> English
UN appoints Frank La Rue as Freedom of Expression Rapporteur
After some last-minute consultation, a very angry-looking Egyptian and a statement by Uruguay strongly supporting his candicacy, Frank La Rue was elected as the new UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression. Hivos believes this is a good choice. La Rue is a strong believer in human rights and freedom of expression and he will have the wherewithal to interpret his new mandate wisely.
30 Jun 2008
Zimbabwe: Civil Society Statement on the June 27 Presidential Run-off
Civil society organisations in Zimbabwe, including several Hivos-partnerorganisations, issued a statement today in which they argue that the presidential run-off scheduled on Friday, June 27, is not free and fair and therefore void of legitimacy. The civil society organisations urge the people of Zimbabwe not to vote, unless doing so in order to protect their own lives or wellbeing. Read the full statement.
26 Jun 2008 Read more
Hivos 40 years
Hivos has been striving for a fair, free and sustainable world for forty years now. On 19 June 2008, Hivos will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary with a big event on the theme of: The Power of diversity. This event is by invitation only. They can register here .
21 May 2008
Zimbabwe Watch presents letter to president Mbeki of South Africa
Zimbabwe Watch, a coalition of Dutch organisations for development and human rights, wrote a letter to the president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, to urge him to use his influence to help ensure that the Zimbabwean election are free and fair. Manuela Monteiro, general director of Hivos, delivered the letter to the Embassy of South Africa in The Hague on behalf of Zimbabwe Watch. The contents of the letter are as follows.
10 Apr 2008 Read more
Police raids center of Hivos-partner Labrys
What started as a cozy dinner between Kyrgyz organisation Labrys and several (inter)national partnerorganisations, among which Hivos, ended in a raid by Kyrgyz police. It was not the first time that police officers entered the community center of LGBT-organisation Labrys. 'Homosexuality may no longer be a crime in Kyrgyzstan but that does not mean it is legal.' Read the full story on the Labrys website .
09 Apr 2008
Costa Rica declares 17 May as National Day against Homophobia
As of 2008, 17 May is the National Day against Homophobia in Costa Rica. The national day is the result of an active lobby campaign by Hivos-partner CIPAC, an organisation that has been fighting for years for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Costa Rica.
31 Mar 2008 Read more
Hivos has no direct relations with artist Guillermo Vargas, Bienal Centroamericana 2008
Over the last few days, Hivos has been confronted with a number of e-mails from concerned people from all over the world. These e-mails came as a result of online petitions, among which ‘Stop animal torture for the sake of “art”’, in which people are called upon to protest against the participation of the Costa Rican artist Guillermo Vargas in the Bienal Centroamericana 2008. In these petitions, Hivos has been wrongly identified as one of the sponsors of the Bienal.
17 Mar 2008 Read more
Lesbian women in Africa demand change
With the upcoming International Women’s Day on March 8, many Hivos partners organise activities like events, workshops and conferences with a single goal: improve the situation of marginalised women in developing countries. One of our partners is the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), who recently organised the first pan-African conference for lesbian women in Maputo, Mozambique.
06 Mar 2008 Read more
Office Hivos partner in Iran reopened
The office of Hivos partner ICTRC/ Koneshgaran-e Davtalab has been reopened, after it has been closed in March 2007 by the Iranian authorities. However, at the same time the office of ICTRC - the Iranian Civil Society Organisations Training and Research Centre - was closed down, the bank accounts were frozen and the computers and files were taken for further investigation. Update: since the end of March 2008 the ICTRC-office has been closed again.
29 Feb 2008 Read more
Some words on Andy Palacio's death
On Saturday 19th, January 2008, Andy Palacio, the Garifuna author and composer, died of a massive brain stroke in Belize City. The Garifuna singer (47, five children) was in the peak of his career having won during 2007 the WOMEX award for his record WATINA, plus the UNESCO recognition as the Artist of Peace and the BBC international award as musician of the Americas.