reactive to threats and attacks, and is designed to reinforce the protection of those activists promoting democratic values in the nine African countries concerned.
PROTECTION project entails two major components:
- Increase risk awareness and prevention of human rights activities and organization through capacity development by increasing the visibility of the movement and its coalitions; international advocacy actions with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (as well as European and the United Nations); the development of secure internal digital communication tools; organising workshops to increase the resilience of TLP members and allies to threats; and finally supporting the TLP movement in its empowerment and development process by providing support for the search for further strategic alliances, financing and legal advice.
- The establishment of a pool of resources to address emergency situations: cover of medical and/or psychosocial support costs for activists in emergency situation; securing the offices and homes of the members of TLP’s national coalitions; arrangement of temporary relocation; and/or the coverage of fees to ensure legal representation in courts. This legal support is provided by conforming/strengthening “pools of lawyers” at the national level, willing to defend the members of TLP. Interactions between lawyers at the regional level are also encouraged, and two international missions are carried out in follow-up of emblematic cases of retaliation against members of TLP.
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Tournons La Page # TLP (Let’s Turn the Page, in English) is an international citizen movement that works to promote democratic change in Africa. TLP is currently composed of more than 250 civil society structures, grouped into eight country coalitions: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Chad. It is a non-partisan and peaceful alliance of human rights organisations, youth movements, trade unions, faith-based organizations, intellectuals, artists, etc.
Since 2014, all national coalitions members of TLP have been victims of increasing violent repression: threats, intimidation, denigration, judicial harassment, improper arrests, arbitrary detention, physical and psychological violence, and enforced disappearances. It is in this context that it is necessary and urgent to ensure and increase the effectiveness of risk mitigation mechanisms and to strengthen the protection and emergency protocols for human rights activists on the frontlines. That is why the PROTECTION Project is both preventive and reactive to threats and attacks, and is designed to reinforce the protection of those activists promoting democratic values in the nine African countries concerned.
PROTECTION project entails two major components:
- Increase risk awareness and prevention of human rights activities and organization through capacity development by increasing the visibility of the movement and its coalitions; international advocacy actions with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (as well as European and the United Nations); the development of secure internal digital communication tools; organising workshops to increase the resilience of TLP members and allies to threats; and finally supporting the TLP movement in its empowerment and development process by providing support for the search for further strategic alliances, financing and legal advice.
- The establishment of a pool of resources to address emergency situations: cover of medical and/or psychosocial support costs for activists in emergency situation; securing the offices and homes of the members of TLP’s national coalitions; arrangement of temporary relocation; and/or the coverage of fees to ensure legal representation in courts. This legal support is provided by conforming/strengthening “pools of lawyers” at the national level, willing to defend the members of TLP. Interactions between lawyers at the regional level are also encouraged, and two international missions are carried out in follow-up of emblematic cases of retaliation against members of TLP.
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2020 has been an eventful year for Tournons La Page, showing the good, the bad and the ugly in its many facets. Civic space was already severely under threat in the nine Francophone countries where TLP works and in 2020 , 20% of TLP’s membership was arrested. The COVID-pandemic only exacerbated the situation and many already repressive regimes used COVID to introduce further restrictions. No peaceful manifestations or group activities were allowed, no travel and new laws were introduced. Such as in Niger, where in June 2020 a law was passed to allow the interception of certain electronic communications. The law allows the president to wiretap anyone without prior authorisation from a judge if he believes the individual is likely to “undermine state security and national unity. This is a vague notion that could easily include and target human rights defenders. And this during a time where many elections took place which required additional scrutiny and exposure.
The project PROTECTION allowed TLP to increase its visibility enormously, by launching a new website, a brochure on psycho-social care and well-being and publishing the following four reports
- Niger : Quand l’antiterrorisme justifie la restriction de l’espace civique ;
- Guinée : Un troisième mandat d’Alpha Condé à quel prix ?
- Double scrutin du 27 décembre 2020, manipulation massive et multiforme du vote (Niger)
- Deuxième tour des élections présidentielles, entre violences et vol de voix, un hold up électoral (Niger)
TLP also filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against Guinea for crimes against humanity. Following the president’s forceful change of the constitution in favour of a third mandate, the deputy coordinator of TLP-Guinea, Oumar SYLLA, is still in prison today and the coordinator, Ibrahima DIALLO (coordinator) as well as the person in charge of mobilisation, Sekou Koundounou, had to flee the country.
In addition to visibility as a prevention tool, TLP also strengthened their members’ digital security and risk prevention and preparedness when organising activities and campaigns. Many members use proton Email addresses now and increasingly use Signal rather than WhatsApp. Introducing psycho-social support, self-care and well-being have been more challenging to introduce and are seen as part of “white European culture.” However a smaller pilot among Burundian HRDs in exile was more successful and recommendations were made to change language and approach. In Niger, TLP members have long had a small garden at their disposal for sharing and refuge.
Most importantly has been the introduction of an emergency and legal fund to be able to create, train and retain a pool of lawyers especially at national level AND support members in any additional needs they may have, including temporary relocation. TLP needs to have these funds at their immediate disposal due to the risky context their members operate in.
The above results contributed to a major recognition for TLP in January 2021: winning the Movement of the Year award by Africans Rising.
The successes of this project will surely be continued as part of the Influencing grant which was awarded to TLP in April 2021: https://voice.global/grantees/protected-and-united-for-democracy/
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News
