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Newsletter, June 2008
Dear Member,
Welcome to the Human Rights Defence’s newsletter; it's objective is to keep you up to date with the organisation, what we are working on, and what is planned for the near future. Our newsletter also contains short extracts of the latest articles and news.
New members, welcome!
In the last month, a lot of new members joined. Along with our old members, I wish you a warm welcome and would like to tell you that we are all very pleased to have you onboard. Human Rights Defence is an open organization where you can start new projects and campaigns or join existing ones, share your experience with other members, and publish your opinions and ideas. Your thoughts and opinions matter!
Essay Competition 2008
Our annual Essay Competition is currently in progress. The competition aims to attract and involve people in the subject of human rights; as a member, you are most welcome to participate (deadline is 15th of June 2008). The competition allows participants to express their thoughts, raise the pen to opine, and criticize what is happening around the world.
http://www.humanrightsdefence.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&Itemid=68
Appeal for the freedom of Dr. Sen
Human Rights Defence joins the recent appeal for the freedom of Dr. Sen—for background reading about the case, see our member Tomas Nordlander's short article. The case came to our attention, when our member Susmit Bose—a well known Indian folk singer—wrote and shared his song "Dr. Binayak Sen" with us; a song written as a tribute to Dr. Sen's resistance to anti-people's politics (click here to listen to the song). There is an online petition for Dr. Sen's release that you might like to sign (click here to sign the petitions). We want to continue campaigning for the release of Dr. Sen and continue updating our article, broadcasting this case on the internet. Contact us if you would like to get involved.
http://www.humanrightsdefence.org/index.php?view=article&catid=36%3Ahrd-articles&id=245%3Adr-binayak-sen-a-jailed-human-rights-defender&option=com_content&Itemid=2
Legal Advice
We will continue to provide answers and information to those asking for our help; if you would like to join our legal advice team, let me know. Upon receiving a request, a confirmation notice will be sent within 24 hours. Due to case complexity, the volume of requests, and the availability of assisting members, I set a minimum response time of 20 days.
The near future
During the next couple of months, we plan to highlight human rights violations in Africa and Asia. So, to our new members from India, Nigeria, and Ghana; we particular encourage you to help us monitor any irregularities in your area. Please do not hesitate to send us any information about cases you would like to get international attention.
In the beginning of July, we will announce and publish the winner of the essay competition. We will hand over the prize and the essays will be published on our Front Page. Additionally, a small internet campaign will be initiated to ensure the author's essays receive as many readers as possible; if you would like to help with this campaign then contact me.
The organization's web site relatively new. Therefore, we currently spend a lot of time to planning and improving the site, to increase its value for you (e.g. member forums, chat rooms, etc.) and to enhance the overall user experience. One important section concerns member influence and we are currently investigating what techniques lend themselves best for member influence (polls, suggestion boards, voting etc). Again, if you like to get involved in this, then don't hesitate to contact me.
Last but not least, I inserted extracts and links to our latest articles and news. My parting words are: together we are strong and can make a difference!
Yours sincerely,
Luisa Teresa Salazar de Nordlander
Director at Human Rights Defence
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